Afraid of Bread!!!!

[sassycass830]

So, I did my first Phase 2 shopping trip, added oatmeal (not instant) and a few different fruits, I am limiting myself as I should. Got everything I need for the next few weeks, except bread.

I found myself in the bread isle for nearly a half an hour, practically sweating. I don't know what kind of whole wheat/whole grain bread to get. I looked at the ingredients, and most had High Frutoise Corn Syrup, and correct me if I'm wrong, but that didn't seem right to me. I just couldn't bring myself to purchase bread that claimed to be 100% whole wheat/grain but it had corn syrup in it. I need help, I'm afraid of bread lol.

What ingrediants would be acceptable? Anyone know of any brands of bread that is SBD friendly. Also same with pitas, I did find some that were whole wheat pitas, but none that were stone ground. HELP?!

[RedRox]

Yep. Choosing breads is a be-otch! First of all on the pitas, stone ground simply refers to the grinding wheel itself. If it has a coating on it similar to sandpaper, it's "stone ground". You might actually find some small boutique millers using actual stone wheels for grinding up the wheat, but they are probably few and far between. In all liklihood it simply means a slightly coarser grind. And how it is ground has nothing to do with it's wholeness. So I wouldn't worry about that at all.

I personally am not that anti-HFCS in small quantities and most breads use some sort of sugars in order to get the yeast to rise properly, so you will see some kind of sugars in virtually every "fluffy" bread you look at. As a general rule of thumb I usually try to find breads with more fiber than sugar or at least equal amounts. You won't necessarily see them in things like pita and whole wheat tortillas, because they are flatter to begin with and don't need to rise as much. They also will tend to be lower GI because of that and because of their density. You can however find some smaller volume breads in places like health food stores that avoid using HFCS. It's just harder with the big bread mfgs. who need something cheap and readily available and HFCS fits that bill.

To me the other thing to watch for is simply size. A serving of grains is 30 gms. Most bread slices run in the 40-50 gm range. Look for slices closer to 30 if possible, and stick to 1 slice as a serving.

Again my personal beliefs are that folks should start with starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and peas and whole grains in relatively whole forms like oats, barley, quinoa, brown rice and so forth and re-introduce breads towards the end of the P2 transition process. But I don't eat a lot of breads and I avoid sandwiches because of that. I do like a ww tortilla on our "fajita" nights and a small slice of a ww blueberry walnut bread we get from our local Great Harvest store to help fuel a workout now and then, but other than that, we just buy bread for the kids!

[RedRox]

oh yeah, the oatmeal shouldn't be quick cooking either. just the old fashioned rolled oats or the steel cut varieties are recommended.

[beccasbeach]

I really enjoy ezekiel breads. They are made with organic sprouted whole wheat and contains no flour. It tastes best when toasted. I find mine at local health stores, but some chains carry it as well. You'll find it in the freezer isle since it has no preservatives it must be kept cold. Check out foodforlife.com for more info.

[RedRox]

I think Ezekiel breads are very healthy and a great choice for SB or any style of healthy eating really. I just find their "no flour" claims, while accurate, a bit disengious. You grind up soy beans, you get soy flour, you grind up nuts, you get a nut flour, you grind up sprouted wheat berries, you get sprouted wheat berry flour! The essential nature of grinding something up into a "flour" changes it's GI and how the body processes it. Which is why these other kinds of "flours" are still discouraged in P1 for example.

A whole grain that is still in it's whole format will still have a lower GI than when it is ground up, whether it is sprouted or not. There is nothing wrong with unsprouted wheat berries as a whole grain source of nutrients either. Most of us just never eat them that way. (I've only had them once in a restaurant in Minneapolis myself.) It's the grinding them up into a flour (and in the case of enriched flours, stripping them of all the good parts first!) and adding lots of preservatives and sugars that makes bread in general an often less than desireable choice. But if you choose to eat "fluffy" raised breads, then Ezekiel breads are a good choice. 30 gms or an ounce is still a serving size though!

FWIW, I post this article from Dr. Weil frequently: Ask Dr. Weil: Whole grains, not whole-wheat flour, best for level blood sugar | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®

[JohnC]

I love Ezekial bread. I eat it in moderation though.