Choose a healthy spread for your bread

Posted on | July 26, 2010 | 2 Comments

Eating 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!

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