I need some help here with grains. Right now I'm not eating any - do I really need to? I binge on bread so I avoid it like the plague. And I'm not sure what to do with other grains, other than rice (which I'm also avoiding). I don't like oatmeal either, so lets skip that.

So what is the most nutrional grain that I could add to my diet, and how do I prepare it? And how important are grains anyhow? Right now I'd say my diet is about 65% protein/lean fats and 35% veges. My bathroom habits are "regular" so I guess I'm getting enough fiber. Oh, and I am currently maintaining my weight (on purpose) so I really don't want to lose much more than a pound or 2 in the near future, and I darn sure don't want to put any weight on!!!

Any thoughts?

Hi, Wendy!

There is a great calorie calculator at www.shape.com/calories to help you figure out how many calories you should eat to maintain your weight. You can use that and the calculator at www.fitday.com to help you decide how you can add grains to your diet. Yes, I think you should add them. There are tons of good reasons, but they boil down to that, if you can digest them and have no allergies, they can give you great vitamins, different types of fiber, and help you avoid colon cancer.

Some other types of grain would be brown rice, bulgher wheat, quinoa, couscous, wheat berries, and more. Check out a health store near you for grain mixes that you just have to boil. They are easy to cook and sooo tasty! I love a mix called "Great Grains" that has lots of different grains (I think 7) and is really good. You can get mixes with brown rice and garlic or parmesan, or herbs. They are all very tasty. Unfortunately, they all take about 30-45 mins to cook. If you are in a hurry, try couscous. You can also get it in mixes, and it is done in 10 mins or less. You simply boil water (sometimes with a bit of olive oil in it) and when it boils, remove it from the heat, dump the couscous in, stir, and put the lid on. Leave it for five minutes, fluff the couscous with a fork, and serve. Way easy and beyond tasty! What about WW pasta? They also make spelt pasta, which is great.

Hope that helps, WendyJo! And CONGRATULATIONS on reaching maintanence! Have you visited the maintanence forum?

What is it about oatmeal that you don't like? Is it the texture or the taste?
I'm asking because oat groats are pretty tasty and chewy. It's the oat before it's been flattened into a flake.

I buy them in bulk at Whole Foods Market, I think they are about .99 a pound. 1 cup oat groats to 2 cups water. Simmer for 45 min- 1 hour. I make several things with it and use it as a side dish more then a breakfast cereal.

leaks, mushrooms and grain

2 cups sliced, well washed leakes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
sautee in a little olive oil, add spices-salt, pepper, mrs dash seasonings what ever.
Add 2 cups cooked grain-brown rice, oat groats, barley, wild rice etc. and cook until grain is heated completely.

Cous cous is not a grain, it's a type of pasta. In other words it's not a natural food that's harvested and there are no cous cous plants. So it's still OK to have? I do like cous cous but have avoided it because of this.

Wendy, thanks for helping me learn something new! I remember couscous being on the foods to enjoy list, so I've been eating 1 cup at least once a week, sometimes more...I just looked it up in the GFGCG (p. 81), and it's listed as a serving of 1/2 cup and is limited. Oops! Anyways, I think we decided that limited means once a week. So you can enjoy it, just not all the time. Our grocery store makes a delicious salad with couscous, feta, fresh spinach, and a vinaigrette. That would be very yummy to make!

Maybe I'll try that recipe, except I hate vinagette so I'll have to find some other type of sauce.

I'd still rather have a real grain though. Maybe I can do a search in the recipe section?

You need grains for fibre and a lot of the B vitamins are in them but it sounds like you are getting the fibre you need without them. Maybe you could increase your starchy vegetables instead. Try adding some carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, or corn. I find the quantity of legal grain you can have make it so not worth it. What do you do with half a cup of cooked rice?