Are croutons naughty or nice? Lol

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Jrabbit321
Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
in Food and Nutrition
I was reading over the crouton labels are the grocery store just now & they seem pretty low calorie, low fat & low carb. I was thinking of getting a bag & throwing a few in with my afternoon salads. Are they ok in a low carb/low fat diet? Or should I avoid them?

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  • IcassI
    IcassI Posts: 248 Member
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    I think everything in moderation is fine. Stick to the portion size if you need that extra crunch. Although you could try adding nuts if you want that crunch factor with your salad. My only concern with croutons are not just the bread, but the butter or whatever else is used to make them.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I wouldn't have said they were low fat or low carb, but it depends how they've been made. A few won't hurt, but I prefer sunflower seeds to give my salads crunch.
  • Jrabbit321
    Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
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    I wouldn't have said they were low fat or low carb, but it depends how they've been made. A few won't hurt, but I prefer sunflower seeds to give my salads crunch.

    I love sunflower seeds, but they seem so high in calories!
  • craignev
    craignev Posts: 1,247 Member
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    As long as it fits into your macros and calorie intake you'll be fine. I crumble a very small amount of blue cheese on my salads to transform the flavor and incorporate the extra few cals into my eating plan.

    You need to make tiny adjustments like this to ensure that you can persevere with it.
  • Jrabbit321
    Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
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    I think everything in moderation is fine. Stick to the portion size if you need that extra crunch. Although you could try adding nuts if you want that crunch factor with your salad. My only concern with croutons are not just the bread, but the butter or whatever else is used to make them.

    I don't know if they would be in moderation since I would eat them daily.
  • Jrabbit321
    Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
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    As long as it fits into your macros and calorie intake you'll be fine. I crumble a very small amount of blue cheese on my salads to transform the flavor and incorporate the extra few cals into my eating plan.

    You need to make tiny adjustments like this to ensure that you can persevere with it.

    Sounds like a really good way to have them.
  • Jrabbit321
    Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
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    If its something you love and feel you need then you could always make your own. That way you know exactly what you're eating.

    Very true! I'm going to google some recipes.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,949 Member
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    I think everything in moderation is fine. Stick to the portion size if you need that extra crunch. Although you could try adding nuts if you want that crunch factor with your salad. My only concern with croutons are not just the bread, but the butter or whatever else is used to make them.

    I don't know if they would be in moderation since I would eat them daily.
    That's why people input what they've eaten to see if it meets their calorie goal, easy.
  • Jrabbit321
    Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
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    I think everything in moderation is fine. Stick to the portion size if you need that extra crunch. Although you could try adding nuts if you want that crunch factor with your salad. My only concern with croutons are not just the bread, but the butter or whatever else is used to make them.

    I don't know if they would be in moderation since I would eat them daily.
    That's why people input what they've eaten to see if it meets their calorie goal, easy.

    Right, I understand that. But, I just wasn't sure if they would be in general good or not. I mean cookies & cakes can be fit into our calories for the day as well. But, if doesn't make them good for us to eat regularly.
  • cuterbee
    cuterbee Posts: 545
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    You can always make your own; cut up your leftover whole wheat bread into cubes*, spread them out on a cookie sheet, put them in the oven and put it on the lowest heat setting. When it reaches that temp, turn it off and leave them in overnight. Nice and crunchy after, and you know exactly what's in them (my mom did this for years).

    *Mom actually used scissors for this, but I'm sure a bread knife would probably work better.
  • Jrabbit321
    Jrabbit321 Posts: 91
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    You can always make your own; cut up your leftover whole wheat bread into cubes*, spread them out on a cookie sheet, put them in the oven and put it on the lowest heat setting. When it reaches that temp, turn it off and leave them in overnight. Nice and crunchy after, and you know exactly what's in them (my mom did this for years).

    *Mom actually used scissors for this, but I'm sure a bread knife would probably work better.

    Thank you!, this sounds like a great idea :-)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,949 Member
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    I think everything in moderation is fine. Stick to the portion size if you need that extra crunch. Although you could try adding nuts if you want that crunch factor with your salad. My only concern with croutons are not just the bread, but the butter or whatever else is used to make them.

    I don't know if they would be in moderation since I would eat them daily.
    That's why people input what they've eaten to see if it meets their calorie goal, easy.

    Right, I understand that. But, I just wasn't sure if they would be in general good or not. I mean cookies & cakes can be fit into our calories for the day as well. But, if doesn't make them good for us to eat regularly.
    The focus if something would be considered healthy or not when consumed everyday hinges on how much they make up your total calories, and secondary a particular macro. If someone is consuming 1200 calories a day and is eating cake and cookies that represent 400-600 calories, then Houston, we have a problem. If it's a few croutons in a salad and represents 50 or 100 calories, hopefully you see the difference.

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