Do you love bread and include it in your diet? That’s smart because healthy bread is good for you. Read more to learn about this diet staple and find out the best store bought breads. I’ll tell you what to avoid, too!
Who doesn’t love bread? Whether it’s yummy sourdough bread, whole grain bread flax bread, or more, I love ’em all. When I’m in an eating window of my intermittent fasting regimen, I sometimes enjoy a sandwich with healthy deli meat, cheese, and some veggies for a protein-filled meal.
I always make sure I keep the best store bought breads in my pantry and switch up bread for homemade tortillas once in a while. Still, bread is great for things like avocado toast as an any-time-of-day meal, and for breakfast or snacks, homemade peanut butter on toast is just great!
You can see I love bread, right? It’s flavorful, satisfying, and tastes great in a sandwich or for toast in the morning. Bread is a great way to get extra vitamins and minerals and to up your grain intake. I know you want to continue your healthy lifestyle. So, let’s look at the 6 best store bought breads!
What Are The Benefits Of Bread?
Bread has tons of benefits.
But first, a lot of people are afraid of bread when they shouldn’t be. They worry about the carbs found in bread and I can tell you that’s a mistake. For one thing, we need carbs right alongside healthy fats and proteins. They make up the macros required for a healthy diet. You can learn all about macros and how to calculate them (a great tool for weight loss when needed) by reading my post.
Back to the benefits of bread:
- Energy: The calories in bread aren’t that high, yet bread gives you energy.
- Fat: Bread does not have a whole lot of fat but you shouldn’t be afraid of it anyhow. Fat is good for you!
- Fiber: An adequate fiber intake keeps the digestive system working properly and also helps to control blood sugar.
- Protein: Muscle and cell repair is aided by protein.
- Vitamins and minerals: Bread helps to maintain vitamin and mineral requirements, keeping skin, nails, and eyes healthy.
What Are The Healthiest Types Of Bread?
Several types of bread make up the healthy bread category. Take a look:
- Whole wheat bread: 100% whole wheat bread’s claim to fame is that the grain used to make the bread is intact. This bread has the germ, bran, and endosperm, with the bran containing healthy fiber. Whole grains have benefits like a link to lowered diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk.
- Sourdough bread: Sourdough is easy to digest, has probiotics and is made through a fermentation process. Probiotics are found in fermented foods and are good for the digestive system.
- Oat bread: Oats are one of my favorite things and they are super good for you. Oat bread is healthy as oats may help to lower cholesterol and decrease blood pressure.
- Sprouted whole grain: This type of bread is power-packed. Whole grains that have started to sprout (because of the exposure to heat and moisture) are the main component. The carb content is lower than in other breads.
- Flax bread: Flax seeds and whole-grain flour make up flax seed bread. It’s considered one of the healthiest on the market. That’s because flax seeds offer a ton of nutrition. Learn more about the awesome flax seed here.
- 100% sprouted rye bread: Rye bread has a lower impact on blood sugar than just about any other bread. It has a high soluble fiber content too. This slows digestion and keeps you feeling fuller longer.
- Gluten-free bread: When looking for gluten-free bread, shop for bread made with coconut or almond flour. This gives you protein and fiber but less starch and calories (than rice or potato flour bread, for example).
What Is The Best Store Bought White Bread?
You’ll see in my list of best store bought breads that I mention Dave’s Killer Bread. It’s organic, has 10 grams of whole grains, and does not have bleached flour (stay away from bleached flours!). I also like the fact that it contains 3 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and only 2 grams of sugar. It’s considered healthy as opposed to bread with processed flour and sugars that spike your blood sugar.
What Is The Best Sandwich Bread Brand?
Well, you’ll see in my list below that several breads pair well with healthy deli meat and toppings like avocado, tomato, cheese, and lettuce. But I do tend to go for Dave’s Killer Bread quite often. They produce everything from thin-sliced sandwich bread to 21 whole grains buns for burgers. For my sandwiches I can choose from Powerseed bread and Righteous Rye, two of my favorites when making a roast beef sandwich. And I know there are no GMOs or artificial ingredients.
What Is The Healthiest Store Bought Bread?
I’ve narrowed it down to 6 of my fave brands of best store bought breads. Take a look and you’ll see why.
1. Dave’s Killer Bread
Yep, this is a good one! The bread this company makes is USDA organic, has no GMOs, and has a ton of variety for every palette. The 21 Whole Grains And Seeds type shown here has 3 grams of protein so it’s sure to fill you up. And there are 140 milligrams of ALA omega-3s.
2. Base Culture Original Keto Bread
This bread is 100% paleo and has no preservatives or artificial ingredients. What it does have is almond butter, almond flour, apple cider vinegar, and more clean eating ingredients! It’s gluten-free and has no added sugar either.
3. Alvarado St. Bakery Bread
Six grams of protein and 20 grams of whole grains per slice make this an amazing bread. It’s organic, with ingredients like oat fiber and sprouted organic whole wheat berries, it’s super tasty, too.
4. Food for Life Bread
The 7 Sprouted Grains variety pictured here has no flour. It does have brown rice, millet, corn, rye, oats, barley, and whole wheat! It’s a vegan bread with a low sodium content too. That’s important as many breads claim to be healthy but have oodles of sodium.
5. Rudis Organic Bakery Bread
This Rocky Mountain Sourdough is nice and soft for when you are looking for delicious bread to smooth homemade peanut butter and chia jam over. Can you picture it? Ah-mazing! With organic ingredients and no artificial stuff added, this bread has 0 grams of sugar and fat, but 3 grams of protein.
6. Silver Hills Bread
I love the Organic Sprouted Power Bread with yummy ingredients like millet, black and white sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds. It’s got 3 grams of fiber and lovely sprouted ancient grains as mentioned. It’s so flavorful and has a bit of crunch as well.
What Else Should I Look For When Buying Bread?
When buying bread, always look at the nutrition label on the bag. Don’t buy bread with fillers and additives like potassium bromate, partially hydrogenated oil, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) which is a preservative, and caramel coloring. Other things you may see in bread are sodium (stay away from too much sodium) and high fructose corn syrup (more added sugar!).
Read the label!
- Look for 3-5 grams of fiber per slice since fiber is great for digestion
- The protein content should be 3-6 grams per slice
- Look for sprouted flours or 100% whole grain flours
- Look for sprouted grains
- A bit of sugar or honey is okay to activate the yeast but keep it under 2 grams per slice
- Enjoy bread but in moderation
What to avoid!
- Stay away from added sugars and oils because there is no added nutrition there
- Stay away from bread made with refined flours
- Avoid white bread because your body metabolizes it into sugar pretty quickly
- Avoid unpronounceable ingredients; if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it
- Don’t buy bread with GMO ingredients
This post contains affiliate links to products I use regularly and highly recommend.
Wow, all along thinking bread is bread. Thanks for a great article.