Falling Asleep at the Shopping Cart

I remember when Ed (he's the husband) first started talking to me about paying better attention to my food and making healthier choices when shopping.  As part of this he brought me to a popular "whole healthier" grocery store.  I learned a lesson very quickly and unfortunately for him, I don't think it was one he was anticipating.  In the first isles we picked up our fruits and veggies, then went to the bulk section for whole grains.  Everything was going as he planned until he tossed a bag of nuclear orange colored cheese puffs in the cart.  I picked it up and asked if he thought these were okay just because of the store we were in.  After looking at the long list of ingredients we both agreed that while they may be a better option then the alternative, they were still by no means on the "good list".


Today's post is about the two things I've learned from that shopping trip.

1. When at the store don't let yourself be bamboozled by fancy pants words like "organic", "natural", "low sodium".  And don't let the ambiance and trust you feel for a store allow you to fall into a comfort zone where you stop reading labels.
2. I believe that part of being able to eat to live healthier is knowing and embracing your level of commitment out of the gate.  If you know a bag of nuclear cheese puffs once every four shopping trips will help you make better choices more frequently, then by all means splurge when you know you can (you're an adult, you've earned that right).

In light of my two lessons I wanted to provide a 'non expert sanctioned' crash course on pre-fabbed foods. Let's begin.


Try as hard as you can to look past the price and the name brand and check out the labels.  I read them in this order: INGREDIENTS, SUGAR, SODIUM, FIBER (higher fiber = happier food in and out process).  Surprisingly enough, calories and fat have kind of become empty words to me. It seems they're easy to game because the system has found ways to extract those two while adding chemically engineered ingredients.  For the sake of this post I went to the store and looked at a few popular items to analyze.

• Yogurt:  There seems to always be a craze in the yogurt world.  100 calories or less, yogurt that tastes like desert, the new super Greek yogurt.  This was enough to make me want to look further.
• Ingredients: "Super" Greek yogurt ranged from 2-6 ingredients while the common "party in my mouth brands" I grew up on had so many they filled up 1/4th of the container.  Many of which I couldn't pronounce.
• Sugar: for plain yogurts across the board the average was 7 grams.  Those with fantastic flavors ranged anywhere from 14 to 29 grams.
• Sodium: pretty standard across the board from 80-90 mg
• My Choice: No or Low fat plain Greek Yogurt.  I'm going Greek because it has 5-6 strains of probiotics (vs. 2 in regular yogurt), it has fewer carbs, and is a good source of protein. I'm going plain because I control the rest of the ingredients. I get to add my preservative free fruit of my choice and a touch of honey or agave nectar as a sweetener. As an added bonus I now use this as a substitute for anything calling for mayo or sour cream (eliminates 2 excess containers in my fridge less likely to be thrown out after expiration).  And because I'm buying it in the large container and flavoring as I go, I'm going to save money by refraining from the single serve more pricey option.
• French Fries/Hash browns:
• The heavy hitter here is ingredients.  I assumed (silly me) there would be one: potatoes.  I was very wrong. With the exception of one brand (Mr. Dell's) at my store the other brands had an added 2-5. The major added ingredients serve the purpose of making sure your potatoes brown pretty and keep their "natural color" while in the bag.
• My Choice:  Real potatoes sliced on my mandolin or Mr. Dell's no added ingredients, sodium, sugar.
• Peanut Butter:  Another victim to "pretty food is food people will buy".  There are added ingredients in many commercial peanut butters to keep the butter from separating from the natural oils in peanuts.  Also, because peanut butter is a kid favorite, what we know peanut butter to be has added sodium and sugar to appeal to that pleasure sensory area in our brain. 
• Fiber:  The peanut butter plus extra stuff version loses the digestive battle with lower fiber than the just peanuts jar.
• My Choice: Any brand with the sole ingredient of DRY ROASTED PEANUTS. Again, if you need to add salt and sugar to adjust, start with a blank canvas and do it on your own terms so you can monitor. Although I really think it's great as is.  As long as you can get over the fact that you will need to stir before using, you're all good.
• Syrup:  How would you feel if I told you the syrup you're used to eating from everyone's favorite aunt doesn't contain maple in any of it's ingredients. In fact the first ingredient in most brands is corn syrup. Wawawaaa!
• My Choice: Real maple syrup.  The only ingredient being maple syrup.  Granted, this is going to cost you extra at the register, but in my opinion a natural splurge well worth it.
• Soup:  I like to call most canned and boxed soups the great "sodium sorcerers".  Be cautious when buying all of these products.  If they're a convenience staple for you take your time and choose your best option.
• My Choice: Lowest sodium and fewest ingredients.  Whenever possible, I like to make soup myself in the crock pot (super low maintenance and easy to portion out and freeze for future meals).
• Spaghetti Sauce and Boxed pasta dinners with a mystery "cheese" packet:  Spaghetti sauces typically don't have unnoticeable ingredients but they do vary heavily by manufacturer in their sugar and sodium content. Also be on the lookout for those "pretty" words.  During my trip the highest sauce in both sugar and sodium content was ORGANIC.  With pasta dinners in the box, check the ingredients and if you still feel comfortable buying them, watch the sodium. I have found on multiple occasions boxes with "low sodium" advertising, actually having higher sodium then other boxes on the shelf.
• My Choice = Low sodium and WHOLE WHEAT pasta.