They say that if you want to be one of those people who just craves healthy food, you have to eat it from childhood so that it’s what you’re used to. Otherwise, all these fiber-filled nutrition bars and preservative-free/artificial-flavoring-free snacky-snacks feel like cardboard and taste like nothingness.
As a child who grew up with Pixy Stix, Saturday morning cinnamon rolls, and squishy white Bunny bread, I often feel despondent. Does this mean I’m hopeless when it comes to fulfilling my percent daily values? Does this condemn me to a life where I artfully avoid the truly healthy items at Whole Foods, opting instead for the organic chocolate and yummy pizza as I try to convince myself that if it’s organic, it must be healthy?
Recently, I have found out that it isn’t so. Let the world rejoice! Here’s what I’ve been eating for breakfast, and I can’t quite get enough of it:
The bread is Ezekiel 4:9 cinnamon raisin sprouted 100% whole grain bread. At first, I was jaded; after convincing myself that the squishy honey wheat bread is healthy because it’s got the word wheat in it, I was skeptical as to how healthy a slice of bread could be. Well, it didn’t take very long for me to be convinced. This bread is flourless, comprised, as it says, of 100% whole grain. The ingredient list is refreshingly simple, and with wheat, barley, millet, lentils, soybeans and spelt all part of the mix, you can give yourself a pat on the back. When they said breakfast was the most important meal of the day, this bread is what they were talking about. A single slice (and the slices are thin) has 9% DV fiber and 6% DV protein. Maybe these single-digit numbers don’t sound like a lot, but consider also that this bread is virtually fat-free and it looks a bit better. Eat two slices and you’ve got nearly a fifth of your fiber for the day, over a tenth of your protein. (I will say, though, that even though a slice is only 80 calories, it’s so healthy that it really fills you up. You needn’t eat any further. 5 more points.) All things considered, this is a harmless way to pack both of those in.
But, you’re probably thinking (and, don’t worry, I did too), how on earth could something so healthy possibly taste good? And you’re not wrong to think that. This particular bread is lightly and organically sweetened (though the only indicator of sweetener in the ingredients list is malted barley — not a breath of sugar), and with raisins and cinnamon, there’s enough of a texture and flavor dynamic to keep most people interested. But as someone who doesn’t even love Bunny bread toast, I needed something a little extra.
Enter almond butter.
The stuff we have is straight out of the almond-crushing butter-producing machine in Whole Foods’ bulk aisle. Ingredients list? Almonds. C’est tout. You can opt for it to be smooth, and honestly that’s delicious too, but we have crunchy and it’s on a whole different level of deliciousness. I have a weird thing with nuts and legumes; for some reason, if I chomp on anything — peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, whatever — my jaw gets really, really achy. It’s not an allergy, and the discomfort stays only at my jaw, but it’s enough to turn me off of snacking on any of those things. Something about this almond butter solves my problems, so while my jaw stays happy, I still get a straight-up shot of that delectable almond flavor. I’ll admit, it takes one or two bites to get used to (after all, this is a far cry from your Jif PB), but once you adjust, I promise: it is SO. WORTH. IT.
And, okay, so after I post this, I’m gonna go eat one of the marshmallow surprises my mom just took out of the oven (read: plain old straight-outta-the-can crescent rolls, swathed in butter, dusted in cinnamon, wrapped around a marshmallow and baked to the state of ooziness), but I don’t need to. In fact (and I am so serious), after a solitary slice of almond buttered toast that couldn’t be more than 200 calories, I feel like I might as well have just eaten 500. I’m so satisfied and full. Cheers! Maybe with a little time and experimentation, we can all be converted to that breed of blissed-out, radiant healthy eaters who we love to hate when we pass them in the grocery store… Good morning, everyone!
