The Whole Grains Council Blog

What are YOU doing for Whole Grains Month?

Our Whole Grains: Chat ‘Em Up contest is making my heart sing with delight. People from all over the United States are writing to tell us what they’re doing to celebrate Whole Grains Month. Who knew that so many people out there feel as passionate about whole grains as those of us here at the Whole Grains Council? 

In today’s blog, we’re sharing a few of the entries we’ve received in the first week, to serve as inspiration to the rest of you out there. Think what a wonderful ripple effect can take place, as people like these do their part to spread the word!

Rollin’ With Whole Grains

Every once in a while, I stumble across a grain-related blog post or article that makes me shake my head and say “Oh dear, here we go again.” Sometimes the misconceptions that abound about whole grains and their role in a healthy diet are really surprising to me. Whole grains are not poisonous, they don’t cause inflammation, and fiber is not the only reason to eat them. (And no, we aren’t providing links to stories about these things – they’re just too silly.) From time to time, we comment to correct or perhaps address these misconceptions directly on our blog, but often times, we just let it go and hope no one really takes those stories seriously.

Menu Labeling for Whole Grains, too

Last week, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released a document with the catchy title of “Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Effect of Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 on State and Local Menu and Vending Machine Labeling Laws.”

It may not be readily apparent from the long name, but this non-binding guidance comprises the next step toward calorie labeling at restaurants, which was part of the big health care act passed last Spring. So how will it work? Those who will need to inform us of the calories in their standard food offerings include:

• Any chain restaurant with more than 20 locations, on menus.

• Cafeterias, next to self-serve items.

  
  
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Announcing Boston's Whole Grains Dine Out!

Sometimes I’m good at keeping secrets, and sometimes, it’s really hard not to say something. Thankfully, I love surprises – I love being on the receiving end and I love surprising people – so that often helps me keep my mouth shut and my fingers away from the keys. When we get ready for Whole Grains Month, it feels like it gets harder and harder to keep a lid on what we have planned for each year. The closer we get to September, the more I want to boast how this year’s Whole Grains Month is going to be bigger and more bad-ass than ever before! We love shaking things up, we enjoy trying new and interesting ways of encouraging you to eat more whole grains, and we appreciate and enjoy the enthusiastic responses we get to each of our unique Whole Grains Month celebrations.

WG Pasta Enjoys "Roiling Hot Sales"

“There are two different worlds of pasta - the varieties that bear whole-grain claims and enjoy roiling hot sales, and the refined pasta varieties that deliver far less fiber and nutrients per serving and have hit the sales skids so far in 2010.”

That’s the take from Phil Lempert, Supermarket Guru, in reaction to new figures from Nielsen retail data showing the percentage growth in whole grain pasta sales in the U.S. outpacing the pasta category as a whole for each of the last four years.

Of course, it’s easier to show big growth when you start with small numbers, but the numbers are still meaningful. Take a look:

When In Doubt, (Rye) Sandwich It Out

If necessity is the mother of invention, then hunger must be her master chef, standing ready to whip up amazing culinary concoctions whenever she’s in need. Here’s how I know this is true:

Kraft to Double Whole Grain in Nabisco Crackers

From time to time journalists ask me where I see the Whole Grain Stamp five years from now. My answer is always, “I hope the Stamp is out of business. Retired and resting on a beach in Florida.”

Now, it’s not that I want to do myself out of a job. And it’s not that I don’t believe in the Whole Grain Stamp with every ounce (gram!) of my being. But the fact is, Oldways and the Whole Grains Council created the Whole Grain Stamp in 2005 because it was really, really hard then, to find the few whole grain products that existed in a sea of refined / enriched grains. Now, as whole grains become the norm in more and more cases, I can see, on the distant horizon, a day when it’s no longer necessary to flag whole grain products the same way.  (“Look! Right here! Wow! A real whole grain food!”)

“What Is She Eating?” Wednesday

Some days, I catch myself thinking “Le sigh, another day, another salad.” Don’t get me wrong, I love my leafy greens – love, love, love! I don’t think I ever turned up my nose at “green stuff” as a kid, and I have quite a few memories of sneaking out to my grandfather’s garden in the summertime to snatch a few leaves of Boston or Red Leaf lettuce. But there are only so many times you can sit down to the same assortment of greens without feeling the need to shake things up.

Burger King Introduces Whole Grain Ciabatta

“Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce. Special orders don’t upset us. All we ask is that you let us serve it your way!”

Burger King started using that slogan in 1973, and since then the chain really did let you “have it your way” – if what you wanted was to choose your favorite fixings on a white bun. But starting last month, Burger King has begun offering their burgers and sandwiches our way – on a ciabatta roll containing 8g of whole grain.

The whole wheat ciabatta comes automatically on Burger King’s TENDERGRILL® Chicken sandwich, which has also been reformulated to be lower in calories (470, down from 520) and sodium (a still-high 1100mg, down from 1410mg). When I went to order one (that's me below) at our local BK in Portsmouth, NH, they assured us that the same whole grain ciabatta is also used on their Ciabatta Breakfast sandwich – and that you can request the whole grain option on any of their sandwiches.  

Taking Stock of This Year's Goals (so far!)

Those sunflowers can only mean one thing… It’s JULY!!!!! I’m not normally a “counting down” kind of person, but there are times when it’s good to check off the days that have passed as you look towards a big events heading your way. Have a big work conference looming in the not-so-distant future?  It’s probably safe to keep track of the time you have left so your deadlines don’t take you by surprise. Maybe you’re getting married in a few months – with all the details to coordinate and logistics to consider, your head might explode if you don’t keep track of the days and weeks you have left! (And in case you’re wondering, yes, I’m talking about me. Eeeeee!!)

Imagine my surprise when I turned the calendar to July last week and realized 2010 is half over! The nerve of this year, to speed by with little more than a “Hey, ‘sup?” I mean really! All kidding aside, crossing the year’s halfway mark gave me a moment’s pause and prompted me to take a look back to see what I’ve accomplished so far this year. I may not make broad-sweeping New Year’s resolutions, but as I detailed in this post, there were a few small changes all of us here at Oldways were hoping to make throughout 2010.

So let’s see how I’ve done…