You are what you Wheat!

The other day I was in Chipotle, Yes I eat chipotle; and the boy working behind the counter commented on my definition and asked me what I ate on a normal basis. Instead of listing what I ate, I asked, "what does your diet look like?" He started down the list of what he had that day and began with wheat bread. I stopped him right there. I said, "chances are, you're not eating wheat bread." I then directed him to read my blog so if you are reading you'll understand what I meant.

When grocery shopping most people probably choose wheat bread believing that it is a better option than white bread. I bet that most people just grab a brand of wheat bread without looking at the label to actually see whats in it. Lets start by understanding what separates actual whole wheat bread from white bread. First thing when looking for whole wheat bread that you search for is that it is 100% whole grain bread. The best way to know is if when you look on the ingredients label and the first ingredient is "Whole Wheat Flour"you are probably getting whole grain bread. Labels on food products always list the ingredients in order from most to least. You also want to read the rest of the ingredients to see how many of them you can understand. Remember, the least amount of ingredients the better.
The benefit of whole grain is that it includes the endosperm, bran, germ, and semolina, opposed to white flour that only contains endosperm which is mostly a carbohydrate. Of course, the nutrients from the grain are largely in the germ, bran and semolina; particularly, the germ.

Now lets talk about how to differentiate actual wheat bread from the fake stuff. When grocery shopping you can't tell just by looking which bread offers more nutritional value. As I stated before, look at the label. If the first ingredient is "whole wheat flour", you are probably on the right track. What to watch out for, "Enriched wheat flour". Enriched wheat flour is basically ground up endosperm with a bit of wheat flour and possibly coloring to make it light brown. It contains about as much nutritional value as white bread.

My recommendation, choose Sprouted Grain Bread. "When a grain sprouts, it is a growing organism. It therefore is more nutritious than a dried grain." (fooducate) Ezekial Brand bread is an excellent choice of sprouted grain bread. You can find Ezekial bread at most grocery stores. You can also make your own bread. I own a Vitamix blender and with it I grind up 100% oats into flour for making pancakes, biscuits, waffles, banana bread, etc. That way, I know whats going into my bread and I don't have to worry about extra additives or preservatives. For those of you allergic to Gluten, this is also a great gluten free alternative.