That’s Crumby!
I had no idea it was neccesary to check! My only concern had been price. I assumed they were all created equal. One ingredient was neccessary. To my surprise, there was 25 items listed in the ingredient list. Among the many salts and chemicals was HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! I should have known better. I should have checked. They added HFCS to my container of bread crumbs!!
These bread crumbs will no longer pass the lips of my family again. Luckily, I have bread, thus I can have whole wheat bread crumbs, 100% salt-free, sugar free, HFCS free, with a price almost free!
I laid out the heels of our loaves of bread. If you leave them in the bag, they will probably mold before they dry out. If you want soft, fluffy bread crumbs, you don’t even need them to dry out.
Then I used my mini-food processor. I have used this thing almost to the death. It was only $25 and worth every penny. I can only grind one slice at a time because of the size. By the time I afford a large food processor, my kids will be out of the house and I won’t need it anymore.
Then I poured my crumbs into a jar for future use. At this point you could add ground flax, ground nuts, or wheat germ to increase the nutrient density of your bread crumbs.
We use bread crumbs for chicken fingers, breaded vegetables, or stretching hamburger meat. This process definitely passes my requirements of healthy, fast, and cheap!
My friend Cathy has an entire blog devoted to her family eliminating HFCS. You can follow her ideas here. She uncovers other surprising foods that contain HFCS and why this sweetener does not belong in our diet. Good Job Cathy! Keep it up!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Thanks for the link! We make our own bread crumbs too. I store them in the freezer, and they keep pretty much forever. Use them as is for fresh or pop them in a 400 F oven for about 5 min for dried.
Hi- I love your blog- I do have a question though- do you store them in the fridge or freezer?? Thanks for all your advise.
Love label makers. Love ’em. I have never tried making my own bread crumbs. I’ll have to give it a try.
My kids recently informed me they don’t like chicken as much without the skin. I asked them what they meant because we never eat chicken with the skin. “You know, like the skin on the outside of dinosaur chicken nuggets.” Ah, that kind of skin. 3 cheers for bread crumbs.
Ashley, I would store them in the fridge, especially if you add flax meal to it. If you aren’t going to use them for a long period of time, I would put it in the freezer.
Whitney; The skin they referred to was the bread crumb crust? That’s funny!
Yey! Now my husband won’t have to sacrifice and eat the heels of the bread anymore. I’m sure he will be thanking you.
What a great use for the heels of the bread! No more wasting them, or like Emily, making my husband eat them! 🙂 I’m excited to try it!
Unrelatedly, I made my pomegranate slushie last night.
AWESOME! I put about 1/2 cup scoop of vanilla ice cream into a cup of slushie and it was so yummy and worth every calorie.
Also, just drinking POM from the bottle (wrap it in a sacklunch sack, like a drunk) was really good. It tasted exactly like fresh pomegranate. Thanks for the giveaway…and for giving the giveaway to me!
Wow! I just know that I can add so many wonderful things to the bread crumbs to increase the nutrient density. Thanks for your sharing!
Oooh.
Eliminate HFCS
Save money
AND GET FLAX?
Count
Me
In.
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I also agree about the heels of the bread. way too often, i end up throwing them away as they get moldy, because no one will eat them. I will have to start bread crumbs. .. except I don’t have a processor.
Kristie, you can use a blender too.
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So glad I found this post. Bread crumbs have been in the back of my mind since I got married. I’ve just been too lazy to figure out how to make them. The poor ducks at the park would be getting as many of our bread heals anymore!
LOL! I’m glad you found it too! Save a few for the ducks
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