My food mantra: “If there is something I eat on a daily basis, I want it to be nourishing to my body.”

For many people, that daily something is bread. It is a part of every meal: toast for breakfast, sandwiches at lunch and rolls or garlic bread (yum!) on the dinner table. And right about now, you probably feel like a loaf of bread – especially if, like me, you live in the North East.

So why not eat the healthiest bread available.

But the bread aisle can be so confusing! With all of the different “healthy” claims, how do you know which is the best bread to buy? I have spent at least a half an hour trying to find one without dough conditioners, high fructose sugar, or preservatives and with 100% whole grains. I just want a simple loaf of bread – flour, yeast, salt and water. It’s enough to make your head spin!

To make life a little easier and save you time, here are my

Healthy Bread Criteria:

• high in fiber — at least 3 grams per serving
• 100% whole grain
• low in salt
• no added sugar
• no dough conditioners
• no harmful preservatives

Watch this video for my healthy bread picks — you’ll save time and confusion. And you’ll have a tasty nourishing bread even your kids will like!

Here are detailed guidelines:

• Aim for 100% Whole Grains

Whole grains will provide you with a great source of fiber, which help in the prevention of heart disease and colon cancer. Fiber also helps to keep you fuller, longer, so that you can eat less throughout the day and maintain your weight. Not sure if your bread is 100%? Check the grams of fiber per serving; any less than two means you’re looking at a refined product.

• Watch the Sodium

Most bread products come with a dose of sodium. If you eat three servings of whole grain bread a day, and each slice has about 200 milligrams of sodium, that contributes 600 milligrams to your daily sodium total. It may not sound like much, but it represents one-third of your limit if you’re trying to stay within the recommended 1,800 milligrams a day. The good news is that there are plenty of breads with 200 milligrams or less of sodium per slice.

Make sense? Switching out your white bread for whole grain is a great first step towards eating healthier. Find out more of my healthy grocery picks at the next Pantry Detox session:

March 11th 11:30am-1pm or

March 12th 7pm-8:30pm

Still hanging out in your winter of 2015 outfit? Me, too 🙂
Moving slow but feeling the urge for a change?
Ready to shed the winter and celebrate spring?

Now is the time to put healthy eating practices in place so you can feel rested, energized and balanced. Get off the couch & register for the:

Come join Emily and me to learn which foods work best to keep your individual body balanced and healthy!

Don’t forget: Sign up by March 6th to receive your bonus package, worth $197!

You may not be feeling it at this moment, but come spring, you will wish you had joined us for our Spring Ayurvedic Reset.

Hope to have you join us:)

Denise

p.s I will be providing yummy spring tastings at Mad About Shoe’s Live Spring Fashion event on March 14th – French Lessons will be there too! Come join in on the spring fling fashion fun!