Knowing some simple whole grain recipes will inspire you eating more nutrient-dense foods full of fiber.
You may look forward to a really lean kickstart: A simple 3-step habit change that helps you to increase and automate your whole grain consumption within the next 24 hours.
Are you sensitive to wheat flour or do have a gluten allergy? If yes, then skip this challenge. Work instead on the other challenges presented so far.
Why are whole grains healthy?
Several different studies show a connection between eating fiber loaded foods and better health.
The grains humans ate for several thousands of years were rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and hundreds of phytochemicals. This great source of nutrients dried up however in the late 19th century.
With the use of industrialized roller mills, the bran and germ were stripped away together with virtually all of the fiber and a large number of B and E vitamins.
Milling made the grain easier to chew and digest resulting in refined wheat that creates what we know today as fluffy flour for airy bread and pastries. The mild taste and the fine texture is what makes light bakery especially popular.
Most obese individuals that I met over the years ate refined white bread products constantly before they changed their eating habits. It was part of every meal that they ate. Especially singles who did not know how to cook. They made themselves sandwiches or they opted for pizza all of the time.
Remarkable health benefits
Cutting back on refined grains and starting a whole grain diet can improve your health in many ways:
Helps you feel satisfied longer
Whole grain makes you feel satisfied sooner. The fiber and protein of whole grains fill the stomach sooner. Additionally, fiber-rich foods are digested slower and the blood sugar increases more moderately and stays stable longer. Another important health benefit of fibrous foods is that they prevent constipation or hard bowel movements.
Reducing stomach fat
Here is something that might be interesting for all weight loss aspirants. A recent study showed that whole grains make a considerable contribution to reducing stomach fat.
Diabetes prevention
A diet that integrates many whole grain recipes might not only help you with weight loss but can at the same time also lower the risk to develop Diabetes and heart or circulatory problems.
How much is enough?
50-60% of our energy should come from complex carbohydrates. Best sources beneath vegetables and fruits are whole grain foods.
While three or more servings each day will optimize your health benefits, scientists and health experts agree that every bit of it you eat contributes to your health provided you are not sensitive to wheat or have a gluten allergy.
How to increase your daily consumption – quick and easy
While it is healthier to eat foods made totally with whole grains, you may want to change your eating habits gradually. To start you can eat a mix of whole and refined grains. Even small amounts can start you on the road to better health.
A simple 3-step habit change:
You want to become the person who eats more whole grains. I recommend you start again with a tiny behavior that you want to automate. I suggest my simple whole grain breakfast:
Stir 3-4 tablespoons of rolled oats in your homemade muesli for a quick crunch with no cooking necessary.
Step 1: Use your breakfast as a trigger
Step 2: Develop the routine of eating healthy homemade muesli for breakfast as often as possible. The following muesli recipe is one that I eat almost every morning. It is made quickly, has a yummy taste while being healthy and nutritious.
My Recipe Tip:
Core and cut one unpeeled apple into 1/2-inch pieces. Add some almonds or hazelnuts, low-fat yogurt or low-fat milk (or plant milk) and 3-4 tablespoons of heart-healthy oats. If this is not sweet enough for you, chop one date and add it.
Step 3: Your reward is an enhanced mood and the knowledge that you made yourself a super healthy breakfast with satiation effect till lunch. Eating a high fiber breakfast helps in regulating blood sugar levels, which contributes to an overall good mood. Keeping your body nutritionally satisfied supports a bright, optimistic mood!
If that alone does not work as a reward, maybe self-talk as instant gratification does. You could just say “Great start” to yourself.
Of course, if you want to reward yourself after one week of sticking to this challenge – purchasing a nice muesli bowl could do the trick too…while reminding you at the same time to stick to this smart habit.
Tips from my Readers
Check below some inspiring recipe ideas from my readers.
- Severine eats a 1/4 cup of old fashion oats with coconut milk, cinnamon, and banana as her second breakfast.
- Valerie uses 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1 T ground flax seed, 1 T sliced almonds, 1/2 banana and 1/4-1/2 cup blueberries, and lots of cinnamon! Soooooo good!
- For Carla’s easy oatmeal recipe she chops up an apple into bite size pieces, put it into a sandwich bag with cinnamon, and sweetener (or honey), microwaves the “baked apples” for 2 minutes, while she gets her oatmeal ready. She dumps it all together for a huge serving of yumminess! Very filling!
Tell me how the challenge is working for you
If you’d like to add anything or suggest own recipes for a yummy, fiber-rich breakfast, I’m sure the community would be very thankful! Take your whole grain and fiber consumption to the next level with the:
- eating more whole grain foods (advanced action plan)
- whole wheat bread recipe
- healthy homemade granola
OTHER HIGH-FIBER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY
- How to cook brown rice as a side dish (+ wild rice)
- easy quinoa salad
- whole wheat pasta with sweet pepper ragout
When I started eating clean I gave up processed flour products. The only grains I get in my diet are old fashion or steel cut oatmeal and an occasional piece of whole wheat sprouted bread. There are also non GMO amaranth, quinoa and millet in my vegetable based protein powder shakes. Is old-fashioned oatmeal gluten free? Could I safely add whole grain breads and pastas back into my diet? In the USA even though they are whole grain, they still have a lot of chemicals in them. Thanks!
Hello Dawn,
old-fashioned oatmeal should be gluten free but it is often “contamined with wheat”:
– when grown at the same land as wheat
– in the milling process (no real attempt is made to clean the mill after wheat is ground)
– or during transportation (trucks that transport oats also transport other grains)
If you have a gluten allergy I highly recommend to opt for a reliable and safe source of truly gluten free oats.
Some examples for gluten free oat companies are GF Harvest Gluten Free Oats, Montana Gluten Free Oats or
Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Oats.