Colleen Tomasso runs up to 45 miles a week training for the Buffalo Marathon, in between teaching spinning and strength-training classes. All of that comes after her full-time job as a Fisher-Price copywriter. So when it’s time to reach for lunch, Tomasso, 25, makes whole grains a standard.

Tomasso has lots of company. Lots of people have started making whole grains part of their weekly menu. They’re like pasta or rice, but healthier. Whether it’s whole wheat grains or cracked bulgur wheat, quinoa, barley or millet, people are choosing specific grains for their own reasons: protein, nutrients, ease of preparation, or flavor and texture.

For her part, Tomasso likes cracked bulgur wheat, which cooks easily—just cover it with boiling water — and lends itself to favorite mix-ins like turkey bacon and carrots, or feta cheese and fresh lemon.

The biggest plus is the energy it provides, good carbs for this marathoner-in-training’s starving muscles. She doesn’t drink coffee. “I just sleep really well at night,” Tomasso said. “And I eat bulgur.”

Fans of whole grains came back to this: They fill you up in a healthy way, for cheap. That’s the bottom line; boil a $2 pound of wheat berries and they’ll feed you for a week, if you can make them tasty enough to avoid boredom.

Responding to rising consumer demand, Wegmans supermarkets in Western New York have started offering five to seven whole-grain dishes a day in its stores’ ready-to-buy sections.

“A lot of our consumers are trying to eat healthier, live healthier lives, and whole grains are a huge part of that,” said Don Woods, the chain’s regional executive chef. “This is one category we’re really focusing on, not just because it’s great quality food and tastes good. It’s what the customers are looking for, and it’s the right thing to do.”

It doesn’t take a veteran chef like Woods, either. Bulgur is the easiest, but even whole wheat grains, called wheat berries, take less than an hour to cook. If you soak wheat berries, barley or brown rice overnight, it takes less time, said Pam Gay, a whole grain fan for decades.

Gay recommends salted water to bring out the grains’ flavor, as well as cooking enough for leftovers.

For the next day’s lunch, layer field greens with lightly steamed broccoli, cooked whole grain and whatever else you want, and just add Greek or Italian dressing, Gay suggested. The hardest part is remembering to take it to work the next day. “You’ll be glad you did,” she said. “Healthy eating is really about planning ahead.”

Whole grain dishes have an image problem, but even meat eaters can enjoy them, said Stephanie Tarpy. A longtime vegetarian, Tarpy is married to a beef lover, but they’ve worked it out: She can cook grain dishes as her entree and her husband’s side dish.

The chewy wheat berries and beans anchor a “great chili that you can do 10 different ways,” said Tarpy. “Or I can take quinoa or wheat berries, and put cubed tofu or veggies in it. I’m cool with that being my dinner. He likes it along with some chicken or pork.”

“That works out for us, because we’re not cooking up two separate dinners, we’re eating it together.”

Whole grains are great fuel for breakfast, too, said Tarpy, who offered her recipe for an oatmeal-wheat berry cereal she serves with real maple syrup and toasted almonds.

“I’ve done that before we go for a hike on weekends — it really makes a difference,” she said. “It makes it feel like you ate a bowl of energy before you go.”

Quinoa with Chimichurri Herbs

1 cup quinoa

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 cup diced red, yellow or orange bell pepper

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Combine quinoa and 2 cups water in medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. The grains should be soft and translucent, with the germ ring visible along the outside edge of each grain. Transfer quinoa to a bowl.

Whisk oil and vinegar together, and toss with quinoa while it’s still warm. Add parsley, cilantro, bell pepper, garlic, orange zest, and salt and pepper. Toss, using a fork to keep the grains fluffy. Sprinkle with scallions, and serve at room temperature.

Serves 4 as a side. (Adapted from “Ten,” by Sheila Lukins.)

Stephanie Tarpy’s Oatmeal Wheat Berry Hot Cereal

1 1/4 cup

1/3 rolled oats

2 cups water or milk

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup cooked wheat berries (see note below)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Maple syrup

1/2 cup toasted almonds

Bring water or milk to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in rolled oats, cranberries and salt.

Reduce to a gentle boil, cover and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Add wheat berries and cook for another minute or two. Turn off heat. Add cinnamon, stir and let cereal sit for a minute.

Divide cereal into 4 servings. Top with maple syrup and toasted almonds.

To cook wheat berries: Bring 1 cup of wheat berries, 3 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. The wheat berries are done when they are tender yet chewy. They should not be mushy.

Cooked wheat berries “freeze wonderfully, so don’t be afraid to cook a lot at one time,” said Tarpy.

Tolly’s Tabouli

1 cup cracked wheat or bulgur

1 bunch curly parsley, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped

1 red or white onion, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, not too ripe, coarsely diced

1/2 cup seedless cucumber, finely diced (optional)

Juice of 1 1/2 or 2 lemons

1/2 cup Greek extra virgin olive oil

A little salt and lot of ground black pepper, to taste

Pour 1 cup boiling water over bulgur and let sit until absorbed and cooled. Place wheat in a large bowl and add the other ingredients, including olive oil and lemon juice.

Mix well, cool in the refrigerator for an hour and serve with pita wedges. (From Apostolos Koudounas.)