There are some pastas that have fiber added, but are not 100% whole grain, and I don't think they taste any different from white pasta. Ronzoni Smart Taste is one. But I still like the "bun-head"-type whole grain pastas. (That's what some friends and I called them. You know, people with buns in their hair at the health food store?) Oh, nevermind....Now as for tasting like cardboard, that describes breakfast cereal to me.

Jo - I concentrate of fiber as well. That and protein. As a vegetarian, the protein is sometimes a bit low.

I eat a lot of beans and whole grain products (including home-made pastas) to account for most of it. I do occasionally cheat and eat a high fiber cereal or English muffin fortified with soy protein. I make my own soy milk and use the okara to fortify my breads. WW and okara really make a great high-fiber bread.
How about making home-made bran muffins? They are great and adding soy flour will boost the protein level too.
My favorite recipe is:
1 tbs. oil (prefer olive)
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg (can use flaxseed equivalent if making vegan)
3/4 cup milk (can substitute soy)
1 cup raw bran (not the toasted stuff at supermarkets)
1 cup whole wheat flour (I often substitute up to 1/4 c. of soy flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 375
Beat oil, molasses, egg, milk together until smooth. Stir in bran and let it absorb the liquid.
Combine remaining ingredients and stir into bran mixture until moistened evenly. Spoon into oiled muffin tin and bake for 20 min.

Thanks, CD - I will try this recipe! I like molasses and raisins.

I haven't heard of okara. I'm looking it up right now.

Hey, CD - Double thanks! It looks like I can make soy milk in my Vita-Mix, and strain out the okara. I am going to try this. How long will okara keep in the refrigerator? How much of it do you add to bread dough? How is it different from soy flour? (grasshoppermouse has so many questions)

Okara keeps in the fridge for up to a week. But the good news is that it freezes really well. I put it in ziplock containers (the small oval ones) and pop it in the freezer. One "batch" (about 1- 1 1/4 cups)of okara per 4 cups of flour seems to be about right. You need to reduce the water by about 1/2 cup per loaf - depending upon the consistency of your okara.

It is similar to using soy flour, since it really is just the soy "sludge" left over from making milk. It has a bit more fiber than soy flour.

You can use it in a lot of recipes to boost the fiber and protein content. There are a lot of good recipies online for using it. But mostly, I just experiment. I have even added it to soups and stews. You could substitute it for the milk and soy flour in the muffin recipe for example.

Probably enough my Iof "vegetarian corner". I do tend to ramble on this topic!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful POP day. I did my zumba again tonight. 50 minutes and my tongue was hanging on the floor But it feels good to work out at that intensity - makes me feel like I am getting stronger and fitter every day

I did pick up 4 suits while in TN. All 4 are just a touch "snug". My motivation for getting this last 10 lbs off my body. And, I am .5 lbs. away from being a "normal BMI". While I don't put a lot of stock in the numbers, it feels pretty good - nonetheless. Since I was a hair under severely obese when I started

Ha, ha, I just checked the name of this thread to make sure I hadn't gone in the vegetarian threads. I'm vegetarian, too. I didn't like whole wheat pasta when I first tasted it but it has grown on me and I use it all the time now. The spaghetti I found the easiest to get used to, but I found the macaroni grainy but now I hardly notice the difference.

I'm not a vegetarian but I do eat vegetarian several times a week and always try to eat a high fiber diet. I check the fiber content on everything I buy. I love beans and brown rice, lots of fruit and vegetables. And i do buy some of the processed things too. Like the fiber one bars. I keep them in the car for when I'm out and get so hungry I want to hit the fast food places. And I love the Aunt Millie 12 Grain bread. I'm going to Trader Joe's this morning to stock up on some things I can only find there. I always end up coming home with some new finds. I could wonder around that store for hours.

Counting, You will be in those new suits before you know it. I used clothes as an incentive to lose the last few pounds too. I kept "the" pair of jeans and would try them on from time to time. The day I zipped them with no problem I did the Zoomba around the room too. (not sure exactally what the zoomba is, but I know it's a dance).

Hi there . . . Sorry I was absent yesterday . . . got up way too early and the weather made a change to dull and overcast and my body went into Migraine-Mode compelte with upset stomach. Today, I'm quite a bit better, but the weather is supposed to continue to be so-so until Tuesday -- but that's a long way off right now so things could change.

I'm a pretty high fibre eater, too -- it really just sort of happens that way because I eat so many vegetables. I'm definitely not a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination although I do eat a lot of legumes. As a matter of fact I overate (to the tune of 2100 calories) yesterday by over-indulging in my wonderful home-made, multi-bean, barley, and vegetable soup. I eat very litte rice or pasta (or bread for that matter), but when I do, I honestly prefer the whole grain kind -- maybe I just like cardboard.

Well, better get myself moiving and shaking . . . see you later . . .

Oh, I don't think whole grain products taste like cardboard. There's more texture in the mouth and there is a sweet, nutty flavour. I use whole wheat flour in so many baked good--cookies, pie crust, bread (of course), quick breads to name a few. I also use oats in my cookies even when there's no call for them. I haven't made chocolate chip cookies without whole wheat flour and oatmeal in years. Sorry to mention chocolate chip cookies. I hope I haven't sent anyone into a fit of binge eating!

I just posted a recipe for Bran Muffins here in the recipe section that are really high in fibre--6g in a large one and 4g in a small one. They contain wheat bran, oat bran and whole wheat flour along with raisins, dates and pecans which all have fibre. They're quite high in sugar though so not so good for a diabetic diet. But they are delicious.

Just use Splenda in place of the sugar. Works for almost everything.

There isn't a lot of refined sugar in the muffins-1/2 cup brown. It's the fruit sugar that is counted in the total sugar grams. I have Splenda in the cupboard but I really don't like it. I have it there for some of my relatives and friends who have diabetes. They all seem to like it well enough, though.

Hey! C'mon over to thread #11!

Jay