Whole Grain Products: A Few You Might Like

I’ve written a fair amount about the importance of choosing whole grains over refined grains in the past few weeks. I’ve also shared what you need to know to select nutritious low calorie products. Today I’d like to tell you about some of the new products I’ve found (at least new to me!).



When I talked about hot cereals for weight loss, I encouraged you to look closely at the ingredient label and Nutrition Facts. Just because whole grain is listed on a product cover does not mean it is a 100% whole grain product. The word multigrain is likely to be even less of an indication of whole grains. Well, I’m pleased to say I’ve found two products that are better than they might seem at first glance.

Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf

Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf hot cereal is good! Although it may not say it directly on the product cover, this cereal is made with 100% whole grain. It provides 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein and no saturated fat or trans fat with each 170-calorie ½ cup serving. Not only that, each serving has NO sugar and NO sodium but 160 mg of potassium. That’s great. The average American gets far too much sugar and sodium each day and not enough potassium.

I really like the chewy almost nutty flavor of the 7 whole grains: whole oats, brown rice, rye, hard red winter wheat, triticale, buckwheat, barley, and sesame seeds. So what are the drawbacks to this cereal?

The biggest drawback is that it needs to be cooked for 25 minutes or longer. However, you can save time on this step. A box of pilaf includes three sealed inner bags of dry cereal. I chose to cook one entire bag. It made about 2 cups cooked. That’s enough for 4 separate breakfast servings of ½ cup each. All you need to do is refrigerate and use up within the week. A serving can be heated up in seconds with your microwave oven.

I recommend adding a tablespoon or so of craisins or raisins for some natural sweetness. Or you might add a little brown sugar. Yes, you are then adding sugar but you do have control over how much.

My last tip for this cereal has to do with the fiber. If you keep tabs on your cholesterol levels this cereal may not be your best choice to eat often because it has primarily insoluble fiber. No soluble fiber is listed on the Nutrition Facts label so I suspect that it contains less than ½ gram. (Read Dietary Fiber: Can it Help You with Weight Loss? to learn more about the benefits of soluble and insoluble fiber.) Plain oatmeal or barley might be a better choice.

Quaker All Natural Multigrain Cereal

This instant hot cereal gets high marks in my book. Made with whole grain rolled oats, whole grain rolled wheat, rolled barley, and whole grain rolled rye as the first four ingredients this cereal seems to have a fair amount of whole grain. Unfortunately, the precise amount isn’t evident. I’m surprised it doesn’t have one of the little stamps you see on some whole grain products from the whole grain council.

Each one-packet serving has 4 grams of fiber, 1 gram of soluble fiber, and 4 grams of protein with 160 calories. Although this cereal does not offer the same amount of fiber or protein as the Kashi 7 Whole Grain it does have some soluble fiber. That’s good for those of us needing to eat certain foods to keep our cholesterol levels down.

Each serving also comes along with 9 grams of sugar (a little more than my suggested cutoff of 8 grams or less for the best hot cereals) and 75 mg of sodium. That’s not bad. The best news is that this is an instant cereal that is quick and easy to prepare with your microwave.

Whole Grain Rotini

I’ve chosen rotini to explore some of the differences in whole grain pasta products. I’ll take a look at two Barilla products and also a rotini brand made by a midwestern grocery store company.

Barilla Plus Rotini

This pasta is labeled as being multigrain and as a good source of protein and ALA Omega-3’s. A Serving is 2 ounces (about 3/4 cup) has 4 grams of dietary fiber and 10 grams of protein for 210 calories. That’s good but if you take a look at the ingredient label the first ingredient listed is semolina. That’s not a whole grain.

The second ingredient listed is a grain and legume flour blend. This is the source of most of the fiber and the extra protein, which comes from the added egg whites, lentils and chickpeas. A typical serving of whole grain pasta is more likely to have 7 grams of protein. So 10 grams is more but not that much.

What I found to be a little misleading about this product are the claims for the amount of protein, fiber, and ALA Omega-3 on the back of the package. A 100-gram portion is touted as having 17 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and 360 mg of ALA Omega-3. What isn’t as clear is that these are present in a 1-cup serving that has 370 calories. That’s a lot more calories than you might want on a low calorie diet. The 210 calories for the 2 oz. serving is much more reasonable.

The bottom line: I’d recommend getting extra protein and ALA omega-3 fatty acids in other ways.

Barilla Whole Grain Rotini

This product is a better choice for a whole grain rotini than the Barilla plus. Whole durum wheat flour is listed as the first ingredient on the label and the product includes a stamp from the Whole Grains Council certifying that each serving provides 28 grams or more of whole grain. But what does that mean?

A serving is 2 ounces with 6 grams of dietary fiber and 7 grams of protein for 200 calories. Each 2-ounce serving is approximately 56 grams so 28 grams of whole grain is 50% whole grain.

This product might be a good choice for you if you are not yet fully accustomed to the taste and texture of 100% whole grain pasta.

Cub Foods Rotini (a product from a Midwest grocery store chain)

If you are ready for the full multigrain pasta this is an excellent choice. It is a “what you see is what you get kind” of product. The ONLY ingredient is Durum Whole Wheat Flour. The cover of the product sports a 100% whole grain stamp of approval from the Whole Grains Council.

A serving is ¾ cup with 5 grams of dietary fiber, 7 grams of protein, and 210 calories. This is an excellent source of dietary fiber with 5 grams per serving and also an excellent source of whole grain. Do keep in mind, however, that the fiber is primarily insoluble fiber. Also, the taste and texture may take a little getting used to if you have not been eating whole grain pasta! I think it’s pretty good.

Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!