Eating Grains - The Healthy Alternative

Nothing can beat the versatility of the humble grain. The next time you are looking for an entrée or a side dish with a twist, look no further than brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, barley or bulgur wheat.

Excellent sources of vitamins, protein, dietary fiber and iron; these grains pack a nutritional wallop. Moreover, each grain has its own distinct flavor and characteristic, making them nutritious and tasty as well.

All five types of grain are adaptable enough to be added to any dish. Using the same recipe, just use a different type of grain and you've got a dish that tastes completely different. Mix and match the different grains for a unique flavor every time. Couscous and quinoa go together very well and so do wild rice and brown rice. Experiment away! You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Try some of these ideas to incorporate these grains into your diet.

Adding ¼ cup cooked wild rice or brown rice when cooking tomato or vegetable soup will give the soup fullness and flavor.

For breakfast try cooking brown rice or bulgur wheat in a combination of ¼ cup apple juice and ¾ cup water. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the hot cooked rice for a deliciously wholesome breakfast.

When making the recipe for meat chili, replace 1 pound of wheat with 1 cup dry bulgur. Sauté the bulgur along with the other vegetables and onion. When you finish sautéing, add liquid and let the chili cook on a slow fire till it thickens.

Here's a hearty side dish that goes well with turkey or chicken. Sauté ½ cup mushrooms and ½ cup onions in I teaspoon olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add two cups low-fat, chicken broth and bring the mixture to boil on high fire. Add 1 cup barley to the boiling mixture, stir and reduce heat. Cover the pan and let it simmer for at least 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Bulgur Wheat
Delicious and easy to prepare, bulgur wheat is the main ingredient in the tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern salad that is fast gaining popularity all over the world. It is often used to replace ground beef in vegetarian cuisine, giving the vegetable chili a texture similar to that of ground beef but with far less fat and much more fiber.

Barley
A kernel-shaped, mild-flavored grain, barley is often used for thickening soups and stews and is a great addition to casseroles comprising of winter vegetables such as root vegetables, carrots and onions.

Wild Rice
Not really rice at all, wild rice is the seed of a grass grown in Minnesota. Because of its overpowering flavor, wild rice is usually combined with other grains before serving. It is delicious when used in different kinds of soups.

Couscous
Couscous is actually tiny pasta that is made from fine semolina wheat. It is easy to prepare and makes a deliciously airy bed for fish or chicken kebab.

Quinoa
Its superb nutty aroma and taste make it great for use in soups, salad, pilaf and a variety of side dishes.

Brown Rice
Brown rice is basically just unpolished rice. Using it in any recipe that calls for rice, increases the fiber content of the dish instantly.