“Tell me about the chicken cutlets” I said as I reviewed a client’s food journal. “Those were healthy I used panko”. Now panko may be delicious, creating a crispy crust on food, but it’s not particularly healthy. Panko originated in Japan and comes from the Portuguese work pao (bread) with the Japanese suffix ko (flour or crumb). Panko are breadcrumbs. They have virtually no fiber, calories similar to other store-bought breadcrumbs with slightly lower sodium than a seasoned breadcrumb. Some brands of panko have trans fats although Edwards and Sons organic panko does not. For better “breading” use oatmeal pulsed in food processor. High fiber cereal or whole grain bread are other options. Panko is exotic sounding and therefore, I guess, seemingly better than breadcrumbs but it’s just ground crust less white bread, sorry.
Other foods people cling to from diets of yesteryear. It amazes me when clients come in and report eating Special K cereal. I’m not a huge fan of cold cereal but you lost me on Special K. Maybe it’s that I like food to taste good or taste like something. Side by side if you compare 1 cup of Special K cereal and white bread they look very similar. A little over 100 calories, some salt and no fiber. You may say 100 calories is “good”; I say 100 empty calories is a waste.
Then there’s the very popular Arnold Sandwich Thins. The label for their 100% whole-wheat flavor boasts “excellent source of fiber”. Here are the (unappetizing) ingredients
WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, YEAST, SUGAR, WHEAT GLUTEN, CELLULOSE FIBER, POLYDEXTROSE, SALT, SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA OIL, PRESERVATIVES (CALCIUM PROPIONATE, SORBIC ACID), GUAR GUM, MONOGLYCERIDES, CITRIC ACID, STEVIA EXTRACT (A NATURAL SWEETENER), SOY LECITHIN.
Yes whole wheat flour is the first ingredient and that there are 5g of fiber listed per “thin”. Have a look at the bolded ingredients. Both are added fibers used to make food products appear healthier. In Canada, these added fibers aren’t allowed to be counted in the fiber content. (and hockey is much more exciting that baseball just saying). If a product is really “whole” you don’t need to add fillers and good bread doesn’t need anything other than the first three ingredients above and salt.
I don’t eat wheat but if I were to have “white” bread I’d want a crusty baguette, maybe some challah or focaccia with rosemary. You can have your “thins”, “Special” food and fancy breadcrumbs…but I wouldn’t suggest it.
Did you previously think panko, Special K or sandwich thins were healthy? What do you use for breadcrumbs? What are other food examples of wolves in sheep’s clothing? Isn’t it better when wolves are just wolves?
I haven't touched Special K in years, and I have no interest in a sandwich "thin" but I am sad about panko. Funny, I am diligent about label reading but this one slipped through. And now I am off to make some oatmeal breading...hope my husband can't tell the difference. Thanks for the eye-opener!
ReplyDeleteI think panko slips for many people Amber and it's funny Special K sounds unappealing but panko is very similar.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe that I've never thought of breading with pulsed oatmeal? That's pretty smart! I don't bread things in general, but I'm curious enough about the oatmeal that I think I'm going to try it.
ReplyDeletewell you'll be happy to know that last night I made my kids breaded chicken and I didn't use PANKO. But, (gulp), I used crushed Potato Chips----and it was great (she bites nails now). I always use panko bread crumbs when I cook, they're tasty and don't use the bread crusts like regular bread crumbs. Honestly, I think if a meal is supposed to be breaded, I will bread it, knowing that nutritionally, it's not going to earn such high marks. Breadcrumbs every once in a while isn't so bad. I have tried oatmeal and it just kills the taste of the food for me. it loses so much flavor.
ReplyDeleteOne of my biggest blogger pet-peeves are those stupid sandwich thins. Ugh. Haven't bought cold cereal in years (it's a gateway food for me...) and always assumed panko was bad just because...well, it sounds to good to be "good". Love this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cameo, I think there are all sorts of foods that get a healthy pass without full inspection. Shari I don't think we have to choose between health and nutrition. I season the oatmeal to add flavor. It's not that it kills the taste it's that it doesn't have a ton of sodium and flavor on its own. I think Judythefoodie should come to the other side but I give you credit for being a wolf without disguise.
ReplyDeleteEmpty calories = wasted calories!
ReplyDeleteBut I gotta disagree w/ you about hockey... baseball is so much more exciting =)
Oh my goodness so many wolves in sheeps clothing out there. How about processed kid's cereals that have all kinds of nutritional claims on the box... high fiber, low-fat, blah blah blah!!
I haven't tried breading things with oatmeal but I will now! I rarely bread things but when I do I use 1/2 Panko and 1/2 homemade whole-wheat bread crumbs. Not "healthy" but hopefully not quite as bad haha. But by rarely I mean once every 1-2 months so I'll take it ;)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on the baguette - if I'm going to eat bread it's going to be some fantastic bread, not Wonder sponge.
ReplyDeleteI've never bought breadcrumbs before but good to know that they too are really just white bread. Never thought to look at the ingredients of some things!
This made me laugh out loud. Special K really tastes like cardboard. I'm totally guilty of buying those sandwich thins when they're on sale and always wonder why I do. They're so soft it's like they're pre-digested or something.
ReplyDeleteI never used Panko but I eat my mom's chicken all the time that she breads and bakes, with regular old breadcrumbs (and I have a little fear/hate of breaded chicken in general, but when I come home and I'm hungry I don't want to cook when there's dinner already made). I am so glad that you made suggestions to use oatmeal in the food processor or high fiber cereal instead! I'll have to try that.
ReplyDeleteCall me a weirdo, but I actually like Special K. I don't eat it very often though, because it IS empty calories. I usually mix it with All Bran, on the occasion that I eat it. It reminds me of my childhood concoction that I loved, Rice Krispies and Cheerios mixed together!
And the sandwich thins...it's funny because I was just considering going to the store and buying some because even though they are not whole grain, and have all that unnecessary crap in them, they are a good size for a sandwich. BUT you have motivated me to take a trip to Whole Foods and buy their version, which (I'm hoping) is not full of fillers and is made with whole grains. Now I'll have to check!
Thanks for this post!
That is interesting that what you mentioned about Canada. Why is the US always the last to get on board!?!
ReplyDeleteI have a difficult time with this because a lot of patients I see will be eating 100 calorie packs and fiber one bars. It is not real food but they seem to not understand this concept. I guess that is why these marketing departments do so well. People are convinced.
Kristen, agreed. The added fiber thing bugs me- do we know if added maltodextrin or cellulose is as good? At least say fiber and added fiber. Jess, you can do better than "predigested" food though I love that term, good call. Predigested with added fiber, yummers. Jess- try sprouted bread even better. Ameena, I'm with you sister, if we're going to "go there" let's do so in style (or good taste). Madeline-1/2 and 1/2 is an improvement. And Lisa, you're biased on baseball but as much as you like it, "exciting" may be the wrong word. I am in a family of hockey players (grew up on football) I guess I can say more violent.
ReplyDeleteI use panko sometimes but not because I think it's healthier than other coatings but because I like the crunch :) However, it's not a staple in my pantry and I often go years without buying it at all.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we know it for what it is, that's the important part.
ReplyDeletePanko I think of as trendy..but not any healthier than any sort of breadcrumb.
ReplyDeleteSpecial K....haven't had it in years..not much different than any other sort of cereal.
Arnold's sandwich thins...I think these gained popularity under the old Weight Watchers points system where the fiber and serving size was manipulated to produce a one point food. If you don't know about the point system, calling something a one point food meant people might be fooled into thinking something was a better choice than it was, in the case of the Arnold sandwich thins. I think the sandwich thins gained a lot of popularity during that time, and that the Arnold's company advertises on the Weight Watchers website. I've never actually tried them...just heard a lot of hype about them.
I know that WW has changed how they calculate the points since then, but back then companies would even add fiber to yogurt to skew the points.
I'm currently living/studying in Colombia and have had to substitute ingredients when trying to make some of my recipes. I recently used whole oats instead of ww flour as a breading for my Fish Piccata recipe, and it was awesome! Also, thanks for the hockey shout-out. I'm a Canadian girl who was raised on hockey and I totally agree:)
ReplyDeleteLove "wolves in sheep's clothing" - special k and cereals in general are a major pet peeve, esp those with the added fiber - a big one i'm still always fighting is fiber one, beyond (man made?) fiber, bars and cereals have HFCS, aspartame and other nasty ingredients. Other wolves: Wheat Thins and couscous. And I'm a new hockey fan; agreed hockey >>> baseball!
ReplyDeleteBaseball=watching grass grow! I always laugh at the Special K cereal diet that says if you eat Special K for breakfast and lunch with a sensible supper, you will lose weight. And if I ate an apple for breakfast and lunch with a sensible supper, I would lose weight and get some nutrition, too.
ReplyDeleteWe can replace apple with sawdust as well. Carolyn- cous cous 100% a wolf.
ReplyDeleteI have read everyone's comments and I too loved panko, i began using panko for my breaded chicken and fish about three years ago. Also loved the sandwich thins and introduced myjudythefoodie blogger to them as well. I am looking for lunch ideas, beyond salads and bean salads that I can bring to work. Also will try the oatmeal (for me first, then my family). Thanks for the post Lauren. I enjoyed reading it. And, no more Special K in this household. take care. (shari's sister) AKA manchegogirl
ReplyDeleteyep I use panko but I knew it was white bread crumbs it looks like it ;-) a little coating is OK, but your right its easy for folks to get confused
ReplyDeleteyes...I thought the sandwich thins were good :(
ReplyDeleteAyala and to be fair they aren't the worst but sprouted breads/breads without added fibers are better.
ReplyDeletePanko Schmanko! I'm not much of a "breaded" eating type of person, but I did make some pesto stuffed chicken breasts a couple of weeks ago.(Recipe at Kalyn's Kitchen). They were "breaded" in ground almond meal and a little parmesan. My kids (me too) LOVED them. Kids thought it was so much more exciting than my regular old grilled chicken. Haven't tried the oatmeal/seasoning trick before-adding to my list to try!
ReplyDeleteEA- yum pesto is its own food group at our house. I use it on fish a ton. That may be our Monday night dinner.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I did a store tour for a group of kids the other day and I told them to find the highest NuVal score in the Cereal aisle. They ALL walked over to Special K (no joke) and figured it would have the highest score. Low and behold, the score was in the teens (or maybe twenty, I forget). HA!
ReplyDeleteI don't eat Special K or thins - seem too processed to me, and I don't enjoy the taste anyway. I sometimes use panko crumbs, but I don't think they are healthy! :) But they do add such a nice crunch... I don't use them very often, but once in a while (less than once a month), they are nice.
ReplyDeleteI have some panko on hand, but I don't use them exclusively in a dish, and have never thought of them as any sort of "healthy alternative". I use them simply for the texture. I've heard you can get whole wheat ones now, but the one bag I have has lasted me so long I've not looked for them yet.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite breading these days uses ground up, uncooked quinoa. Sometimes I'll mix in some panko if I'm looking for that extra texture, usually about a 3:1 ratio of quinoa "flour" to panko.
And I don't think I've ever had Special K.
I do enjoy panko, but these days I like to make my own crumbs for coating since I bake bread quite frequently. (I grind my own wholewheat flour too).
ReplyDeleteHad Special K before...not really my type of breakfast choice.
p.s About the mango puree...I simply mash the ripe mango into puree, nothing else was added.
Thanks for stopping by my blog Lauren- your site is terrific! I just read a few of your posts and learned so much, I especially loved the one about Paula Deen. And I watched your segment on Dr. Steve- great job! :)
ReplyDeleteSo interesting. I do eat sandwich thins. Not for the supposed "added fiber" or health reasons- more because they are a reasonably sized portion for my sandwiches. But I never realized about the added ingredients. I prefer baguettes any day!
ReplyDeleteI saw a nutritionist for 3 months a year and a half ago - and was given a very strict daily meal plan (and by daily, I mean that same EVERY day) Breakfast? Always Special K. After eating that for three months straight, needless to say I can't touch it anymore - and don't generally like cold cereal anyway.
ReplyDeleteMakes me wonder about the nutritionist...