Bread in a pinch

Today the boys and I made a stop at Target for a couple of things. Walking past the bread aisle I remembered we were out of bread, hubby went to work without his sandwich today. Bread is an item I've talked about before (in my Priorities post). We have a favorite from Great Harvest but simply can't afford to buy it on a regular basis.

If you have a Target that sells groceries, it likely has a pretty overwhelming bread section. I spent a while looking at the choices and landed on Nature's Pride 100% Whole Wheat. There's a lot of nutrition claims on the bag but it was the best one I came across. It was $2.79.

After doing my research, I found Nature's Pride is made by Interstate Bakeries Corporation, most known for Wonder Bread. I remember Wonder Bread, a staple in my house growing up. And yes, the white kind. I appreciate the strategy behind the Nature's Pride branch of the company but at the end of the day, I feel better about buying from other, less large bakeries and bread with less ingredients. In a pinch though, this is what I bought.

Nature's Pride ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, wheat gluten, brown sugar, yeast, contains 2% or less of: wheat bran, soybean oil, cultured wheat flour, salt, molasses, sugar, honey, raisin juice concentrate, vinegar, cultured corn solids, yeast extract, soy lecithin, soy flour, whey.

Great Harvest ingredients: Fresh-ground whole-wheat flour, filtered water, fresh yeast, salt, honey.

Wonder Wheat ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, wheat gluten, high fructose corn syrup, contains 2% of less of: soybean oil, salt, molasses, yeast, mono and diglycerides, exthoxylated mono and diglycerides, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium iodate, calcium dioxide), datem, calcium sulfate, vinegar, yeast nutrient (ammonium sulfate), extracts of malted barley and corn, dicalcium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, calcium propionate (to retain freshness).

Clear why we aspire to afford bread from Great Harvest, huh? Every time I write out ingredients lists, it reminds me why I strive to reduce highly processed foods from my family's diet. Making it ourselves would be the ultimate... I look forward to comparing the cost of making it vs. buying Great Harvest. Stay tuned.