March 16, 2011

No-Think Health Tip #1

So many ways to try to be healthy or healthier. Oy! The easiest way is the one we don't have to think about.

That's why I'm all for replacing brands of food I regularly buy with better/healthier versions. My brain doesn't have to think when I go to the store. And my brain likes it when I can think less about this stuff, and spend more time thinking about Criminal Minds and Sudoku.

No-Think Health Tip #1: Replace your pasta with healthier pasta.
There are now many brands of whole-grain pasta. Brands I've never heard of. The pasta aisle in my grocery store is suddenly an array of weird crappy ol' brands announcing their healthy versions. So I checked out the nutritional breakdown on their packages, and guess what I found? Some brands "whole grain" versions we're nearly the same as their "non-whole-grain" counterparts. Of course, corporate liars and corporate greed. Some brands say whole grain but really, they're just a teeny pinch of little whole grain, maybe some ground up cardboard added in, and not much more.

But there are some brands that offer better options. Next time you go to the grocery store, read your labels. Find the pasta brand at your grocery store that offers (1) fewer calories for the same serving size (grams) and (2) more grams of fiber.

For example, consider a common brand, Barilla.
Serving size: 56 grams
Whole grain: 180 calories, 6 grams of fiber
Regular: 200 calories, 2 grams of fiber

Now that shows a difference that is pretty awesome. Three times the amount of fiber in the whole grain version!

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