Foods in this group include bread, rolls, crumpets, pita bread, foccacia, bagels, muffins and some cakes, crackers and biscuits. These foods fall into a range of eMark number and colour categories, so it is important to understand which foods are best suited to your personal needs.
Choose mainly wholegrain breads and flour-based products, as they have a higher nutrient and fibre content than refined flour-based products.
Many people think that breads are fattening. In fact they contain very little fat – the energy in bread comes from carbohydrate. But remember, when you spread your bread thickly with butter, margarine, honey or jam, the kilojoules increase dramatically!
Biscuits and cakes which contain less than 10 grams of saturated fat per 100g are included in this food group. However, most biscuits and cakes are 4e or 5e foods which should be limited to treats or times of higher physical activity.
Most people should aim for at least 6 servings of breads and cereals per day, although this is dependent on your personal requirements.
Remember the healthy eating key: choose mostly eMarks 1 and 2, some 3's - blue and green
Some examples of serving sizes are as follows.
Food item | eMark | Serving size |
---|---|---|
Bread, soy & linseed | 2e blue | 1 slice (40g) |
Bread, white | 3e green | 1 slice (40g) |
Muffin, bran | 3e blue | ½ small muffin (37g) |
Scone, wholemeal | 3e green | ½ scone (33g) |
Find the eMark value of your favourite breads and flour-based products
Find out which breads and flour-based products are in your recommended eMark meal plan