These are cupboard basic foods and include: different breads, pasta, rice and potatoes, noodles, barley, couscous, corn, plantain and tapioca.
- Starchy foods are usually cheap and can keep for a while
- They are good to buy in bulk, especially if they are on offer and you have room in the kitchen
- These foods are the basis of a healthy balanced diet
- Breakfast cereals are a good choice for the start of the day, as is porridge, made with oats or cornmeal
- Choosing cereals which are lower in sugar is a great start
- Moving from sugary or frosted to unsweetened cereal might seem challenging, but you could give it a try. Save the sweet cereals for the weekend instead
- There are lots of recipes online which could introduce different starchy foods. Try looking for couscous, cornmeal, polenta or noodles for a start
- Packed lunches don't just have to be sandwiches. Pots of pre-cooked pasta work well too, or try different types of bread like bagels, wraps, pitta or flatbreads
- If you can take advantage of a multi-buy offer, you could keep a few pasta shapes or types of rice in the cupboard
- Wholegrain products can take time to get used to
- Buying wholegrain alongside white pasta is a good way to introduce wholegrain. You can mix them together, so that it’s not such a big change
- Choosing 50/50 or wholegrain bread is another way to increase fibre
- Wholegrain (brown) rice is another good choice. If you are not used to it, try a packet of microwavable wholegrain rice to start
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