Vegetables and everything else
Sprouted grain bread on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 12 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), sliced loaf, for around 240 calories. Two slices, about 70 g (2.5 oz), give roughly 8 g of protein for 168 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from sprouted grain bread alone you would need about 250 g (8.8 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How sprouted grain bread sits on a GLP-1
Sprouted grain bread is made from grains and legumes that have been sprouted before they are ground, usually wheat, barley, millet, lentils and soybeans together, and the lentils and soy lift the protein to about 12 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), a third more than wholemeal. It is dense, moist and slightly sweet, sold frozen in the US and from the fridge or freezer elsewhere. On a GLP-1 it is still bread: it swells and it fills, so the rule is one slice, toasted, with the protein on top.
When your appetite is small
One slice, about 35 g (1.2 oz), toasted, is 4 g of protein and enough bread. Put two eggs on it, or a tin of tuna, or a thick layer of cottage cheese, and the plate is 15 to 30 g with the bread doing a small share. It toasts better from frozen than most bread, which suits a loaf you get through slowly.
Three ways to prepare it
One slice toasted from frozen with two eggs
Straight from the freezer into the toaster. Two scrambled eggs on top. About 17 g and a familiar breakfast at half the bread.
Under cottage cheese and smoked salmon
A thick layer of cottage cheese and two slices of smoked salmon on one slice. About 19 g, cold, and three minutes.
Cut into fingers with a soft boiled egg
One slice cut into soldiers for dipping. Small, warm and about 10 g with the egg.
What to eat it with
Eggs, tuna, cottage cheese, ricotta, peanut butter with a glass of milk. The bread carries a little protein of its own; the topping still has to carry most of it.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprouted grain bread | about 12 g | 240 kcal | this page |
| Wholemeal bread | about 9 g | 250 kcal | See the page |
| Oats | about 13 g | 375 kcal | See the page |
| Eggs | about 13 g | 150 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, sliced loaf, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Ezekiel 4:9 from Food for Life is the US standard, sold frozen. The UK has sprouted wheat loaves from Everfresh and health food shops, and Australia sells sprouted grain and sprouted spelt loaves through health food shops and some bakeries. Protein per slice runs from about 4 to 6 g by brand.
Questions people ask
Is Ezekiel or sprouted grain bread high in protein?
Higher than ordinary bread: about 12 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), or 4 g a slice, because of the lentils and soybeans in the mix, and the protein is closer to complete. It is still bread, and on a small appetite one slice with a real protein on top is the plan.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.