Tip 1 : Make more brown rice than you need and freeze the rest for when you make a soup or casserole.

Tip 2 : Look for the following whole grains listed first on the label’s ingredient list: brown rice, bulgur, graham flour, whole wheat, and oatmeal.

Tip 3 : Add a vegetarian protein food to make a salad into a main dish--try garbanzo beans, kidney beans, soybeans or sunflower seeds.

Tip 4 : Make a sweet potato casserole healthier by adding fruits and 100% fruit juice for sweetness instead of brown sugar and marshmallows.

Tip 5 : Try a new fruit. Fruits vary in vitamins and minerals--mix it up to get the essential nutrients.

Tip 6 : 1 flour tortilla (8 inches in diameter) counts as 2 oz of grains. Use My Plan to see how many ounces of grains you need each day.

Tip 7 : Vegetables can be an easy part of picnics. Serve a bowl of raw veggies with a low-Calorie dip along with sandwiches.

Tip 8 : An ounce equivalent of protein foods is 1 oz of meat, poultry, or seafood, ¼ cup beans, 1 egg, 1 T. peanut butter, or ½ oz nuts or seeds.

Tip 9 : Try rolled oats or a crushed, unsweetened whole-grain cereal as breading for baked chicken, fish, veal cutlets, or eggplant parmesan.

Tip 10 : For dessert, make a sugar-free chocolate or butterscotch pudding with fat-free or low-fat milk. Check online for recipes.