From this month's issue of Cooking Light:
1. Draining a typical can of cooked beans can reduce the sodium content by 36% according to a study by the University of Tennessee. They also found a combination of draining AND rinsing the beans before use reduces the sodium content another 5%.
Drain those beans AND rinse them. Canned beans are darn convenient - but not CE if they are like a salt lick!
2. What is the difference between whole grain and whole wheat? ( Awesome question! )
"Whole grain" refers to a category of of foods that contain the entire grain kernel - bran, germ, and endosperm - and all of the nutritional goodies therein, like fiber and antioxidants. A whole grain can be a whole food, like brown rice, popcorn, oatmeal. It gets confusing when it comes to food packaging. If the front of the package says "100% whole grain" then all of the grain listed in the package must be whole. If the package just says "whole grain" than at least 51% of the grains on the ingredient list must be whole.
"Whole wheat" simply means that the wheat component is whole. It doesn't speak to other refined or processed grains.
If you buy breads or other foods made outside of the house, , make sure it is 100% whole grain, and not whole wheat. Whole wheat is clearly not the CE choice!