Whole Grain Goodness Challenge feedback thread - chance to win supermarket gift cards! NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

Here's what WholeGrainGoodness.com, a not-for-profit campaign aiming to inspire people to eat more whole grain, 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 high fibre foods are also an important part of a healthy, balanced diet? The dietary recommendation for adults is that we should aim for at least 30g of fibre a day; but currently only manage, on average, about 18g. Whole grains are a great source of fibre and so public health advice is to base our meals on starchy carbohydrate foods, and to choose whole grain varieties where possible.

So try something different for your new year's diet resolutions this year – take part in our whole grain challenge, involve your family too if you can, and add your feedback here to be entered into a prize draw."

Here's what's involved:
~ Official testers (those already selected by MNHQ) who add a comment here between Monday 6 February and Sunday 26 February can win a £250 supermarket voucher

~ Non-official testers (open to all UK MNers) who add a comment here between Monday 6 February and Sunday 26 February can win a £150 supermarket voucher

• The challenge is to include whole grains / whole grain foods in at least ONE meal or snack per day for two weeks and tell us what you think by adding your feedback here. Involve your family too if you can.

According to Wholegraingoodness.com:

"There’s so much variety available to choose from, such as wholemeal breads, flours, rolled oats, whole grain breakfast cereals, rye crackers. Even popcorn is a whole grain food! Perhaps try going half-and-half, like mixing white with wholemeal flour in baking, wild rice with white rice or brown pasta with white pasta. If you already eat lots of whole grain, feel free to take part in the challenge too, as we’d like to know what you think also, to help us inspire others to eat more delicious and nutritious whole grains.

"If you have any questions about whole grains go to WholeGrainGoodness.com and check out the Guide to Whole Grain pages and the FAQs, or use the Contact Us form. To help you get cooking with whole grains, try these delicious Recipes created by professional home economists and dietitians, designed to show that healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring – it can be surprisingly good!"

Please add your feedback below on the following:
~ Let us know what you think of whole grains / whole grain foods and if you knew about the benefits already or not.

~ Have you tried out any WholeGrainGoodness.com recipes? How did you and your family find them?

~ Please add any other comments, photos, recipes, tips or ideas you have too – we'd love to hear from you at various stages of the challenge.

Thanks
MNHQ

Closing date: Sunday 26 February. Winners will be selected at random from all posting a comment: one ‘official’ tester and one ‘non-official’ tester – prizes as above.

Please note: posts on this thread may be reproduced by Whole Grain Goodness (AHDB).

This week for my work lunches I thought it would be so hard to stick to the challenge but it's been surprisingly easy. Yesterday, I got a falafel salad box with the choice of brown or white pita. The brown pita was really nice!

Then by good fortune the lovely cafe near my office had siyez in their daily salad, which they described as an "ancient grain". Apparently it's also called einkorn. The grains were quite small so kind of got lost amongst the other vegetables, but was nice and chewy. I would certainly buy it to add to salads if I saw some on sale.

Update on amaranth- I added it to my soup but like the siyez it wasn't very noticeable as it kind of disappeared. I think pearl barley or couscous would have been more satisfying.

Anna Jones had a recent article in the Guardian about grains and she recommended toasting them first, sounds really interesting so I will give that a go this week.

Have lost track of what day we're on now! Had brown basmati with onions, mushrooms and crumbled bacon last night, with roast chicken - lovely.... We have two Italian teachers staying with us at the moment and I was afraid that they'd find the brown rice a bit much, but I think that they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Sea bass on spiced brown basmati and wild rice mixed. I thought this was lovely, but dh not a fan

I'm also enjoying these whilegrain bell vita snacks- not ideal but a good breakfast on the run.

Managed to switch the usual kid's cereal to wholegrain bran flakes which are a hit, and we've been baking usual wholegrain flour. It's easy to make the swap really, and we will likely keep it up after the challenge.
I'm not a fan of the rice though, can't seem to get it cooked nicely where it isn't chewy.

Day 8: Wholemeal toast for breakfast and a wholemeal sandwich for lunch and then tried The whole grain goodness website recipe of roasted vegetable pasta. I needed (wanted?) to roast the veg a little longer than suggested and had to make a substitution as I couldn't get any courgettes. Also the pasta quantity is wrong for 4 people (or we are all really greedy?). Otherwise a yummy, filling and easy meal! We also had some wholemeal hot cross buns, which I was suprise to find were as good as the white ones.

Day 9: wholemeal toast for breakfast and sandwich for lunch again. No whole grain for tea though today as it's Valentine's Day and we're having something special.

We're still enjoying the challenge too. I made the tea loaf from the website today and it was delicious. We've been having porridge for breakfast some days and have had wholegrain pittas for lunch some days (I love the Food Doctor ones). Definitely will try to continue with this after the two weeks are over.

We've been enjoying this challenge. Although I usually eat mainly while meal bread I've been changing the pasta, wraps and rice to wholegrain and I actually find them more tasty.
Had wholewheat spaghetti with mushrooms and tomato sauce, my 7 month old really liked it too 😊
I'm gonna try and make wholemeal pizza bases for home made pizza next.
I found the vegan recipes in the website lacking, only 2 and the pasta would be something I'd make anyway.

Had porridge for breakfast again , went out for ❤lunch with DH , nothing wholegrain on the menu , and we weren't hungry in the evening
Didn't have any of my whole meal bread left , so bought a brown bloomer from Tesco , and it wasn't very good .
Will be making some more wholemeal bread tomorrow !

I'm still really annoying this challenge. I won't be going back to white rice I've realised how bloated I used to feel now after meals I feel energised and fulfilled but not like I've eaten too much after having the same portion.

I've loved rolled oats and have it most mornings except on Sunday I had a bacon sandwich on wholemeal bread with ketchup... delish!!

My 9 month old (has white and wholemeal as per reccommendations) but is enjoying them and my hubby is also a fan

So glad I did this!

Well into week 2 now, and I'm really enjoying this. I'm also really glad I did it, because I can see how easy it is to incorporate wholegrain foods without really much change at all.
So far we have had porridge a fair amount, as usual - it's still my preferred breakfast for the kids as it fills them up in a really good way for the morning. I swapped white flour for wholegrain when I made mini toad-in-the-holes the other day, and they were gobbled up - no mention of them being a funny colour or tasting weird. I did the same for breakfast yesterday when I made pancakes. My son loved them as usual, my daughter less so, but I think she was feeling a bit poorly, so I'm not counting that!
I got some of Sainsbury's own seeded whole grain pittas, and have had them with scrambled eggs as well as peanut butter - both very recommended.
I think my favourite so far was wholewheat spaghetti today with bolognaise. I didn't say anything like "look, it's different spaghetti" (in fact my daughter saw the packet earlier in the week and thought they were chocolate - bless), and no-one mentioned it tasting different, or funny or anything, so I am counting this as a success.
I'm thinking of using oats as a crispy coating for some kind of fish nugget, maybe - think that would be a good meal... I'll let you know!

Still going well. Wholemeal bread now firmly in place, wholemeal pitta bread going well with hummus. All pasta and rice now wholegrain. Have had a few days off and kids are back from university so thought I'd prepare with some baking. Shopping expedition at Lakeland for utensils (cat had eaten my pastry brush!) and found they stock wholegrain spelt flour which is particularly good for anyone with a wheat intolerance. I made a HUGE tea loaf which is delicious and today I'm going to use the rest of the flour to make some soda bread. Cannot face porridge in the morning and usually make do with fruit (banana and raspberries this morning) with natural yoghurt but I'm adding chia seeds to the mix - don't suppose they are wholegrain but they promise that I will bounce with energy!

This has been an interesting challenge as i'm thinking a bit more about our diet as a family at the moment - with a toddler, a baby starting weaning, and a fair bit of baby weight still to lose.

We started week one with some basics- we usually have porridge for breakfast, and have had more wholegrain unsalted rice cakes with lunch - baby loves them, and i'd forgotten that they can be a good bread replacement. We made plain popcorn for snacks on a couple of days, and usually buy wholemeal bread so i was able to check off at least one wholegrain item each day without too much trouble.

I decided to make a bit more effort to increase our wholegrain intake in week 2 - i added barley when i made veg soup, which i wouldn't have thought of without the challenge, and replaced white pasta with wholegrain, which went down just as as well as normal. I made a quinoa and bulgur wheat salad when i would otherwise have lazily reached for white pasta/rice again, which made a nice change. We made some flapjack with oats and flak seeds, and used wholemeal flour to make courgette, mushroom and cheese scones, and some pancakes with salmon, spinach and ricotta.

Overall, i was pleased to see that we do already have a fair bit of wholegrain in our diets, but it has been good to discover new ways to add more. I also tried a few simple new ideas with our existing wholegrain staples ( i'm usually boring with porridge but was inspired to mix it up a bit with things like coconut milk and flaked almonds.)

favourite new recipe this week- a lovely Iranian cookbook called The Saffron Tales has a recipe for a spincah kuku/fritata - lots of herbs, spinach and turmeric mixed in with eggs and some flour ( which i switched for whole grain flour) and cooked in a pan and then under the grill.

Non tester

I knew about the positives already but since reading about the challenge I have become more aware about the different sources of whole grains. I've not tried any of the recipes in the website but instead have been updating my own recipes such as pizzas, bagels, wraps and making them half whole meal/ half white flour (so it's still easy to manipulate). I've also started making more of my dh's favourite traditional Berber flat bread which is simple and great if you need more fibre in your diet.

Non tester - I do a lot of cycling and have been looking for a healthy snack to take out when I am on my bike and the On-The-Go energy bars are brilliant. They are easy to make and the whole family love them.

So am official tester. Had started eating more wholegrain when started slimming world in October. However had got into a bit of a rut of porridge or overnight oats. Just started weaning my 6 month old and got a 2.5 year old so was looking for ideas for all 3 of us.

I knew some of the benefits but the website has been great for learning more and gaining new ideas. Will try and add some photos in next few days

Non tester

I've too have been doing Slimming World which encourages more wholegrains
Porridge and wholewheat bread are my grains of choice now - i am definitely geeling less hungry than when i had refined grains.

Marking place.

I'd hoped to be selected for this challenge and have decided to do it anyway. Hoping for some good recipes.

I'm still loving the challenge as it's encouraging me to read more about my food. The breakfast is a good change. Founder these in Lidl today. The boys nearly ripped them straight open!

Day 10: enjoyed some more lovely wholemeal hot cross buns today. We also had the tomato, tuna, rocket and lemon pasta from The whole grain website. Very very tasty and much enjoyed by the whole family (including the children who still haven't commented that everything white has gone brown for the last 10 days!)

Before the challenge I knew that brown bread, pasta and rice were nutritionally better for us than white but that was about it. Reading the wholegrain website has made me much better informed about the benefits. It just so happens I actually like a lot of wholegrain food anyway e.g. I eat porridge or granola most mornings for breakfast, and prefer brown wholemeal bread to white. I have made a rice salad to take into work tomorrow for my lunch using red camargue rice. I sometimes use quinoa which I like a lot. Thanks for letting me part of this challenge!

I'm back from the supermarket, having stocked up for the week ahead. I've bought whole-meal breads, whole rice and grains and whole-meal flour.

Tonight I wanted something quick so we have had "fajita" bowls with whole meal breads and wholegrain vegetable rice + veg and salad. I put it together in about 20 mins whilst putting the shopping away and it was really tasty.

I'm looking forward to trying the biryani recipe from the website and have also found a quinoa and coconut porridge to try for breakfast. To be honest, I was aware that we should be eating more whole grains, but hadn't really acted upon that knowledge. This challenge is a huge incentive to try different foods, and so far (ok it's only day one) it doesn't seem too hard...

The challenge has been going well. We have all managed to eat something wholegrain everyday. I was surprised that the children haven't minded eating the wholegrain past and rice. I didn't think they would like it. We have made wholegrain bread a few times which the children enjoyed making and eating and the children have been having porridge for breakfast instead of cereals. The popcorn has been going down a treat, and the wholegrain crisps in sweet chilli flavour as well

Is like to take part in this challenge, but as we have coeliac disease (gluten allergy) in the family it seems impossible. The website is terrible in explaining what grains are included, and many obvious grains aren't compatible with the allergy. Wheat, spelt, most oats, most barley, couscous are all allergens. So we're pretty much left with popcorn, red rice (whatever that is, I've never seen it in Tesco) and quinoa (which is really expensive).

Tester here..have been doing this challenge well over a week now and have loved it!
We have been having porridge for breakfast / wholemeal bread. Wholegrain pitta with rice/salad has been a success
Have swapped to wholegrain pasta and rice and I'm so glad we have..I've also lost 4lb since doing this so I'm pleased!
The kids have absolutely loved the popcorn so it's a big thumbs up from them.

I have eaten wholegrain cereal pretty much forever our personal favorites are Shredded Wheat and Cheerios. I thought I'd try these new cereals with Cheerios, and they are lovely tasty and different. Unfortunately during my first week I came down with tonsillitis, so there has been about 4 days where I didn't eat anything much.

I always try to get wholegrains into my children, easier said than done - but looking on the website there are lots of new recipes we will be trying together as a family.