We’ve all heard of the advice to eat more whole wheat or whole grain, be it bread, rice, pasta or cereal. But what does whole grain really mean and why are they better?
Whole grains are seeds of plants such as wheat, corn, wheat, barley, and rice. Whole grains consist of 3 parts: Bran, Germ and Endosperm. Unlike grains that have been milled, which usually only contains the Endosperm, whole grains include all parts of the seeds that are high in fiber and anti-oxidants. Refined grains, such as white rice or white flour, have both the bran and germ removed from the grain. Although vitamins and minerals are added back into refined grains after the milling process, they still don’t have as many nutrients as whole grains do, and they don’t provide as much fiber naturally.
Based on independent studies, those who consume more whole grains tend to have a healthier body weight and the possibility of gaining weight is smaller than those who don’t consume whole grains. It is recommended to have 3 servings of whole grain food each day to help fulfill the daily nutritional needs.
Knowing about the goodness of whole grains, I’ve been trying to incorporate it to my daily meals. Usually, I’d have a whole wheat sandwich for breakfast with tuna, peanut butter or canola spread (whichever is available in my fridge :)) But I also love having a bowl of crunchy cereal with cold milk in the morning which, to me, is a more practical alternative whenever I don’t have much time to prepare breakfast. The problem is, many cereals I tried contain way too much sugar and they’re not whole grains either. I’ve tried a few imported ones which are not only expensive, but tasted kinda yucky to me 😀
Which why I was happy to learn that Nestle launched their newest cereal product, Nestle Fitnesse. It is made out of whole grains and contains 0 fat. It also has plenty of nutrients that are good for us, such as Vitamin A, D, E, B1, B12, C, Calcium, Iron, Zinc and many more.
The best thing about it is, it tastes good! It does contain sugar, which gives it just the right amount of sweetness, and is crunchy and doesn’t have a weird smell like those other whole grain cereals I’ve tasted.
Because it’s low in fat, consuming Nestle Fitnesse regularly can help you maintain an ideal weight or even lose some. They currently have a 14 day program, which is a meal-plan that you can follow as a start to a healthier lifestyle. The meal plan is like this:
Breakfast, a bowl of Nestle Fitnesse with 125 ml of skim milk, 1 type of fruit and tea or coffee
Lunch, a well-balanced meal such as rice with vegetables and meat dis, complete with fruit and dairy products (cheese or yogurt)
Dinner, a bowl of Nestle Fitnesse with 125 ml skim milk, a plate of vegetables or low-fat soup and a tub of low-fat yogurt.
Please click here for more info on their 14 day program.
To be honest, I don’t know if I could do the 14 day program, though it sounds simple enough, because I enjoy too much variety in my diet 😀 But I am happy enough to find a cereal that tastes good, makes me feel good because I know I’m doing something good for my body 🙂 I am now considering keeping a box in the office so I could have a ‘power snack’ when hunger strikes mid afternoon.
Nestle Fitnesse is available in most major supermarkets and hypermarkets nationwide and retails for approx. Rp. 32.000
Have you tried Nestle Fitnesse? Or do you consume other things to fulfill your whole grain needs?
