What’s the healthiest way to eat toast for breakfast?

The best way to make your toast healthier is to pair it with a nutrient-packed topping. Photo / 123rf
From Marmite to peanut butter and Nutella, which toast toppings will keep you full – and which will expand your waistline?
Whether buttered, slathered with jam or smothered in beans or cheese, many of us love toast – whether grabbing it for a quick breakfast, a sneaky snack or an easy late-night dinner.
While delicious, toasted white bread is, sadly, a “naked carb” – the term given to high-carbohydrate foods. So if it’s eaten on its own, without some form of protein (meat, beans, eggs) or fibre (fruit, vegetables, nuts), it can spike your blood sugar. Thankfully, so long as you’re not eating it all the time, it won’t have a lasting impact on our health. But if shovelling down a couple of pieces of toast has become an all too familiar habit, it can leave us feeling hungry and heading towards a cycle of sugar spikes that can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
As a general rule, the best way to make your toast healthier is to pair it with a nutrient-packed topping. That way you will avoid the glucose spikes, will feel fuller for longer and will fill up on nutrients, according to Priya Tew, a specialist dietitian from Dietitian UK.
“Butter is obviously something that can taste really nice, but it hasn’t got any fibre or protein in it and it’s fairly high in salt,” Tew explains.
Per recommended 10g serving (which is less than a tablespoon), it contains 8.2g of fat, 5.4g of which are saturated. It has no sugar but also zero fibre and negligible protein.
“While the butter can add moisture to the bread, you want to be thinking about adding something like egg or beans in order to get protein and fibre in there – otherwise it may not keep you as full for as long,” she says.
When it comes to choosing between a block of butter or spreadable versions, choose whichever option you like, Tew recommends. But it may be worth bearing in mind that blocks are higher in saturated fat (something we don’t want to eat too much of, as it can raise cholesterol and therefore increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes).
“So if it’s something that you’re having fairly regularly, and you’re having quite a lot of, then you might want to go for the monounsaturated olive oil-based bread instead,” Tew adds.
Monounsaturated fat helps protect the heart by maintaining levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the so-called “good” type, and reducing the “bad” low-density lipoprotein variety.
“Jam is high in sugar, but we all need some sugar and sweetness in our day,” says Tew. “If you’re having it now and again, then that will be absolutely fine.”
For each recommended 15g serving (around one tablespoon), there is around 9g of sugar. Low-sugar jams aren’t necessarily a good alternative, as they replace sugar with sweeteners, which can have a laxative effect if eaten in large quantities.
As jam contains no protein, “it might not keep us full”, Tew explains. “It’s not going to be a balanced meal by itself, just jam on toast,” she notes.
For extra nutrients, you could add some peanut butter or even cheese and opt for higher-quality jam (made from 100% fruit and with no added sugar), Tew adds.
As it is made in much the same way as jam, just swapping out berries for citrus peel and pulp, “marmalade is something that can be quite high in sugar”, Tew says.
Per 15g serving, it contains around the same amount of sugar (9.4g) as jam, while being low in other nutrients. “But it’s absolutely fine if you’re just having it now and again – or even once a day, if you love your marmalade,” Tew says.
With marmalade and other high-sugar toppings, she suggests pairing them with wholemeal or seeded bread, as it dampens the effect on blood sugar and adds fibre. In contrast, pairing sugary spreads with a white baguette, for example, would cause a rapid glucose spike.
Honey is higher in sugar than jam and marmalade (11.5g per 15g serving). But it may offer some extra health benefits, as it is a rich source of compounds called flavonoids, which are thought to have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiallergenic properties.
However, with honey, and other sweet spreads, be mindful about how much you’re having, because of their sugar content.
“By the same thinking, don’t have too little, because you want to be getting enough nutrition from what you’re having. Think about a good knifeful when you’re spreading it on toast; you probably don’t need two or three knifefuls,” Tew says.
“Nutella gets itself a bit of a bad name because of the chocolate,” Tew says. Per 15g serving, it contains 4.6g fat, 1.6g of saturated fat and 8.4g of sugar.
“But actually, the nuts are quite beneficial,” she says. “This means the spread can actually be something that does keep you fuller. So I don’t think it’s a bad choice.”
She recommends adding a portion of fruit, such as banana, to get one of your five-a-day. Bananas are high in fibre, vitamin C and potassium.
Adding healthier ingredients can change whether a topping is low, medium or high in certain nutrients. For example, Nutella on its own is high in saturated fat (meaning it contains 5g or more of saturated fat per 100g) but as the banana bulks out the topping, it becomes medium in saturated fat (meaning it contains between 1.5g and 5g per 100g).
“Marmite is quite high in salt, and does have some protein in there,” Tew notes. Per 8g serving (just more than a teaspoon), it has 2.72g of protein but also 0.86g of salt.
But you should only have a small amount because of this high salt content, which can have an impact on your blood pressure and heart health, she says.
“The ideal thing to do with Marmite is to add something with it. Cheese is a really nice combination, as an example,” she adds.
“Peanut butter is a brilliant choice, but you want to be going for one that says ‘100% peanuts’ on it,” Tew says.
“That’s going to mean it won’t be high in sugar but it will still be high in protein and fibre.” In each 20g serving, there is around 6.1g of protein and 1.6g of fibre.
Whether you choose smooth or crunchy doesn’t matter – the nutritional content and ingredients are exactly the same, she notes.
You can also opt for cashew and almond nut butters instead. “The best one is the one you enjoy the most. In terms of health, almonds have a lot of evidence of being really great for us, but all nuts are going to be good for you,” Tew adds.
You could switch up the one you have for different benefits too, she suggests.
To boost its nutritional value further, “peanut butter and banana are a winning combination”, Tew says. “You could also sprinkle on some seeds for extra protein.”
“Any form of egg is a great choice,” Tew says. They’re nutrient-dense, containing 8.2g of protein per large egg, as well as all nine essential amino acids, vitamin B12 and iron.
“I’d suggest dry-frying your egg rather than frying it in lots of oil.” Then, there would be no difference in the nutrients you’d be consuming between dry-frying, boiling or poaching.
Pairing egg with avocado or mushrooms would add some fibre, she notes.
“Cheese is good for protein and it’s a source of calcium as well,” Tew says.
But you should be careful with your portion size. “Some people go all out for cheese and would have a large amount. A portion is 30 to 40g,” she notes.
There are nutritional differences between cheeses. For example, mozzarella, feta and cottage cheese are lower in saturated fat than cheddar. Additionally, some artisanal options can be less processed.
One way to make your serving go further is to grate it (as this can make the cheese spread further over the toast surface area), she suggests. “If you want to add something to that, cucumber or tomato would be a nice option,” Tew adds.
Tomato on toast is a low-salt option and counts as one of your five-a-day. For each 75g portion, there are just 14 calories and 2.4g of sugar.
They contain vitamin C and lycopene, which is an antioxidant mainly found in tomatoes that can protect your cells from damage. “It’s a carotenoid [an organic pigment], which gives it its red colour,” Tew explains.
“Adding egg or cheese to the tomatoes would help bring balance into the meal,” she says.
For example, cottage cheese is popular because it’s lower in calories than other cheeses. “It’s got a great protein content and is lower in fat, which can be a benefit if you’re having a lot of cheese quite frequently.”
Crushing or slicing avocado on toast is a filling choice, Tew notes. “A lot of people would say avocado keeps them quite full.
“It is high in fibre and has some protein. It’s high in fat but it’s actually heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.” Each avocado contains around 200 calories and 20g of fat, as well as 3.4g of fibre and 1.9g of protein.
Topping with eggs or fish, such as salmon, is a healthy addition. “Even something like tinned sardines is great because you don’t have to cook them. You’re also getting the omega-3 fats and extra protein,” she adds.
“Baked beans are high in protein, high in fibre and count as one of your five-a-day,” Tew notes. “It’s a nice, cheap, easy and filling meal.”
“When choosing tinned beans, check the label for a low-salt and low-sugar version,” she says. Supermarket own-brand options tend to meet this criteria, she notes.
Grating cheese on top will add more protein and improve the taste. “Taste is really important when it comes to eating, to have that pleasure from food as well. It doesn’t have to be that you’re having a whole load of cheese on top, you can just grate some on,” she adds.