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).

I really struggle to eat enough fibre so this is a good challenge for me. I try to have oats every morning to get off to a good start. The best thing I have found for me though is bran flakes. To make them more interesting I add a banana and some raisins and that tastes delicious!

Really enjoying this challenge and have really made some changes that I will stick to. I also feel a lot fuller and less inclined to 'graze' through the day. I like trying new recipes too - just made some flapjacks with oats, seeds and peanut butter with the kids - needless to say there aren't too many left!

Tuesday - we had chicken curry with brown rice - the rice was a lot longer to cook but it tasted great, maybe even a bit nicer than white rice. The kids both ate it without comment.

Wednesday - we had Sunbites, we all loved them despite my husband's suspicious face as he tried them. :D

Thursday - sausages and tomato pasta for tea, swapped regular white pasta for wholegrain spelt pasta and again no-one really noticed the change and cleared their plates.

Friday - wholegrain ryvita with cheese spread for lunch. Lovely crunch and quite filling.

Saturday - wholewheat spaghetti bolognaise for tea. It was lovely, just as nice as usual. I can see us sticking with these changes since the benefits of wholegrains are so good and there's hardly any difference foodwise!

Sunday - had Jordan's wholegrain cereal for breakfast instead of toast and jam. Felt fuller for longer as I usually end up snacking when I'm making sunday lunch but not today.

Official tester - Week 2

Monday - made some oat cookies which the kids took to school in their packed lunches. They were great, very satisfying and still a sweet treat.

Tuesday - more ryvita but this time with chocolate spread. Delicious!!

Wednesday - this time my daughter did the baking and made peanut butter oat slices which we had with ice cream. Just remembered to get a picture before we ate it all. Yum!

We're still going strong with wholemeal bread completely replacing white now. I am also buying 50/50 wraps and the children haven't noticed. They work just as well for fajitas. The corn wraps I use for enchiladas I think already count as wholegrain, so do tortilla chips?

We have also rediscovered Weetabix, which I've not bought for years.

I had Ryvita thins with a sweet chilli, cream cheese and coriander dip for a lovely snack last night, very tasty, fairly virtuous.

Day 11: More toast for breakfast and sandwiches/wraps for lunch today.
This evening we had a lovely wholegrain rice kedgeree. Being prepared for the longer cooking time of the rice, I managed to cook it and time it to perfection (if I do say so myself!) and it was really lovely- enjoyed by the whole family.

Had a seeded bagel for lunch and a brown and red basmati rice stirfry for dinner, was delicious! Definite improvement on my baking ; )
And my husband who usually hates any rice apart from white even enjoyed it!!

Tried quinoa porridge for breakfast . The recipe is from Pinterest. I prefer porridge with oats, but it really filled me up, and I'm usually ready for lunch at about 11...

been eating oats, brown rice, whole grain pasta , etc. i feel a bit bloated though after making the switch

i usually eat a lot of white rice and white bread as i prefer it but i have now swapped this for whole grains. i do not like it as much and find it pretty hard to digest.

i like oats so having porridge for breakfast or muesli is good. i have been snacking on oat biscuits and flapjacks too

Non-tester - I have tried making the on the go bars from the website as we often have things like flapjacks or granola bars. They were delicious and I will be making them again (as well as searching for recipe inspiration in future)

Had a delicious chicken and barley and quinoa stew for lunch today with tomato-y sauce. Delicious and filling on a grey day and no need for rice or bread or any extras.

I am definitely noticing more energy after eating more wholegrain!!

I've recently been converted to wholegrain bread/pasta/rice after being convinced of the nutritional benefits.
Breakfast in our house used to be refined cereal and toasted white bread with marge & jam/marmalade/choc spread. Now we eat muesli with yogurt sometimes fruit & find this keeps us going 'til lunchtime. Or Sometimes in winter I'll make a pan of porridge served with brown sugar.
Lunch is usually wholemeal bread - sandwiches or something on toast.
Evening meal - well today it was a mild curry served witk wholegrain basmati rice; yesterday I did a tuna bake with wholegrain pasta. When I cook potatoes I often bake them so we don't lose the vitamins and get the extra fibre if we eat the skins too.
One gripe I do have about wholegrain stuff is that it is more expensive than the refined version. It is nearer the natural state - not as much has been taken out of it - yet it costs more?!?

I love wholegrains not only are the good for you but they make you feel fuller for longer and you don't get tempted to snack

I make muffins from wholegrain flow+ honey, eggs, baking power, little oil and bluberry. My kids love iit:)))

The whole grain challenge has really made me think differently about what we eat.

The biggest change has been both myself and DP eating a whole grain breakfast each day. I know it's not good for you but usually we're both rushing to leave the house and breakfast is forgotten meaning at lunchtime I'm sat at my desk with a rambling stomach!

Quick and easy whole grain breakfasts such as porridge or toast have left us both full for so much longer - no more embarrassing noisy stomach for me!!

I'm looking forward to trying whole grain pasta for tea this evening.

Non official user, I start the family with a bowl of porridge with different toppings to stop it getting boring. I use brown rice and pasta with favourite sauces and also we have coms coms etc with salads.
I also get the kids to make our own granola using oats, cherries and coconut.

I have often used wholegrain cereals & oats but since joining Slimming World have found so many recipes using wholegrain that are different and delicious. I know I am eating healthier and have already lost over a stone.

Day 12: Started the day with some "wholewheat biscuits" (generic weetabix). Really tasty and I haven't had any for ages so ot was a nice treat!

Thanks for making me a part of this challenge. I loved it as I am from a Indian family my meal always consist of wheat, rice as a main . I used to eat oats or cornflake in the morning by making with milk or spicy dishes.variety of Rice items in the lunch and chapati or wheat pasta noodle in the night made my day cooking possible. Its not just me but also all of my family member used to eat happily to be part of this challenge.

IT was healthy, nutritious along with its natural taste .

I'm impressed by the range of inexpensive cereals in Lidl. gemmie797 found the blueberry wheats - they do others too, including cherry (occasionally) which is my favourite. The also do "Whole and White" soft tortillas which are the best I have found anywhere.
I've yet to find a sliced supermarket wholegrain loaf which I really like, they're all too soft for my taste, not chewy enough. Instead I buy lovely seedy sourdough brown loaves from our local Farmers market on Saturday, then slice and freeze them so that I can have nice fresh bread throughout the week. I have tried making them, but can't make anything as good as the baker in the market. I have a recollection that Tesco do a lovely oatmeal batch loaf but sadly there is no large local Tesco here.

I'm giving here a lovely recipe for Northern Oatmeal Rolls from a book called "Use your Loaf" by Ursel Norman, no longer in print but available second hand....
225g oats
340-425ml milk
15g fresh yeast
55g melted butter or margerine
tsp salt
225g plain flour
cream or egg for glaze

Soak oats in 340ml of the milk for a couple of hours, then add yeast, fat, salt and enough flour to make a smooth dough and knead well. You may need to add more milk or flour as cereals vary in absorbency, I rarely use the full 425ml given in the original recipe. Cover and leave for an hour, then knock back by kneading. Shape into 16 buns and cut a cross in the tops, prove until double in size, brush gently with cream or beaten egg, bake in a hot oven (425F 220C, Gas 7) for around 20 minutes.

PS
user1487323589 what are "coms coms"?