Do you read ingredients?
aprilfiege
Posts: 28
Hello,
Just curious... While grocery shopping how many of you only look at the front of a package for words like "heart healthy" or "low in calories" whatever it may be, or, How many of you by-pass that and go right to the list of ingredients to see if said package lives up to their marketing claims?
Its shocking how much garbage is actually out there for purchase... After going through this message board a bit and hearing what some people recommend for snacks I can't help but think "no no no that is all garbage" ... I have heard some product suggestions being thrown around like "Diet Soda, Nutri-Grain Bars, Fiber One, Lean Cuisine, Skinny Cow, Yoplait Yogurt" ... Does anyone ever wonder why they can't stop eating throughout the day and never feel full or lose weight? Its from BAD food like that ... Its all empty calories LOADED with hidden sugars and horribly unhealthy ingredients!!! I would like to make this Topic for people that want REAL food and snack idea's and none of this "diet" non-sense... Please suggest away, I would like as many healthy snacks, drinks, desserts, meals, etc ... Listed so that people don't fall into those marketing traps of bad food choices.
Please make sure to only list foods that are in fact 100% all natural, free of ANYTHING artificial, No artificial Sweeteners, No nitrates, No cheap fillers.... You get the idea :-)
If anyone has questions for me PLEASE don't hesitate to ask. For example; "Do you like lunch meat but don't know what's a good brand" go ahead and ask, I would be more than happy to answer anyone's questions :-)
Just curious... While grocery shopping how many of you only look at the front of a package for words like "heart healthy" or "low in calories" whatever it may be, or, How many of you by-pass that and go right to the list of ingredients to see if said package lives up to their marketing claims?
Its shocking how much garbage is actually out there for purchase... After going through this message board a bit and hearing what some people recommend for snacks I can't help but think "no no no that is all garbage" ... I have heard some product suggestions being thrown around like "Diet Soda, Nutri-Grain Bars, Fiber One, Lean Cuisine, Skinny Cow, Yoplait Yogurt" ... Does anyone ever wonder why they can't stop eating throughout the day and never feel full or lose weight? Its from BAD food like that ... Its all empty calories LOADED with hidden sugars and horribly unhealthy ingredients!!! I would like to make this Topic for people that want REAL food and snack idea's and none of this "diet" non-sense... Please suggest away, I would like as many healthy snacks, drinks, desserts, meals, etc ... Listed so that people don't fall into those marketing traps of bad food choices.
Please make sure to only list foods that are in fact 100% all natural, free of ANYTHING artificial, No artificial Sweeteners, No nitrates, No cheap fillers.... You get the idea :-)
If anyone has questions for me PLEASE don't hesitate to ask. For example; "Do you like lunch meat but don't know what's a good brand" go ahead and ask, I would be more than happy to answer anyone's questions :-)
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Replies
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I don't read them at all. I go for foods that have 2-3 ingredients at most. I rarely buy things that have more than that...just depends on the day and time. Even then...I try to get items that have a low number of ingredients and are also organic. While the organic claim is made by plenty of companys that have products easily topping out at 20-30 ingredients...I try to be careful. I cook at home as often as possible. Yeah...I'm a bit of a health nut, but I want to know what's going into my body.0
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I do! I don't like buying anything that says high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup... I try not to buy anything unless it's whole grain. I don't really like any of the "diet" foods. I try to just eat whole foods. For yogurt, I eat Fage 0% or 2% Greek yogurt because it doesn't have aspartame in it. I only buy cage free eggs because I like them better and they don't have pesticides or other weird things from the chickens (also, I ate fresh farm eggs from my parents' chickens for a few years and now I can't stand white eggs!) and I've replaced cow's milk with almond milk. I only buy a few things that are "processed" and that's multigrain pasta, the occasional carb snack (whole wheat ritz or goldfish - and even that's pushing it - or sherbet/fruit bars).0
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I make sure to read the fronts and back of all the labels. I'm guilty of not always eating perfect or clean, but a majority of the time, I stick to ingredients I at least can pronounce.0
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Funny - I don't purchase too many packaged things, but those that I do, I absolutely read - well, pretty much all the printing on the entire package. My standard shopping trips average about 2.5 hours... and nobody can stand to go with me. :ohwell:0
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Back in the day, I would read the front of the package. I know better now and read the labels. Just because something is marketed as "healthy" doesn't mean that it actually is.0
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I do! I don't like buying anything that says high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup... I try not to buy anything unless it's whole grain. I don't really like any of the "diet" foods. I try to just eat whole foods. For yogurt, I eat Fage 0% or 2% Greek yogurt because it doesn't have aspartame in it. I only buy cage free eggs because I like them better and they don't have pesticides or other weird things from the chickens (also, I ate fresh farm eggs from my parents' chickens for a few years and now I can't stand white eggs!) and I've replaced cow's milk with almond milk. I only buy a few things that are "processed" and that's multigrain pasta, the occasional carb snack (whole wheat ritz or goldfish - and even that's pushing it - or sherbet/fruit bars).
Whats easy for me in reference to not eating high fructose corn syrup is that my boy friend is VERY allergic to processed corn in any form so anything with that gets kicked out of the house....Thats one why to eat better -=giggles=-0 -
My mom taught me when I was little to ALWAYS read the ingredients! This is mostly because I'm lactose intolerant and it's hard for me to find food to eat. I have found out that ALL pre-made foods/dinners have some kind of dairy or whey in it. There is a lot of garbage out there and you need to be careful!0
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I make sure to read the fronts and back of all the labels. I'm guilty of not always eating perfect or clean, but a majority of the time, I stick to ingredients I at least can pronounce.
HAHA yes me too, if you can't pronounce it, it's probably not good for you
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I just read all your responses, this is great, thanks for responding everyone :-) Glad to hear people read what goes into their bodies and the product suggestions.... Its sad the amount of people who don't read ingredients and think they are eating good ... My sister was guilty of this for years until she finally started listening to me.... I've seen how that garbage makes someone feel horrible all the time,;unexplained headaches, asthma, body twitches, digestive problems, etc... ! Its so important to check what goes into your body and the more people we can make aware of this the better! I hope this topic helps to open some people's eyes :flowerforyou:0
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Back in the day, I would read the front of the package. I know better now and read the labels. Just because something is marketed as "healthy" doesn't mean that it actually is.
YAY glad to hear you read the ingredients now, that's great :-)0 -
Funny - I don't purchase too many packaged things, but those that I do, I absolutely read - well, pretty much all the printing on the entire package. My standard shopping trips average about 2.5 hours... and nobody can stand to go with me. :ohwell:
HAHAH I am totally the same way! It took my boyfriend 2 trips with me and he will never go back! Too funny! Glad to know I am not the only OCD grocery shopper :laugh:0 -
Funny thing - the other day someone FB'd me about body by Vi products. I checked ingredients - Boron! That is an insecticide. Like I would willingly ingest that!
I'm an ingredient nazi. I rarely eat out for this reason.0 -
I do! I don't like buying anything that says high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup... I try not to buy anything unless it's whole grain. I don't really like any of the "diet" foods. I try to just eat whole foods. For yogurt, I eat Fage 0% or 2% Greek yogurt because it doesn't have aspartame in it. I only buy cage free eggs because I like them better and they don't have pesticides or other weird things from the chickens (also, I ate fresh farm eggs from my parents' chickens for a few years and now I can't stand white eggs!) and I've replaced cow's milk with almond milk. I only buy a few things that are "processed" and that's multigrain pasta, the occasional carb snack (whole wheat ritz or goldfish - and even that's pushing it - or sherbet/fruit bars).
Thank you for listing some brand suggestions, those are good brands! I like cage-free eggs too, for only a $1 or so more, why not get those, they really do taste better ... Richer tasting!0 -
Most of the stuff I buy either doesn't have an ingredients list because there's nowhere on it to put it, or only has a few items. I was really annoyed at Tesco when I went to buy creme fraiche (ie. Cream. Bacteria. ) in it was pectin and tapioca starch. Now both of those are thickeners. So the cynic in me thinks 'hmm - bulking out their product so they can sell more of it?'0
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Funny - I don't purchase too many packaged things, but those that I do, I absolutely read - well, pretty much all the printing on the entire package. My standard shopping trips average about 2.5 hours... and nobody can stand to go with me. :ohwell:
LOL! I'm glad I'm not the only one that takes FOREVER in the store. I even log it for an hour of super low walking just to make it worth it.
As far as I go - my rules are Whole Wheat 100% ONLY, I will not buy anything artificially enriched if I can help it. The only exception I have made recently is my bread crumbs, my grocery store only sells them as white wheat.
As for meats I only by sandwhich meat straight from the Deli and its different variations of turkey. I never eat ham for some reason it disgusts me. I only buy egg white with no yellow as the ingredient is one simple thing compared to the yellow which has a freaking paragraph list.
For butter I buy the real deal that is NOT low calorie or reduced fat but it has nothing but "butter" in it. I only buy grocery store deli cheese or pre-sliced cheese with very simple ingredients.
My bread comes from this state and it's whole wheat 100% Stone ground, even if its $4-5 a loaf it is so much more worth it then the styrofoam stuff. I have recently decided to start purchasing straight from the local bakery here across the street as its not much different for the same price.
I don't buy cow's milk as I think its disgusting and pasteurized (never liked it) so I get Almond Milk and Soy Milk. I read they are actually healthier alternatives and last longer as we don't drink milk enough to make it worth it anyways.
As far as veggies/fruits/non sandwhich meats I go straight to the Farmer's market where I know they weren't processed and I go to the butcher to get my meat as he personally slaughter them. I also have access to my Uncle's grass grown cow meat. I absolutely refuse to purchase the stuff they sell in the big grocery stores and my butcher/farmer market are across the street from me so its not out of the way. I also like to help out the little guys when I can.
My home popcorn is always stuff you pop yourself and it comes in a bag so you have to put it on the stove.
I also put emphasis on making things from scratch when possible as it's really fun... recently I've done pizza crust, meatballs, and bread.
I only use my microwave to thaw meat!
Even with all that said I still buy Skinny Cow Ice Cream or eat popcorn from the movie theatre. I cannot completely cut myself off from all bad things and absolutely refuse to. I still drink beers that are processed and V8's stuff... maybe even my Arizona Iced Tea that is Diet is horrible for me as well.
But all that matters to me is that what I am eating is healthier, affordable, and delicious. Variety is also key. My husband still eats our boxed stuff I've got left over from before our life style change. I refuse to throw things away knowing that someday they can be eaten or needed. We didn't do this over night either. This is after research and deciding what is best for our budget, time, and enjoyment.
I'm not 100% Organic. Probably never will be. It's too much money!
Anyways, I hope this wasn't too long but hope it gives some insight.0 -
yes, I read the labels - I'm tracking sodium & fiber - and put back about HALF the stuff I read in the groceries. Getting better- it's true you should avoid the 'inner' aisles- just stick to the outside. The thing that gets me is BREAD- all breads are NOT alike & just because it says whole wheat on the front DOES NOT make it healthy. I read the labels on EVERYTHING
thanks0 -
Funny thing - the other day someone FB'd me about body by Vi products. I checked ingredients - Boron! That is an insecticide. Like I would willingly ingest that!
I'm an ingredient nazi. I rarely eat out for this reason.
Glad to hear you are an "ingredient nazi" too haha :-)
... I just googled VI Products, I've never heard of them until now... Yikes! What a horrible list of ingredients!!! Companies like that make me so mad, feeding people a load of BS, as they say: "Fast food made healthy" What! No it isn't! LOL sigh.0 -
Bump0
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hey guys add me to the list of people who spend more thatn a hour grocery shopping.....i read EVERYTHING its automatic with me, it's almost linke i have blinders on i pick up the product and immediatley start reading its the only true way to know what those slicksters have snuck in it, food manufacturers spend millions trying to figure out what attracts a person to a product on the shelf they will use any tatact to get you to grab it from the color of the box to the shelf its placed on, so yes i will take a hour or more just to be sure what i eat wont go to my hips or butt.
so keep the faith ladies and keep on reading:)0 -
I read the ingredients. I try to go for ones that have fewer ingredients and are all recognizable. I'm not as fastidious as I could be, but I'm getting there. I'm steering toward fresh more.0
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Funny - I don't purchase too many packaged things, but those that I do, I absolutely read - well, pretty much all the printing on the entire package. My standard shopping trips average about 2.5 hours... and nobody can stand to go with me. :ohwell:
LOL! I'm glad I'm not the only one that takes FOREVER in the store. I even log it for an hour of super low walking just to make it worth it.
As far as I go - my rules are Whole Wheat 100% ONLY, I will not buy anything artificially enriched if I can help it. The only exception I have made recently is my bread crumbs, my grocery store only sells them as white wheat.
As for meats I only by sandwhich meat straight from the Deli and its different variations of turkey. I never eat ham for some reason it disgusts me. I only buy egg white with no yellow as the ingredient is one simple thing compared to the yellow which has a freaking paragraph list.
For butter I buy the real deal that is NOT low calorie or reduced fat but it has nothing but "butter" in it. I only buy grocery store deli cheese or pre-sliced cheese with very simple ingredients.
My bread comes from this state and it's whole wheat 100% Stone ground, even if its $4-5 a loaf it is so much more worth it then the styrofoam stuff. I have recently decided to start purchasing straight from the local bakery here across the street as its not much different for the same price.
I don't buy cow's milk as I think its disgusting and pasteurized (never liked it) so I get Almond Milk and Soy Milk. I read they are actually healthier alternatives and last longer as we don't drink milk enough to make it worth it anyways.
As far as veggies/fruits/non sandwhich meats I go straight to the Farmer's market where I know they weren't processed and I go to the butcher to get my meat as he personally slaughter them. I also have access to my Uncle's grass grown cow meat. I absolutely refuse to purchase the stuff they sell in the big grocery stores and my butcher/farmer market are across the street from me so its not out of the way. I also like to help out the little guys when I can.
My home popcorn is always stuff you pop yourself and it comes in a bag so you have to put it on the stove.
I also put emphasis on making things from scratch when possible as it's really fun... recently I've done pizza crust, meatballs, and bread.
I only use my microwave to thaw meat!
Even with all that said I still buy Skinny Cow Ice Cream or eat popcorn from the movie theatre. I cannot completely cut myself off from all bad things and absolutely refuse to. I still drink beers that are processed and V8's stuff... maybe even my Arizona Iced Tea that is Diet is horrible for me as well.
But all that matters to me is that what I am eating is healthier, affordable, and delicious. Variety is also key. My husband still eats our boxed stuff I've got left over from before our life style change. I refuse to throw things away knowing that someday they can be eaten or needed. We didn't do this over night either. This is after research and deciding what is best for our budget, time, and enjoyment.
I'm not 100% Organic. Probably never will be. It's too much money!
Anyways, I hope this wasn't too long but hope it gives some insight.
Great response, thanks :-) and yes I do agree with you about not completely cutting myself off from bad food, I would be lying if I said I eat perfect 100% of the time, Its only human to eat bad food once in a while, ESPECIALLY being a girl, hello we all have horrible PMS week haha0 -
hey guys add me to the list of people who spend more thatn a hour grocery shopping.....i read EVERYTHING its automatic with me, it's almost linke i have blinders on i pick up the product and immediatley start reading its the only true way to know what those slicksters have snuck in it, food manufacturers spend millions trying to figure out what attracts a person to a product on the shelf they will use any tatact to get you to grab it from the color of the box to the shelf its placed on, so yes i will take a hour or more just to be sure what i eat wont go to my hips or butt.
so keep the faith ladies and keep on reading:)
HAHA that's great! Glad to hear more and more people read ingredients :-) I agree with reading ingredients so hidden sugars don't sneak to my hips or butt, like in bread, most brands sneak "high fructose corn syrup" in BREAD, I don't understand why! I don't want hidden sugar in my bread! If I am going to eat sugar then bring on Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream, THAT is where I want my sugar coming from, not my bread haha 0
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