Eating express "healthy" food?

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queenierz
queenierz Posts: 210 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey there! I am currently in the UK for vacation and sometimes it is more convenient for me to buy fresh fruits and healthy snacks from tesco. here, I have encountered several "healthy" food options, which is perfect! There are a lot of ready-to-eat food pots such as pastas and brown rice curries and etc. first thing I did was to check the ingredients -no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Then I look at the ingredients, which sounds genuine and natural (no fructose syrup or wtv). The calories are just around 300 per pot, and it is low in fat. So I was wondering... Is this considered healthy for me? Is it still "processed" foods that people said to avoid?
I just want to eat as clean as possible (dont have time to cook my own here). I lovr pastas, but i dont dare to go to restaurants because i dont know the calories or ingredients they put in.
For tourists out there, any suggestions on good fast healthy meal? Am i doing this correctly? thank you!

Replies

  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
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    "Clean" and "processed" foods mean something different to everyone. And is basically meaningless as far as weight loss is concerned. If it's fits your calorie goals and macros... Enjoy it. But if you really do want my opinion...if you can recognize and pronounce all the items in it... It's probably safe.
  • misschoppo
    misschoppo Posts: 463 Member
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    Tesco is pretty decent for various salad pots or sushi packs to grab on the go. If you come across a Marks & Spencers store that has a food section they have a really good range of prepacked healthy salads and snacks in their food to go section and also a range called "delicious and nutritious" in which all the meals are yummy and really healthy too :) enjoy your holiday
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Is it still "processed" foods that people said to avoid?
    Who are these people? They don't sound very smart to attach such arbitrary labels to food.

    Do you mean processed like peeled, cooked, pickled, dried, frozen, ground or some mysterious "processing" that doesn't have a logical explanation?
  • carlywitham
    carlywitham Posts: 6 Member
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    Depending on where you are staying, there are lots of fresh 'fast food' options that will give you calorie counts/and be or freshly prepared. If you are in a city centre, there is likely to be a Pret a Manger for all sorts of freshly made soups, salads, sandwiches with some great low cal options, an Itsu/ Abokado for noodle soups and sushi, Tossed for great salads. EAT also has some great soups/salads/sandwiches as well.
    If you are looking for pasta/pizza with some great low cal options, try Pizza Express. They have an under 500cal menu, and everything else is displayed on their menu. Good luck - there are some yummy places you can try!
  • queenierz
    queenierz Posts: 210 Member
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    Oh oops. I have a feeling I unconsciously correlate the terms "readily packaged" or "grab-to-go" with the term "processed food". Well i have come across several health articled that daid to avoid "highly processed foods" and to choose for FRESH and natural ones. So I wasnt sure whether like Quaker Oats's Oats So Simple or Dolmio's ready to go pasta meals are like that... I see; so this means even though these food are packaged like that it doesnt mean it is unhealthy right? And thanks guys! Really helpful :D i dont really need to lose weight but i want to tone up my body so I just have to be careful of what I eat. ;)
  • queenierz
    queenierz Posts: 210 Member
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    Wow, really? The first impression I had on Pizza Express was like "no. Its fast food. Not good" Hahaha! I will check them out! I'll be moving here for college in september anyways so I really need to know where good foods are served :D thank you so much!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Wow, really? The first impression I had on Pizza Express was like "no. Its fast food. Not good" Hahaha! I will check them out! I'll be moving here for college in september anyways so I really need to know where good foods are served :D thank you so much!
    With everything it comes down to simply reading and understanding the labels - that gives you the power to make good choices. If the Quaker Oats box says 100% oats then it's 100% oats.

    Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are fantastic quality but pricey but any of the mainstream supermarkets (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons etc) have a really wide choice from the budget to the premium ranges.
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
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    I don't really believe there are good/healthy foods and bad/unhealthy foods. It's overall diet that matters more, IMO. The clean eating movement doesn't really have much scientific evidence behind it. That being said, if clean eating, whatever that means to you, is something you enjoy and can sustain over the long term, go for it.

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