Pop-up restaurant stars, Terry and George, were on hand this week to teach a class of bewildered bloggers about the benefits of whole grains.  From wholemeal pizza to cakes infused with rapeseed oil, their simple, tasty recipes gave me food for thought for my lunch break leftovers.   Fitting easily into the lunch box, I thought I’d share their whole grain tips for healthy lunch breaks.

healthy whole grain lunch break tips with Terry and George

Why eat whole grains?

From Quinoa to popcorn, whole grains come in an amazing diverse range of flavours and textures.  They also offer a myriad of health benefits from improving digestive health to preventing heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and even some cancers.

So are we eating enough whole grains?  Apparently not.  In America, the recommended guidelines are 48 grams per person but here in the UK, we eat less than half this amount with a shameful one sixth of the population eating none whatsoever.   From al-desko porridge to oatcakes at elevenses, it’s never been easier to introduce whole grains into your working day.

Forsake the temptations of Pizza Express and try this quick and easy whole grain pizza recipe instead which you can customise with whatever topping takes your fancy.

Whole grain pizza recipe

Gather together:

25o grams self-raising wholemeal flour
75 grams oats
3 table spoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil
175 ml skimmed milk
Can chopped tomatoes
2 crushed cloves of garlic
25 grams basil
25 grams chives
1 courgette
1 red pepper

For this whole grain take on traditional pizza, mix the flour and oats together and add 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil and the milk to form the dough.    Next, roll it out to a 30 cm circle and place it on a non-stick baking tray and bake for five minutes.

Whole grain pizza recipe

While the pizza dough is baking, chop the tomatoes and garlic in a saucepan for five minutes to provide the tomato base.  Chop the herbs with the remaining rapeseed oil in a food processor or blender and finally toss in the vegetables and season with black pepper.   Once prepared, arrange the vegetables on the pizza and cook in the over for fifteen minutes.

whole grain popcorn, green salad

You can serve this dish with a green salad and for an interesting twist on the traditional green salad, why not throw in some wholemeal popcorn into the bag too.  Who said healthy eating had to be dull?

For more whole grain tips for healthy lunch breaks, head to www.wholegraingoodness.com

Find out more information on how to eat well at work with our top workplace nutritionist, Linda Munster.