Love Kaya Butter Toast but wish it were healthier? Read on for our how-to guide to guilt-free kaya butter toast!
Image source: Flickr
So it’s early in the morning, and you’re eagerly looking forward to your favourite breakfast – two slices of crispy toasted bread, spread with silky fragrant kaya and slabs of creamy butter, with a hot kopi and two eggs on the side. Delicious and hearty…and unhealthy?
With all we know about sugar, simple carbs, fat, and so on, the classic Kaya Butter Toast certainly doesn’t make the cut for a “healthy” breakfast. At least, not as it’s traditionally served.
But, there’s good news – with these simple steps, you can make guilt-free kaya butter toast a viable healthy breakfast option!
Image source: Miss Tam Chiak
Use whole-wheat bread
Image source: Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials
Instead of the plain white bread that usually comes with kaya butter toast, use whole wheat bread instead. This adds fiber to your meal and helps to slow down the release of sugars into your bloodstream, thus giving you energy for a longer amount of time.
Ask for the butter on the side
Image source: Nutted Out Nutrition
Kaya butter toast usually comes with thick slabs of butter already tucked into the bread – way more fat than you actually need for breakfast. Ask for the butter on the side and spread it on yourself so you can control the thickness.
Even better, if you are making it at home, use a soft margarine instead (e.g. olive oil or sunflower oil spreads) to swap the bad fats in butter for some good healthy unsaturated fat.
Go for the eggs (but spare the soy sauce)
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The soft boiled eggs that come with the traditional breakfast set are a great way to add protein to your breakfast, keeping you fuller for longer. However, be sure to go easy on the soy sauce as it can be easy to overdo the sodium.
Sodium is a mineral that, when taken in excess, can cause your blood pressure to go up. The average person already consumes too much sodium, especially in their lunch and dinner meals where salt and sauces are added to cooked meals. Thus, limit the amount of soy sauce you add to your breakfast eggs to a few drops at the maximum.
Pair with a sugarless drink
Image source: Make Your Calories Count
We all know that kaya in itself is very sweet – so it is best to limit any additional sugars in the rest of the meal. A standard coffee or tea (with condensed milk and sugar) in addition to the kaya would result in a sugary meal (with lots of empty calories) and could cause a blood sugar spike.
So, pair your kaya butter toast with a sugarless drink – a plain tea or black coffee..or maybe a “Kopi-C-kosong”, if that’s something you enjoy!
Image source: The Worktop
With a little effort, you too can have guilt-free kaya butter toast! But remember that the key to a healthy diet is everything in moderation. So do mix things up and have a variety of food for breakfast throughout the week to make sure you’re getting your full range of nutrients!