flatbread

Flatbread: Bread is Bread! Day 85 and 86

Every culture has a version of flatbread. Originally, it was an unleavened dough that was rolled out flat and baked. Bakers around the world have taken the simple ingredients of flour, water and salt and tweaked it slightly. In Greece we have pitas, in Mexico we have tortillas, and in Norway we have flatbrød. Pizza, though debated due to the addition of yeast, is now considered a flatbread.

Flatbread vs a similar loaf bread has the nutritional and calorie profile gram for gram.

Here is a nutritional comparison of some major brands and types. I added pizza to the comparison just for fun.

Brand

Type

Serving size

Calories per serving

Sodium/Carbs/Fiber/sugar/protein

Arnold

100% whole wheat sandwich thins

43 grams

100

170 mg/22g/5g/2g/5g

Arnold

100% whole wheat bread

43 grams

100

150mg/18g/3g/3g/4g

Mission

Tortilla whole wheat

45 grams

130

280mg/22g/3g/2g/4g

Stonefire

Whole grain Naan

63 grams (half of Naan)

180

400mg/28g/4g/3g/5g

Freschetta  Artisan Crust

Four Cheese Pizza

Whole wheat crust cheese pizza

126g

320

670mg/38g/4g/9g/15g

Pizza calculated to match other serving sizes

126/2.9=

63g

110

231mg/13g/1.3g/3.1g/5g

Flatbreads can be eaten with any toppings you can think of. How about fresh sliced peaches and ricotta cheese for a boost in calcium. If savory is more your thing try some grilled lamb or beef on your flatbread.

Lamb shawarma flatbread

Lamb Shawarma served on an Egyptian flatbread from a Portland food truck.

I made my way down to a new Piadina food truck in Portland. My bread was made fresh on the grill. It took about 15 mins to get my Prosciutto Piadina, but the fluffiness of the flatbread, paired with prosciutto and crisp from the grill is worth it.  Who knew that this form of Italian street food can contribute to my bread diet?

Piadina flatbread

The Prosciutto Piadina was stuffed with mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, pesto, arugala and its crust was just crispy and delicious.

So eating artisan bread, whole grain bread, sweet bread, or flatbread all count the same as far as calories.

Thinner bread doesn’t always mean better just as artisan does not always mean healthier. Just breaking more bread myths on days 85 and 86!

Here’s what I ate on Days 85 and 86 of EB90:

Food   Portion  Calories 
Day 85
Multigrain Bread 9 slices (40g) 990
Crab Legs 9 oz 260
Hot Dog 1 170
Fruit Salad 1 C 204
Lamb Shawarma 100g 450
Run -300
Total 1,774
Day 86
Multigrain Bread 3 slices (40g) 330
Bagel 200g 520
Turkey Croissant 85g 240
Beef Ribs 1pc 430
Prosciutto Piadina 50g 400
Apple 1 95
Cherries 1C 74
Walk -200
 Total 1,889

 

pizza slice

The Pizza Diet: Day 80 and 81

I’ve wondered if I went on a pizza diet, how many slices would I have to consume a day? Looking at a crust like the Boboli 12” thin crust, that would be one and a half pizzas! Yeaaaaah. I’m not really that crazy about pizza, even though I think I can totally down that much in a day.

So I did what any sane person can do. Eat an entire pizza  from Pieology.

It wasn’t an easy feat, after eating half a pound of bread earlier in the day. However, I did manage to make it healthier by adding spinach and pesto. I went light on the cheese too.

 

Why is pizza part of my bread diet?  I believe that the pizza crust is a flat bread. It’s made of four basic ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt. However, it is much easier to eat sliced and loaf bread (for the convenience), than going for a pizza. Therefore, you will see pizza part of my diet, but not that frequently.

Pizza got its start in the Italian town of Naples, a port city with a large working class during the 1700s and early 1800s. Historians believe the need for an inexpensive, on-the-go food was why these flatbreads with toppings sold so well. Pizza (an Italian word for pie) soon spread through Italy. The first recorded pizza restaurant in the U.S. was in 1905 in Manhattan: G. Lombardi’s. It took quite some time, however, for it to move around the country and evolve into the dish we enjoy today.

So where can you find the best slice of pizza in the U.S.?

Well, according to a Travel+Leisure survey, try Phoenix, AZ! It was voted the best city for pizza. However, if you’re looking for something a little closer to home, find it on this list of the best pie by state, or here is a top 10 list of pizza joints around the country.

Here’s what I ate on days 70 and 81 of EB90:

Food Portion  Calories 
Day 80
Chocolate Brioche 1 250
Whole grain Artisan 3 Slices 400
Butter 2 Tbsp 200
Nicoise Salad 2 C 350
Pizza 6 oz 990
Pineapple 3 oz 41
Cherries 1C 74
Run -400
 Total 1905
Day 81
Spelt bread 600
Raisin bread 600
Ricotta 1/4 C 100
Red Beet Salad 250
Ham and Cheese 4 Slices 160
Coconut water 2 C 100
1810

 

puffed grains

I’m Puffed Up about This Bread! Days 69 and 70

It was nice to have my appetite back, so I started my day with a large stack of french toast with whole wheat bread. Do you know why this popular dish is called french toast?

It actually has nothing to do with location. This breakfast dish can trace its early forms all the way back to the Roman empire! During the 15th century in England and France, it was called “pain perdu” or “lost bread”—due to the fact the recipe called for stale bread. Many believe French toast got its name from a 17th century U.S. innkeeper, Joseph French.

french toast

A wholesome stack of French toast made with whole wheat bread, topped with fresh strawberries and maple syrup.

 

I also challenged myself to three quarters of a pizza from a store-bought, ready-made pizza crust.

Yes, I believe pizza is a bread, and it belongs to my bread diet (even though it took me almost 70 days to realize this).

I layered the pizza generously with vegetables and gave it a light topping of mozzarella and pepperoni. It was delicious, but my goodness, I wouldn’t recommend eating this much pizza in a sitting!

homemade pizza

My homemade pizza with onions, mushrooms, broccoli, mozzarella, pepperoni and my homemade pizza sauce.

On another note, here’s an interesting concept. Instead of soaking your grains and then baking them, how about skipping the soaking step and just use puffed grains instead? Ancient Brands Grain sent me three delicious loafs of bread filled with puffed wheat and the texture was great.

There was no ‘unsoaked’ hard kernels that stuck in-between my teeth, and the product visually looks like whole grain.

Ancient Brands Grain specializes in organic and conventional ancient grains, such as quinoa, amaranth or millet. After carefully sourcing grains, they use patented puffing equipment. The end result is a grain with consistent texture, a good flavor profile and high in nutrients.

One of the breads I ate was a partially puffed emmer—an ancient grain also known as farro. I’ll tell you what, I’d be puffed up to eat this bread any day!

partially puffed emmer

Nutritious slices of whole grain bread made with partially puffed emmer.

 

partially puffed durum wheat

A densely textured whole grain bread with partially puffed durum wheat.

Here’s what I ate on Days 69 and 70 of EB90:

Food Portion   Calories
Day 69
Bagel 1(100g) 210
Butter 2 Tbsp 200
Pizza 300g 900
French Toast with Whole Wheat Bread 4 slices (40g) 600
Cherries
Berry Cream Cake 1 slice 150
Total 2060
Day 70
Raisin Bread 2 slice (40g) 180
Whole Grain Emmer Bread 3 Slices (60g) 210
Whole Grain Bread 4 Slices (50g) 440
Butter 2 Tbsp 200
Lemon Curd 2 Tbsp 120
Cherries 1C 74
Waffles 3 400
Steak with caramelized onions 100g 209
Asparagus 1 C 27
Pineapple 3 oz 41
Berry Cream Cake 1 slice 150
Strawberries 1C 50
Calcium Supp
Total 2101