Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way

Like most people, I'm always trying to painlessly integrate whole grains into my diet. When I saw the cover of this book, I was so excited. The grains on the cover looked amazing. What I didn't realize is that the hardest thing about the recipes isn't finding the long hours to cook the grains, but rather finding them in the stores and being able to afford them on a regular basis. Of the grains mentioned, barley, quinoa, oats, and whole wheat flour are the easiest to find. Without ordering online, things like amaranth and triticale are impossible to find. Perhaps these things would be available in a more metropolitan area, with more healthfood stores, but they might not. I felt frustrated that 90% of the recipes in the book were completely inaccessible to me. After reading this book, I felt like the easiest way to add whole grains into my diet would be by eating more whole grain varieties of what I already eat. I purchased whole wheat varieties of pasta, couscous, and pita bread on my next shopping trips and through trial and error found brands that my family liked. The pasta and couscous were easy choices, but we had to work to find a whole wheat pita that we liked. We've also begun eating short grain brown rice at more meals rather than white basmati or jasmine, however, we look forward to trying brown varieties of those as well. In that we began trying new whole grain products, this book was helpful. It really raises awareness of how good whole grains are for you and how good they can taste. But if you actually want a book to cook from, this is not the one.