Christine Cochran, executive director of the Grain Foods Foundation (GFF), is past president of a Washington-based trade association representing commodity futures exchanges and exchange participants.
It's that time of year, the most wonderful time of year. The time for family, friends and, of course, food. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and so have the leftovers. Now we're in the throes of the holiday season with more gatherings every weekend.
People today go into a panic when they see the word "refined" anywhere near their food. But even though the term has become synonymous with overly processed and unhealthy, refined doesn't have to be such a dirty word.
Over the holiday, I was playing with two of my nieces when one asked the other an age-old question, "If you were trapped on a desert island, and you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?"
When you think of crackers, what comes to mind? Your favorite brand? Your favorite topping? The saltines that your mother fed you with soup when you were sick as a child? Or perhaps that time your best friend crammed a dozen of them into their mouth and then tried to whistle?
A friend once told me that she wouldn’t be impressed by technology until she could download a snack. Although we are not quite at the level of the Jetsons, the snacking trend continues to grow.
In honor of National Heart Health Month in February, this month’s column has a focus on the known cardiovascular benefits associated with grain-based foods, both whole and enriched.
March marks National Nutrition Month and offers an opportunity to explore the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and USDA’s newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015–2020
