Perfect Pasta

Angel hair, elbows, rotini, oh my! Pasta comes in many different shapes and sizes (over 150!) and can be paired with an endless variety of foods. Check out these fun ideas to make your next pasta dish perfect:

Plan for Pasta

Pasta can easily be made ahead of time and reheated at mealtime. Want to avoid sticky pasta? Be sure to stir often when boiling and, when fully cooked, rinse with cold water after draining. For a quick and easy dinner, cook ground meat and veggies like zucchini, onion, and bell pepper with a jar of pasta sauce. Mix with your reheated pasta and enjoy!

Make a Meal

Pasta salad can make a full meal. Get your grain on with chilled cooked pasta, add raw veggies like carrots, cucumbers chunks, and tomatoes. Top with shredded cheese, cooked chicken, or hard boiled eggs and finish it off with a light vinaigrette dressing. Try making Chicken Club Salad, Garden Vegetable Salad, or Confetti Spaghetti for your next meal.

Crazy for Casseroles

Have some leftovers that you don’t know what to do with? Toss extra pasta, chicken, and veggies into a casserole dish with 4 tablespoons of flour along with your favorite seasonings. Add in 2 cups of broth and bake at 350 degrees until the liquid thickens. Top with low-fat cheese and bake again until brown. Or try our Chicken and Kale Casserole if you need a simple and tasty meal idea.

Tip: Make it Whole

Use whole grain pasta when you can.  Try to make at least half of your grains whole grains. Whole grains are a great source of fiber, B vitamins, and minerals and can help with heart health and digestion.

Choosing Whole Grains

Foods made from grains, such as bread, pasta and rice are an important part of a healthy diet. Dietary recommendations say that at least half of the grains we eat each day should be whole grains. Whole grains provide our bodies with fiber, vitamins and minerals. These important nutrients help our bodies to prevent certain diseases. Whole wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa, popcorn, oatmeal, wild rice and barley are all examples of whole grain foods.

Here are 3 tips to help you shop for whole grain foods:

1.      Read the product ingredients list: Whole grain foods will have “whole wheat”, “whole grain”, “oatmeal”, “brown rice”, “buckwheat”, “bulgur” or “wild rice” as the first ingredient.

2.      Fill up on fiber: Fiber makes you feel full and helps to prevent some diseases. Whole grain foods that have 3 or more grams of fiber per serving are a good source of fiber!

3.      Color doesn’t count: Just because a food is brown does not mean that it is a whole grain. Molasses or other food coloring can be added to bread or pasta to make it look more like a whole wheat product. Also words on packaging like “stone ground”, “100% wheat”, “multi grain” or “bran” do not indicate that a product is a whole grain. The only way to be sure is to read the ingredients list!

Whole Grains Explained

What is a whole grain?

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Grains are divided into 2 different groups, Whole Grains and Refined Grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel, the bran, germ, and endosperm. Examples of whole grains include whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), whole wheat pasta, whole grain tortillas, grits, oatmeal, whole cornmeal, and brown rice.

Refined grains have gone through a process that removes the bran and germ. This process removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are white flour, white bread, and white rice.

Is it really whole grain?
To be sure a product is made with whole grains, read the ingredient list.  Look for items with the first ingredient listed as 100% whole wheat, whole wheat or whole grain. A product made with whole grains may have a whole grain stamp on the package. The stamp is optional, food companies may not put it on their packaging. Also keep in mind that the stamp may be hard to find on a package.

Make ½ your grains whole!

The Dietary Guidelines recommend that at least 1/2 of the grains that we eat each day be whole grains.  Whole grains help our bodies in many ways because of the fiber, vitamins and minerals.  These nutrients are important to help reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers.  Fiber is important to help food to digest and gives the body a feeling that it is full after eating. 

How do you add more whole grains to your meals and snacks?

• Make simple changes.  Instead of buying white bread or white rice, try 100% whole wheat bread or brown rice. Try our Banana Dog on a whole grain bun.
• Try new grains.  Purchase whole wheat pasta or macaroni.  Find a grain that you have never tried before.  Whole grains that you may want to try are: bulgur, quinoa, brown or wild rice. Add this Garden Stir-Fry to your weekly meal plan.
• Substitute whole wheat flour in baking.  When the recipe calls for flour, try using at least 1/2 whole wheat flour in the recipe. Give our Bran Muffins a try.

Whole Grains Explained

Everyone loves to eat grains.  Pasta, bread, rice, oatmeal -- there are many delicious grains to choose from. Our daily goal is to make sure that at least half of the grains we eat are whole grain.

What is a whole grain?
A whole grain product contains the entire seed (or kernel) of the plant.  This seed contains the bran, endosperm, and germ.  White bread and flour does not contain the bran, endosperm, and germ.

Photo courtesy of Whole Grains Council

Why is a whole grain product healthier than a refined product? 

A product that has been refined removes the bran and the germ, leaving only the endosperm.  When you remove the bran and germ you remove protein and other important nutrients such as fiber and B-vitamins.  B-vitamins provide our bodies with energy while fiber helps us feel full and satisfied.  A whole grain product contains all of these nutrients.

How do I know if a product is made from whole grains?

Start by checking out the ingredient label located on the back of the product.  If the first ingredient is "100% whole grain" or "whole grain" or "whole wheat"  you know that the food you are eating is made from whole grains.

What are some popular whole grain foods?

• Wheat 
• Corn
• Oats
• Rye
• Barley
• Quinoa

To learn more about whole grain foods and shopping at the grocery, see this video.