The Health Guru

Facts, Hints, Tips, Advice and Inspiration on everything to do about health & weight loss.

Choose a healthy spread for your bread

Posted on | July 26, 2010 | 2 Comments

Spread_The_Bread_150Eating healthy is not always as simple as it seems.  I am a big believer in preparing your meals at home so you have a better chance of controlling your portions, calories and fatty ingredients that you put into your meals.  Often the flavours that we add to our meals plays a massive importance in the overall ‘healthiness’ of the end product.  I was recently asked to provide some healthy ideas for low calorie / low fat spreads to put on bread.  So lets take a look at some popular spreads to see the good, the bad and the ugly of what can occur in only 2 tablespoons:

Category Name Serving Size Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Fibre
Peanut Butter

                

Skippy Creamy 2 tbsp

(32g)

190 16g 7g 7g 2g
Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy 2 tbsp

(36g)

180 12g 15g 7g 2g
Skippy Super Chunk 2 tbsp

(32g)

180 17g 6g 7g 2g
Peter Pan Whipped 2 tbsp

(32g)

140 12g 5g 6g 2g
Peter Pan Creamy 2 tbsp

(32g)

210 17g 5g 8g 2g
Peter Pan Crunchy 2 tbsp

(32g)

190 17g 5g 8g 3g
Mustard French’s 30g 0 0 0 0 0
30g 36 0.9g 6.1g 0.9g 0
Chocolate Nutella 2 tbsp

(37g)

200 11g 23g 2g 1g
Honey 2 tbsp 120 0g 17g 0g 0g
Kraft 1 pkt 43 0g 12g 0g 0g
Billy Bee Pure Organic Honey 2 tbsp 120 0g 16g 0g 0g
Jams Publix Seedless Strawberry Jam 30g 105 0g 28g 0g 0g
Kraft Strawberry Jam 30g 104.9 0g 27.3g 0g 0g
Burger King 30g 75 0g 17.5g 0g 0g
Smuckers Jam 30g 75 0g 19.5g 0g 0g
Kaya Singapore 2 tbsp 89 3g 14g 1g 0g
Toast Box Hainanese Kaya 2 tbsp 98 3.2g 16.4g 0g 0g
Sour Cream Nancy’s Organic 2 tbsp

(30g)

40 2.5g 2g 1g 0g
Daisy 2 tbsp

(30g)

60 5g 1g 1g 0g
Daisy Light 2 tbsp

(30g)

40 25g 2g 2g 0g
Kroger 2 tbsp

(30g)

40 2.5g 3g 1g 0g
Margarine Planta 30g 222 24.6g 0g 0g 0g
Flora 30g 174 19.5g 0g 0g 0g
Salsa Fresh Salsa 30g 10.4 0 2.1g 0g 0g
Publix 30g 10.5 0 3.1g 0g 0g
Marmite Marmite 30g 67.5 0 6g 11.3g 0.8g
Vegemite Kraft 30g 60 0 6g 7.5g 0g
Mayonnaise Best Foods Light 30g 70 7g 2g 0g 0g
Subway Light 30g 100 10g 2g 0g 0g
Kraft (Light) 30g 90 9g 1g 0g 0g
Hellmann’s 30g 200 23g 0g 0g 0g
Kraft 30g 210 23.1 0g 0g 0g
Avocado Olivani 30g 150 16.8g 0g 0g 0g
  Jimmy John’s 30g 67.5 3.7g 5.5g 2.9g 0.2g
Butter Flora Extra Light Low Fat 30g 39.3 6g 1.6g 0g 0g
Regular -Salted 30g 216 24g 0g 0g 0g
Regular 30g 210 23g 0g 0g 0g
Marmalade Orange 30g 174 0g 95g 3g 7g
Smuckers 2 tbsp

(30g)

21 0g 10.5g 0g 0g
Trappist – Lemon 30g 75 0g 19.5g 0g 0g
Garlic Spread Regular 30g 47 4.1g 0.8g 0.7g 0g
Butter Garlic Spread 30g 215 24g 0.2g 0.3g 0g
Houmous Waitrose 30g 88 8g 1.9g 2.2g 2.3g
Regular 30g 73 5g 4g 0g 1.4g
Tesco 30g 93 buying pills online width=”40″ valign=”top”>9g 3g 2.4g 1g

 

How you can stay healthy:  Homemade spreads – vs- Supermarket spreads

Homemade spreads are definitely healthier because you can always choose your own ingredients, reduce the sugar, control the fat, salt and add in fibre. Be adventurous and try different blends to create amazing textures, tastes and it’s free of preservatives too!

Try not to stick to the same old boring jam or butter, blend in herbs, spices or even nuts to create a whole new different spread/topping for your bread and salads. 

If you are buying straight from the supermarket shelf – Here is what you should be looking for to make the healthy choice:

1)   Try vegetable-based spreads (Tomato, Garlic & Herbs, Onions, Mustard, Pesto, Salsa)

2)   Choose low in fat & high in protein spreads  for the whole family (Light Peanut Butter, Marmite, Vegemite, Low Fat Cottage Cheese)

3)   High fibre spreads such as Houmous are always good! It can help regulate bowels and usually low in calorie. But do also remember to choose low fat brands.

4)   Fresh Avocado has more nutrients when compared to regular butter or marmalade. Other than the fact that avocado is great for the skin, its good source of potassium can help to regulate blood pressure.

5)   Protein-dominant spreads and toppings can make you feel full longer and research has shown can help in weight management. (On your bread try: 1 Hard-boiled egg, low fat cottage cheese and 2 huge slices of tomato, sprinkle a little pepper for flavour)

6)   Know your needs

  1. Weight loss – Choose Low-fat spread (<3g/100g) or Fat-free (<0.15g/100g)
  2. Hypertension – Reduce salt intake (<0.3g/100g)
  3. Lowering cholesterol – Avoid products that contain cream or palm oil, such as butter. Choose a spread that contains plant-sterol that can help in cholesterol and heart disease (Benecol & Take Control spreads)
  4. For the whole family – Check the nutrition panel and choose margarine or spread which is higher in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat. Low-fat spreads are suitable for children over the age of two years providing they are thriving and eating a good varied diet.

7)   Add in the good stuff! – Include flaxseeds, crushed almonds, oats or herbs for the added nutrients!

What you put on your bread is an important choice.  I personally never use margarine or butter on bread. When making a sandwich depending on what I have in the fridge I always choose a low fat and low calorie option.  My favourites are pesto (only a small amount is needed), avocado, houmous, salsa, cottage cheese or nothing.  I find if I put lots of vegetables and toppings in you don’t need to add extra flavour.  Stay away from butter, margarine, honey, kaya, jams and mayonnaise as often as possible.  

Remember when you do choose a spread it’s all about portion size – use as little as possible or use a maximum of 1 tablespoon.  If  you’re out shopping and know you’ll be tempted to eat a fatty high calorie spread if it’s in the fridge than just don’t buy it!

Related posts:

Nutrition Info: Kaya Toast, Kopi and Eggs breakfas...
For most Singaporeans, alot of their meals are pur...
Calories in Breadtalk Buns
Hi Health Guru Readers.... The latest buzz ...

Comments

2 Responses to “Choose a healthy spread for your bread”

  1. Shuyi000
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:16 pm

    The Fruit-Jam I use is from Smuckers which only contain 10 Calories.
    Maybe you guys can check it out.

    http://www.smuckers.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?groupId=1&categoryId=18&flavorId=99

  2. Health Guru
    July 27th, 2010 @ 12:21 pm

    Thanks, I’ll check it out!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.


  • Singapore Blog Awards


  • Subscribe to my blog