Description: Best to serve on the weekend lunch along with a side salad. It is simple and quick to cook just after waking up late and it is nutritious enough as the first meal of the day. French people traditionally consume it with béchamel sauce, but it is equally delicious without.
Serves: 1
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• Wholemeal or wholegrain bread – 2 slices
• Fat spread – 10g
• Large Egg – 1
• Ham – 1 slice
• Gruyere cheese – 1 slice or grated 20g

Method

1. Preheat the oven. Spread butter on each slice and place the ham and cheese.
2.Place in the oven for 4 minutes then turn it upside down then heat for another 3 minutes.
3.Crack the egg into a non-stick frying pan and fry until whites get hard and yolk is still runny. Place the egg onto the sandwich.

To serve: ground black pepper, optional béchamel sauce.

Nutritional Value Per Serving

Kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Fibre	Sugars	Salt	Saturated Fat	Calcium	Phosphorus	Vitamin E
433.9	27.6g	23.6g	27.8g	3.8g	3.1g	2.2g	8.5g	333.2mg	355.7mg	2.3mg
21.7%	55.2%	33.7%	10.7%	12.8%	3.4%	36.6%	42.4%	47.6%	64.7%	76.1%

Nutritional Tips

This croque madame is easy to cook, but it might be ideal to serve with some greens as it is high in fat and protein. You may consider using low fat spread and also have dishes which are low in fat and protein, but more carbs and fibers which are likely to be fruits, vegetables and potatoes for other meals. If it is a weekend meal, you might just have two meals instead of 3, so it might not be too hard to go for vegetarian options for your other meals.

Compared to refined bread such as white bread or baguettes, wholegrain bread is much more nutritious, it is rich in protein, fibre, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, essential fatty acids and is a good source of magnesium. They are low in fat and have a low Glycemic Index (GI: shows how quickly an ingredient affects your blood glucose level when it is digested and absorbed). 

Fibre reduces the risk of bowel cancer, helps digestion, and may help people feel fuller, avoiding weight gain. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and turns into the gel during digestion, which may help to slow down digestion, help your body absorb vital nutrients from food and also prevent the sudden spike of blood glucose level. Insoluble fiber stays in close to its original form, can contribute to a smooth peristalsis (movement of the bowel) of digested food through the gut. It adds bulk to the stool, which may help you to stay regular like Sheldon Cooper (from Big Bang Theory, aiming to be like Sheldon Cooper might be challenging, but fiber would help for a timely bathroom schedule… :))

The benefit of opting for a low GI food is that it takes time to break it down so it slows down digestion and, as a result, the energy/glucose release tends to be much slower than with high GI food. Brown rice, buckwheat, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, whole barley, whole grain cereals, quinoa, oat, rye etc… there are many options. Generally speaking, the more grains the food has, the better it will be in terms of lower GI. Some research shows that whole grain intake is associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and mortality (Aune et al, British Medical Journal, 2016, 353:i2716 ). It is not only the fibre that is the healthy component. As I always say, the important thing is to take a complete package of nutrients working together.