Announcing JFI – Oct ’08 – Whole Grains

Foxtail Millet


The definition of whole grains according to The Whole Grains Council is as follows:
Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed.

Whole grains are the seeds of certain plants that retain all the three parts of the kernel viz., bran, germ and endosperm. These fiber rich grains are also good source of complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, making them an integral part of a healthy, low-fat diet. We all know that a high-fiber diet is not only filling, but also keeps one full for a long time. Also, eating whole grains significantly lowers the risk of heart disease and diabetes. These are only a few of many rewards a wholesome diet offers. With such unrivaled health benefits, there is no better time than now to include more whole grains in our diet.

Whole grains have been a part of older civilizations. They have been a reliable source of food, in addition to being nutrient rich. Our knowledgeable ancestors included them in their everyday diets. Though this practice has been lost over time and has been replaced with refined grains and flours, people are now becoming aware of the importance of a nutrient dense diet.

'Whole Grains' is my choice of ingredient for Jihva for Ingredients. It would only sound silly if I introduce this admired, popular event to my fellow bloggers. Indira who authors the famed and celebrated blog Mahanandi, is the creator of this event. Each month the hosts choose a natural ingredient and bloggers enthusiastically respond to it. What better natural ingredient can there be than whole grains?

Taking this event as an opportunity, I invite you all to join me in rediscovering the value of whole grains. Here is a list of whole grains that I know of. I am sure this list is partial. Please let me know if there are others.

  • Amaranth

  • Barley

  • Buckwheat

  • Bulgur (cracked wheat)

  • Brown rice

  • Corn

  • Millet (Foxtail, pearl and finger millet)

  • Oats

  • Quinoa

  • Rye

  • Teff

  • Triticale

  • Wheat (bulgur, farro, spelt, kamut, cracked wheat)

  • Wild rice

Here are the guidelines for your participation:

  1. Prepare a vegetarian/vegan recipe featuring one or more whole grains. Any cuisine, any course is accepted. Eggs are allowed too. If you would like to share information about whole grain, I would gladly include the article in the roundup.
  2. Post the recipe/article in your blog between now and 30th Sep ’08. Provide a link back to this announcement.
  3. Send a mail with JFI – Whole Grains in the subject line to tastypalettes@gmail.com with the following details.
    • Your name
    • Your blog name
    • Name of the entry
    • URL of your post
    • An optional photo that is 800 pixels wide or 800 pixels long (not both)
  4. If you don’t have a blog but would like to participate, send an email with your name, recipe and an optional photo. I will include in the roundup.
  5. Older posts are accepted if they are re-posted with a link to this announcement.
  6. Feel free to use the logo in your post.

I have been looking forward to host this event for a long time now. Indira, thank you for giving me the opportunity. Sia at Monsoon Spice hosted the previous edition of JFI - Soy.

On a separate note, I will be on vacation for the next 6 weeks. I will respond to your emails when I get time. Please bear with me while I have some fun :).

Updated on Oct 27 '08: Event roundup can be found here.

30 comments:

Bharathy said...

You really REALLY deserve a break!..Enjoy!
Since you have announced well ahead, we have enough and more time to laze around too :)!
Have fun!..

Bharathy said...

...and for sure we miss you!.. :(

sunita said...

What a great choice! Enjoy your break :-)

Sig said...

6 weeks vacation? WOW! Have fun Suganya...and great theme for JFI...

amna said...

unused packet of brown rice in the pantry, here i come :)

Vibaas said...

Hi Suganya, Great event. You have something waiting in my blog. Please check http://vibaas-world.blogspot.com/2008/08/tasty-n-healthy-tofu-scramble-and.html

Nirmala said...

mmmm Lovely choice! And you already started u're vacation it seems ? After the cherry sauce there's a long silence ;) anyway enjoy your vacation and looking forward for the beautiful pics u would bring back!

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow sounds healhty event. Logo is not getting displayed. Check out once dear.

bee said...

this one is great!!! thank you.

Lisa Turner said...

Great idea for a theme. Whole grains are am important part of my diet, so I will for sure send something along.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful choice for JFI, Suganya! Have a fantastic fun vacation :)

Rachna said...

oh i like this theme....very healthy.... the round up should be good :)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful choice!

I will send some recipes for the event.

Enjoy your vacation!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I just saw this announcement and guess what?
I'm guest hosting WBB and the theme I announced is Grains in my Breakfast! So I guess I don't need to say it is a great theme.:)
Have a wonderful vacation.

Srivalli said...

Thats a nice one...it will be like two birds in one shots kind right!

jayasree said...

So it looks like its going to be whole grains for a while at the blogosphere with WBB also on the same theme,making it easier on sending event entires :)

Unknown said...

Great event. Count me in.

Vaishali said...

Nice topic! Will try and send something for sure. Enjoy your break, Suganya!

SMN said...

great choice girl njoy ur break

Anonymous said...

You have a wonderful website and what awesome photographs!! Breathtaking...

Spending quite a lot of time here.

I have just send you my entry. Being new around the blog world, hopefully I did it right.

Sunshinemom said...

I am hoping to get buckwheat flour tomorrow:)

Susan said...

After kicking around ideas over the last few weeks, I have just the recipe.

Hope you are having a fantastic time!
Miss you!

Anonymous said...

suganya, would you accept whole grain flour recipe for this event?

Beyond Curries said...

Posted my entry just now Suganya. Will send you the details shortly. Thank you.

Pavani said...

Hi,
First time to ur blog,ur blog looks great and the event is good to known more about grains...

Suganya said...

Myspicekitchen, whole grain flours are acceptable.

Looking forward to all your contributions.

MySpicyKitchen said...

sent my entry yesterday

Anonymous said...

sent my entry yesterday

Anonymous said...

WOW what a pics i couldn't take my eyes out of it. Lovely lovely. Do you mind If I ask what camera you using? Amazing and stunning CLICKS. And about the recipes thats very nice too. I think am gonna see the pics again. :-)

Mansi said...

just sent you my entry Sugs! came back from vacation yesterday, so sorry for being a day late in emailing you!:) hope you r enjoying your vacation!!:D

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