The Whole Grains Council Blog

Expo West Wrap-Up

kberrini — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:27:58 -0700

As I write this wrap-up of my 2010 Expo West experience, the California sunshine is beaming at me through the palm trees outside the hotel windows. It’s a highly satisfying feeling to sit here in the business center of my Anaheim hotel, not only because palm trees make me smile (remember, I’m from New England), but because I’m sitting. It’s the first time in two days that I’ve sat down for any real length of time, and I can almost hear my feet sighing in relief through my slip-on sneaks and socks.

Last year, I wrote about Expo West being one big family-gathering-esque party, and I wrote another blog describing how there really is something for everyone at a show like this. This year’s Expo was even better attended than last, and a record 400 first-time exhibitors joined the ranks of companies promoting all things green, organic, natural, and sustainable from all over the globe. I walked till my feet complained and my back ached, and then I walked some more. I sampled bites of this and tastes of that, and even when I thought my belly couldn’t possibly fit another crumb, soy fudgesicles or organic gelato or vegan cotton candy magically appeared in my hands, washed down by samples of fair trade coconut water or a sip of mango-pear energy tea.

I’ll have you know all this noshing and nibbling wasn’t an exercise in gluttony; rather, it’s the only way yours truly stood a chance at making it to the booths of the 80+ WGC Members exhibiting at the show. Never mind trying to visit the booths of another 80+ companies who were also featuring whole grains prominently in their products. This basic math comes down to 80+ plus 80+ equals workity work worky. Thankfully, it’s a job I love, a subject I enjoy, and a category of ingredients I believe in. So what that there weren’t whole grains in that 90% cacao chocolate sample I snagged between exhibit halls. Do we fault racecar drivers for refueling in the pit? I think not…

Alright, enough preamble. What did I actually do, what did I actually see and taste during my two-day whole grain expedition? Here, in no particular order, are the highlights:

I met a few of our newest WGC Member companies to say hello and let them know there are real-live people behind those Email addresses. The newbies included a very tasty whole wheat dumpling from Tang’s Natural, a few crunchy little pomegranate cashew biscotti crisps from Sahale Snacks, and a zingy garlic romano WheatStick from John Wm. Macy’s CheeseSticks. I didn’t have the chance to sample the goodies from the Just Desserts booth because I was too busy chatting with their head chef, but I was sure to grab a taste of the gluten-free chocolate chocolate chip muffin from Udi’s Granola.

I said hello to the fine folks from several of the WGC’s original Member companies, including Arrowhead Mills, Bob’s Red Mill, Kamut Association/Montana Flour & Grains, King Arthur Flour, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, and Snyder’s of Hanover. I never did make it through the mob of attendees at the booths of Hodgson Mill and Lotus Foods, and every time I got to the Nature’s Path or Barbara’s Bakery booths there were yet more meetings taking place. That, to me, is a good thing because it means these long-time friends of the WGC were busy with the business of making whole grains more and more available to consumers. And that right there is a great reason to keep on walking…

I made some new friends at a few very interesting companies, like Andean Naturals, who provide a direct fair-trade link between food companies and small family farmers in Bolivia who grow organic quinoa. I spent some time talking with the owner of Stone-Burh Flour Company, learning all about their Find The Farmer initiative that allows consumers to “meet” the certified sustainable farmers who have grown the whole wheat flour contained in each two-pound bag. I was drawn in by the colorful packaging at the Daddy Cakes booth and quickly became a fan of their fun-loving philosophy – and their whole wheat pancake and waffle mix. I picked up a little light reading on the increased beta-glucan levels in Trainhopper Oats, and was pleasantly surprised to learn Eden Foods has been using ancient grain and other whole grain flours in their pastas for over 30 year.

There’s more – so much more! – I could share with you, and so many more great whole grain companies I met and spoke with, both WGC Members and otherwise. Sadly I didn’t make it to all 80+ Member booths, nor did I get anywhere close to visiting the other 80+ companies feature whole grains in their products. I guess this time the basic math comes down to 80+ plus 80+ equals sometimes two days isn't enough time. For everyone I missed, I hope you’ll come back next year so we can rendezvous in Anaheim for next year’s Expo West! You’ll see me then, traversing the show floor in high heels that are far more comfortable then they look, nibbling on a cube of organic goat’s milk cheese, displaying the Whole Grain Stamp on my badge and possibly wearing a pinwheel in my hair. (Kara)

Quinoa for Kids

wgc admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:31:38 -0800

Guest Blogger Kim Wirth, RN, BSN, sings the praises of quinoa, our grain of the month, which she cites as a smart way to broaden children's nutritional experiences.

I understand how difficult a change in diet can be. For nearly 30 years, as a nurse, I have reinforced dietary restrictions for my patients. Young children are especially difficult to introduce new fare in their diets. They are generally comfortable with their established eating routines and find it challenging transitioning to different foods. As a mother of three, I experienced this first hand. Like many others, I recently found myself looking for a nutritional gluten free grain option when I stumbled upon Quinoa. Pronounced “Keen-wah” it is called a super-food, protein powerhouse, and the “Mother Grain.”

Quinoa lives up to its reputation as a super-food: Not only is it high in protein, but the protein it supplies is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all essential amino acids for protein building. Quinoa is one of only two grains on the planet to boast a complete protein source! Quinoa's amino acid profile is well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans and those concerned about adequate protein intake. Quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients.

Many concerned parents wonder if their children are getting the recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals. Quinoa is a smart food for both kids and adults. It is truly a "supergrain" because of the wonderful nutrition it offers. Naturally gluten-free, it is a good source of potassium, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, and vitamin E to name a few. Quinoa is a natural antioxidant and its complex carbohydrate make up, promotes slow digestion and is ideal for diabetics.

There are many delicious ways to enjoy quinoa. Serve as a warm breakfast cereal; use whole quinoa as a pilaf, side dish, with beans instead of rice, in stews or soups or in your favorite recipe. Whole Quinoa can be popped like popcorn – a favorite of Bolivian children. Children may also be intrigued to know that NASA has been working with quinoa as a space food since the 1970’s. Adding quinoa flour or flakes to cookies and baked goods adds both fiber and nutrients, while maintaining a taste kids love.

Quinoa is generally well tolerated, with very few allergies associated with its consumption; It is a smart way to broaden children’s culinary and nutritional experiences. It can be found in most health food stores and many local groceries.

The Whole Grains Council has named Quinoa the Grain of the Month for the month of March. Have fun experimenting with quinoa. Quinoa Raisin Cookies (shown above) are a great way to get you started enjoying quinoa. (Guest Blogger Kim Wirth, RN, BSN, is a pediatric nurse at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas; she lives with her husband near Austin, Texas. In addition to being a mother of three, she is also co-owner of World Wise Grains, makers of gluten-free Arzu, a quinoa-buckwheat-legume blend.)

The Stamp is Ready for its Close-up!

kberrini — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:21:02 -0800

A little bit of powder… another spritz of hairspray… one more quick check in the mirror to make sure everything is just so… And voila! Perfection! Not us, of course, nor are we predicting what an Oscar nominee’s final moments of primping must be like as they prepare to walk up that famous red carpet. We’re talking about the Whole Grain Stamp, which has been getting quite a bit of on-air attention lately – color us thrilled!

We confess, we love it when the Whole Grain Stamp gets recognition, and it almost doesn’t matter how or where it happens. The Stamp appears in print time after time, appearing in an average of 200 news articles each year, both as an in-text reference and as story-related graphics. Bloggers write about how happy they are to learn that the Stamp shows exactly how much whole grain they’re getting in each serving of their favorite whole grain products. And with over 3,400 products now using the Stamp in 20 different countries around the world, the chances are good that you’ve seen it walking through the aisles of your local grocery store.

This latest round of attention has brought us off the products and out of the pages and straight onto your TV. We shouldn’t be surprised – Oprah Winfrey, the grand dame of television herself, introduced the then three-month-old Stamp to the world on her show back in May of 2005 by saying “…If you still aren’t sure which of your favorite foods are really made with whole grains, look soon for these Stamps on products. They’re going to help take out the guesswork.” Close to five years later, we’ve certain done our best to help consumers help themselves to healthier whole grain options as often as possible. Who wouldn’t want to live up to Oprah’s praise! But sometimes, it’s almost as if we forgot how good the Stamp looks on TV (which is silly, since we’ve got nothing to fear from HDTV!), and it’s both delightful and refreshing that we’ve been reminded we’re just as picture perfect as Sunday night’s stars.

If you happened to be watching the Today Show on January 28th, you might have caught nutrition expert Joy Bauer in a wonderful segment on whole grain pasta. Not only did we love seeing some of our Member’s products on screen, the segment also included a strong endorsement of the Whole Grain Stamp. How strong? A close-up of the Stamp graphic fills the screen for something like 10 seconds! In morning prime time!! And then, when Meredith Vieira asked, "What do you need to make sure is on the label?" Joy answered, "The simplest way is to look for this Stamp." OMGPON1ES!1!! *satisfied sigh* Yeah, that one was a thrill…

The Stamp has also made appearances on some regional shows as well. In February, we were contacted by WSKG-TV in Binghamton, NY to see if they could use some Stamp graphic in an episode of their Move It! kids show. This show is especially cool – who wouldn’t want to go on a pond safari at Finch Hollow Nature Center, or take part in a salsa dance competition? The hosts of the show are kids, the show is for kids, and although plenty of adults make appearances (like players from the Binghamton Senators hockey team!), it’s definitely a show we’d want our 10-year-olds watching if we lived nearer. Thankfully, the Move It! folks are pretty savvy and have posted all their episodes online. You can watch the episode featuring the Whole Grain Stamp by clicking here; the Stamp appears at 15:51.

And then, just yesterday, the Stamp appeared on televisions throughout New Hampshire during the “Positive Parenting” feature on WMUR-TV’s news at noon. Alice Mullen, a Family and Consumer Resources educator with UNH Cooperative Extension, spoke about how parents can include whole grains in their child’s diet and our sources tell us the Whole Grain Stamp appeared on screen almost the whole time! The smart folks at the UNH Cooperative Extension reproduce the tips and trips presented during the “Positive Parenting” segments for their web site, so be sure to check them out here.

What’s next for the Stamp, you ask? An Oscars' after party, of course! Truth be told, we’re never sure where we’ll end up next. Maybe you’ll see the Stamp on a billboard the next time you’re driving to the airport. Maybe some Hollywood props master will decide products with the Stamp absolutely have to be in that big family film you heard is coming out next summer. Maybe Oprah will invite us to join her back on the air this spring to celebrate the Stamp’s fifth birthday (hinthinthint). Wherever we go, we’ll be bringing the word of whole grain goodness with us. Now pass the champagne – and the popcorn, of course! (Kara)

How Much Whole Grain is Enough?

wgc admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:56:48 -0800

Our Whole Grain Hotline answers phone and email questions about whole grains every day, from across the country and around the world. Every once in a while a question comes along that we just have to share, because we suspect many of you out there may have the same thoughts running through your heads.

So here’s today’s question, from Melissa M., who emailed us saying,

Hello there! I have a question about the grams of whole grain. Is having a lot of whole grain bad for you? I had some Post Shredded Wheat Cereal and I didn’t realize that there are 49 grams of whole grain per serving! And I had two bowls that day LOL, one for breakfast and one for lunch, so about 98 grams of whole grain right there! I was just curious if this was waaaaay toooo much for any form of diet. Is there such a thing as too much whole grain?
Thank you, Melissa

Here’s what we answered Melissa:

No, there's absolutely no "upper limit" for whole grain.

In fact, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend making at least half your grains whole, then go on to say, "more whole grains, up to all the grains recommended, may be selected..." So if you're a typical person who should eat 6 servings of grain each day, all 6 could be whole grain.

So how many grams is that? 16g is the amount of whole grain in a slice of 100% whole grain bread, and is the MINIMUM whole grain serving. Most "label servings" -- the amount on the package label -- count as two "MyPyramid" or "Dietary Guidelines" servings because of differences in the definition of serving between FDA and USDA (don't get me started...)

Let's say you adhere to the Dietary Guidelines and eat the following whole grain servings:

1 cup shredded wheat (breakfast) [49g, counts as two MyPyramid servings]
1 cup shredded wheat (lunch) [49g, counts as two MyPyramid servings]
a cup of whole grain pasta (dinner) [56g, counts as two MyPyramid servings]
154g whole grains total from 6 MyPyramid servings

Hope my math didn't make things MORE confusing. You can ignore it all if you want and just be assured that more is better when it comes to whole grains.
Best regards, Cynthia

Two bowls of cereal and a cup of pasta by themselves wouldn’t be a very healthy diet. Of course Melissa will want to add plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, and other good fresh, whole foods to the whole grains above. Since all those whole grains listed above only total up to 538 calories, she’s got plenty of leeway for all the other delicious whole foods her body needs.

100% whole grain cereals and pasta make a great base for a day’s meals. Note that Melissa’s not getting her whole grains from cookies and cakes, and kidding herself that she can eat as much of those as she wants. The bottom line? 48 grams of whole grain is the daily minimum, and just a starting point for good health. Melissa's doing just fine. (Cindy)

Happy Pancake Month, and belated Pancake Day!

kberrini — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:16:41 -0800

February is National Pancake Month, and with yesterday being Fat Tuesday, here at the Whole Grains Council we decided it was the perfect time to suggest some delicious whole grain alternatives to the classic pancake recipe.

Pancakes have long been a staple of the American breakfast, but with all the butter, sugar, and refined flour, they’re not really the healthiest choice to start the day. This is precisely why pancakes are traditionally eaten on the day before the Christian season of Lent begins – rich ingredients like sugar and butter were usually restricted as part of ritual Lenten fasting. (And yes, that’s why we call it Fat Tuesday!)

Fortunately, there are many fantastic ways to make pancakes using various whole grains that give the classic pancake a delicious makeover. So last night, I got into the (slightly healthier) Mardi Gras spirit, and tried out two recipes – one using cornmeal with some all-purpose flour, and one using oatmeal and whole grain pastry flour. In each recipe, I used olive oil in place of butter, and used a bit less sugar than called for. And I added some cinnamon to the Oatmeal ones – delish!

A simple way to adapt any pancake recipe is to replace some or all of the refined flour with whole wheat pastry flour – it’s ground to be lighter than regular whole wheat flour, so you’ll scarcely notice a difference! Consider replacing some or all of the butter with olive oil, and using applesauce or cinnamon to sweeten instead of sugar. Applesauce can also be used to replace eggs, and adding fruit like blueberries is another great way to make pancakes part of a healthy breakfast. Yum! (Molli)

Cornmeal Pancakes (Adapted from The Food Librarian)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, milk, butter, and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).
3. Spoon batter onto a greased griddle or pan over medium heat. After about 2 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Oatmeal Pancakes (Adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles)

2 cups old-fashioned oats (I used quick oats and it worked just fine)
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup whole grain flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons olive oil
Vegetable oil for the pan

1. Combine the oats and 2 cups of the buttermilk in a medium bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk, the eggs, and then the butter into the oat mixture. Fold the flour mixture into the batter.
3. Brush a large nonstick skillet or griddle with vegetable oil; heat over medium heat. Spoon scant 1/4 cups of the batter onto the pan. Cook until the sides of the pancakes start to look dry and the bottom is golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip, then continue to cook until the second side is also golden brown, about 2 minutes.

“New Study” Harks Back 6 Years

wgc admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:58:27 -0800

We’ve had several people ask us about a new study on adolescents’ consumption of whole grains, that appeared in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in January. It’s been getting quite a bit of play in the trade press, with articles summarizing like this: “A new study has uncovered barriers for adolescents in reaching the recommended whole grain intake of three [servings] a day – including lack of availability and taste preference.”

There’s one big problem with this study: It uses data from 1999-2004 – data that are 6 to 10 years old. A lot has changed in the world of whole grains during the last 6 to10 years, and availability is hugely different today than it was in 2004.

In the year 2000, just 164 new whole grain products were introduced worldwide, according to Mintel’s Global New Product Database. By 2003, the figure had inched up to 417 new whole grain product introductions – but after that, the whole grain market virtually exploded, with 2883 new whole grain launches in 2008.

In some supermarket categories – such as breakfast cereals – there are now more whole grain products than refined ones, in fact, and many chain restaurants now offer whole grain options, day in and day out.

The photo on this page, of a Whole Foods market “whole grains bar,” illustrates just how much things have changed in the past six years. (Thanks to Mike Orlando, former WGC chairman, for spotting this in San Diego.) Okay, granted it’s Whole Foods, and not FrugalMart, but who even knew there were this many kinds of whole grains in 2004, let alone seeing them for sale, ready to eat, all in one place?

While supermarkets and restaurants can still do better in making “at least half their grains whole,” the “new study” does not represent what’s happening, on the ground, today. Someone in our office said, “Isn’t this sort of like looking at 1999-2004 data and saying, “Not many adolescents are using social networking tools. We need more availability!” “

The real whole grain story starts in 2005, with update of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the introduction of the Whole Grain Stamp. Data from NPD Group show that consumption overall rose 20% from 2005 to 2008, after remaining steady from 1998 to 2005, and among 18-34 year olds whole grain consumption rose a whopping 38% during that same period.

What’s really happening with whole grains and adolescents today? Kids are getting used to the fuller, nuttier taste of whole grains, which are more widely available every day. Denise Snow, an Orange County (CA) High School cafeteria manager quoted in the February 7, 2010 New York Times, gives us a much better snapshot than this old data: ““When we went to whole-wheat pizza, the kids fussed for a while and we lost some of them,” Ms. Snow said. “But now they don’t say a thing, and pretty much everyone is back to eating them.” (Cindy)

Friday Fun

kberrini — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:22:16 -0800

Otherwise known as, We Interrupt The Last Hour Of Your Friday Workday… for the following random fun collected from around the interweb! As you know by now, I’m a bit off-the-wall, so I hope you’ll also enjoy these little tidbits ‘cause they certainly brightened my day.

First up, we take a short drive down to Providence, Rhode Island where Chef Walter Potenza, a longtime friend of Oldways, has added Culinary Arts Teacher to his long list of accomplishments. In addition to owning Walter's Ristorante d'Italia, Chef Walter has hosted cooking classes for over14 years in both Italy and in a cooking “academy” housed in the same building as his prestigious Federal Hill restaurant. This new venture finds him instructing high school students at the Providence Career and Technical High School’s Four Seasons Café. Unlike the Home Ec classes that many of us remember from middle or high school, these students choose their majors during Freshman year, follow a curriculum developed by the National Restaurant Association, are driven by career aspirations that open to them immediately after graduating, and may even transfer credits to culinary academies like Johnson & Wales University. Be sure to watch the video that accompanies the story linked above, for a behind the scenes look at the Four Seasons Café (and some great quotes from Chef Walter, of course).

We continue our drive down the coast to stop in Washington, D.C., where oatmeal is popping up on menus in some atypical venues. Maybe D.C. restaurateurs were motivated by our promotion of oatmeal as January’s Grain of the Month, or maybe they’ve realized how many fantastic health benefits they can serve to their customers while serving this great grain. Whatever the reason, it’s great to hear that McDonald's and Caribou Coffee are adding oatmeal to their other breakfast items. I couldn’t find any information on the McDonald’s page on this new offering, which leads me to believe they’re testing the market response, so if you’ve tried their oatmeal please leave a comment on this post and let us know how it was! Caribou Coffee’s new handcrafted oatmeal comes in two varieties, Regular or 7 Grain, and you can order it in five different flavors like Cranberry Orange and Very Berry. It's great that the newest addition to our list of Chain Restaurants serving whole grains is rockin' the hot oat breakfasts! Speaking of our list of Chain Restaurants serving whole grains, The Washington Post Express Night Out article also mentions oat offerings from The Cereal Bowl and Starbucks, who have offered whole grain options for close to two years now.

Finally, we fly up to Canada (you remembered your passport, right?) for a news story that echoes our post from a few months ago about the beauty of real bread. I don’t covet much in this world, but I would be so thrilled to get a knock on my door and find Comber, Ontario farmer Richard Thibert delivering loaves of his stone ground multi-grain bread! According to this story in The Windsor Star, the Thibert farm not only grows its own hard red winter wheat and soft white winter wheat to turn into tasty breads and mixes, they also mill their grains and bake everything on-site. Fan-freakin’-tastic!

Have a great weekend! (Kara)

I’ve Got A Wing Man

kberrini — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:59:15 -0800

No, not that kind of wing man! What I mean is, my man is a wing man. The Man loves chicken wings. Whether it’s making them at home or ordering them from various places when we go out, I think chicken wings might actually be one of his favorite foods. I can understand this, being a habitual French Toast eater myself – just about every time we head out for breakfast or brunch, that’s what ends up on my plate. But while I enjoy the fact that ordering French Toast somewhere means I don’t have to do the cooking and cleaning, I think The Man enjoys perfecting his wings almost as much as he enjoys eating the results.

As we prepare to open our house Sunday for the last football game of the season, we started narrowing down our menu and picking and choosing the really fun, fantastic recipes that we’ll enjoy making almost as much as we’ll enjoy eating. I’ve been meaning to try a few recipes meant to serve a crowd, but Game Day also equals easy to eat finger food in my mind, so we figured we’d make up a few things intended to feed a handful of people and call it a day. A few days ago we realized that almost everyone we invited plans on showing up. I feel loved and all, but how the heck are we going to comfortably seat 12 to 20 people in our little housie? How are we going to feed them all? And, more importantly, what will we feed them?!?

Enter the chicken wing, and The Man’s tried and true methods for making them fairly healthy and abundantly tasty. It’s time consuming to prepare that many wings, which is why we plan to start as far ahead as possible. We already put in the order at our butcher to ensure we’ll get good quality wings from good quality, local chickens. We know the method by heart – clean wings, then steam to lock in moisture and reduce fat, cool and clean again if necessary, then double bread, bake, sauce, and bake. I told you it was time consuming! Trust me when I say it’s the best way to make chicken wings, and this is coming from someone who never really liked wings before we started making them. Don’t believe me? I’m giving you the method of preparation in detail and all the recipes we use, everything from the breadcrumbs straight on through the sauce.

I know you’re wondering, What else are they making and how on earth does any of this have to do with whole grains? To start, we’re breaking out the slow cooker and I’m finally going to give pulled pork a try. You can’t have pulled pork without great rolls, so there is a whole grain potato roll I’m going to make – and yes, I promise I’ll share that with you later! Tasty fresh veggies will be served with a new yogurt cheese dip recipe, and if it comes out right, I’ll be sure to get it added to the recipe section of the beautiful new Oldways website. And there will be some of The Man’s famous dry-rubbed and smoked ribs. Supposedly you can make an actual snack serving bowl out of snack mix, but I’m not sure if I can fit that in. Finally, there will be the wings, which will be double breaded in (you guessed it) whole grain breadcrumbs.

How are you planning to get your grain on while the game’s on? No matter which team you’re cheering for, we can all celebrate a little healthier come Sunday. Enjoy! (Kara)

Baked Hot ‘n Tangy Wings

24 to 30 chicken wings and drumettes
water
1/4 c. distilled white vinegar*
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp hot sauce (we like Sriracha or Frank’s Red Hot), depending on preference
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. paprika
3 c. whole wheat breadcrumbs, plain or seasoned**
3 eggs
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions for steaming wings:
*The vinegar in the water doesn’t change the flavor of the wings. It keeps the fat from clinging to the inside of your pot, making clean-up much easier!

Place water and 1/4 c. distilled white vinegar in a large pot with steamer insert. After cleaning wings of any undesirable skin or extra fat, place in steamer basket and bring water to a boil.
Steam wings for 10 minutes. Remove from steamer insert and place on cookie sheet in fridge until cool, at least 1 hour.

Directions for Hot ‘n Tangy Sauce:

While wings are cooling, place butter, hot sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, cayenne, and paprika in a small sauce pan. Heat over low temperature until butter is completely melted, stirring occasionally to combine ingredients thoroughly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Directions for dredging and baking wings:
**If using plain breadcrumbs, mix 2 Tbsp any one or a mix of the following spices for added flavor: Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, coarse ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger.

Place breadcrumbs in a bowl and set aside. In a second bowl, beat 3 eggs together. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 450.
Roll wings in beaten eggs one at a time, then place in breadcrumbs and gently shake bowl until thoroughly coated. Place each wing on greased cookie sheet until all wings are coated once. Gently repeat dredging process with all wings.
Bake wings at 450 for 6 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom side. Remove from oven, flip wings, then bake for another 6 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom side.
Remove wings from oven. With a basting brush, apply sauce to one side of every wing, then bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven, flip wings, sauce remaining side, then bake for another 6 minutes. Serve warm.

Support "Share Our Strength" by Sending an Oatmail

wgc admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:56:49 -0800

Want to have some fun while helping to wipe out child hunger? Quaker’s Candace Mueller Medina, today’s Guest Blogger, is here to tell us how you can support Share Our Strength while celebrating Oatmeal Month on the Quaker website. Send an “Oatmail” to a friend today!

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Despite the fact that this maxim is by now conventional wisdom edging toward cliché, it’s possible that we still think less about breakfast than any other mealtime. Maybe our minds are too foggy in the morning to carefully consider all of our breakfast options, or we’d rather spend an extra 10 minutes in bed than in the kitchen. Whatever the reason, we often neglect breakfast as a legitimate meal in its own right.

Oh, how boring we’ve let breakfast become! We hypnotically dole cereals into our bowls like zombies with bed-head, scarf down an egg sandwich behind the wheel while we concentrate instead on the defeating row of tail lights ahead of us, or absentmindedly chomp on an oversized bagel while we get set to tackle our morning email. Breakfast has become an almost-invisible afterthought accompanying our other morning activities.

But if breakfast sets the tone for the day, then one mindless meal quite likely begets the next. In contrast, when we eat mindfully, we pay attention to what our bodies need and potentially make healthier food choices throughout the day. In turn, these healthy choices set us up for making equally deliberate and nutritionally-sound decisions when we eat next.

Breakfast not only offers a natural opportunity to start earning quality nutrition points but can also be a pleasant way to awaken your senses as you begin your day. Whole-grain choices abound. Whole-grain ready-to-eat cereals, breads, and oatmeal are inherently good choices for adding fiber to your daily diet and most are fortified with additional vitamins and minerals.

What’s more, they also lend themselves to nutritious and delicious (and sometimes unexpected) pairings. While white toast with butter or sugary jelly is neither particularly healthy nor especially exciting, multi-grain bread with a no-sugar-added peanut butter topped with grilled bananas or peaches is good for you and gives you a meal that’s worth savoring.

Or how about vegetables? Though often ignored altogether before noon, they can also be counted on to liven up the standard breakfast. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) now recommends upwards of 9 servings of vegetables a day, yet many of us are way below that benchmark. Why not make your egg-and-cheese sandwich with a whole-grain bun and add spinach and sprouts? Try mixing pumpkin purée and cinnamon with your oatmeal, or add diced veggies and an unsweetened multi-grain cereal to cottage cheese. Clearly, there are bolder breakfast dimensions to be explored.

In this spirit of mindful and experiential eating, Quaker is encouraging consumers to enliven their breakfast routine with adventurous oatmeal “creations” to help start their day. Starting January 25 (today!) you can describe your upcoming day (or that of a friend) and Quaker will create a virtual, customized bowl of oatmeal designed to help you meet the demands of your specific day, on the Quaker website. With surprising toppings like kiwi, avocado, and coconut, these unexpected twists on classic flavors put the “meal” back in oatmeal and get you thinking mindfully about breakfast again.

The virtual bowls can serve as real-life oatmeal inspiration in the morning to jumpstart your day ahead. Whether you’ve got a big day at work or your friend has a big date night ahead, each inventive topping combo is tailored to give you a fun way to start your day.

You can share your just-for-you bowl with others by uploading the creation to your facebook page or Twitterfeed, or send the perfect oatmeal creation to a friend through Quaker’s “Oatmails” (oatmeal emails). What’s more, for each Oatmail you send, Quaker is donating $1 (up to $25,000) to the national nonprofit Share Our Strength (SOS), an organization dedicated to eradicating child hunger. By sending oatmails to friends and families, you’re not only calling others to re-think and re-awaken their own breakfast, you’re also helping hungry kids start their day off right, too.

It’s time to take back breakfast. It doesn’t take much to make breakfast basics more exciting and possibly even more nutritious. And if you take the time to think mindfully about your meal and your needs as well as exercise a bit more culinary creativity in the morning, you’re more likely to follow suit throughout the day. (Guest Blogger Candace Mueller Medina, Communications Manager, Quaker Foods & Snacks)

Happy National Granola Bar Day

wgc admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:36:54 -0800

Here we are, two-thirds of the way through Oats and Oatmeal Month, and my favorite food holiday calendar over on TheNibble tells me it’s National Granola Bar Day.

I mentioned to a friend that I was making granola bars to honor the occasion and she said, “You can make granola bars?”” It wasn’t that she was questioning my capabilities – it was more of a universal doubt, as in “Real people can make granola bars? They don’t only come in a box?”

It always amuses (and at the same time saddens) me to see how amazed many people are when they realize that it’s easy to make your own version of many store-bought foods. Sure they all know people can make cookies at home, and maybe cakes (if you buy a mix), but granola bars? Hamburger buns? English muffins? All of these are possible, but today, on January 20th, granola bars are the star of the show.

First a definition of “granola bar” is in order. Since oats are one of the key ingredients of any granola, we’re defining granola bar to be any chewy, bar-shaped concoction that contains oats. Granola bars are also usually very dense, composed of chunks of stuff with something sticky holding them together. If there are expanses of plain dough, you’re getting suspiciously close to cookie territory.

MIT’s website credits inventor Stanley Mason with creating the first granola bar. This is the guy who invented the first disposable contoured diaper, the squeezable ketchup bottle, and the dental floss dispenser, so it’s not hard to picture him coming up with the granola bar. On the other hand, a fellow named Herrick Kimball swears he came up with the idea first, in 1975, when he was just 17. Mason died in 2006, so it’s unlikely the matter will ever be resolved (though Wikipedia sides with Mason).

Whoever invented the concept, you can invent your own variation and take credit. The basic ingredients are:

Oats
Other grains (flakes, wheat germ, etc.)
Chunky things (dried fruits, nuts, seeds, coconut, etc.)
Sweetener (honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc.)
Fat or oil (nut butter, butter, oil, coconut oil)
Flavorings (vanilla, cinnamon

The basic instructions are:

mix everything together
press into a pan
cook for a little while and cool
cut into bars

You can do this. Your kids can do this. You can have fun – and the kids can wow their friends when they bring their own granola bars to school. (Or you can wow the dweeb in the next cubicle, at work.)

We recommend you start by trying an existing recipe to get the hang of it, then have fun experimenting. When you make your own, you can keep the sweetness to a reasonable level, for a much healthier bar. The good folks at Whole Grain Gourmet have given us a recipe for Coconut Almond Granola Bars, with a traditional granola-bar consistency, and Multigrain Energy Bars, a denser, higher-protein take more like commercial energy bars (only better!).

Check out Whole Grain Gourmet (and our own recipe pages) for lots of wonderful whole grain recipes. Even after National Granola Bar Day is over, you’ll want to be ready for National Banana Bread Day (February 23), Oatmeal-Nut Waffles Day (March 11), National Pretzel Day (April 26) and any other excuse to experiment with new whole grain recipes! (Cindy)