How to Choose the Best Bread in The Grocery Store

There are hundreds of decisions you must make everyday. Thousands even! Do I want a regular coffee or a latte? What should I wear for work today? Do I like this Facebook publication by a friend? This kind of things.

Researchers from Cornell University in the United States estimated that an average adult takes about 226.7 decisions a day concerning food alone. That’s a lot! And the more responsibilities you have, the more decisions you will have to take! So, how can you choose the best bread in the grocery store?

To make it easier, here is a reminder that will help you make informed choices when shopping for bread. You won’t have to worry about it ever again!

Do You Impulse Buy?

Impulsivity in the grocery store looks like choosing the first option that you see. With such a behaviour, you will miss interesting discoveries and great products. Since the bread aisle is usually the longest of the store, you have quite a few options, which makes it even more important to carefully check and compare the products so that you can find the best option for your health.

Some people like to choose the most simple or popular option. This could be called compliance. But you could also delegate the decision. For example, you may be following a grocery list written by someone else or keeping in mind the advice of professionals.

Finally, balance is also a great strategy to choose well. Simply compare different factors (taste, price, health, size…) and choose the best option of the moment accordingly. Plus, you can combine strategies!

Among the latter, the list of ingredients should be considered. It should be short and easy to read.

Always Check The List of Ingredients!

By the way, it’s easy to make bread at home, so if you choose to buy it instead, try to select the one that resembles the most the original recipe! It’s normal however that shop-bought breads contain food preservatives such as calcium propionate, sorbic acid, or soya lecithin. Those help extend the shelf life of products. In comparison, a homemade bread will last only a few days at room temperature.

Nutrition criteria to remember (for a 2 slices portion):

Bon Matin breads

Most Bon Matin products easily pass the test! Plus, some breads, in addition to being made from wholemeal flour, contain a mix of cereals that enhances the taste and increases the quantity of fibers. For example, the Bon Matin 14 grain bread has a mix of red quinoa, amaranth, cracked sorghum, cracked triticale, oat flakes, millet, flaxseeds, cracked rye, cracked hulled barley, cracked brown rice, cracked buckwheat, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds!

Look out for sodium as well. Health Canada recommends not to go over 15% the daily value when choosing foods. The “5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot” reference is written at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts table as a reminder. As for sodium, 15% is the equivalent of 340 mg. This nutrient is an essential component of salt which, chemically speaking, is NaCl (sodium chloride). Therefore, to find out the salt quantity contained in a food product, simply multiply the sodium quantity by 2.5 (1 g (or 1000 mg) of sodium is the equivalent of 2.5 g of salt).

But be careful! You might need to divide the quantities by 1000 to get milligrams, since it’s the unit used in the Nutrition Facts table for sodium.

If sodium is problematic for you, choose a bread that has less than 275 mg for one portion. Bon Matin’s La mie de l’artisan oatmeal bread is an excellent option with its 250 mg for 2 slices (80 g). It’s too good not to try!

GOOD TO KNOW: Sandwiches are delicious with Bon Matin bread! Pimp your sandwich to make it unique, nutritious, and tasty!