Swiss foods

aagaag
aagaag Posts: 89 Member
edited October 27 in Social Groups
My motivation to start this group is that MFP is great, but its databases are - by necessity - very USA-centric. I have found myself adding many foods from Migros and Coop (all of which have great nutritional info), and I have discovered that many foods had already been added. I therefore surmise that many MFP users are from Switzerland (the most cosmopolitan country in Europe) - and I figured that it may be helpful to link us up.

Also,I hope to make new (local) buddies through this group - which would help motivation, endurance, and would certainly make the whole weight-shedding adventure more fun!

As for myself, I am a medical doctor (MD-PhD, to be specific) active in research at a Swiss university. My focus is on diseases of the nervous system. The reason for my being on MFP is that I have found it to be a great tool that helps me get a better hold on food intake and energy expenditure.
«1

Replies

  • swissbrit
    swissbrit Posts: 201
    Be glad that you live in Switzerland! There is much less junk food in Swiss supermarkets than in the UK and USA!
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    I agree - but only partially. When I was living in California in 2007, I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent fruit and vegetables we could get in Whole Foods, Andronico, Trader Joe and even Safeway - for less than half of the Swiss price! Sliced mango, ready-to-go garlic, etc. etc.: it wasn't bad at all! Having said that, the same places (including "organic" vendors) had plenty of junk food as well.
  • nomorebamboozles
    nomorebamboozles Posts: 73 Member
    Hey! I'm glad you started this group. I also find myself adding my own custom foods here or just simply using American brands that I'm familiar with that I think are the same as the Swiss (I'm American living in Switzerland). I think your motives for using this site are really interesting! I live in the Zurich area and anybody living in Switzerland is welcome to add me :) It's really interesting to see what people living in the same country as me are eating!
  • swissmardi
    swissmardi Posts: 57 Member
    I'm so glad you started this... I've felt so "alone" in this here in Switzerland.
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    OK, I started adding Swiss foods! Today's feature: "Coop (Switzerland) - Milch Drink 1.5% Halbentrahmt". Serving size is 90ml, which is what my Jura J9 (the mother of all coffee machines!) draws from the milk bottle when you push the cappuccino button.
  • swissbrit
    swissbrit Posts: 201
    I am getting sick of all the low fat yogurts containing Aspartame here, it doesn't matter if its Coop, Migro or any other shop anyone have any ideas??
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    I am trying out Stelvia (by Asugrin). I am not all too impressed by its taste though. It's derived from a plant - but in my opinion it tastes like it was made from some nasty chemicals. Others love it though.
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    Next entry: Coop (Switzerland) - Magerquark Prix Garantie, 750 g
  • hupsii
    hupsii Posts: 258 Member
    Hey guys,

    Great to meet you all. I am Swiss but use this tool as I think it's the best ever !! Thanks for all the stuff you add. This helps a lot :))

    Happy Easter to all of you - be careful with the chocolate eggs ;-)
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    Thanks and Happy Easter to you too! My kids have hidden chocolate eggs all over the place - it's tough to be disciplined, but I am trying to be brave and not touch them...
  • ragazje3
    ragazje3 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks for the invite. There are quite a few swiss products on MFP - let's keep adding friends :)
    Happy easter everyone.
    I don't know how you feel about Aldi - but i keep adding new prods ;)
    The eating out cals are a little more difficult.
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    I agree, eating out is a killer, when it comes to calorie counting. And not only that! Sometimes I have business dinners which I cannot avoid, but I rarely enjoy them. Hanging out for >2 hrs in overcrowded "trendy" restaurants, with background noise levels that makes it impossible to communicate unless you shout, gives me headaches (and a sore throat) on the next morning - even if I never drink any wine!
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    New database item: Coop Fine Food (Switzerland) - Fine Food Black Sesame Wasabi Dressing

    highly yummy!
  • pca1273
    pca1273 Posts: 3
    I am getting sick of all the low fat yogurts containing Aspartame here, it doesn't matter if its Coop, Migro or any other shop anyone have any ideas??

    Thank you for inviting me to this group.

    I have done a pretty thorough trawl through the yogurt aisles in Switzerland and can make the following recommendations:

    High-fat:

    - Coop Bio Yogurt a la Grecque plain
    - Migros Yogo plain Greek yogurt

    Low-fat

    - Coop Biphidus & Acidophilus plain yogurt


    None of these have any added sugar or artificial sweeteners. Flavoured yogurt you can pretty much forget about if you want to avoid sweeteners.

    Another option would be to get one of the plain yogurts above and add a bit of Birkenzucker (xylitol) for sweetness then maybe a few berries. Sweetness without too much of an insulin spike.
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    So, what I tried over Easter is to shred 1kg of strawberries with a food processor, and mix them with 360g joghurt (Coop Naturaplan Bio Nature). It makes for a reasobably satifsactory dessert - but the pureed strawberries contain a lot of water and the whole thing eventually became a tad too liquid (but still enjoyable). Next weekend I will try again but with Magerquark instead of joghurt...
  • Beaupeep
    Beaupeep Posts: 11 Member
    I've added a lot of Swiss Foods too. I'm American but have been here 14 years and gained a nice healthy 50 pounds after the move! Part menopause, part change of lifestyle. When I was single and living in the US I never ate dinner and would go to step aerobics at least 3X a week. Drank maybe two glasses of wine a month.
  • swissbrit
    swissbrit Posts: 201
    Thanks for the invite. There are quite a few swiss products on MFP - let's keep adding friends :)
    Happy easter everyone.
    I don't know how you feel about Aldi - but i keep adding new prods ;)
    The eating out cals are a little more difficult.
    [/quote
    Aldi has the best tasting Sweet Potato's in Switzerland at the moment and they are half the price of the ones in COOP or Migros :-)
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    Newly added:
    Coop Switzerland - Joghurt Nature Teilentrahmt, 500 g
  • circenyc
    circenyc Posts: 4
    Thanks for starting the group for Switzerland, I have been adding my own food while using the iPhone app, and today used the website for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to find some of the Swiss food I eat already in the database.
    Regarding yogurts, I eat three kinds: 1. Activia Prune. I don't know if Activia uses artificial sweeteners, but I don't think so because I can usually taste it, and the prune variety does have more fiber and natural sweetness than the other Activia varieties (for those of you who live in border regions, I believe Activia in France has a different composition and prefer to buy it at the Coop in Switzerland); 2. Fage 0% Greek yogurt. Fage has the highest protein percentage and best nutritional concentration, and it is the only real "Greek" yogurt. Not all Coop's carry the 0% kind, and I think that the full fat version is worth it for the protein if you can't get the 0%; 3. I treat myself now and then to the Coop blueberry yogurt that they sell with their fresh sandwiches. It is not lowfat, but it is good, fresh, quality yogurt that satisfies my sweet tooth when I am craving a dessert.
  • aagaag
    aagaag Posts: 89 Member
    Many thanks, that's very interesting. I had always thought that the "Greekness" in the yoghurt came from the fat - thereby making it a "calory bomb" by necessity. I am positively surprised to learn that real Greek Joghurt can have 57 kcal/100g - which is truly at the acceptable end of the spectrum! I wonder what is the trick, i.e. which fat ersatz they use (maybe it can be used as hypocaloric fat ersatz for other foods as well).

    Only thing is, I cannot find this Fage 0% in the CoopAtHome online shop. Are you sure it's offered by Coop?
  • rtann2
    rtann2 Posts: 1 Member
    Thanks for the request. I've been reluctant to join any groups but think this one makes perfect sense.

    I order Fage Total 0% yogurt from Migros LeShop and have never found it in the stores except for Manor in Basel. Actually, I just found out in February 2013 that they sell it here in Switzerland! I've lived here for 15 years and stopped looking long ago for my American replacements. I'm from New Orleans and, well, except for fresh crayfish and Andouille sausage (not the kind from Lyon) I really find what I need here. I love having access to fresh organic produce and living near farmers, even in Basel.

    I'll update my info this week so I can be a real players. No more hiding out and hoping for weight loss success alone. Thanks again for the invite! I'm off to the forest with my too little boys to keep moving. Not easy since I injured my tailbone this week and feel somewhat crippled.
  • circenyc
    circenyc Posts: 4
    Yeah, Fage is not available on Coop online, but on Migros LeShop. Oddly though, it is sold in the Coop stores, but not Migros. Only the large Coop's carry 0%, it is really hard to find. There is one store I go to in Geneva that carries it but it is always sold out, so now I go to buy it on Wednesdays when I think they receive their stock. You would think if it sells out like that there is a greater demand for it. Fage has about 9% protein per 100 grams, whereas the Swiss and French Greek-style brands only have about 4-5% protein. Personally, I eat Greek yogurt as a source of protein since I am not a big meat eater, so the extra in Fage matters to me. If I can't find 0% I eat oatmeal mixed with quinoa or chia seeds for breakfast until I find it. But I find I don't eat Greek yogurt as much in the Winter because I prefer to mix it with berries to make it a bit sweeter. I do love summertime fresh fruits. Looking forward to cherry season.
  • I also buy FAGE 0% online at leshop. Occasionally I get it at Globus but rarely. Have you all seen the new range from Migros - called ALNATURA I think. It's great - not online yet but I saw it at one of the large stores.

    BTW Aagaag - I'm interested that you research diseases of the nervous system - like what? (Sorry, being nosey!!!) ;-)
  • hupsii
    hupsii Posts: 258 Member
    Guys, what do you think of the New Pure Yoghurts ?
  • FitinHonau
    FitinHonau Posts: 63 Member
    I haven't tried it yet! Where do you buy it?
  • hupsii
    hupsii Posts: 258 Member
    Hi FitinHonau,

    sorry, just saw your question - you can buy these in Coop. They are not supposed to contain any artificial ingredients.
  • Thanks for starting this group, really appreciate it!
  • swissmish
    swissmish Posts: 183 Member
    Thank you as well for starting this. I am a Canadian living in Switzerland and just joined this group. I as well am finding some foods do not show up in the database, so I am having to guess as to what is the closest to it.
  • simsbi
    simsbi Posts: 5
    Hello everyone

    I started MFP during a 3-month stay in Australia in 2012. It was so easy because every food was on MFP - just scan and add...
    So when we came back we were quite disappointed because there was no swiss food added... But we've started adding a lot of food but we've lost motivation since we had to add quite everything we ate... So we stopped counting kal and I gained 6 kg back ;-(

    But now - It is totally different - so many foods are added! You all did a great Job!! Thank you!!
    I already lost 4,4kg!! Yeaaa!! And this is because of YOU!! ;-)

    simsbi
  • lonelychats
    lonelychats Posts: 2 Member
    Can I second that? I was kind of nervous that a lot of things would be missing and I'd have to add the nutritional info myself - not true! You guys have done a great job of making a huuuuge database of Swiss foods!
This discussion has been closed.