Getting More Whole Grains in Your Diet Giveaway!


Ringing in the New Year often means new eating habits. We know whole grain is important to you, and the Dietary Guidelines recommend choosing products with a whole grain listed as the first ingredient. Now every cereal with the white check has more whole grain than any other single ingredient with the same great taste. You will see “whole grain” as a part of the first ingredient on the ingredient list, indicating that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient.

According to Dr. Travis Stork, emergency room physician and host of “The Doctors,” identifying whole grain products can be challenging. Shoppers can look for nutritional cues on the front of the box, but they need to read the ingredient list to know if they are getting enough whole grain. Ingredient lists detail ingredients in order of prevalence, and if the words “whole grain” are followed by a grain like wheat or oats, it means the food contains more whole grain than any other single ingredient. Here’s how to determine if your cereals have whole grain as a first ingredient:

With all the health messages facing grocery store shoppers, it can be confusing to translate what appears on food labels into nutritional needs, and hard to determine which foods have a meaningful amount of whole grain. Dr. Stork has some additional recommendations to help you include whole grain easily into your diet. They include:
  • Start Early! The Dietary Guidelines recommend people get at least 48 grams of whole grain in their daily diets. Get a jump-start on the day’s nutrition by incorporating whole grain into your morning routine. For instance, when choosing cereal make sure whole grain is listed as the first ingredient. One easy choice is cereal with the white check, which have more whole grain than any other single ingredient.
  • Make Simple Swaps. Choose whole grain versions of the foods you love. Great options include whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread or even whole grain crackers. Also, try different types of whole grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice as a side dish at dinner or popcorn, which is a whole grain, for a snack.
  • Don’t Judge a Food by Its Cover. The front of food packages provide good nutritional cues, but don’t forget to read the ingredients and check the nutrition label and side labels for additional health information. Cereals with the white check even include the amount of whole grain per serving on packaging.
To help with choosing products with whole grain, General Mills developed “Fast Lane for Whole Grain,” an online educational game. Consumers can navigate virtual grocery store aisles and identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient, with the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the 50 cereals with the white check.

Make a commitment to add more whole grain to your diet by simply pouring a bowl of cereal with the white check including Cheerios®, Lucky Charms®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch®, Honey Nut Cheerios® and Total®.
To help you get started one lucky reader will win this amazing gift package:

5 Boxes of General Mills with the white check!!
To enter be a follower of One Crazy Cookie and tell me
How has this information changed the way you read ingredient lists?
For an additional entry like One Crazy Cookie on Facebook.

Winner will be drawn by random number generator on February 15.

For more information on the importance of whole grain and a chance to enter the “Fast Lane for Whole Grain” sweepstakes, visit Whole Grain Nation.

 The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Comments

  1. I have been eating grains as close to the original form for years. Just recently Hubs has started trying to eat healthier. When he see whole grain on the package... he would buy it with no problem

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  2. I like you on fb

    terrylee5151 at aol dot com

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  3. I will be better at reading labels.

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  4. I will def. take more time to read the ingredients! Love GM whole grain cereals!

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  5. I am more careful about reading the list of ingredients and not just going by the caption on the front. Now I know I can look for the white check, too!

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  6. Truthfully I'm not the best at reading ingredients, but I usually try to check what country the food was packaged in.

    Follower

    karin56381 (at) gmail.com

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  7. I am more careful about reading the ingredients list of foods. I want to give my kids food they love, but that are also good for them.

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  8. i have started reading more labels now

    lmurley2000@yahoo.com

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  9. like OCC on facebook-lmurley2000

    lmurley2000@yahoo.com

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