About a year ago, I did something rather sneaky to my family… I switched our rice, pasta and bread to wholegrain. I did it gradually and do you know what?…. They didn’t even notice! In fact it took my husband 6 months to notice he was eating wholegrain foods! Bunny still doesn’t know the difference! Why did I do it? Well because wholegrain foods are not only better for your health, and provide your body with slower release energy, but are also kinder on your digestive system.
What I didn’t know… Was that we should all be eating THREE portions of wholegrain EVERY DAY to maintain healthy bodies. (This excludes babies, as wholegrains fill their tummies too quickly, making them eat less). What I also didn’t know was that wholegrain doesn’t stop at pasta! In fact there are a whole host of products made from wholegrain, check out the list on the webpage of wholegrain goodness for examples.
This meant that when Mumsnet challenged me and my family to eat at least one portion of wholegrain every day for a fortnight… it was easier than I thought! In fact, nearly all of our breakfast cereals contain wholegrain and we eat double the suggested quantity for our breakfast every day. So I decided to up the challenge and see if our family could make that third portion of wholegrain every day for a fortnight!
Here are the additional wholegrain snacks and meals we ate alongside our cereals:
Day 1 – Poached Salmon with wholegrain rice, veg & Hollandaise sauce (Bunnys fave)
Day 2 – Ryvita crackers with cheese (and marmite for me, but not Bunny or Jonny)
Day 3 – Beef Lasagna (with wholemeal pasta sheets)
Day 4 – Popcorn with a butter, sugar and golden syrup topping!
Day 5 – Chicken Goujons with cream cheese & cucumber in wholemeal pitta bread
Day 6 – Dippy eggs with wholemeal soldiers
Day 7 – Frugal Fried Rice (with wholegrain rice obviously)
Day 8 – Pheasant pie, roast potatoes & swede mash (pastry made with wholemeal flour)
Day 9 – Cheesey Tuna Pasta Bake (with organic wholemeal pasta)
Day 10 – Wholemeal pancakes with lemon & sugar (thought I best practice for 12th Feb)
Day 11 – Cheese scones (made with wholemeal flour)
Day 12 – Wholemeal Spaghetti Carbonara
Day 13 – Pizza Toast
Day 14 – Homemade chocolate chip flapjacks
So we did it! And it was surprisingly easy. No negative comments from Bunny or Jonny. Although I’m not sure I could fit the full three portions in EVERY day – there are some dinners I love which lack grains of any description! Having taken this challenge I shall certainly be more mindful of eating wholegrains. I will be more adventurous with it too as there are some great tips and recipes on the Wholegrain Goodness website.
So you are wondering why I am blogging about this? Well aside from teaching you my devious tactics of how to trick your family into eating better… national surveys show that 95% of us, aren’t getting anywhere near our recommended portions of wholegrain foods in our diet. So I DARE YOU… try the challenge yourself!
I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network, a group of parent bloggers picked by Mumsnet to review products, services, events and brands. I have not been paid for this post though I did receive a £10 supermarket voucher towards expenses. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity
I agree? It’s really important to get more whole grain into our lives (and not just when I’m on a week long health kick!)
Looking around my kitchen, apart from our cereal we have a long way to go but this reminded me to pull up my socks and try harder!
I love wholegrain rice, it just takes so long to cook!
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I usually boil it for 25 mins instead of 20 which I’d do for white rice. I rarely use white rice now. But then I think wholegrain rice is supposed to be a bit harder than white, have a little nutty texture to it. If I’m making frugal fried rice though I cook it for longer because I personally like my rice a bit softer if it is being stir-fried. In the beginning I cooked it a lot longer so the oldest sprog wouldn’t notice the difference! xx