Croutons
Croutons
aren't the worst offenders when it comes to diet-disasters, but they add
calories from processed grains without providing any nutritional benefit. And
many times the croutons are fried so they add unnecessary fat to your otherwise
healthy meal.
If
you're making your own salad, be wary of crouton brands that look healthy or
low in calories. The serving size listed on most crouton nutritional facts
labels is just two tablespoons. That's about two croutons! If you add the
number of croutons that most people add, you'll probably add 100 or more
calories in bread and oil.
If
you absolutely love to have a bit of crunch on your salad, try adding a
tablespoon or two of Grape-Nuts cereal. You get all the texture with the
benefit of whole grain fiber.
Comments: I do love the croutons to my salad. I've read the package contents and this is true that it says 2 tablespoons. I have a feeling that if you crumble up the croutons to come up with 2 tablespoons you won't have but maybe 5-8 at the most. And many are fried. So.... I make my own croutons - in the oven. I check the number of calories per slice of bread, cut it into small cubes, sprinkle it with some seasonings and bake at 350 until they are crispy. By checking the calories I'm able to count how many cubes I can have at each meal. I usually only add 8-10 small cubes giving me about 1/2 the calories, fat, carbs, etc. of the whole slice. The seasonings I use are salt free and range from Italian seasonings to sage, etc. Whatever my taste is at the time. I bag them in plastic bags and they keep forever.
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