Bread ... What is a healthier substitute?

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Replies

  • Fitfully_me
    Fitfully_me Posts: 647 Member
    There is no substitute. Lettuce isn't a substitute for anything - it's lettuce. Same goes for the cauliflower and squash that people are constantly trying to manipulate to "replace" certain "evil" foods like carbs. Just eat the damn bread as long as it fits your macros.

    tumblr_inline_n5kv9sA4j91qgkxw6.gif

    More of this
  • I use a brand call Flatout - http://www.flatoutbread.com/products/flatout-wraps/flatout-traditional/the-original/ - and it has a ton of fiber and keeps me full longer than traditional bread.
  • woodml1
    woodml1 Posts: 199 Member
    I swear by Ezekiel bread. You should be able to find it in the frozen section of your grocery store. It's a sprouted grain bread that is higher in protein and has carbs that digest more slowly (lower GI). For me switching to lower GI carbs has been incredibly impactful vs. substituting or cutting out foods.
  • lightblueeyes
    lightblueeyes Posts: 13 Member
    I have not found a "good" substitute for bread...I do use lettuce wraps with tuna or turkey because I prefer them that way, but not as a substitute for bread. I try to only eat whole grain or multi-grain bread in moderation. I do not feel like I need bread with every meal.

    When I am at work is the hardest...most of the restaurants near my job are all about burgers or sandwiches. Finding healthy alternatives to a sandwich for lunch have been key for me. On most Sundays, I will grill chicken or lean pork to take to work for lunch with vegetables. Sometimes I make a big pot of soup and portion it out and freeze it to take for lunch. I also make my own "homemade TV dinners" with leftovers from supper and freeze them to take to lunch. I always keep fresh fruit and vegetables on hand for snacks as an alternative to the bagels/donuts that are frequently delivered to the office by vendors.
  • k_nicole87
    k_nicole87 Posts: 407 Member
    Bread with butter?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I wrap my normal sandwich stuff in a big lettuce leaf. Works for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

    Please stop with the silliness, that is not an adequate substitute


    Wait. Why is it silly for you? He is eating it and it's going in his body.
    Apparently its working for him and it seems he is enjoying.

    Please explain how is it silly for you.

    A lot of people who are afraid of vegetables like to claim that "moderation" means eating tiny portions of the "good" stuff and apparently nothing else, no matter how hungry you are. Heaven forbid someone use a lettuce leaf or add vegetables to a stir-fry or pasta.

    I'm huge on moderation and "making it fit", I just can't understand why "making it fit" doesn't ever incluce swapping in an egg white or a vegetable. Someone already went off on cauliflower.

    I made the comment and eat plenty of vegetables, however can you name one instance in which you swap out bread for lettuce that is as good as it was with bread? Mmmmhmmm
  • lightblueeyes
    lightblueeyes Posts: 13 Member
    I have a question about Ezekiel bread. In my area I only find it frozen and I have bought it several times and when thawed it is like cardboard - tough and dry. How do you store it and how do you thaw it to keep it from having this cardboard texture when you are ready to use it. I liked the taste of it, but couldn't get past the texture.
  • hollizmama
    hollizmama Posts: 5 Member
    I have gone to gluten free bread. it is more expensive but it is better.
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    I have gone to gluten free bread. it is more expensive but it is better.

    Why do you believe this?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I wrap my normal sandwich stuff in a big lettuce leaf. Works for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

    Please stop with the silliness, that is not an adequate substitute


    Wait. Why is it silly for you? He is eating it and it's going in his body.
    Apparently its working for him and it seems he is enjoying.

    Please explain how is it silly for you.

    A lot of people who are afraid of vegetables like to claim that "moderation" means eating tiny portions of the "good" stuff and apparently nothing else, no matter how hungry you are. Heaven forbid someone use a lettuce leaf or add vegetables to a stir-fry or pasta.

    I'm huge on moderation and "making it fit", I just can't understand why "making it fit" doesn't ever incluce swapping in an egg white or a vegetable. Someone already went off on cauliflower.

    I made the comment and eat plenty of vegetables, however can you name one instance in which you swap out bread for lettuce that is as good as it was with bread? Mmmmhmmm

    I actually prefer my tuna wraps with lettuce... that's about the only time... but that's my personal preference.
    I use tortilla's for tacos (have substituted- do not like)
  • k_nicole87
    k_nicole87 Posts: 407 Member
    I have gone to gluten free bread. it is more expensive but it is better.

    throne-of-lies.gif
  • woodml1
    woodml1 Posts: 199 Member
    I have a question about Ezekiel bread. In my area I only find it frozen and I have bought it several times and when thawed it is like cardboard - tough and dry. How do you store it and how do you thaw it to keep it from having this cardboard texture when you are ready to use it. I liked the taste of it, but couldn't get past the texture.

    The texture definitely takes some getting used to. I store it in the fridge to keep the moisture in it and toast it nine times out of 10 when using it.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I have gone to gluten free bread. it is more expensive but it is better.

    Why do you believe this?

    Gluten is a known toxin...
  • slk_5555
    slk_5555 Posts: 177 Member
    I just started eating bread again. I won't eat crappy white bread, but a good multi seed loaf is delicious & keeps me full for ages. Sandwiches are back on the menu for me:-)

    After years of trying to find 'substitutes' for certain foods, I have now concluded that quality over quantity wins in terms of both taste, nutrition & filling me up. I could easily eat half a loaf of white bread in 1 sitting, but would genuinely struggle to eat more than 2 slices of good wholesome multi seed bread.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    - buy lower calorie bread if you have to
    - eat less sandwiches
    - enjoy your sandwiches when you have them

    It's what I do. Not because bread is evil, but because it doesn't fill me up as much for the calories (and nice bakery bread doesn't really either, plus then we have a lot of extra bread that will go bad before it's eaten most of the time).
  • notamoment
    notamoment Posts: 190 Member
    Lettuce and egg yolk do not mix well....i cant soak up my eggy goodness with lettuce :(
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    There is no substitute for bread.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    I wrap my normal sandwich stuff in a big lettuce leaf. Works for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

    Please stop with the silliness, that is not an adequate substitute


    SRRRIOUSLY
  • corn tortillas, instead of sandwiches make a taco instead, or learn how to make bread at least for me i've found that i eat less of it if i bake it and its actually much better for you
  • notamoment
    notamoment Posts: 190 Member
    I wrap my normal sandwich stuff in a big lettuce leaf. Works for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

    Please stop with the silliness, that is not an adequate substitute


    SRRRIOUSLY

    SRISLY!
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Besides the cutting down on how much bread you eat, also get better bread.

    What American's think bread is: Cheap-white-bread-006.jpg

    What actual bread is: German-Bread1.jpg

    One slice of real bread fills you up, toast does not. Also, there are breads that use whole grains *omnomnom*. However, stay away from pumpernickel and sunflower bread. Those are super high in calories. :)

    I don't think you are allowed to post porn on this site.....(Homer Simpson type drool)
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    I wrap my normal sandwich stuff in a big lettuce leaf. Works for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

    Please stop with the silliness, that is not an adequate substitute


    Wait. Why is it silly for you? He is eating it and it's going in his body.
    Apparently its working for him and it seems he is enjoying.

    Please explain how is it silly for you.

    A lot of people who are afraid of vegetables like to claim that "moderation" means eating tiny portions of the "good" stuff and apparently nothing else, no matter how hungry you are. Heaven forbid someone use a lettuce leaf or add vegetables to a stir-fry or pasta.

    I'm huge on moderation and "making it fit", I just can't understand why "making it fit" doesn't ever incluce swapping in an egg white or a vegetable. Someone already went off on cauliflower.

    So, so, so many times this. Every time I see one of these threads and I see all the "ew!! never substitute XYZ!! it will never be as good!!" responses, I see red.

    Sometimes, I plan out my day, and I say to myself "self, with this plan, you're over your calories by 200 and your carbs by about 40. we need to cut something out. what shall we do?" Obvious answer is obvious: remove the bread from my lunchtime sandwich (or re-tool my lunch entirely) and replace it with something else.

    Creating MODERATION means that sometimes you cut things out and sometimes you don't, and yet so many people seem to gloss over the first part of that statement. Yes, bread is magical and delicious. No, lettuce is rarely better than bread. But if I ate exactly what I wanted 100% of the time then my weight would still be on the way up rather than the way down. Moderation means continuing to eat some things that you love and, in order to make that happen, removing some of the things you love (not forever, no, but here and there - balance it out). Maybe today I don't have bread with my sandwich so I can have ice cream for dessert. Maybe tomorrow I have that bread, and I skip dessert that day. Asking for ideas for a different way to eat a sandwich that doesn't involve bread is totally reasonable, as long as the person isn't intending to NEVER EVER eat bread again.

    With that said, my idea is to take all your sandwich insides and chop them into a salad instead :happy: .
  • Mgypsygirl
    Mgypsygirl Posts: 37 Member
    I still eat bread and like others I just eat less. I do low carb tortillas and whole wheat. I often make Philly cheese steak sandwiches baked on half a piece of French bread. Also, I do tacos in a romaine lettuce leaf. I could never stop eating bread completely, some people can, but I like bread! I make bread once a week. Good luck finding your balance!
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    One slice of real bread fills you up, toast does not.

    ?? Why would toasting bread make it less filling? :huh:

    One loaf of seeded semolina will fill me up.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I wrap my normal sandwich stuff in a big lettuce leaf. Works for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

    Please stop with the silliness, that is not an adequate substitute


    Wait. Why is it silly for you? He is eating it and it's going in his body.
    Apparently its working for him and it seems he is enjoying.

    Please explain how is it silly for you.

    A lot of people who are afraid of vegetables like to claim that "moderation" means eating tiny portions of the "good" stuff and apparently nothing else, no matter how hungry you are. Heaven forbid someone use a lettuce leaf or add vegetables to a stir-fry or pasta.

    I'm huge on moderation and "making it fit", I just can't understand why "making it fit" doesn't ever incluce swapping in an egg white or a vegetable. Someone already went off on cauliflower.

    I made the comment and eat plenty of vegetables, however can you name one instance in which you swap out bread for lettuce that is as good as it was with bread? Mmmmhmmm

    I wasn't aware that everything had to be equally tasty when a person is trying to make things fit their macros, but I can point you to plenty of times I've eaten chicken curry with cauliflower instead of rice, or italian pasta sauce on zucchini and mushrooms instead of wheat pasta, or if I've felt like a big juicy burger, actually preferring lettuce to bread for a wrapper.

    Can you please tell me a time when you actually preferred air to a vegetable? Because that's what all this simplistic "just eat less bread" means.

    An adequate subsitiute would be one that there is little to no loss in quality of the overall product. The poster suggested lettuce for tacos (tacos don't often use bread), sandwiches and burgers. There is a noticeable loss in overall quality of a sandwich or burger if you were to omit bread in favor of lettuce.
  • laurenk08
    laurenk08 Posts: 89 Member
    I have been dealing with this same issue! Bread is so packed with preservatives and unnatural ingredients a lot of times, so instead I have been using more beans and brown rice bowls, or a lot of times, salads with meats and cheeses on them! Wraps and pita pockets are always good too! I would just make sure you can pronounce all the ingredients :)
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Bread with butter?

    Yes ma'am!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    There is no substitute. Lettuce isn't a substitute for anything - it's lettuce. Same goes for the cauliflower and squash that people are constantly trying to manipulate to "replace" certain "evil" foods like carbs. Just eat the damn bread as long as it fits your macros.

    What is wrong with the OP wanting to eat less bread? Geez, she has a right to eat what she wants, or doesn't want.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    I have been dealing with this same issue! Bread is so packed with preservatives and unnatural ingredients a lot of times, so instead I have been using more beans and brown rice bowls, or a lot of times, salads with meats and cheeses on them! Wraps and pita pockets are always good too! I would just make sure you can pronounce all the ingredients :)

    It's still delicious. I will eat beans if I want beans.......but I want bread, dammit!

    And please tell me what unnatural ingredients are in the corner Italian bakery's Neapolitan crusty bread, aside from white flour or the durham wheat in Semolina?
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    Make your own bread! That way, you can add almost any veggies/nuts/cheese you want to it. I make mine with different types of alternative flours. Lately I'm obsessed with chickpea flour. I make simple tortillas out of them along with ground flax seeds and it's great as a nutty-tasting wrap or pizza dough! And you only need to pan fry it for a few minutes too. Yum...