Spreads

Spreads are an easy way to add additional flavour and texture to bread and toast.

You can also add a spoonful of spreads such as chocolate or peanut butter to porridge, overnight oats or muesli, for an extra delicious breakfast.

Not only for use on bread and toast, spreads can also be incorporated into baking as well as shakes and hot drinks.

Is jam a healthy spread?

Although high in fibre, jam is traditionally high in sugar too.

Luckily, however, you can now buy a great low sugar jam, which has seven calories per 20g serving and puts jam firmly back on the menu for anyone who was previously avoiding it.

The Skinny Food Co’s Not Guilty jamscome in a range of different flavours including blackcurrant jam, apricot jam, raspberry jam and strawberry jam. These guilt free jams are vegan and gluten free too – the perfect accompaniment for your toast.

Alternatively, you might prefer CHAM Fruit Spreads which are free from refined sugars and made with just five, natural ingredients, one of which is chia seeds.

CHAM contains up to 50% less calories and sugar content than regular jam. Evidence that there are plenty of alternative options if you would like a jam with less sugar.

Jams and marmalades can be used in recipes for baking as well, making a lovely filling for a Victoria sponge and, of course, jam tarts.

What other healthy spreads are available?

If fruit isn’t really your thing, there are plenty of other spreads available to liven up your breakfast, each one with different nutritional benefits.

Here are some of our favourite spreads:

Chocolate spread

There are lots of ways to eat chocolate spreads, including drizzled on warm pancakes and waffles, spread on your toast, or even straight from the jar with a spoon!

Vego Chocolate Spread is vegan, organic and fair trade as well as being completely palm oil free so you can snack on this spread without a hint of guilt.

Vego spread is made with crunchy hazelnuts, and great for adding to porridge for extra texture and flavour.

Grenade Carb Killer Protein Spread Milk Chocolate is a lower sugar chocolate spread made with whey protein.

It has 86% less sugar than other brands and 20% protein. Protein is important if you lead an active lifestyle or enjoy exercise as it helps to maintain and repair muscles and also contributes to lots of other functions.

There’s also a white chocolate spread and a hazelnut flavour spread too!

Jim Jams Hazelnut Chocolate Spread is also low in sugar and is SugarWise certified. It’s made with a sweetener (Maltitol) which contains half the calories of sugar. This spread is perfect for children, as it is tooth friendly so they’ll love the sweet taste but it won’t damage their delicate teeth.

As well as spreading on toast for a quick breakfast before a busy day at school, this chocolate spread can also be used in baking as well as shakes and hot chocolates – yum!

Caramel spread

Sead Caramel Flavour Spread is made from stone ground sesame seeds which create a silky-smooth, creamy sesame butter.

Perfect for spreading onto your toast, drizzling into yogurt or adding to overnight oats, this spread is a natural source of protein and minerals. It’s another spread to be enjoyed guilt free as it contains no palm oil or refined sugars and is also suitable for vegetarians.

Sead also offers chocolate flavour and honey flavour spreads, both also made from sesame butter.

Ginger spread

If you like a spread with a bit of extra spice then look no further than Ginger Party Organic Ginger Spread. Sweet yet spicy, this spread can be eaten on toast or even drizzled over baked chicken and roasted vegetables for an extra kick! It only has two ingredients – baby ginger and pure cane sugar – and that’s it!

Yeast extract spread

Another spread that’s high in protein is Meridian Natural Yeast Extract.

There’s no added salt here and its zingy flavour is tasty when spread thinly on toast. It can also be diluted in water as a savoury hot drink or to use as stock for stews and sauces.

This yeast extract spread is also high in vitamin B12 which plays a role in a number of processes in the body including contributing to normal red blood cell formation, normal nerve function and the production of DNA as it has a role in the process of cell division.

The spread is vegan-friendly so offers a valuable source of nutrition, since vitamin B12 is usually otherwise derived from poultry, meat, fish and dairy products.