The last set of Dietary Guidelines, (2005) were great for whole grains. For the first time, they called out whole grains with a specific recommendation – half of all your grain servings should be whole. That means that you should have at least 3 servings of whole grains every day, with a serving being a slice of whole wheat bread, 1/2 cup of whole wheat pasta or brown rice, a 1-ounce serving of whole grain cereal, or something similar.

Meeting this recommendation is not as hard as you think if you eat at home or in your office cafeteria. Have a bowl of oatmeal or cold whole grain cereal for breakfast and make your sandwich on whole wheat bread and you’re there without having to think about brown rice or whole grain spaghetti or bulgur wheat for dinner.

But what if you eat out?  The picture is somewhat dim, as we found out when researching the 400 Calorie Fix. Here, a list of some of the chains offering a whole grain or partly whole grain option on the menu, in alphabetical order. Remember to ask for whole grain or whole wheat as it might not be on the menu. And although I’ve put tortilla chips and nachos on the list because they are made from whole grain corn, that doesn’t make them a smart choice!

[ Photo credit: niseag03 via Flickr]