The Whole Grains Council (http://wholegrainscouncil.org/ ) chose corn as the featured whole grain of October: http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/corn-october-grain-of-the-month .
You might wonder, why corn? Well, it's true that corn has gotten a bit of a bad rep as of late in the U.S. due to hotly debated topics such as high-fructose corn syrup and the nature of the U.S. food system. But...those are topics for another day. Actual corn can definitely be part of a healthy diet!
You might also wonder whether corn is a grain at all - or is it a vegetable? Well, who cares really? But basically fresh corn is considered a starchy vegetable (is that confusing enough for you?) and dried corn is considered a grain. But here's the Real Deal, the Whole Grains Council chose corn as its featured Whole Grain during Whole Grain Month so I'm going with that!
What else is cool about corn?
- it's high in vitamin A
- it's gluten-free
- popcorn kernels can pop up to 3 feet in the air
- most of the world refers to corn as maize and I don't know if it's an American thing like we measure our weight in pounds unlike anywhere else. On another side note, if you're a fan of Modern Family, you will remember Cam posing as a Native American to get his daughter into a prestigious pre-school and referring to corn as "maize" - it's a great scene.
Happy Corn Day - is that corny? Oh gosh...
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