HELOISE: Whole lot of choices available in breads

Dear Readers: Are there too many choices of bread out there? Do you know the difference between whole-wheat bread and whole-grain bread?

Whole wheat is one component of whole grain. Whole wheat has not been refined, or broken down, as it has been in white bread; therefore, the nutrients in the grain (the bran and germ) remain intact.

Whole-grain bread can contain other grains besides whole wheat: flaxseed, rolled oats, barley flakes, wheat bran and amaranth seed (a hearty grain grown around the world, similar to rice).

Loaves of whole grain and whole wheat cost about the same, and nutritionally they are very similar, too.

Whole-wheat bread usually is darker in color than whole-grain bread. While the visible grains and seeds in the whole-grain bread are pretty and add texture to the bread, some people may find whole-grain bread a bit more difficult to digest. But both types are healthier for you than white processed bread, and will keep you feeling fuller longer.

Heloise

P.S.: My favorite snack is whole-wheat toast with some peanut butter and grated Granny Smith apple!

Dear Heloise: When I buy those large plastic containers of lettuce at a warehouse club, I wash them out after I’m finished with them. Every year at the holidays, when I make hundreds of holiday cookies for family and friends, these salad containers make great storage containers for my cookies. I also feel like I’m recycling the plastics, and I don’t have to spend money or waste more storage space on huge pieces of plasticware.

Sue in Cypress, Calif.

Hi, Heloise: I enjoy your column. Our family always forgets to use hot pads when taking a hot bowl of food out the microwave. There’s always a lot of juggling and yelling “It’s hot!” I now keep a silicone hot pad next to the microwave at all times. If the bowl is too hot to handle, we can pick it up using that hot pad. When the silicone hot pad gets dirty, I toss it in the dishwasher.

Patrice, Manitou Springs, Colo.

These hot pads are great! I usually keep two paper plates in the microwave: one to set the food on and one to cover it with.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: When we go out to eat Chinese food and bring home leftovers, the food makes the whole refrigerator smell of garlic, no matter how I overwrap it.

So, now I put the leftovers in a wide-mouth canning jar - usually a pint-size jar is large enough - and then I screw the lid on tight.

No more odors find their way into the eggs and butter, and the food stays quite fresh. The glass never retains the odor. The leftovers stay good, too, and I have a great lunch for the next day.

Carol in Arizona

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