Contributed by Gabriel Y.

Carbohydrates cannot be lumped together in one category as evil.  When the Atkins diet came out, suddenly carbohydrates were the cause of all your extra flab.  But there is a difference between good and bad carbs.

Good carbohydrates are beans, whole grain breads and pastas, vegetables and fruits.  They contain vitamins, minerals and fibers.  The bad carbs are refined carbohydrates from refined grains from white bread, white rice, pastries and sodas.

Adding healthy carbohydrates to your diet is easier then you think. Here are some tips to add more whole grains to your day:

  • Breakfast – Try making some steel cut oats for breakfast, a cold cereal that has whole grains as its first ingredient on the box, some whole grain toast with your eggs or some whole grain pancake/waffle mix such as Bob’s Red Mill Pancake Mix.
  • Lunch – Make your sandwich with bread that lists whole wheat, whole rye, or some other whole grain as its first ingredient or one that is 100% whole grains.
  • Dinner – Instead of meat and potatoes, dry brown rice, whole-wheat couscous, hulled barley, millet, quinoa, wild rice, beans or amaranth.
  • Snacks – Instead of drinking juice, eat whole fruit that contains fiber with half as much sugar.  It makes you feel fuller with less calories.

How are you going to incorporate healthy carbohydrates into your diet?