To make sure a product is whole, you can check the ingredients list. The first thing mentioned is the ingredient most of which is present. If “wheat flour” is listed first, the bread is browned. If it says something with “flour”, it is whole wheat. In some supermarkets, the bread has a handy “fiber meter” on the package.
Pasta and couscous can also be called “wholemeal” if they are made from 100% wholemeal flour. The same goes for crackers, toast, and cookies. “A product that isn’t 100% whole wheat flour shouldn’t be called ‘whole wheat’,” explains Groenenberg. However, it is permissible to indicate how much wholemeal flour was used. For example: crackers with 50% wholemeal flour and 50% flour.
Give yourself time. Your taste buds need some taste to get used to the taste.
But now the key question: How can you eat more whole grains? “Make a ‘food change’ by replacing your white grain products with whole grain products,” suggests Groenenberg. “For example, make the switch from white to wholemeal bread, from white to wholemeal pasta or from white to wholemeal couscous.”
De Weijer advises to read the labels and not to be fooled. “Also pay attention to the nutritional values. That’s the table with calories, fats and proteins. It says how much fiber is in the product.” There is a rule of thumb with bread: at least 4.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams. With rice and pasta, the amount of fiber varies by brand. But even here, the more the better.
Some people don’t like wholemeal pasta and bread. De Weijer: “Give yourself some time. Your taste buds need some taste to get used to the taste. If you still don’t like it, you could mix it up. Half white rice and half brown rice, for example, and slowly build up to brown rice.” .
What if you ate low in carbohydrates, and therefore almost no bread, pasta and rice? “For people who want to eat fewer carbohydrates: There are also low-carb crackers and high-fiber breads,” says De Weijer. “It also pays to read the labels carefully.”
