Good News in Carb Country

You may have noticed that I've been harsh on starchy, refined carbs. Breads, muffins, rolls, bagels, cakes, crackers, cookies, pastas, etc., that are made with primarily refined white flour simply do not deliver the nutritional payoff for your calorie buck. Since this type of flour is stripped of the wheat's bran, vitamins and minerals (although some of the latter two are often added back in), pretty much all that's left are the calories--and unless you're running a daily marathon, too much of those will only thwart your weight-loss efforts.

But the good news is that food manufacturers have responded to the call for more healthful carbs. Today, there are all manner of whole-wheat and whole-grain pastas, breads, cereals, crackers and even cookies available in your supermarket that not only give you good nutrition, but actually taste good! Manufacturers like Barilla and Sara Lee, for example, offer both full-on whole-grain products or products that combine whole grains and refined grains to provide tasty and healthful alternatives to the pure-white stuff. That's progress!

Not only that, but you can find similar products in mainstream restaurants now. We were at The Old Spaghetti Factory last night, and I was pleased to see that diners can now order whole-wheat and gluten-free pasta in addition to traditional white pasta. And I was happy to note that one can find out complete nutritional information on all of this restaurant's offerings on its website (http://www.osf.com/menu/nutrition.htm). (I was not, however, so pleased to discover that there are still trans fats in some of its menu items, but progress can be slow sometimes.)

Let me add that, while these are steps in the right direction, I don't always want to be slapped in the face with the number of fat grams or calories in the dish I'm ordering (especially if I simply want to indulge for that one meal). But I do like the fact that this information is available, especially online, for viewing before I actually go to the restaurant. And perhaps it keeps the restaurants honest if they have to be accountable to us diners for the value of what they're heaping on our plates.

So be aware of the options in carbs that are being presented to you these days. And if you have the chance to try a whole-grain or whole-grain-blend carb product, give it a shot--let me know if there are any especially good ones out there, too.