Food of the week: bread
 

So this is soo late... but here I am.. on Tuesday already.. wow.

Food of the week:

Bread!

Do you make your own?
toast it?
butter it?
peanut butter it? etc.

What brand?
do you watch the sugar content in bread?

if you limit bread what do you have in place of it?
do you have some with dinner?

any special recipes or tips?

Let's talk about bread!

I don't eat bread. I like very hearty home baked type breads, in fact I love them, so I stay away from them. Like bagels and french and Italian breads. Very crusty breads. Rye bread. Not white bread or whole wheat bread, too soft and wimpy, for me anyway.

Occasionally I have these high fiber, high protein flat wraps. Every now and then I have a multi-grain rice cake. But not often. I'm just not willing to eat that many calories on breadstuff and I don't like the low cal stuff. I don't eat sandwiches anymore. Veggie burgers I eat with vegetables. Tuna I eat in salad. Peanut butter I very rarely eat (no control) and if I do I'll have it with a 1/2 a banana or some apple slices. I don't see the need to replace it, I just do without it.

It was a big thing for me to give up. But it was something I felt I had to do. Although I have had 3 bagels since I started this, I just removed the insides as much as I could and made sure it stayed within my calorie range.

I eat bread occassionally.

My favorite (as I always say ) is The Baker. They have a couple breads that are sugar free and lots of fiber. One slice is 50 calories and it is very dense. They have other breads as well that they add some honey or maybe cane juice (? can't quite remember) All their breads I've seen are pretty similar though, very dense, very filling and under 100 calories per slice.

I eat PB sandwiches sometimes, especially when I go hiking. I don't eat bread a lot though.

I think it's called Nature Valley double fiber bread. If you didn't look at the label you wouldn't know it's a "light" bread. 40 calories and 8g fiber per slice.

On my plan I am limited to two "starches" a day, which is 1 slice of light bread, 1/2 baked potato, 1/2c whole wheat pasta, etc. But I have found some things that are workable for me.

4" whole wheat pitas. 70 calories. Cut them in half and you have a pizza base or use for a sandwich (great w/veggie burgers).

LaTortilla Factory wraps. 50 calories. 7g fiber. I wrap my tuna in that quite often.

A little off topic, but on the pita pizza, I came up w/a recipe for BBQ chicken "pitza" that is yummy.

1 4" wheat pita
2Tbsp BBQ sauce
1 or 2oz RF shredded cheddar (size according to your plan)
A few slices of purple onion
Chicken Breast (size according to your plan)
Garlic powder
Dried Thyme or Rosemary

1. Split pita so the inside is face up. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with garlic powder and some thyme or rosemary (just a dash).

2. Toast pita in 400 degree oven for about 2 minutes. You want to "prebake" your "crust" so it's not soggy.

3. Spread 1/2 Tbsp BBQ sauce on each side of pita.

2. Chop up chicken breast and toss in 1Tbsp BBQ sauce.

3. Top with chicken. Top with purple onion. Top each half w/half of the RF cheese.

4. Bake at 400 until cheese melts.

I'm always surprised when people give up bread, because it's just such a staple for me. I don't go crazy for it, but I do eat plain turkey sandwiches for lunch pretty frequently. I also have the occasional peanut butter on toast or even Nutella on toast and fit it in my calories. I always eat Nature's Own whole wheat bread. This is one thing that hasn't changed -- I always ate that kind of bread, and I always had lots of plain turkey sandwiches for lunch. I'm trying to get my husband to switch over to wheat bread -- he eats "honey wheat" Nature's Own now, but he won't go all the way to whole wheat!

I love using a whole wheat pita to make a little pizza. I throw some marinara sauce on it and some low-fat mozzarella, and then bake it. I throw a bit of parmesan on type and it's yummy goodness! If you bake it long enough, it's delightfully crispy. My husband and I eat these a lot.

I do eat bread - whole wheat of course. I do try and limit it, but as long as it fits in my points, I don't deny myself something if I want it.

Ahhhh... bread. I usually don't have more than 1 serving of bread/grains, etc a day. I find that if I do, I crave carbs and stall my weight loss a little. It must be 100% whole grain and no HFCS either. Surpisingly enough, not as easy to find as I would have thought. I've found some good wraps and english muffins that fit my qualifications. Love the english muffins with my egg beaters and a piece of canadian bacon. My very own Egg McMuffin! I've had a few days lately that have been very busy (read driving the teens all over creation) and haven't eaten enough. My fav on those days is 1 piece of bread with peanut butter folded over and a glass of milk. Yum. I try not to do that too often though (or I'll want more and more and...)

I buy the Nature's Own Double Fiber bread too, and the LaTortilla Factory wraps. Lots of fiber in both of them and sugar is way down the list of ingredients. It takes me about 3 weeks to eat a loaf of bread, so I freeze it and just thaw a piece at a time. For the first year, I ate practically NO bread. Then I decided to slowly start adding it back to my diet.

I still don't eat pasta (except as a VERY rare treat) or white potatoes (never). Those are things that I have learned I can happily do without.

I have seriously reduced but not eliminated bread. That was a decision I made when I started this....I refuse to put a food on the "banned" list. That all or nothing mentality just doesn't work for me...because one slip and then I'm completely done. Occasionally I will have a Subway sandwich, for example. I always eat whole wheat...when I do have it. I also eat the La Tortilla factory whole wheat wraps. I almost never eat store bought bread. If I'm going to eat a piece of bread it's going to be something I've made here at home (except for previous Subway example). That way I have complete control of what goes in it. I have a FABULOUS whole wheat recipe but don't make it often because I like it too much! :D

I was also a little suprised to find that the bread I thought was good for me, had High Fructose Corn Syrup. It's really in alot of bread products. Because Steve works for Aunt Millie's, I really only have that as a choice in brands. I don't dare bring anything else into the house.

I guess potato bread and rolls are out too? ha!
I don't eat a lot of bread, but I used to love to use my bread machine. Does anyone have any good recipes for something a little lighter and healthier?

I love bread! I love it like some love chocolate or ice cream. Like Sandi - I thought my bread was healthy but it has the high fructose corn syrup. Wow! for bread?!
Recently I tried healthy life 100% natural farmer's 12 grain - it's new! has no fructose corn syrup. A little high in calories.. 90 per slice.
here is a link: http://www.healthylifebread.com/category.php?category=0

I've also always been a huge fan of natural ovens bread from here in Wisconsin. You can order it on line too!

Bread will always be a part of my life. Yummy.

I've thought about making homemade bread - but that might be more work then what it's worth?

I will sometimes make my own bread - in the bread maker! I use wheat flour.

If you have a bread machine, you might look for healthy recipes online and make them up. The hard part with that for me, is knowing the nutritional content so that I can factor it into my points.

I do love my home made bread and DH does too. I can get lots done on my honey do list when I make it. :)

No bread at all for me :)

Hmmm... I've never really thought about my "stance" on bread. I'm kind of an "everything in moderation" girl as opposed to "let's ban a food group" though.

But I definitely always try to eat wheat bread when I can.