Despite popular opinion carbohydrate rich foods are an important part of a healthy diet. You just need to learn to choose the right ones.

If you’re feeling a little bored with your wholemeal bread, here are five healthy sources of carbohydrate that you might like to try.

Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a relatively new grain that you can buy from the health food section of your supermarket. Known as a pseudo-grain, quinoa is actually a seed originating from South America.

What’s great about this product is that it’s packed full of nutrition and would be arguably one of the healthiest sources of carbohydrate available. It’s a fantastic source of fibre, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc and B vitamins. Not only that quinoa is also a great source of complete protein meaning it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is gluten free.

Quinoa comes in 3 varieties; white, red and black. It’s very easy to cook and a great addition to many popular dishes. It’s got a texture similar to couscous with a slightly nutty flavour. It’s definitely worth the try and can be used as:

• a substitute for rice with curries or stir fries,
• an addition to salads such as my Quinoa Tabouli,
• an addition to muesli bar type snacks like my Quinoa and Linseed Balls, or
• in a porridge or muesli for breakfast.

Pulses

Pulses include quite a large group of foods that are grown as seeds in a pod. These include foods such as beans (white, kidney, black, cannellini, broad etc), chick peas, lentils and peas.

Pulses are highly nutrient dense being relatively low in kilojoules and fat and high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. Pulses are low GI (glycemic index) and a particularly good source of minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium making them a particularly vital part of any diet, especially vegetarians. Pulses are gluten free.

Many people are unfamiliar with how to incorporate these highly nutritious foods into their diet. There are many fabulous recipes online for you to try, it’s just a matter of becoming a little adventurous.

Pulses are great added to curries, stews, soups, salads and much more. Try this Slow-Cooker Chorizo and Fennel with lovely cannellini beans.

Barley

A common cereal grain, wholegrain barley (dehulled barley) is a highly nutritious source of carbohydrate. Wholegrain barley has a low GI and has been shown in studies to help regulate and manage healthy blood sugar levels.

Like most wholegrains, dehulled barley is an excellent source of fibre and also contains selenium, copper, manganese and phosphorous.

Barley has rich, nutty flavour and once cooked has a similar texture to pasta. Barley is a great addition to winter soups and slow cooker meals, can be used to make risotto and is a great addition to salad. Check out some barley recipes over at www.taste.com.au.

Oats

In Australia, oats are the third most cultivated cereal grain and the major use it to feed it to livestock! However, oats have incredible benefits when consumed by humans, the most interesting of which is it’s ability to decrease cholesterol levels.

Oats contain beta-glucan which is a type of soluble fibre which can bind to cholesterol in the intestines and reduced cholesterol reabsorption. They are are also a great source of magnesium, iron, vitamin B5 and folate.

Oats are most commonly eaten at breakfast as porridge, muesli and as an ingredient in common breakfast cereals. The high soluble fibre content of oats is believed to increase your feeling of fullness making them a good choice for breakfast if you are trying to stave off the munchies mid morning.

Corn

A great way of adding some healthy carbohydrate to your meal is by adding a lovely fresh corn on the cob.

Corn is a great source of fibre, is high in potassium and low in sodium, contains B-group vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc, magnesium and phosphorous. Corn is gluten free.

Corn is best eaten fresh as it starts to lose it’s nutrition and flavour as soon as it is picked. Frozen corn is the next best thing to eating fresh corn as most of the nutrition is retained. Canned can also be a handy way to eat corn, just be mindful of the additives such as sugar and salt.

Most corn products are highly refined such as corn starch and has lost much of it’s nutrients and fibre.

Popcorn is made from a variety of corn that has a tough outer shell which explodes (‘pops!’) when heated.

Got a favourite recipe using one of these carbohydrates? Feel free to share below!