Watch my video for more tips and recipe ideas with these whole wheat, 100 calorie tortillas.

I love these tortillas because you can keep them in your desk at work and use them for quick meals and snacks. For example, next time you get a salad for lunch, wrap this tortillas around it so you can get some healthy, whole grain carbs. If you need a pre-exercise snack, you can have a tortilla with some peanut butter and jelly.

You could also make:

Healthy Tuna Salad Wraps

Twice Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Biggest Loser Breakfast Burrito

Black Bean Mushroom Quesadillas

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Food Finds: 100 Calorie Tortillas from La Tortilla Factory

• Yogurt – many popular brands of yogurt contain as much sugar as ice cream. Some have added cereals and chocolate chips. Instead, start with a plain version and add your own flavors with whole fruit. If you need a sweetener, a small amount of honey or agave syrup can add a great deal of flavor. Greek yogurt is one of my personal favorites!

• Granola – this popular cereal choice can be very high in saturated fats and calories. Make your own granola and you can control the ingredients, adding more healthy choices. You can even mix the granola in with your plain yogurt for a delicious treat!

• Granola Bars – many of these are glorified candy bars with added sugar and in some cases, coated with chocolate. Why not make your own granola bars with your homemade granola?

• Fruit Leather/Strips/Chewies/Fruit Snacks – Many of these choices are not fruit at all but concoctions with large amounts of corn syrup and food coloring. Instead, look for real dried fruit or 100% fruit leather.  (Be sure to brush your teeth really well after!)

• Bottled Water – believe it or not, even bottled water can be a detriment to your healthy eating endeavors. Many bottled waters have added sugar and juice. We waste tons of calories every day on liquids, and drinks that are fortified with vitamins and minerals are unnecessary – you get most of what you need from your daily intake. Plain water is all you need, but if it’s not appealing, add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice or some fresh fruit.

• Whole Wheat Bread – make sure that your bread choice is 100% whole wheat or whole grain and not merely bleached flour with caramel color added.

It’s easy to get tripped up when you are trying to eat healthy. Read food labels and remain vigilant with your choices.

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Don’t be Fooled by Healthy Food Imposters

1) Kashi Go Lean: We love the folks at Kashi, particularly because their cereals are filled with whole grains, fiber and protein. One cup of Kashi Go Lean contains 140 calories, 10 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein.

2) Special K Red Berries: Crunchy, sweet and lo-cal – you can’t ask for more in a cereal. Coming in at just 110 calories per cup, Special K is a great way to start your day.

3) Post Total: It’s a crunchy, sweet and satisfying way to get in 100% of your daily vitamins and minerals.

4) Cheerios: This stand-by is a favorite of kids and adults for good reason. With 110 calories per cup, 3 grams of fiber and super low in sugar, pop a few blueberries in your bowl and you’re good to go!

5) Chex: We love the Multi-Bran Chex with 160 calories per 3/4 cup, 6 grams of satiating fiber, 90% of your iron needs and 100% of your folic acid requirements, but any of the Chex flavors are winners. Rice Chex are a great alternative for those with gluten allergies.

The Not-So-Good List

1) Quaker Oats Natural Oat and Honey Granola: This cereal sounds healthy but with 210 calories, 6 grams of fat and 12 grams of sugar per a mere 1/2 cup serving, you might be better off eating a Pop Tart (but don’t eat that either!).

2) Post’s Golden Crisps: While its calories and fat content aren’t that weighty, Post’s Golden Crisps miss the mark when it comes to sugar. One 3/4 cup serving contains 14 grams of sugar, which is like adding 3.5 teaspoons of the sweet white stuff on top of your cereal bowl.

3) Cap’n Crunch: Sure you fought with your mom to buy it when you were younger (and most of us still have a hankering for it), but this sugar-laden cereal contains a whopping 12 grams of sugar per 3/4 cup serving and less than one gram of fiber.

There are almost too many choices when it comes to cereal, but by reading nutrition labels carefully and using a measuring cup when you pour it into a bowl, cereal can be a super nutritious quick-meal or snack.

Happy Noshing!

Don’t miss our editor’s pick for a sixth super healthy, super yummy cereal. Check-out [Me] & Goji - you make it, they provide the natural and organic ingredients!

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The Best (and Worst) Breakfast Cereals

In contrast, the consumption of low-glycemic index foods results in lower, but more sustained, increases in blood glucose and lower insulin demands on pancreatic beta-cells. However, this does not necessarily mean that a low-index food is healthier than a high-index food.

How the Glycemic Index was Developed

To determine the glycemic index of a food:

• Volunteers were/are given a test food that provides 50 grams of carbohydrate one day and a control food (white bread or pure glucose) that provides the same amount of carbohydrate on a different day.
• Blood samples are taken prior to eating and at regular intervals after eating over the next several hours.
• The changes in blood sugar/glycemic response is calculated and multiplied by 100 to give a percentage.
• For example, a baked potato has a glycemic index of 76 relative to glucose and 108 relative to white bread. Meaning the blood glucose response to the carbs in a baked potato is 76 percent of the blood glucose response to the same amount of carbs in pure glucose and 108 percent of the blood glucose response to the same amount of carbs in white bread.
• In contrast, cooked brown rice has a glycemic index of 55 relative to glucose and 79 relative to white bread.

(Confusing, I know, but I wanted you to see a little behind how these values are found and therefore how the food is ranked.)

Although this glycemic index does provide us with a benefit of potentially helping lowering an individual’s blood sugar levels, it is very complicated because many factors affect the glycemic value of a specific food (i.e. how it’s prepared, what’s eaten with it, and some foods are unable to establish a glycemic value). For these reasons, the American Diabetes Association has concluded there isn’t enough evidence to recommend the general use of a low glycemic index diet for people with diabetes and there is much controversy as using it as a tool for losing weight.

If you’re interested in learning more about this meal-planning tool, talk to a registered dietitian. She/he can help you make changes in your diet.) The best advice I can give when dealing with carbohydrates, is try to consume mostly whole-grain, whole-wheat options, choose healthy fruits and veggies, and try to eat carbs and protein together to help with blood sugar maintenance.

Learn more in “What Everyone Needs to Know About Carbs.”

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Understanding the Glycemic Index

Benefits of Carbohydrates

• When you eat a carbohydrate, your body breaks it down into a simpler form known as glucose.
• Glucose (for immediate energy) and its storage form glycogen (reserve energy) provide about half of all the energy muscles and other body tissues use (the brain depends 100% on glucose for its energy). The other half of the body’s energy comes from mostly fat.  We now know that carbohydrates aren’t all good or all bad. Some promote health while others, when eaten often and in large quantities, increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Sources of Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates are found in a wide variety of foods—bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, cherry pie, milk, fruit, starchy veggies, and legumes.
• They also come in a variety of forms, most common and abundant forms are sugars, fibers, and starches.
• Carbohydrates were once grouped into two main categories:

1. Simple carbohydrates included sugars such as fruit sugar (fructose), corn or grape sugar (dextrose or glucose), and table sugar (sucrose).
2. Complex carbohydrates included everything made of three or more linked sugars. Complex carbohydrates were thought to be the healthiest to eat, while simple carbohydrates weren’t so great.

Common Misconception of Carbohydrates

• Many people mistakenly think of carbs as “fattening” and avoid them when trying to lose weight. Such a strategy may be helpful if the carbohydrates are simple sugars (soda, candy, etc.), but it is counterproductive if the carbs are complex carbohydrates (whole grains, legumes, etc.).

Click to see a brief list of foods on the Glycemic Index.

The Glycemic Response and the Glycemic Index

• Glycemic response, which is how quickly glucose is absorbed after a person eats, indicates how high the blood glucose rises, and how quickly it returns to normal. The Glycemic Index aims to classify carbohydrates based on how quickly and how high they boost blood sugar compared to pure glucose.
• Slow absorption is desirable, a modest rise in blood glucose, and a smooth return to normal (low glycemic response).
• Fast absorption is less desirable, a surge in blood glucose, and an overreaction that plunges glucose below normal (high glycemic response).
• Different foods have different effects on blood glucose.
• Foods with a high glycemic index, like white bread, cause rapid spikes in blood sugar. Low glycemic foods, like whole oats, are digested more slowly, causing a lower and gentler change in blood sugar.

Which Carbs Should You Eat?

• Choose whole grains and whole-wheat options
  
• Start your day off with whole grains. Hot cereal fan? Try old-fashioned or steel-cut oats.  Like cold cereals more? Look for one that lists whole wheat, whole oats, or other whole grain first on the ingredient list.
• Use whole grain breads for lunch or snacks.
• Try brown rice or even “newer” grains like bulgur, wheat berries, millet, or hulled barley with your dinner.
  
• Pick up some whole wheat pasta. If the whole grain products are too chewy for you, look for those that are made with half whole-wheat flour and half white flour.
• Eat beans. Beans are an excellent source of slowly digested carbohydrates as well as a great source of protein.

Check the label to make sure that whole wheat or another whole grain is the first ingredient listed.

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What Everyone Needs to Know About Carbs

Below is a list of 15 different things you can do to spice up your nutrition life:

1. Experiment with new foods and combinations. Purchase a new fruit or vegetable each week and try it in a meal. This way you can look forward to something new and you can really expand your food options.

2. Take advantage of ready-to-use foods. Fresh-bagged salads, frozen vegetables, etc. Just stay smart about it and read the food label.

3. Add legumes/beans to your salads.

4. Try meat alternatives. The food industry has come along way with providing us with tofu or veggy-based meat alternatives. Buy some and try it out!

5. Use herbs and spices to add color, savory taste and sensational aroma.

6. Take advantage of healthy side dishes offered at fast-food restaurants. Get a side salad or baked potato instead of the usual french fries.

7. Use salsa for more than just chips. Add it to your eggs, meat, potatoes, veggies!

8. Plan meals so that you can use the extra food in other dishes.

9. Marinate meat, chicken and fish before cooking to tenderize and add flavor to foods. Try mixtures of herbs or spices with wine, olive oil, soy sauce, cider vinegar or lemon juice.

10. Expand your grain repertoire with whole-grain complements, such as kasha, brown rice, wild rice, barley or whole-wheat tortillas.

11. Explore world cuisine. Discover and enjoy foods from around the world: Mexican, Latin American, Indian, Greek, French, Asian, etc.

13. Add milled flax seed, crushed bran cereal, or unprocessed wheat bran to your baked goods or any dish you see appropriate.

14. Try something new for breakfast. Eat last night’s dinner or cook fresh veggies. Who says breakfast has to consist of eggs or cereal only?

15. Decrease the meat portion on your plate and increase the serving size of vegetables. Use three times as many vegetables on pizzas, casseroles and soups.

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15 Ways to Spice-up Your Nutrition Life

Since there is no lab test to determine “the whole grain content,” the FDA decided in order to use the whole grain claim the product must be able to prove that the product meets or exceeds the fiber level of wheat. Originally, brown rice could not prove this claim and therefore was delayed from being added to the approved list and could not use the Whole Grain Health Claim.

Now, however, the FDA has clarified, that a compliance test is not necessary for brown rice or other single-ingredient whole grain foods. If the ingredients list shows that a product contains whole grain and nothing but whole grain, then it’s obvious that the package contains 100% whole grain and clearly exceeds the 51% requirement.

There are now numerous brown rice products out on the market, some in which all you have to do is throw it in the microwave. I encourage you to venture out and eat brown rice in place of white rice. You will never know if you like it or not until you try it…and if it’s better for your health then why wouldn’t you give it a taste?

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Brown Rice Added to FDA List of Whole Grains