Can we get some more bread?

One food I have recently decreased my intake of is bread. I am not necessarily a big bread eater, but I do like to eat it with certain meals. With Americans in general, there is this huge need to have more bread. We go to restaurants and ask them to bring out the rolls. And if they just bring one roll per person, we look at them crazy.  We ask for more rolls!  We ask for more breadsticks!  We ask for more biscuits!  We ask for more cornbread! We ask for more croutons! Hey! Give us more bread!

Bread in itself is not bad for you.  They give us the carbohydrates our bodies need.  However, most foods we eat, (except most meats) are filled with carbohydrates too!  So bread does not have to be our only source of carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables and some dairy also give us carbohydrates.

So let me give you 3 tips on how to deal with bread. I recently was cooking for a friend. I cooked fish, and some vegetables. He asked, “where is the bread???!!!”  Point 1: You do not have to have bread with every meal.  If you are an “every meal” bread eater, try eating bread at only 1 meal a day for a few weeks.

I often like to cook spaghetti meals. When cooking chicken spaghetti and vegetables for my family, the first question I received was, “where’s the bread??!!” Point 2: Rice and pasta give you what you would get from bread, so you don’t have to have bread along with those foods. 

Lastly, I really don’t eat a lot of white bread…unless I am eating a sandwich at a fast food restaurant, which is not often, I might add. I have actually gotten so used to eating wheat bread, that I don’t know that I am missing anything that I would get taste-wise from white bread. Point 3: Eat whole wheat bread more than white.  White bread has been refined and fortified with nutrients.  100% whole grain, or 100% wheat bread retains its nutritional value as it has not been stripped of its nutrients by processing. It also retains its fiber content.

Again, bread in itself is not bad for you.  It is just the type and how much you are consuming that may be associated with health issues like obesity and diabetes, which are health issues we don’t want to struggle with.

Questions? That is all I have for today. Have a great weekend and I will talk with you next week!!!

-Jenelle