People food for thought Part IV: Whole Grain
These days, more and more people including myself are interested in cooking with fresh food, locally grown food, and eat healthier.
Many gourmet burger joints that offer burgers made with fresh ingredients are popping up, some celebrity chefs are working on encouraging people to cook with fresh ingredients,not processed food, and also helping people to be educated on fresh food.
For example, as I wrote in previous entry titled "Cooking with fresh ingredients Part II ", since Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution campaign;bring fresh food to school lunch menu, I have started noticing many more celebrity chefs are working on their own project to encourage people to eat fresh food not processed food.
Well known chef Emeril Lagasse now has his new show called "Fresh Food Fast" at cooking channel, featuring fresh food meals made out from locally grown,seasonal ingredients. According to his website , he teaches how to pick local produce, and show viewers how to cook quick and easy meals with fresh ingredients.
Rachael Ray is working on bringing school gardens supported by her Yum-O!organization, government, private, community non profit funds etc. The vegetables, herbs grown in the school gardens are to go into school lunches. She also helps school creating school lunch menus.
Along with this fresh food movement, I started hearing more words "Whole Grain" in Ads, on package of cereal, chips,pasta and bread packages. In previous entry titled "People food for thought ", I wrote about so-called "Healthy food" not necessary be healthy when you read the food label.
So, are products labeled "Whole grain" on the package really good for you?
According to Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, now you can find a sweet sugary popular kids' breakfast snack labeled as "Whole grain". Whole grain sounds very healthy choice, but it is also very very sweet snack. Even if the package says "Whole Grain", I am not comfortable serving up the sugary,high calorie breakfast day in day out to kids.
What is Whole Grain really?
I came across a website called "Nutrition Action " that you can see the whole grain picture. As you see in the picture, whole grain is a berry that contains all parts; endosperm, bran/kernel, and germ.
According to Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, endosperm has few nutrients and it is starchy part. Then, bran/kernel is the part where you get most fiber from, and germ is the part where you get most nutrients from such as Vitamin B and Irons.
So, if you think about it, the less processed the berry is, the more you get benefit from the berry. As Jeannine writes in her article, the products made with refined flour has less nutrients because the processing removes the nutrient-packed part of the berry; bran and germ, leaving starchy part of the seed;endosperm. Then, to compensate for the loss of the nutrient in the process of making refined flour, company would add the vitamins back in by fortifying the products with lost nutrients such as thiamine,riboflavin,folic acid,niacin, and iron.This is the term where "enriched" flour coming from.
Similar to "Enriched" flour, if you shop around flour, you may find the term "Unbleached" or "Bleached" on some flour package.
What are the differences between "Unbleached" and "Bleached" flour?
According to whats cooking america website , "Bleached flour" is flour that were bleached chemically to make it more whiten in color, "Unbleached flour" is flour that was aged and bleached naturally with oxygen in the air.If you pour some of each type of flour side by side, you will see the difference in color. Unbleached flour is a little yellowish due to existence of beta-carotene (Vitamin A). I personally prefer using "Unbleached" flour because I like the idea that the flour is naturally bleached, and I feel it makes nicer smell, tastier bread etc..
What to look for in Whole Grain products?
According to Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, professor of clinical nutrition in Dallas "Jo Ann Carson" encourage people to keep things simple, choose good quality whole grain sources (one in low with sugar,sodium, saturated/trans fats)
To read Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, please click here .
Back to sugary sweet popular kids' breakfast, bellow are some ingredients from ingredients list on two products label.Product A is sugary breakfast snack that you can see the term "whole grain" on their package, and product B is whole grain chocolate flavored cereal.
Product A;
"Whole wheat flour, enriched flour,sugar,soybean/palm oil,polydextrose,dextrose, high fructose corn syrup,corn syrup solids,whole grain barley flour glycerin,molasses,inulin,salt,corn starch,and levening agent,wheat starch,cinnamon, gelatin,caramel color,soy lecithin, and other vitamins listed on their package"
That is far from simple list of ingredients and contains lots of sugar (sugar is listed in top 3 in the ingredients list),and coloring.
Product B;
" Whole grain,corn,sugar,corn meal,corn syrup,whole grain oats,canola/rice bran oil,cocoa processed Alkali,color added,salt,dried corn syrup,corn bran,barley molt extract, trisodium phosphate,vanillin,vitamin E,BHT and other vitamins listed on their package.
As other breakfast item, long ingredients list, and sugar is listed in top 3 ingredients, so very sugary cereal with BHT.
Since many people are more health conscious, sandwich joint is started offering sandwich made with wheat bread.
Did you know that wheat bread is not the same with whole wheat bread?
According to the article written by Gloria Tsang at health castle website, bread color being brown does not necessary means you are eating "whole wheat bread" or "whole grain bread", and some of the brown bread has caramel coloring in the ingredients list.
She also states that "rye bread", "multi-grain bread" does not necessary means you are eating the bread made with minimally processed whole grain.She suggest to look for the word "Whole" in the ingredients list. Some wheat bread is made with refined white flour with whole wheat flour.
To read full article at health castle website,please click here .
I was flipping over the brown bread package to read the label the other day at grocery store, and noticed that brown colored bread, such as pumpernickel bread for example has caramel coloring too.
So, back to the wheat bread sandwich joint, their wheat bread ingredients goes as followings.
"Enriched flour, water, whole wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, wheat gluten, contains less than 2% of the following: wheat bran, yeast, salt, soybean oil, dough conditioner ,cracked wheat, sodium ,lactylate,caramel color, dried honey preparation (honey powder, invert sugar, wheat starch, soy bran flour, silicon dioxid, mineral oil."
This is good example of what the writer Gloria Tsang at health castle website was writing about;using the combination of refined white flour with wheat flour AND you see the caramel color in the list.
So,it is very important for you to read the label before buying if you pick up the "whole grain" products. Package's term does not necessary means the product you just picked is made with nutrient rich whole grains.
If you have time to make your own whole wheat bread, baking the bread would be the best way to be sure you get the real deal.
To make whole wheat bread, if you bake one in the kitchen, you do not need long list of ingredients. All you need is whole wheat flour,water, yeast, sugar or honey to poof the dough,pinch of salt. You will recognize what each ingredients are, and simple list of ingredients. I admit that it is time consuming work but end result is priceless. If you have kids, they can work with you to make bread and it will be fun family time.
I love cooking and I love baking bread too. In the past, I made lots of French bread and enjoyed baking them with all different kinds of method to achieve nice bread color,texture,hole size in the bread etc... It takes time from start to finish but I enjoyed the freshly baked breads. And, our stumpy little dog "Palette" loved the bread day and she got tiny nibble of crust. It is to say sorry to torture your sensitive sense of smell for hours with bread making
I have not made whole wheat bread yet, but in the near future, I would love to try and see how it comes out.I knead the bread dough with my hands and it gives me nice arm exercise for a day too
Many gourmet burger joints that offer burgers made with fresh ingredients are popping up, some celebrity chefs are working on encouraging people to cook with fresh ingredients,not processed food, and also helping people to be educated on fresh food.
For example, as I wrote in previous entry titled "Cooking with fresh ingredients Part II ", since Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution campaign;bring fresh food to school lunch menu, I have started noticing many more celebrity chefs are working on their own project to encourage people to eat fresh food not processed food.
Well known chef Emeril Lagasse now has his new show called "Fresh Food Fast" at cooking channel, featuring fresh food meals made out from locally grown,seasonal ingredients. According to his website , he teaches how to pick local produce, and show viewers how to cook quick and easy meals with fresh ingredients.
Rachael Ray is working on bringing school gardens supported by her Yum-O!organization, government, private, community non profit funds etc. The vegetables, herbs grown in the school gardens are to go into school lunches. She also helps school creating school lunch menus.
Along with this fresh food movement, I started hearing more words "Whole Grain" in Ads, on package of cereal, chips,pasta and bread packages. In previous entry titled "People food for thought ", I wrote about so-called "Healthy food" not necessary be healthy when you read the food label.
So, are products labeled "Whole grain" on the package really good for you?
According to Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, now you can find a sweet sugary popular kids' breakfast snack labeled as "Whole grain". Whole grain sounds very healthy choice, but it is also very very sweet snack. Even if the package says "Whole Grain", I am not comfortable serving up the sugary,high calorie breakfast day in day out to kids.
What is Whole Grain really?
I came across a website called "Nutrition Action " that you can see the whole grain picture. As you see in the picture, whole grain is a berry that contains all parts; endosperm, bran/kernel, and germ.
According to Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, endosperm has few nutrients and it is starchy part. Then, bran/kernel is the part where you get most fiber from, and germ is the part where you get most nutrients from such as Vitamin B and Irons.
So, if you think about it, the less processed the berry is, the more you get benefit from the berry. As Jeannine writes in her article, the products made with refined flour has less nutrients because the processing removes the nutrient-packed part of the berry; bran and germ, leaving starchy part of the seed;endosperm. Then, to compensate for the loss of the nutrient in the process of making refined flour, company would add the vitamins back in by fortifying the products with lost nutrients such as thiamine,riboflavin,folic acid,niacin, and iron.This is the term where "enriched" flour coming from.
Similar to "Enriched" flour, if you shop around flour, you may find the term "Unbleached" or "Bleached" on some flour package.
What are the differences between "Unbleached" and "Bleached" flour?
According to whats cooking america website , "Bleached flour" is flour that were bleached chemically to make it more whiten in color, "Unbleached flour" is flour that was aged and bleached naturally with oxygen in the air.If you pour some of each type of flour side by side, you will see the difference in color. Unbleached flour is a little yellowish due to existence of beta-carotene (Vitamin A). I personally prefer using "Unbleached" flour because I like the idea that the flour is naturally bleached, and I feel it makes nicer smell, tastier bread etc..
What to look for in Whole Grain products?
According to Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, professor of clinical nutrition in Dallas "Jo Ann Carson" encourage people to keep things simple, choose good quality whole grain sources (one in low with sugar,sodium, saturated/trans fats)
To read Los Angeles Times article written by Jeannine Stein, please click here .
Back to sugary sweet popular kids' breakfast, bellow are some ingredients from ingredients list on two products label.Product A is sugary breakfast snack that you can see the term "whole grain" on their package, and product B is whole grain chocolate flavored cereal.
Product A;
"Whole wheat flour, enriched flour,sugar,soybean/palm oil,polydextrose,dextrose, high fructose corn syrup,corn syrup solids,whole grain barley flour glycerin,molasses,inulin,salt,corn starch,and levening agent,wheat starch,cinnamon, gelatin,caramel color,soy lecithin, and other vitamins listed on their package"
That is far from simple list of ingredients and contains lots of sugar (sugar is listed in top 3 in the ingredients list),and coloring.
Product B;
" Whole grain,corn,sugar,corn meal,corn syrup,whole grain oats,canola/rice bran oil,cocoa processed Alkali,color added,salt,dried corn syrup,corn bran,barley molt extract, trisodium phosphate,vanillin,vitamin E,BHT and other vitamins listed on their package.
As other breakfast item, long ingredients list, and sugar is listed in top 3 ingredients, so very sugary cereal with BHT.
Since many people are more health conscious, sandwich joint is started offering sandwich made with wheat bread.
Did you know that wheat bread is not the same with whole wheat bread?
According to the article written by Gloria Tsang at health castle website, bread color being brown does not necessary means you are eating "whole wheat bread" or "whole grain bread", and some of the brown bread has caramel coloring in the ingredients list.
She also states that "rye bread", "multi-grain bread" does not necessary means you are eating the bread made with minimally processed whole grain.She suggest to look for the word "Whole" in the ingredients list. Some wheat bread is made with refined white flour with whole wheat flour.
To read full article at health castle website,please click here .
I was flipping over the brown bread package to read the label the other day at grocery store, and noticed that brown colored bread, such as pumpernickel bread for example has caramel coloring too.
So, back to the wheat bread sandwich joint, their wheat bread ingredients goes as followings.
"Enriched flour, water, whole wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, wheat gluten, contains less than 2% of the following: wheat bran, yeast, salt, soybean oil, dough conditioner ,cracked wheat, sodium ,lactylate,caramel color, dried honey preparation (honey powder, invert sugar, wheat starch, soy bran flour, silicon dioxid, mineral oil."
This is good example of what the writer Gloria Tsang at health castle website was writing about;using the combination of refined white flour with wheat flour AND you see the caramel color in the list.
So,it is very important for you to read the label before buying if you pick up the "whole grain" products. Package's term does not necessary means the product you just picked is made with nutrient rich whole grains.
If you have time to make your own whole wheat bread, baking the bread would be the best way to be sure you get the real deal.
To make whole wheat bread, if you bake one in the kitchen, you do not need long list of ingredients. All you need is whole wheat flour,water, yeast, sugar or honey to poof the dough,pinch of salt. You will recognize what each ingredients are, and simple list of ingredients. I admit that it is time consuming work but end result is priceless. If you have kids, they can work with you to make bread and it will be fun family time.
I love cooking and I love baking bread too. In the past, I made lots of French bread and enjoyed baking them with all different kinds of method to achieve nice bread color,texture,hole size in the bread etc... It takes time from start to finish but I enjoyed the freshly baked breads. And, our stumpy little dog "Palette" loved the bread day and she got tiny nibble of crust. It is to say sorry to torture your sensitive sense of smell for hours with bread making
I have not made whole wheat bread yet, but in the near future, I would love to try and see how it comes out.I knead the bread dough with my hands and it gives me nice arm exercise for a day too
Comments