When you’re dining out, here are some tips for making whole grain choices:

• If you haven’t cut bread out of your diet, ask for whole grain rolls, crackers or corn or whole wheat tortillas (instead of white bread)

• Choose oatmeal or whole grain bagels for breakfast (over white)

• Ask for brown rice instead of white rice

• Ask for whole grain pasta

• Choose whole grains for your starch course when available, instead of potatoes or white rice; (for example, polenta, brown rice, wild rice, bulgur/tabouleh)

And if your favorite restaurant doesn’t offer any whole grain choices, keep asking. If enough customers are interested, you may be in for a surprise the next time you go back. Restaurants want to keep their customers happy and coming back. Make your desires known. Unless we request more nutritious whole grains when we dine out, refined grain products (white stuff) will likely remain the standard choice at most dining venues.

Here is a recipe inspired by a fabulous whole grain dish I recently discovered on the menu at Rutherford Grill. Executive Chef Sheamus Feeney’s Wild Rice Salad is deliciously addictive. His version is made with wild and brown rice and is chock full of chopped veggies, dried fruit and nuts. It’s served à la carte as a side dish or as an accompaniment to several other menu choices.

My rendition for home cooks uses many of the same ingredients, though I opted to use wild rice only, in order to minimize cooking time. I also used smaller portion sizes, fewer nuts and a little less oil.

These ingredients are all available at Vallerga’s Market in Napa.

Wild Rice Salad

Wild rice is actually the seed of a marsh grass. It has a nutty flavor, chewy texture and contains protein, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium and other minerals. All wild rice should be thoroughly rinsed before cooking. Feel free to experiment, substituting your favorite dried fruit or nuts.

4 cups water

1 cup wild rice (about 6 ounces)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup finely chopped dried figs or dried blueberries

1/4 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

1/4 cup chopped raw unsalted cashews, lightly toasted

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

2 Tbsp. chopped shallots

For vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 cup wild rice water (see below)

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine 4 cups water and salt and bring to boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Add rice, reduce heat to medium low and cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Place colander over bowl to reserve excess cooking liquid. Drain well and cool. Reserve 1/4 cup of the wild rice water. Discard any remaining cooking liquid.

Transfer wild rice to medium-sized mixing bowl. Add next six ingredients. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Combine the first five vinagrette ingredients in a blender. With blender running, gradually add olive oil. Pour dressing over rice mixture and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yield: Eight servings (about 2/3 cup each)

Cheryl Forberg, RD, is the nutritionist to NBC’s The Biggest Loser fitness reality show and has a private nutrition practice in Napa. Her new book is called “Positively Ageless: A 28-Day Plan for a Younger, Slimmer, Sexier You” (Rodale). For more information and recipes, visit her Web site at www.cherylforberg.com