At last, encouraging financial news: Getting those FDA-recommended 48 grams of healthful whole grains daily can be cheap.
Supermarket brands Barilla, Ronzoni and Mueuller's make whole-grain rotini that passes the test for taste, texture and nutrition, and they're well-priced, too.
Barilla Whole Grain Rotini ($1.55, 13.25 ounces), made with whole wheat and oat fiber, offers 28 grams of whole grains per serving. Unlike the first wave of whole-grain pastas, which skewed either toward gravelly or gluey, Barilla cooks up delightfully al dente with a flavor that"s slightly nutty but subtle, making it game for any sauce.
Each serving contains 200 calories, 7 protein grams and 6 fiber grams — triple the fiber in regular semolina pasta.
Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Blend Rotini ($1.79, 13.25 ounces) gives you more whole grains per serving (34 grams), plus 360 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids, thanks to the addition of flaxseed meal. It also has a more in-your-face wheat flavor and a coarser texture.
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It works best tossed with lots of vegetables and a bolder sauce like a zesty arabiata.
It equals Barilla in fiber and protein content with 20 fewer calories per serving (180).
Mueller's Whole Grain Rotini ($1.39, 12 ounces) delivers the entire 48-gram recommended daily allowance of whole grains in a single serving, along with 190 calories, 8 protein grams and 5 fiber grams. The neutral-tasting noodle is a bit too chewy and sits a tad heavy in the stomach, but, hey, a bargain is a bargain.
Go for value. Barilla, Healthy Harvest and Mueller's won't cure our economic woes, but they deliver great grains for less green. Bank on it.