The unrefined argument

Ever since I found out that my cholesterol was higher than it should be, I started searching the web for natural ways to reduce it by using various dietary options. And listed as one of the most important, was switching to unrefined carbohydrates. For many years now, I have unthinkingly put a lot of refined carbohydrates into my body - white flour breads, naans, refined rice and pasta. I had to consciously plan to replace the refined carbs with unrefined ones.

I started with searching first for the best whole wheat since we eat a lot of rotis. The atta I found in Indian stores seemed very refined to me, despite the fact that the word "atta" is supposed to mean whole wheat flour. So I started searching in the American grocery stores and I found King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and decided to try it for rotis. It is simply delicious! The richness and texture of this flour makes the best rotis, parathas and even naan. Best of all, a 5 lb of King Arthur whole wheat is cheaper than the atta I get at Indian stores. Win, win!

One down.

Next was to replace the much beloved white basmati rice with brown rice. That took some doing simply because white rice is such a staple. My family found it hard to adjust at first too. So I simply made both white and brown rice for each meal and very slowly eased them in to eating brown rice. Right now, I've concocted my own brown rice mixture - Organic short grained brown rice, wild rice and barley pearls in the proportion of 4:1:1. The cooked rice does take on the color of wild rice, kind of purplish but the taste is simply fabulous and it goes very well with sambar, rasam or any curries. It also tastes fantastic when you make the sweet "chakkarai" pongal with it! In fact, the brown rice pongal tastes much better than the pongal made with white basmati. Try it!

I have to check my cholesterol again but regardless of whether these major changes benefitted my cholesterol count, one benefit I received is that I enjoy the tastes and textures much more no