One of the first things people do when they attempt to lose weight is to cut out bread. The idea that bread is fattening is not just an old wive's tale. As I have learned and observed many times over, cutting out bread is a very effective strategy for weight loss. Bread is fattening not simply because it is a source of calories, but because it is very high in glycemic index. It is the most common source of wheat flour in the typical American diet and the most prevalent source of fattening carbohydrates.
Oftentimes, weight conscious individuals switch from breads to wraps. Have you ever eaten a wrap and felt somewhat cheated? Wraps simply do not give us the pleasure that bread does. The reason is wraps take out the best part of bread--air. If you are worried about calories, switching from leavened bread to flat bread doesn't really help. That just takes out the air from your food, and air doesn't have any calories. Also, switching to wraps doesn't take out the offending high glycemic processed flour that causes all the weight gain in the first place.
Taking out the air also takes away a lot of the taste. Air is a very important part of the pleasurable experience of eating. Air adds volume to our food, which is important because bigger food is visually more appealing than smaller food. Air also confers a lightness and softness to food, which can be texturally pleasing.
And while you can't see air, you certainly can taste it. As Michael Pollan points out, air pockets in food transport the flavors from the food as gas into the back of our mouths and sinus cavities. Because nearly eighty percent of the pleasure of food comes from our olfactory senses, air is a significant contributor to the pleasurable sensations we get from eating food.
I have been searching for a decent low carb, gluten free, low glycemic index bread substitute for a long time. Thanks to my patient, Meredith, I have finally found one. This recipe for cloud bread is a game-changing bread substitute. In contrast to my previous failed attempts to mimic bread, cloud bread gets the most important factor right--air. Infusing air into eggs and cream cheese results in a light and fluffy bread substitute that you can use for sandwiches such as a gluten free egg salad sandwich.
For my cloud bread, I skipped sweeteners like sugar and honey and went completely savory, adding salt, garlic powder, and rosemary. I split my batter into six bun halves and baked the buns at 350 degrees. But watch your cloud bread closely during baking and subsequent broiling, as it can burn easily!
Oftentimes, weight conscious individuals switch from breads to wraps. Have you ever eaten a wrap and felt somewhat cheated? Wraps simply do not give us the pleasure that bread does. The reason is wraps take out the best part of bread--air. If you are worried about calories, switching from leavened bread to flat bread doesn't really help. That just takes out the air from your food, and air doesn't have any calories. Also, switching to wraps doesn't take out the offending high glycemic processed flour that causes all the weight gain in the first place.
Taking out the air also takes away a lot of the taste. Air is a very important part of the pleasurable experience of eating. Air adds volume to our food, which is important because bigger food is visually more appealing than smaller food. Air also confers a lightness and softness to food, which can be texturally pleasing.
And while you can't see air, you certainly can taste it. As Michael Pollan points out, air pockets in food transport the flavors from the food as gas into the back of our mouths and sinus cavities. Because nearly eighty percent of the pleasure of food comes from our olfactory senses, air is a significant contributor to the pleasurable sensations we get from eating food.
I have been searching for a decent low carb, gluten free, low glycemic index bread substitute for a long time. Thanks to my patient, Meredith, I have finally found one. This recipe for cloud bread is a game-changing bread substitute. In contrast to my previous failed attempts to mimic bread, cloud bread gets the most important factor right--air. Infusing air into eggs and cream cheese results in a light and fluffy bread substitute that you can use for sandwiches such as a gluten free egg salad sandwich.
For my cloud bread, I skipped sweeteners like sugar and honey and went completely savory, adding salt, garlic powder, and rosemary. I split my batter into six bun halves and baked the buns at 350 degrees. But watch your cloud bread closely during baking and subsequent broiling, as it can burn easily!
References
Pollan, Michael. 2013. Cooked: a natural history of transformation.
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