Tips and Tricks for Adding More Whole Grains to Family’s Diet During the Holiday Season

Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by Jason Nguyen

The holiday season is a time for eating a lot and this normally means unhealthy things. Here in this article, we look at ways of adding whole grains to your diet.

Weight gain has always been an issue for many adults and is usually a concern. It is the holiday that encourages sedentary behavior, lounging around, and overeating. We all think that because it’s time to rest, it’s also time to indulge ourselves and overeat.

Holidays may be the largest contributor to your weight gain. It’s time to let go of weight gain and gain some grain in your family diet. In this article, we’ll look at eating tips and ways to get more grain in. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Be wise when you snack

Unhealthy things are all around you to gorge on during the holiday season, so it’s time not to indulge in what is accessible. When treats are around, it can lead you to snack more, so solve the problem by keeping treats far out of sight. This can be quite difficult, especially if you have guests, so just try and be mindful of what you’re snacking on. Just because there’s plenty to eat around it doesn’t mean you’ve got to eat all of it. You may also want to try avoiding snacking altogether.

If you’re hungry it’s best to get some grain-based products in. Cereals, bars, and granola are great filling products that don’t usually contain a lot of added sugar. With whole grains, you can take on fewer calories.

Watch the Size of Your Portions

Those people who eat larger portions are those who tend to gain more weight. It is important to keep your portion sizes in mind and not overload your plate. Control the size of portions and use small plates and bowls. You can trick your mind by providing it with an illusion of eating a lot because you’ve finished a bowl, but that bowl can be small. Give it a go.

The best portion sizes also depend on the food you eat. If you eat low calorie and filling food such as grains, you may be able to eat more than a portion of sweets. Use your judgment and common sense to help.

Substitutions

It can be difficult to eat more grains if you’re used to certain products, so experiment with you and the family to make substitutions of certain carb bases to the best whole grains. Instead of eating pasta, eat rice and instead of white bread, go for unrefined wheat bread with many types of whole grains. It is important to try substituting a whole-grain product for a refined one rather than trying to add a whole grain product into an already calorific mix.

Different Recipes

It can be easier than you think to create tasty recipes that the whole family will enjoy using brown rice or whole wheat pasta. As an example, try stuffing a pepper or tomato with some brown rice or using whole wheat macaroni in mac n cheese. If you’re wondering about how much whole grains per day to take, it can even be easy to use a whole grain within a mixed dish, for instance, adding barley into vegetable soups or including bulgur wheat in stews and casseroles – then you can eat loads!

Other family favorites include whole-grain pilafs. Simply make one with brown rice, barley, wild rice, spices, and toasted nuts – great whole-grain ingredients that make the real thing taste even better. Another thing that can be improved is the family classic, a pancake. Kids and adults will go crazy for healthy whole grains such as wheat in whole wheat pancakes. These grains can similarly be used to boost the appeal of common muffins and cakes.

There are so many whole grain dishes to cook. Just let your creativity run wild. Here are some other great ideas:

–       Cook up a meatloaf using cracker crumbs or whole-grain breadcrumbs.

–       Create a crust using whole grain bread or rolled oats to go with fish, chicken, or veal.

–       Instead of the usual bread croutons in salads, use unsweetened cereal in their place and sprinkle them all over salads and soups

–       If you’ve got no time to create large batches of rice or bulgur and freeze individual portions in the freezer to defrost as a quick side dish.

–       Use whole grain flour when making cookies and different kinds of baked treats.

–       Create whole-grain crackers to snack on.

–       Even simple popcorn is a great whole-grain snack and great for the kids, just try not to add so much butter. Also, you can add different supplements but always check them such as Keto Supplement Reviewed.

Food Labels Reveal All

It’s best to look at labels to determine if there are any pesky ingredients. You can get a full idea if there are any whole grains too. Look to purchase foods with some of the following lists of whole grains:

• Millet
• Quinoa
• Bulgur
• Brown rice
• Buckwheat
• Whole grain barley, sorghum, corn or triticale
• Whole oats, wheat or rye
• Wild rice

If you’re wondering what foods are whole grains, as a word of caution, foods containing terms such as “stone-ground” or “multigrain” are usually not derived from whole grain products. Make sure that you don’t fall for color tricks either, for instance, bread can be processed and without whole grains yet still be brown (it usually has products such as molasses added to it). If in doubt, always check the list of ingredients and choose food that contains a high DV value as a rule of thumb.

It’s important to see if there are sugars added in the food. Common terms that indicate higher calories include:

• Sucrose
• Honey
• Malt syrup
• Molasses
• Maple syrup
• Sucrose
• Raw sugar

Eating Tips for Children

So what is one benefit of eating a dinner high in whole grains? Your children can try new things for their diet. If your children are unwelcoming to the idea of eating new ingredients, there are many things you can do. For a start, make sure to set a good example by eating meals and snacks with whole grains and making a big deal of how they taste great. Let children prepare food with you so that they get more into their ingredients and always remind them about the nature of what they’re eating (it will make them big and strong etc). Teach the older ones about how to read ingredient lists and recognize what to eat, teaching them about whole grains benefits.

Whole Grains for the Whole Family

We hope that this guide has helped you get you and the family fed during times when people usually stray from healthy eating. Remember that a balanced diet is fundamental, so never skimp on that. Hope you stay healthy and feel good.

Do you have any tips on whole-grain recipes? tell us in the comments section below.