Best choices for bread

As you may have surmised from the previous post, I'm definitely a carb lover. I've tried MANY different breads, and spent way to much time comparing labels in the grocery store. The first thing I look at is the ingredient list to see if "whole wheat" or "whole grain" is the first item listed. That's a must! If it says enriched, it's out (no matter what the large print on the front on the bread bag says). I then look to the nutrition label and check out calories, sugar, sodium--the fewer the better on all these items--and then the fiber content. The more fiber the better, and some breads will even have a decent amount of protein in them, which is a bonus. Be sure to check the serving size at the top, as some breads have one slice per serving and others have two.

For a long time, I went with Sara Lee 45 calorie multi-grain, which is a good choice according to the above criteria. However, most places it's almost $4 a loaf, which is kind of crazy for bread. So I recently switched over to Wonder Bread Smart Wheat. It's very similar to the Sara Lee 45 calorie breads (5 calories higher and a smidgen higher in sodium) and costs about half the price. Healthy eating has become a pretty hot button issue lately, and I really feel like some companies are taking advantage and charging way more than necessary for something that's only slightly better than it's less expensive counterparts. I don't mind spending some extra money if something is way better for me, but in this case it's just not crucial.