Ask DJ Lyons: Grain options from the Food Pyramid

Allow me to introduce you to the imaginery Portion Control Inner Kid. As a professional storyteller, I love stories and parables. I also love analogies. They help me get a grasp on tough topics like nutrition, health issues, etc.

After getting a double mastectomy (August 11, 2010), I made the decision that I wish to lose 60 pounds prior to getting reconstruction surgery (late fall of 2011). After all, I did not want fake breasts attached to fat. So, I came up with the idea of a Portion Control Inner Child that longs for me to control my food portions and to follow the Food Pyramid Diet plan.

If you are trying to follow a 1600-calorie or 1800-calorie diet, then Portion Control Kid would have you eat 5 to 6 ounces of grains, two to two and one-half cups of vegetables, one and one-half cups of fruit, four to five teaspoons of oils, three cups of milk or milk products, and five ounces of food fitting the meat & beans category.

This article will give you suggestions of foods you can eat that fulfill the grains requirement.

FYI - Should you be curious to find out more about this premise, here are the Hubpage links to the 8 articles about Portion Control Kid and the Guardian of my Body Temple (another analogy character):

1. Ask DJ Lyons: Introducing Portion Control Kid
2. Ask DJ Lyons: See myself as Jesus would see me
3. Ask DJ Lyons: Getting down to brass tacks
4. Ask DJ Lyons: A Healthy way to start your day with Healthful Breakfast Muffins
5. Ask DJ Lyons: Celebrate each sign of success along your path
6. Ask DJ Lyons: Can you turn healthy food into comfort food?
7. Ask DJ Lyons: The Rapunzel Diet Adventure
8. Ask DJ Lyons: Align yourself with your end goal

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that one-half ounce grain options include:

Cereals & Oatmeal:

* 1 cup of cereal like Froot Loops, Honey Nut Cheerios, Apple Jacks, Cap'N Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Honey Smacks, Honeycomb, and Kix.

Breads, English muffins, and Rolls:

* ½ English Muffin

* 1 medium-size bread stick

* 1 medium-size frosted sweet roll or cinnamon bun

* 1 biscuit from canned dough

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 2 to 3 whole wheat Triscuit crackers

* 1 large rectangle of Graham Cracker (2 squares)

* 1/4 cup of bit-size Cheese Crackers

* 1 or 2 Cheese sandwich crackers

* 4 to 8 Peanut Butter sandiwich crackers

* 1/4 cup of reduced fat cheese crackers

* 2 to 4 round Ritz crackers

* 2 to 4 square Saltine crackers

* 1 or 2 cups of Caramel Corn

* 1/4 cup of hard pretzels

* 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Snack Mix (pretzels, nuts, cereals)

Entrees & Side Dishes:

* 1 medium-size taco or tostado shell (5-inches across)

* 1 cup tortilla soup

* 1 cup of Chicken Noodle Soup

* ½ cup of Noodle Pudding

* ½ cup of Macaroni Salad

* ½ cup of Macaroni and Cheese with beef or eggs

* 1 or 2 Fried Wontons

* 1 or 2 miniature Pizza rolls or bites

* 1 Egg roll with meat or vegetables

* ½ cup cooked Fried Scallops (floured or breaded)

* 1 Fried Whiting Fillet (floured or breaded)

* 1 Fried Fish Fillet (breaded or floured)

* 1 medium piece of Battered fried chicken (eat skin)

* 1 medium-size Fried chicken drumstick (battered)

* 1/2 cup breaded fried summer squash

* 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cups of Fried Okra

* 1/2 cup to 3/4 cups of Fried Calamari (Fried Squid)

Cookies:

* 1 oatmeal raisin cookie

* 1 reduced-fat oatmeal raisin cookie

* 1 medium-size Sugar cookie

* 2 or 3 regular-size Oreos

* 1 or 2 medium-size Chocolate fudge cookies

Cakes & Pies:

* 1 piece of Cheesecake

* 1 piece of a one-layer Chocolate cake with icing

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that one-ounce grain options include:

Cereals & Oatmeal:

* 1 cup of cereal like Corn Flakes, Bran Flakes, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Chex Cereal (corn, wheat, or bran), Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Honey Bunches of Oats, Cheetos Corn Puffs, and Life Cereal (plain or cinnamon).

* 1/2 cup of plain or flavored cooked oatmeal

Rice, Couscous, & Grits:

* 1/2 cup of cooked rice (white, brown, or wild)

* ½ cup cooked Couscous (no fat added)

* ½ cup cooked Grits

Breads, English muffins, and Rolls:

* 1 regular slice of white bread, diet high fiber bread, raisin bread, 100% whole wheat bread, wheat or cracked wheat bread, rye bread, multigrain bread, diet high-fiber multi-grain bread, cheese bread, and cinnamon bread or toast.

* 1 medium slice of sour dough bread

* 1/2 of an English muffin

* 1 Wheat pan or dinner roll

* 1 White pan or dinner roll

* 1 4-inch round or square waffle

* 1 medium-size pancake

* 1 Hushpuppy

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 4 to 6 whole wheat Triscuit crackers

* 3 or 4 Cheese sandwich crackers

* 5 to 7 round Ritz crackers

* 5 to 7 square Saltine crackers

* 10 to 14 Wheat Thins

* 1/2 cup of hard pretzels

* 3/4 cup of Snack Mix (pretzels, nuts, cereals)

* 1 medium-size corn tortilla (6 inches across)

* 1 Corn Fritter

Entrees & Side Dishes:

* 1 Fast order Taco Salad

* 1 cup of Beef stroganoff with noodles

* ½ cup of Macaroni and Cheese (from dry mix)

* ½ cup of Macaroni and Cheese (homemade type)

* 3 Fried Wontons

* 3 or 4 miniature Pizza rolls or bites

* 1 Baked battered fish fillet or patty

* 1 medium Battered fried Chicken breast

* 1 fast food 6-piece Chicken Nuggets

* 1 slice medium-size thin crust Vegetable Pizza

* 1 piece 9-inch Spinach Quiche

Cakes & Pies:

* 1 medium-size Chocolate cupcake with icing or filling

* 1 piece of Angel Food Cake

* 1 piece of a one-layer Carrot cake with icing

* 1 piece of 8” square Upside down cake (with fruit)

* 1 piece of 2-layer White cake with icing

* 1 medium-size Cake doughnut (with or without frosting)

* 1 Moon pie

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that one and one-half ounce grain options include:

Cereals & Oatmeal:

* 1 cup of cereals like Frosted Mini Wheats and All-Bran

Breads, English muffins, and Rolls:

* 1 medium-size corn muffin or piece of cornbread

* 1 small low fat bran muffin or low fat berry muffin.

* 1 medium-size Buttermilk biscuit

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 1 cup of Snack Mix (pretzels, nuts, cereals)

* 1 cup Doritos or Tostitos

Entrees & Side Dishes

* 1/2 cup of moist bread stuffing

* 1 medium-size Flour (wheat) tortilla (8-inches across)

* 1 medium-size whole wheat tortilla (7-inches across)

* 1 Corn Dog

* 1 cup of Macaroni Salad

* 4 or 5 Fried Wontons

* 1 slice medium-size thin crust Cheese Pizza

* 1 slice medium-size thin crust Meat Pizza

Cakes & Pies:

* 1 piece of 2-layer Yellow cake with icing

* 1 piece of a 9-inch square Coffee cake

* 1 piece of 9-inch Apple Pie with crumb topping

* 1 piece of 9-inch Chocolate Cream Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Pecan Pie, or Pumpkin Pie.

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that two-ounce grain options include:

Cereals & Oatmeal:

* 1 cup of cereal like Fiber One

Breads, English muffins, and Rolls:

* 1 whole English muffin

* 1 medium-size (5 ¼ -inch across) Pita bread (100% whole wheat or white)

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 1 bag of buttered popped Popcorn

* 1 cup Fritos corn chips

Entrees & Side Dishes

* 1 cup cooked Spaghetti, Macaroni, or Pasta (plain)

* 1 cup cooked Egg Noodles, Mung Bean Noodles, & Chow Fun Rice Noodles.

* ½ package of prepared Ramen Noodle Soup

* 1 cup of Tuna noodle casserole

* 1 Steak sandwich on a roll

* 1 Egg, cheese, and bacon on biscuit

* 1 Sausage biscuit

* 1 piece of a 9-inch Quiche with meat, poultry, or fish

* 1 slice medium-size thick crust Cheese Pizza

* 1 slice medium-size thick crust Vegetable Pizza

* 1 slice medium-size thick crust Meat Pizza

Cakes & Pies:

* 1 piece of Pound cake (1/10 of loaf)

* 1 piece of 9-inch Apple Pie with top and bottom crusts

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that two and one-half ounce grain options include:

Breads, Muffins, and Rolls:

* 1 large slice of French Bread

* 1 medium-size Bran muffin, Blueberry muffin, Banana muffin, Chocolate Chip muffin, Fat Free Berry muffin, and plain muffin.

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 1 individual box of Animal Crackers

* 1 bag of oil-popped Popcorn (no butter)

Entrees & Side Dishes:

* 1 Egg & Sausage on biscuit

* 1 piece of 8-ounce Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that three-ounce grain options include:

Breads, Muffins, and Rolls:

* 1 Sub roll

Entrees & Side Dishes:

* 1 Submarine Philly cheese steak roll

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that three and one-half ounce grain options include:

Cereals & Oatmeal:

* 1 cup of cereal like Grape Nuts

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 1 bag of popped low-fat Popcorn

Entrees & Side Dishes:

* 1 package of prepared Ramen Noodle Soup

* 1 regular-size Fried Fish sandwich with tartar sauce

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that four-ounce grain options include:

Breads, Muffins, and Rolls:

* 1 bagel of any flavor

According to the Food Pyramid, typically, we need 5 to 6 ounces of grains in our daily diet. They recommend that half of those grains should be made with whole wheat flour.

If you check My Food-A-Pedia (see link at bottom of article), you will see that six and one-half-ounce grain options include:

Crackers & Crunchy Snacks:

* 1 medium-size soft pretzel

A great resource from the Food Pyramid people is My Food-A-Pedia. You can type in almost any type of food and find out where it fits on the food pyramid and how many calories it typically contains.

Here is the link: My Food-A-Pedia