Take the Wholegrain Goodness challenge and you could win supermarket vouchers worth up to £250. NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by WholegrainGoodness.com to find MNers to take part in a 2 week wholegrain challenge starting Monday 20th January.

Here's what WholegrainGoodness.com, a not-for-profit campaign aiming to inspire people to eat more wholegrain, say about the challenge: "Most of us know it's important to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg every day, but did you know you should be eating more wholegrain to keep you healthy too?

Nutritionists encourage eating at least three servings of wholegrain a day. But despite the nutritional benefits, national surveys show that 95% of adults don't do this, and almost a third don't eat any at all. So try something different for your new year's resolutions this year - take part in our wholegrain challenge to help us inspire mums to get more nutritious wholegrain into their family's diet and we'll enter you into a prize draw."

Here's what's involved:

• This is open to all UK MNers with at least one child aged between 2 and 16 living at home.

• The challenge is to include wholegrain in at least ONE meal or snack for the family per day for two weeks and then to feedback by Sunday 9th February latest to be entered into a prize draw. You can use the variety of wholegrain foods available, such as wholegrain breads, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, flour and even popcorn. And feel free to take part if you and your family already eat wholegrains.

• 100 MNers will be selected as 'official testers'. If selected, you'll be sent a £10 supermarket voucher to contribute towards the cost of buying wholegrain foods. This voucher will be for one of two supermarkets - you can submit your preference when you sign up. All 'officials' who post their feedback on the MN thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 supermarket voucher of choice.

• You can still take part if you don't get selected as an 'official'. All 'non-officials' who take part in the challenge and post their feedback on the MN thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £150 supermarket voucher of choice.

If you'd like to take part in the WholegrainGoodness.com challenge, please sign up here.

We'll be in touch with the 100 MNers selected to take part in the challenge next Monday 13th.

Thanks
MNHQ

Please note: comments made on this thread may be reproduced by Wholegrain Goodness (AHDB).

[JugglingBackwardsAndForwards]

That's fine Ann, but just to clarify we are free to use this and any other MN thread to discuss the issues freely as we wish to, obviously broadly within topic? bet I don't get chosen now

[AnnMumsnet]

Of course...

[Fillybuster]

BIWI

[QueenStromba]

Those FAQs are hilarious!

Q: I feel awful after eating loads of fibre.
A: That's entirely normal but after a while you'll get used to it.

They've also admitted that the whole thing is a load of cobblers:

"There are currently very few published data from intervention studies conducted in free-living individuals and the results have been conflicting."

[JugglingBackwardsAndForwards]

Ooh, what's a "free-living individual" I think I might have the hippy credentials to be one of them if anyone wants to sign me up for a study as long as I don't have to eat bran - but then that's not a whole-grain right?

[QueenStromba]

Free living individual just means that the scientists are studying people in the real world rather in labs.

[JugglingBackwardsAndForwards]

Oh. Guitar, weed, and incense sticks not needed then?

[BIWI]

Sorry. I can't resist it. I don't know who Sian Porter is, but she clearly knows nothing about low carb diets:

"“When people cut out carbs and lose weight, it’s not just carbs they’re cutting out, they’re cutting out the high-calorie ingredients mixed in or eaten with it such as butter, cheese, cream, sugar and oil,” says Sian."

We will be, as low carbers, cutting out the sugar, but butter, cheese, cream and oil are very much part of a low carb diet. I'm sorry, but the stuff that is spouted on that link is just plain wrong.

[QueenStromba]

She also appears to unaware that sugar is a carb.

[QueenStromba]

Ooh - I just spotted this little gem in the FAQs:

"In the absence of glucose from carbohydrate the body can switch to making glucose from protein in a process known as ketogenesis. This produces what are known as ketone bodies. While this is okay for a short period, long term production of ketone bodies can have adverse effects on the body including muscle breakdown."

Making glucose from protein is gluconeogenesis. Ketones are made from fat and so have nothing to do with muscle breakdown.

[JugglingBackwardsAndForwards]

Perhaps we'll find out tomorrow - hoping everyone who wants one will get their £10 voucher to try some more wholegrain items in their grocery shop.
I think it said 100 people would be signed up did it not?

[AnnMumsnet]

Thanks to everyone who has applied – we've had lots of applications. We've closed recruitment now and will be in touch with 100 selected testers later today – so do look out for an email

[AnnMumsnet]

The 100 selected official testers have just been emailed so please check your inboxes (and spam folders) – and look out for your £10 supermarket vouchers in the post.

If you haven't been picked, all is not lost! There's a separate prize draw for non-official testers who do the challenge and post their feedback on the thread too.

Please see feedback/support thread here

[CuttedUpGrape]

wohooo, got my email! i'm really excited about this, cannot wait to get started!
just wondering - where is the feedback thread, is it this one here?

[CuttedUpGrape]

duh, ignore me! just found it...

[JugglingBackwardsAndForwards]

Huh! Why didn't you choose me then?

[TheSkiingGardener]

Oooooh selected. Very happy. Whatever the arguments for or against the health benefits I don't think it will do any harm to broaden the range of foods we eat. Off to see what I can buy that we might eat rather than peer at suspiciously.

[BlackeyedShepherdswatchsheep]

Yay. whole meal challenge here I come!

[kirstyphillipsonlowe]

Yay I'm in!!! Can't wait to get going! Can I write about the challenge on my blog aswell if I link back to Mumsnet and Wholegrain goodness?

[AnnMumsnet]

kirstyphillipsonlowe - of course - blog posts very welcome!

[kirstyphillipsonlowe]

Thanks Ann thats great as I am sure my readers will enjoy reading about the challenge too! I am also planning to create some easy wholemeal recipes!

[FanFuckingTastic]

Received my letter today, thanks for giving me the kickstart to start my diet.

[violetwellies]

Ooer. Queen, I thought the whole grain doo dah was about cutting down on over refined bleached food, with synthetic vitamins added to replce the ones removed during refining? Not about eating enough bran to bloat a horse? (its not good for horses either nowadays as even the bran is so refined that most of the vitamins have been beaten out of it, upsets the calcium phosphorous balance)
And wole grains dont have to be wheat, isn't there more soluble fibre in oats?

[joolzy]

We went off and shopped for things I stand a chance of getting my family to eat!

We have had malted squares, multigrain hoops and porridge. All munched happily. Also bought oats and made flapjack and banana and oat muffins.

I have bought brown rice too as my teen dd loves rice salad and she has said this is nicer than the white I usually use. Result.

We tried the littles with50/50 bread but that was met with a yuck. We enjoyed it though!!

[AnnMumsnet]

Hi - just to remind you the feedback thread is here