You’ll see a dizzying array of bread choices at your local grocery store. Some claim of having “double fiber”, while others masquerade as healthy and sprinkle nutritional claims all over their packaging. How does one choose from all the options? A couple of things we keep in mind while shopping for our family…
- Price matters, but so does nutrition.
Bread freezes well and sale items rotate frequently. When you find a bread filled with fiber on sale, stock up and freeze it. - So what’s the fiber threshold?
Look for at least 2 grams of fiber per slice, preferably 3 or 4. Younger children only need 1/2 sandwich, so if you settle for a bread with 2 grams of fiber, your son or daughter could end up with only 1 gram at lunch. *To find the current minimum recommended fiber intake for kids, add 5 grams to their age. So, a 4 year old will need at least 9 grams while his 9 year-old sister should aim for 14 grams or more. For adults, aim for 20-25 grams of fiber. A quick rule of thumb is 1 gram of fiber per 100 calories consumed. - Buyer Beware
Be wary of packaging with lots of nutritional claims. Don’t be fooled. - Ahh! HFCS!
Watch out for high fructose corn syrup. If you see it on the label, leave it on the shelf. - Mix it up…
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. You may offer whole wheat for a week, then switch to a high fiber potato bread. - Try lite versions of bread and buns.
Wegmans’ brand replaces some of the flour with cottonseed fiber. The bun is just as light tasting as a regular bun but with 4 grams of fiber (compared to less than 1) and only 90 calories. - Change is easy, if done slowly enough…
If your family is used to white bread, switch them slowly. Go ahead and start off with products advertised to be made with whole grain containing more fiber than white bread. Then, try to make the switch to high fiber breads quickly. One you’ve switched you’ll be surprised how unsatisfying the spongy white stuff is!
More about Amy and Scott Dawson, creators of Lunchtaker.com: One of our core focuses is on nutrition and fitness. Our children both attended a parent cooperative pre-school where the morning snack was as healthy as possible, and our family liked the opportunities for new foods that arose in pre-school. As our children go through grade school, we are focusing on continuing the trend of ensuring we feed ourselves a variety of foods, all good for our bodies... read more...
Posted Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 12:36 pm and filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
