During a recent check-in with a De Las Mías comadre, Laura (not her real name), shared that since getting on the De Las Mías app she has started making healthy changes for her whole family.

One of the steps she took was to swap white flour tortillas for whole-wheat flour tortillas. She was proud of herself, she said, for making healthy changes. She recognized that this new way of life was affecting her whole family. (¡Eso, Comadre!)

She giggled when she told me that her little boy asked, “Mom, why is my tortilla brown?”  

Her answer to her jito was that brown tortillas are better for you than white ones.

Laura’s little boy is smart because he knows that sometimes when we do things we have to know why. Knowing why is a good motivator.  

Share the benefits of eating healthy foods with your family.  Here are some good reasons to eat whole grains:

• Whole grains have important nutrients for your body such as protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins
• Whole-wheat flour is better than white flour because when the grain is refined from brown to white, many nutrients are lost
• Whole-grain and whole-wheat flour contains all parts of the grain so you get all the nutrients that the bran, germ and endosperm contain
• Whole grains may help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer, just to name a few
• Whole grains may help you maintain a healthy weight
• Whole grains are high in fiber, and give you an easy way to add more fiber to your diet. Fiber helps you digest your food and it’s good for your panza

Here are some whole grains to add to your healthy eating adventures:

• 100% whole wheat tortillas (¡Qué vivan las brown tortillas!)
• 100% whole wheat breads (Look for “whole wheat,” “100% whole grain” or “whole (other grain)” as the first ingredient)
• Whole-grain pasta
• Whole oats/oatmeal
• Whole-grain corn (from corn meal, not corn flour)
• Blue corn tortillas!
• Popcorn (¡Eso! Kids love popcorn!)
• Quinoa (food of the Incan gods)
• Brown rice
• Wild rice

Look for whole-grain recipes in the De Las Mías app!  

Got whole-grain recipes to share? Send them to us and we will choose some to include in La Cocina!

¡Unidas for a Healthy Life!