While, being the “bread-winner” is synonymous with being a wage-earner for the family, how much thought do we give into exactly what type of bread we are winning? If I just had to give you a quick tip about grains, it would be “Switch To Brown“,a post that talks about whole-grains in general. But in this post I want to highlight an article I read recently that specifically caters to choosing wholesome yet tasty bread for your whole family and especially for kids who need a good amount of vitamins and minerals in their diet during their growing years.

The KeepKidsHealthy website has an article titled “White vs. Wheat Bread” that can be deemed a quick primer for helping you choose good quality bread from the myriad varieties at the supermarket. Kids can be especially difficult to deal with when it comes to eating, but did you know that from ages 2-6, they should eat 6 servings from the grain food group, while older children should eat 6-11 servings each day? Of course bread is not the only source of whole grains for them, but it’s an important source, since it is part of a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches and meals.

Most breads, whether whole-wheat or white, are usually comparable as far as total calories, fat and iron go. Most white breads these days are also well-fortified with the required daily values of vitamins and minerals. As the article goes on to describe, the biggest difference shows up in the amount of fiber in each type of bread.

In general, 100% whole wheat/whole grain breads have more fiber than white bread or other breads made with wheat flour, although some white breads, such as Iron Kids and Iron Kids crust-less bread, have almost as much fiber as many kinds of wheat bread.

For kids, fiber is a vital component of any meal because it not helps you feel full but also helps in passage of foods through the digestive system. For kids with constipation, whole-wheat breads can be extremely helpful.

Another important mineral for kids is calcium - vital for bone growth and strength. Milk-based white breads might sometime have more of this, but fortified whole wheat breads nowadays have an equal quantity as well. If milk or dairy products are not a big hit with your kids, bread can be that extra source of calcium.

So what should you look for next time you are in the bread-aisle? Here are a couple of pointers:

1. Protein: 2-3 g per serving (sometimes a serving might be just one slice - given the bigger size of bread these days)
2. Calcium: About 10-15% of Recommended Daily Allowance
3. Fiber: About 2-3 g per serving (this might just be the pivotal decision-maker when you are comparing different types or brands of bread).

As always remember to not only look for 100% Whole Wheat on the label . but also check the ingredients for terms like “100% Whole Wheat” or “100% Stoneground Whole Wheat”. If you see terms like “enriched wheat flour”, you might want to skip that brand if you are truly looking for the whole wheat variety.

Personally, I used to be a big fan of Arnold Double Fiber Bread but like I mentioned later in the comments I have now switched to the Ultimate-Grains Hearty Nutri-Bran bread from HS Bakery (unfortunately, their website is hopeless as far getting any useful information about its products goes). One slice has 100 calories, 2g of fat and best of all 5g of fiber and 5g of protein. The primary ingredients are water and coarse whole wheat flour and it is mildly sweetened (4g of sugar) with sugar and raisin paste (no artificial flavors or corn syrup).

If the kids in your home like whole-wheat bread, then there really should be no looking back at white. I have also heard of parents who use a neat trick to convince their kids that whole-wheat bread is better for them. At the supermarket they show their kids both packets and ask them to lift them. Typically the white bread loaf will be much lighter for the same volume and they can tell the kids “See? White bread is just filled with air! A big kid like you needs something more solid - like this wonderful brown color bread!”.

What bread will you choose for your family?

Technorati Tags: health, nutrition, whole grains, whole wheat bread

Related Posts:

• What exactly are you eating?
• This is my: Whole Wheat Bread
• Break that fast

When people ask me when I was bitten by the fitness bug, I like to tell them the story of “How Fitness became my Mantra“. It’s always entertaining (even to me) to learn that a free audio book deal can make such a profound change in a person’s life (and make the lives of those around that person a living hell as he daily expounds the virtues of eating raw vegetables and banishing sugar!).

The Abs Diet

But in all seriousness, The Abs Diet was truly the inspiration for my embarking on my journey toward fitness. The food and exercise ideas contained within its pages are a treasure trove for anyone seeking to learn a hype-free way to successful weight-management. The name of the book is a little misleading (although I am sure it contributes to loads of sales!).

Now, no diet can promise to give you washboard abs but combine the foods mentioned in the book it with the nicely illustrated exercises and you give yourself a great chance of having a defined mid-section - an almost guaranteed indicator of a person’s fitness level. The book also talks about things like “converting” fat to muscle which in reality can never happen because the two are made of different constituents. You really have to burn off fat with cardio exercises and pack on muscle with a combination of strength-training and protein-rich eating. But the book more than makes up for its few faults and its well worth the cost if only because of the detailed section on diet and the foods that it advises we all center our diets around. Meet …

The 12 Powerfoods

The book suggests that a large part of our diets should include foods from the set of 12 so-called power foods. Power 12 Foods: Never Go Hungry is the secret-spilling article on the Men’s Health website that details not only what these foods are, but also how you can include them in your daily meals. A basic understanding with the Abs Diet is that you will eat 6 times a day (3 major meals and 3 snacks - which is what I tend to do as well).

Though you can base entire meals and snacks around these foods, you don’t have to. But do follow these guidelines.

• Incorporate two or three of these foods into each of your three major meals and at least one of them into each of your three snacks.
• Diversify your food at every meal to get a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
• Make sure you sneak a little bit of protein into each snack.

An easy way to remember the 12 powerfoods is to remember the words ABS DIET POWER - the first letters of each of the powerfoods spell these words as you can see:

1. Almonds and Other Nuts
2. Beans and Other Legumes
3. Spinach and Other Green Vegetables
4. Dairy Products
5. Instant Oatmeal
6. Eggs
7. Turkey and Other Lean Meats
8. Peanut Butter
9. Olive Oil
10. Whole-Grain Breads and Cereals
11. Extra-Protein (Whey) Powder
12. Raspberries and Other Berries

While this is not a comprehensive list of all the good foods you can possibly consume, it is still pretty inclusive and I can unconditionally vouch for the veracity and potency of each and every one of these foods. In previous posts I have written about a majority of them including nuts (almonds and walnuts), green vegetables (broccoli), dairy (milk 1,2 and cottage cheese), oatmeal, peanut butter and whole grains (bread). It’s surprising how much my diet now revolves around all of these foods (well almost all - I am vegetarian so #7 is out, which is why I need a whole lot of #11 to make up the protein!)

What else can you ad to this list? Well, there’s flaxseed for one (along with other healthful seeds like sunflower seeds). And of course atleast 2-3 servings of fresh fruits (simply go with whatever is in season - this way you not only get a good variety year-round, you are also assured it is fresh and the cost is probably lower too). Any other super-foods you can think of that don’t fall into one of the 12 categories? Do comment about them.

Finally, incorporating these superfoods into your diet while always being conscious of your total calorie intake will certainly help you maintain an appropriate weight, but distributing that weight and ensuring you build lean muscle while losing fat requires - you guessed it - exercise! The Abs Diet Exercise Plan is a worthy complement to the superfood diet and an excellent place to start. It’s all part of the Abs Diet Plan.

I made a huge, life-altering change to my eating and exercise habits when I learned everything that you have read today. Are you now ready to make that big change?

Technorati Tags: health, nutrition, fitness, exercise, abs diet, powerfoods

Related Posts:

• 10 Great Foods To Add To Your Diet
• When bad things happen to good people
• Gallup Survey: America is getting heavier but exercising less