Who does not love a crispy butter toast with a hot cup of tea or coffee? Biting into a buttery piece of bread is the best feeling in the entire world. However, the sense of guilt or stress just after having that one-tablespoon of butter is equally unpleasant.
We Indians love our ghee and butter. Our lives are just incomplete without these saturated fats. Though they are the best things one can ever have, they come with many health risks. Do not worry; we are not asking you to give up on your desi butter. But being conscious of what you eat and how much you eat is also extremely important.
Butter is high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and calories. A few moments of pleasure can quickly turn into a lifelong nightmare if you keep consuming butter regularly. The saturated fats present in butter can block the arteries and increase the chances of a heart attack.
Then what should one do? Stop eating butter altogether? Well, anything in excess is harmful to your health. So indulging in your favourites once in a while is okay. But you know what is even better? Finding healthy alternatives to your favourite foods
Yes, we agree that butter is butter and nothing comes close to its melt-in-mouth feel. However, you can find better and healthier alternatives to butter on bread that will fulfil your butter cravings and benefit your health.
These alternatives to butter are readily available, super tasty, and very healthy. A little effort now can save you from a variety of health problems in the future. However, if you are perfectly healthy and fit and think it is acceptable to consume butter daily, sadly, you are wrong. Our daily habits are what make up our future. What you eat now will decide your future health. So choose wisely!
To make your task easy, we have a list of healthy alternatives that you can use in place of butter. We promise you will love them more than your regular butter.
Top 10 Alternatives to Butter on Bread
One tablespoon of butter has 104 calories, which can add a few more inches to your waistline. These alternatives are not only healthy but also super delicious to eat.
1. Peanut Butter
1 tablespoon of peanut butter has 95 calories. Old is genuinely gold when it comes to the peanut butter and toast combination. You can opt for organic peanut butter, which contains less added sugar and fewer preservatives.
2. Mint Chutney
No desi sandwich is complete without this nutritious spread. One tablespoon of mint chutney has seven calories. You can make it quickly at home. To make it tastier, you can add coriander leaves, lime or tamarind pulp to it.
3. Almond Butter
1 tablespoon of almond butter has 88 calories. So treat yourself with a single happy spoonful of this nut butter.
4. Tomato Chutney
1 tablespoon of tomato chutney has eight calories. Tangy and tasty, just what you need on a toast.
5. Guacamole
1 tablespoon of guacamole has 19 calories. It is rich in fibre, vitamin K and potassium.
6. Hung Curd
1 tablespoon of hung curd contains 19 calories. It has a creamy texture, is full of proteins, and is extremely low in calories. Add some crushed garlic, herbs and olive oil for its good fat content.
7. Hummus
1 tablespoon of hummus has 25 calories. Hummus is more than just a dip. Use it as a spread on your toast.
8. Garlic Chutney
1 tablespoon of garlic chutney has 16 calories. Add a twist to your toast with a spicy garlic spread.
9. Low Fat Cheese
1 tablespoon of low-fat cheese contains 48 calories. So say cheese to this combination.
10. Pesto
1 tablespoon of pesto has 70 calories. If you are a fan of basil and garlic then this may be the perfect alternative for you.
Summary
We live in an unhealthy and polluted world. Especially with the pandemic and the work-from-home scenarios, a sedentary lifestyle has become extremely common. We sit at one place for hours, attending online meetings, making calls, and working non-stop at length. That is not how human bodies work. We need an active lifestyle to maintain a healthy body and support all its functions. Imagine consuming butter every day when you know you will not burn it out by exercising or walking. That butter will stay in your body, block your arteries, and make you fat and highly unhealthy.
Now you may think how consuming one tablespoon of butter can harm you so much. Well, that one tablespoon of butter in combination with an inactive and sedentary lifestyle can harm your health in ways that you cannot even imagine.
Indeed, health is wealth. However, if you do not take these small steps in your daily life, your regular choices can cause havoc for your future health. For example, switching to more healthy butter alternatives is just a tiny step towards your long-term health goal. Stopping and analyzing your lifestyle is the first step to understanding what you need to change to live a long and healthy life.
If you add butter to your favourite dish or cheese to your pizza, limit it to once a week. However, making it a part of your daily food menu is something that you need to stop immediately. Instead, enjoy everything, eat all that you want, indulge yourself but, occasionally.
Regularly eating butter on your toast as your breakfast can give you severe health problems that can turn life-threatening later on. So beware of what you eat every day. Instead, consume peanut butter, hung curd, or hummus as your toast spreads. You can even make your healthy spreads at home and store them in a jar for everyday use.
However, please do not eat anything in excess, even the healthier alternatives. Anything in excess can lead to some of the other health issues. When it comes to your body, moderation is the key. Eat everything but in moderation.
We understand that switching to new flavours or alternatives is not easy. It will take time and a lot of effort to change your age-old food habits. Nevertheless, take one step at a time. Just think about your future health when you feel like giving up and turning back to your favourite butter. Stop yourself and choose the healthier alternative.
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