Do you? It comes in so many shapes and sizes and tastes. It's yummy. When all else fails there is always a loaf of bread in the kitchen to eat! Of all the things I am not to eat so much of, I think bread is the hardest item to cut down on.
I ask you, what's a bowl of lovely homemade soup without a big chunk of bread to go with it? When hunger pangs strike, how great is a slice (or two) of toast and honey? Seeded bread and bread with nutty whole grains is gorgeous. Sandwiches are good to eat as well, and aren't crusty French sticks just fabulous, spread with butter? Oh drool!
Drool, drool, drool.
I am salivating now just thinking about crusty bread! I know I can have SOME bread in my diet but stodgy things (and alas, bread is stodgy) have to be eaten in moderation.
Moderation. That's a bloody awful word isn't it? It suggests a life on hold...one where a person has to pull back..have some control, behave moderately...do things in moderation. It's hard always being moderate. I prefer the word 'excess' or 'excessive' but I suspect most big people do. I could eat bread all day long...for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No problem.
Breakfast - poached eggs on toast. Lunch - a round of sandwiches. Dinner - garlic bread with the main meal. In between those meals I could eat toast, or a big chunk of crusty French bread and butter. If no one's around and I don't want to cook, or don't have to cook for others, I could eat bread all day long. Easy peasy. I could even fill up on pitta bread and wraps. Bread in any form is wonderful.
Bread is the staff of life. True, it is a staple food but, it's also written that "Man shall not live by bread alone." It does make a great accompaniment to other foods though, doesn't it? ;-)
Right now I am hungry - truly hungry. This morning so far I have had two mugs of tea, a nectarine, a few sunflower and pumpkin seeds and a small pot of fromage frais. It's time to eat and all my instincts tell me that some seeded bread, toasted, with a little honey on it would be good. I do have two hard boiled eggs in the fridge and I could eat those, but they just don't have the sort of 'bite' I need, or the taste I long for. I have bacon I could grill, or low fat cheese I could have with crackers. I even have some home made hummus in the fridge...but it doesn't appeal. I've also told myself that I need a big glass of water. I am not thirsty but I have begun to enjoy drinking more plain water. I have taken today's meds..with lots of water, but now, the thought of a hard boiled egg and a glass of water seems like prison or work-house food! I am just not salivating...
I am thinking eggs = protein, and water = goodness. BORING! UNATTRACTIVE!
I want to relish my food..I want something yummy.
I have cut out cakes more or less..but cake substitutes (I have been using dried fruit in small quantities to give me a sweet taste when a cake craving calls) just don't appeal. In truth I want the STODGE FACTOR...you know, that gooey satisfying sensation of bread? Something chewy and wholesome which has your jaws chomping...and I know thats how we eat all foods, but I want the stickiness of bread and it's filling qualities. Yes, I could go and make a wrap but I want the crisp hotness of toast..the drippiness of butter, the stickiness of honey.
I could use pittas filled with salad, but in truth I don't like salad much, and I find preparing it for just me is a bit of a bore. Now I have the house to myself all day I can't be bothered to cook. I want instant, grab-able foods and bread ticks the boxes (as do eggs, cheese, hummus, carrot sticks, fruit etc..) So..I am a grouchy slimmer and a lazy one too :)
Now is an example of me 'choosing' toast. See how I have talked myself into it? I could go away and eat my eggs, I could suck a half dried apricot, I could have a big glass of water...I could make myself a salad wrap - I have the ingredients in the fridge - but now I crave toast.
I know so many of you really work to beat your cravings. I admire people who can distract themselves and substitute other things for their craving. I could go and pedal the exercise bike perhaps? Nope.
Executive decision made! I am going to have my toast. I have some seeded bread which needs using up. I am also going to have honey on it. I am indulging my sweet tooth.
If I didn't have it now, I'd STILL be wanting it at midnight. Perhaps I am not properly dealing with cravings? I dunno. I do know that I'll be thinking of bread all day long if I don't have some.
Carbs have become a dieter's no-no of late, but I just can't see how I'd eat 'normally' if I tried to cut it out of my diet. I know I'd buckle and need bread. I don't want to exclude food groups really. It's best for me to go with the way my mind and body works and try to include my beloved bread as part of a balanced diet.
I suspect if I have bread now I'll have no more today. I am guilty of not 'strictly' planning my meals - apart from the family dinner which I cook most nights and try to make as healthy as possible, even though it usually includes, potatoes, rice or pasta. I am quite happy to have very small portions of those carbohydrates. I am trying to eat 'normally' and also I am not seeing my eating as a 'diet'. I am just finding the 'moderation in all things' hard at times.
OK, tea, toast and then I'll put a load of washing in the machine and go out for a walk around the block. I need a distraction or I could gaze at the contents of the fridge and food cupboards all day long! It's one of those "Let me eat lots and lots" days!
It's not a wonderfully active plan , but some days you just have to work with the way you feel, don't you?
Carbs are fine. In fact, everything is good. The main issue isn't carbs, fats, etc. The issue is balance. If you eat toast and honey with tea, it's all good, but you're going to feel hungry sooner because there's no protein or fat in the meal because your blood sugar will spike up and fall back down. Adding fat (butter your toast with honey) slows digestion, and will make you feel sated longer.
ReplyDeleteI have bread or bread-related foods twice a day. I have a whole wheat muffin (homemade, sugar-free, low-fat) with margarine or butter for breakfast which is essentially a bread product. I have an open-faced sandwich on whole wheat toast or bread for lunch, or half a whole wheat English muffin or part of a white flour (oh the horror!) tortilla. Have the bread, just pair some protein and fat with it for blood sugar stability and some sort of vegetable (or vegetable soup) to balance the nutrition. One of my favorite lunches is an open face egg salad sandwich. I get the bread/toast, but also the fat and protein. And egg salad with a bit of onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper and whole grain mustard and mayo is sublime.
I tend not to have bread with dinner, because I don't want to have carbs at night when I don't expect to move around so much. I figure that I don't need that sort of long-term energy before bed and I can have bread the next day if I want it. Like you, I have very small portions of carbs with dinner, if I have any carbs at all. It really depends on what is around and what I'm in the mood for. However, I rarely eat bread at night.
So, there's nothing wrong with bread.
FG: I also love bread. My mother made homemade bread served with her homemade jam and it was such comfort food. We have replaced all breads with whole wheat slim breads (half the calories) and I have them every day. Cutting things out that you love feels like deprivation and I don't believe in that. Just looking at things from a different slant. Jo
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm completely with you on this. There is nothing, and I mean nothing better to eat than a slice of warm bread with butter and honey. I think I could eat a loaf at a time. I love baking it especially the artisan style breads as they are so easy and come out with a crispy golden crust and soft, almost custard like interior. I'm not cutting bread anytime soon from my list!
ReplyDeleteI got my start reading this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312362919?ie=UTF8&tag=tsplent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312362919
Bread is not my friend these days. I did a post a while back about how I was choosing not to eat it and the longer I went without, the less I craved it. Last night I wanted to sink my teeth into a piece so badly. I didn't:) Of course I ate several other things in my avoidance:(
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and commenting. It got me here to yours, which is great.
ReplyDeleteI totally relate to the bread issue. I know carbs aren't all evil, but there are certain ones guaranteed to set me off on a binge, and bread is often a main offender. Bread with butter, that is. Good luck on this weight loss thing...it is HARD, but there is a lot of support and inspiration here in the blogdom! I'll be back.
I, too, love bread. Love it. I could eat only bread. So, I keep only 100 calorie per slice bread in the house so I am not tempted.
ReplyDeleteAbout salads: I used to not like them much, plus I am a bit lazy about preparing them. I posted in August on a salad that I have come to love: http://ruminationsasiuncoverthewomanwithin.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-to-prepare-salad.html
Enjoy your weekend! Michele
Bread is a big fave of mine, too. I can have all of the designer bread that I want "for free" from the food pantry that I volunteer for on Saturdays. Trader Joe's and grocery stores donate it, but the clients usually only want white sandwich bread (which is also donated in great quantities).
ReplyDeleteIf I trundle home with designer bread in my bag, I'll eat, eat, eat until I've slivered it to death.
Somedays you do have to work the way you feel. I agree. Battle on!
I'm glad I'm not the only person with a bread problem.. tee hee. I used to eat bags of rolls, whole loaves of bread... all white. Oh my. I have found that I can have whole grain bread products in my pantry and they rarely call me if ever. But if it is white bread, or flour tortillas, or crackers, cereal!!(oh Coco Puffs how I miss you!) or any other kind of refined flour goodness it's just too much of a battle for me, so I don't buy it. I won't even discuss baked goods lol.
ReplyDeleteGrump,
ReplyDeleteI too can never get enough bread...well my thighs can, but my soul cannot. I hear your struggle and live it with you daily. Good luck on your journey...remember...it's not a race, it's a marathon.