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calories from bread and olive oil

Are You Eating A Bread And Butter (or oil) Meal Before Your Actual Meal?

March 6, 2019 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Have you been known to invade the breadbasket with gusto as soon as it lands on the table?

Then do you mindlessly continue to munch before and during your meal either because you’re hungry or because the bread is there for easy nibbling or for sopping up gravy or sauce?

Butter or Oil?

Olive oil for bread dipping is giving butter some stiff competition.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be plopped down on your table, or poured with a flourish.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Butter can also appear in many forms.  It still may still arrive in shiny foil packets – what would a diner be without them – or mounded in  pretty dishes sprinkled with sea salt or blended with various fruits or herbs.

Don’t be misled by the presentation — butter and oil, although delicious, are high calorie, high fat foods. Certain oils may be heart healthy, but they are still caloric.

Who Takes In More Calories – Butter Or Olive Oil Eaters?

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants have shown that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread consume more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread than the butter eaters.

In a study done by the food psychology laboratory at Cornell University, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and bread that was eaten.

The researchers found:

  • Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each piece of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
  • Although the olive oil users have a heavier hand than the butter users when slathering or dipping their bread, over the course of the meal the olive oil users ate less bread and oil – the olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter
  • Olive oil users took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters)

The Caloric Punch of Butter, Oil, And Bread

  • A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories
  • Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter contains heart unhealthy saturated fat
  • Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece; harder breads and breadsticks are often less caloric than softer doughy breads
  • Most white bread and a small piece of French bread average around 90 to 100 calories a slice; dinner rolls average 85 calories each
  • If you’re eating Mexican food, bread may not appear, but a basket of chips adds around 500 calories

If you’re thinking of switching up your bread and butter routine when you eat at home, why not consider an attractive oil canister for pouring some extra virgin olive oil onto a plate for dipping your bread (or for dressing your salad or some vegetables).  Here are some very attractive ones at different price points.  All are available through Amazon Prime.

Cucina Italiana Ceramic Olive Oil Dispenser Bottle, with Set of 4 Bread Dipping Plates, Honey Yellow

One Quart Olive Oil Dispenser, Stainless Steel Olive Oil Can Drizzler with Drip-free Spout

Michael Aram Olive Branch Gold Olive Oil Dispenser

My posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy through one of the links you won’t pay a penny more but I’ll receive a small commission. I do not get compensated for reviews.

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts Tagged With: bread, calories from bread and butter, calories from bread and olive oil

Bread, Butter, Oil: Do You Eat A Meal Before Your Meal?

January 14, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Olive oil for bread sopping and dipping is giving butter some stiff competition. At one time it was butter on bread – big slabs, small pots, or foil wrapped rectangles.

Now olive oil — green or golden, plain, herbed, or spiced — frequently takes center stage. It can be plopped down on your table or poured with a flourish from a dark tinted bottle.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Butter, Oil, And Bread Can Add A Big Caloric Punch

  • A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories.
  • Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter is filled with heart unhealthy saturated fat.
  • Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece.
  • Most white bread and French bread averages around 90 to 100 calories a slice. Most dinner rolls average 70 to 75 calories each.

Who Takes In More Calories – Butter Or Olive Oil Eaters?

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants have shown that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread consume more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread than the butter eaters.

In a study done by the food psychology laboratory at Cornell University, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and the amount of bread that was eaten.

The researchers found that olive oil users:

  • used 26% more olive oil on each slice of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
  • ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter
  •  took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters).

What Are Your Bread And Butter (or oil) Habits?

Do you mindlessly chow down on bread and butter or oil before a meal either because you’re hungry or because it’s there for easy nibbling?

The bread and butter or oil pre-dinner (and maybe during dinner) eating habit creates a real caloric bump – often without much added nutrition.

If you choose to indulge think about limiting the amount or don’t even let the breadbasket land on your table.  Harder breads and breadsticks are often less caloric than softer doughy breads.  The choice to eat and slather or dip is yours – just be mindful of the calories that add up quickly and are pretty easy to overlook.

This article is part of the 30 day series of blog posts called: 30 Easy Tips for Looser Pants and Excellent Energy.

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Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Manage Your Weight, Restaurants, Diners, Fast Food Tagged With: bread basket, butter, calories from bread and butter, calories from bread and olive oil, olive oil

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