Weekly Pickups: Low-carb bread and donuts
An unintentional theme from two non-low-carb individuals 🤷
Hello hello!
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Now, let’s get into what we’ve been loving this week →
Nate’s Pickup:
Hero Bread
I was strolling the aisle of Whole Foods the other day without a list (as one does) when I actually stopped to browse the bread aisle for once instead of grabbing my usual Bread Alone sourdough (which is excellent, btw). Hero Bread has been on my radar forever—we even covered their $21M Series B raise back in 2024—but I’d never actually tried it! I think I assumed it was gluten-free and just tuned it out. Big mistake. Turns out, this stuff is legitimately good.
Quick Facts: Low-net-carb bread that doesn’t compromise on taste. Each slice has 0g of net carbs, 0g of sugar, 5g of protein, and 11g of fiber (the ‘IT’ trend of 2026). It’s made with resistant wheat starch, wheat protein, olive oil, and milled flaxseed—so it’s still real bread, just built better, stronger.
Reasons to love:
Sneaky protein boost. Five grams of protein PER SLICE means my simple toast and butter habit is a bit more satiating whenever that craving strikes. It doesn’t feel like there is 5g of protein snuck in here, it’s not like a protein bar disguised as bread. It’s bread. And in this era of proteinmaxxing everything, why not get it wherever you can?
Tastes like….bread?? I was genuinely shocked by this product. The texture, the chew, how it toasts—it’s all just regular bread (but better). There isn’t any weird aftertaste and no cardboard vibes. If you handed me this without context I don’t think I’d clock the upgrades Hero made to this product.
Hero’s product lineup is NUTS. Bagels, croissants, Hawaiian rolls, seeded bread, wraps, buns, and even buttermilk biscuits. They have basically every bread format covered. I’m already planning on trying all of them—those croissants in particular are calling my name.
Where to buy: Online or in thousands of retailers or at Just Salad
Jenna’s Pickup:
Good Journey Donuts (and cookies)
Somehow, Nate and I are both featuring keto-adjacent products today—despite neither of us being keto, nor low-carb, nor dieting individuals generally. But sometimes, restriction-friendly products are friendly to non-restricting consumers, which is a massive W for all involved. And that certainly is the case for Good Journey Donuts.
At FancyFaire, I got to meet the Good Journey creators, Kristoffer and Helen, and sample their delicious products! Because I stopped by their booth on the last day, they stocked me up with enough donuts and cookies to last for the next week. And every day since, I’ve been looking forward to my donut/cookie + coffee moment to get me through the day—sans sugar crash.
Quick Facts: Low-sugar (zero added sugar), low-carb, high-fiber, gluten-free donuts and cookies that actually taste delicious.
Reasons to love:
A+ taste and texture. Trust me, I would not eat a “healthier” version of an indulgent product if I didn’t genuinely think it tasted fantastic. Life’s too short for bad donuts! But these have that perfect cakey texture, a satisfyingly snappy chocolate coating, and no funky sweetener taste. They remind me so much of those nostalgic Entenmann’s Chocolate Frosted Donuts, without the subsequent blood sugar spike.
The brand’s new Churro Cookies also hit every note for me in terms of taste and texture. I’m a sucker for anything cinnamon, and these soft cookies come with a delightful chew, reminiscent of a gingersnap.
Those macros!!! The donuts are only 3g net carb, 17g dietary fiber (yay fiber!), 5g protein, and only 2g sugar and 180 calories—essentially incomparable to a standard donut. The cookies boast <1g sugar, 120 calories, and 1g net carb. It’s wild to me that these can taste like real treats, but remain accessible to those who are tracking blood sugar or are on low-carb diets.
Where to buy: Online only!
In this week’s episode of The Curious Consumer, we chat about the continued evolution of protein products, Cheez-its finally going gluten-free, and how Target became the ultimate place for DTC and emerging brands!
Thanks for reading! Anything you think we should try for an upcoming edition of Express Checkout? Email us at hello@expresscheckout.co