One of the best morning foods, in my opinion, is a fresh bagel with cream cheese. While tasty and filling, bagels and cream cheese can pack in a lot of calories and a lot of fat. Fortunately, there are ways to cut the fat down and make this breakfast food a little more healthy.
The first way to lower the fat and raise the nutrition of your bagel is to select a bagel made from low fat Jewish recipes. Whole grain bagels are another great choice to make if you are watching your weight or trying to lower your cholesterol. Whole grain bread products will not impact your insulin levels as much as a non-whole grain bread product will. The whole grains also contain more dietary fiber which your body uses to clear out cholesterol from your blood vessels.
I feel that you shouldn’t have to give up your favorite foods because they aren’t a healthy option. I do feel, however, that you need to make adjustments to the Jewish recipes that you are interested in, to make them fit your dietary needs. Because I love cream cheese on my bagels, but don’t enjoy the fat, I make my own spreads using Neufchatel, which tastes a lot like cream cheese but has a third the fat and calories. To make a low fat spread for your bagels blend together 8 ounces of Neufchatel, a couple tablespoons of low fat milk and the flavorings of your choice. I like to use chives, sweet onions, dill or red pepper flakes for savory bagels, and strawberries and blueberries for sweet bagels.
Do you have parve Jewish recipes that you would like to share? Or do you have cooking tips? If you do, post them below.
