To Whole Grain or Not To

With each batch of food I prepare for mom, I struggle with the issue of whether to use whole grains or not. Mom loves her white grains! White rice, white flour, white pasta, all very unhealthy for her. Some of my friends and relatives have scoffed at my concern and say, "She's eighty-six years old--give her the white rice!"

But we know that when she eats the carb-rich foods, it's very hard on her body. Her blood sugar increases when she eats these foods. Especially now that she's a senior, her body is more sensitive to these foods. Here's the adage you can't go wrong following:

Don't eat anything white.

Today, I included brown rice with the chicken dish I prepared. I don't have any white rice in my pantry. And it just seems wrong to buy it for mom. The reason I'm cooking for her is to help improve her health with nutritious foods she can't get by buying frozen foods or expensive meal plans.

I feel the same about pasta. I don't particularly like whole wheat pasta so I just stay away from it altogether. When I need to use flour, I usually use whole wheat pastry flour (it is lighter than all purpose whole wheat flour).

I guess I'm deciding that I will not provide a carb with a meal if it isn't a whole grain carb.