stuff to avoid in your food...

AnnapolisLari

making a list for my mom and myself to keep in mind while shopping.

In addition to looking for healthier ingredients, the list I have is:

HFCS

Sodium benzoate

Yellow dyes #5, 6 and 10

Red dye #40

That's all I can remember off the top of my head...

summerbrideDC

thanks for this list! 

I also watch out for sodium content, but that's specific to my high blood pressure.  It's just amazing how much of it is packed into processed foods. 

Chrisy-Wyobride

MSG?

heyitsme

We also try to avoid anything that says "artificial flavor" or "artificial flavoring" if at all possible.

CleoKitty

I try to avoid anything that a regular person wouldn't keep in their pantry.

DandelionMom

I'm trying to stick with healthy fats and reducing sodium and buying organic dairy

kittycarr

I just got shocked looking at my Pepperidge Farm whole wheat extra fiber bread.  I see there is hfcs in it.  I thought there was not.  Must not have scrutinized that label hard enough.  Granted it is in the middle of the ingredients list so there may not be much but still.  WHY does bread need hfcs?

4Speedy

CleoKitty:

I try to avoid anything that a regular person wouldn't keep in their pantry.

AnnapolisLari

Thanks. I forgot the artificial sweeteners. Mom is addicted to them. She lives for Nutrasweet and Splenda.

And again, I wonder what the One Star Wonder finds so offensive. Idiot.

kittycarr

CleoKitty:

I try to avoid anything that a regular person wouldn't keep in their pantry.

No bust, but don't understand.  Given my bread reply a second ago, I am sure I have more of the crap listed in my pantry than I realize.

AnnapolisLari

Kitty, I think it's because people in the US have gotten so used to slight sweetness in everything that they add sugar to just about everything. Sugar is expensive, so HFCS is the default sweetener.

There's HFCS or sugar in a lot of pasta sauces, too. That's why I am taking up canning and I will make my own next summer when the tomatoes are in.

I already make most of our own jams and preserves. I know that there's nothing but fruit, sugar, pectin and a little lemon juice in it. I am not a sugar nazi, so I don't care about that.

CleoKitty

kittycarr:

CleoKitty:

I try to avoid anything that a regular person wouldn't keep in their pantry.

No bust, but don't understand.  Given my bread reply a second ago, I am sure I have more of the crap listed in my pantry than I realize.

The bread is a good example. 

An average person would have flour, yeast, salt, sugar, honey, etc. in their pantry. They're not going to keep HFCS or the other ingredients in your bread in their pantry. 

I also just realized that our favorite whole wheat bread (no HFCS) has a huge ingredient list, half of which I can't even pronounce. None of us keep those ingredients on our pantry shelves. I'm not so stressed out about it that it keeps me up at night or anything, but I'm probably going to look for a different bread to start buying (or maybe start using that bread machine that's been collecting dust in the basement, LOL.) 

kittycarr

I think I"m considering a bread machine too.  Saw a cute little $10 food processor at Tar-jay not long ago - looks perfect for me.  So there ARE breads w/o hfcs?  And a regular persons pantry for the most part then means not one with un-pronounceable, unnatural ingredients?

emilykristene2006

Lari- What's with yellow dye?

AnnapolisLari

I think it was REOM that said to google the ADHD diet, as it is good for everyone.

They listed the sodium benzoate, those 3 yellow dyes, and red #40 as the most commonly identified culprits in ADD/ADHD behavior issues. I figure it can't hurt to avoid them.

juniper19

kittycarr:

I think I"m considering a bread machine too.  Saw a cute little $10 food processor at Tar-jay not long ago - looks perfect for me.  So there ARE breads w/o hfcs?  And a regular persons pantry for the most part then means not one with un-pronounceable, unnatural ingredients?

I get Matthew's bread which doesn't have HFCS.  There's also a brand called Vermont Bread which doesn't have, but their breads are a little too dense for my tastes.  I would think that any organic bread you can find wouldn't have the HFCS.

emilykristene2006

AnnapolisLari:

I think it was REOM that said to google the ADHD diet, as it is good for everyone.

They listed the sodium benzoate, those 3 yellow dyes, and red #40 as the most commonly identified culprits in ADD/ADHD behavior issues. I figure it can't hurt to avoid them.

Good to know. I avoid red dye already. Now I am going hunting in my cabinets to look for yellow dye. From googling, I found that it can also be called tartrazine.

gracendantho26

I might get flamed for this but can she go to Trader Joe's? Is there one near her?

Mrs Manners

Tell her to shop the outside perimeter of the store and stay away from the inside rows if possible. She'll find the fresh stuff on the outside. 

Have you read Food Rules by Michael Pollan? It's a good and easy read that offers fun tips about how to make healthier choices. Your mom might relate more to some of these generalized rules (that are easier to remember) than a specific list of ingredients (especially when things tend to hid under other names like artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, natural flavors, etc)

Rule examples from the book:

#2 Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food (ie. juice boxes and yogurt tubes)

#3 Avoid products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry

#5 Avoid products that contain sugar (or some form of sugar) among the top three ingredients

#6 Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients

#7 Avoid food products that contain ingredients that a third-grader could not pronounce

#11 Avoid foods you see advertised on television

#13 Eat only foods that will eventually rot

femmegem

kittycarr:

I think I"m considering a bread machine too.  Saw a cute little $10 food processor at Tar-jay not long ago - looks perfect for me.  So there ARE breads w/o hfcs?  And a regular persons pantry for the most part then means not one with un-pronounceable, unnatural ingredients?

Kitty, people are talking about the INGREDIENTS, not processed foods with the ingredients in them, KWIM? So you may have bread with HFCS in your cupboard right now, but you certainly don't have a bottle of plain old HFCS sitting in there, right? So avoid buying foods that contain ingredients that you yourself wouldn't buy and keep in your pantry (crazy preservatives, dyes, etc.).

Hooray2005

great post - saving for later

kittycarr

femmegem:

kittycarr:

I think I"m considering a bread machine too.  Saw a cute little $10 food processor at Tar-jay not long ago - looks perfect for me.  So there ARE breads w/o hfcs?  And a regular persons pantry for the most part then means not one with un-pronounceable, unnatural ingredients?

Kitty, people are talking about the INGREDIENTS, not processed foods with the ingredients in them, KWIM? So you may have bread with HFCS in your cupboard right now, but you certainly don't have a bottle of plain old HFCS sitting in there, right? So avoid buying foods that contain ingredients that you yourself wouldn't buy and keep in your pantry (crazy preservatives, dyes, etc.).

My brain feels over-processed right now...

KittyKatBrat

Reading Eat This Not That is a real eye opener.  I forget what spaghetti sauce it was that was loaded with sugar.  I was shocked.

 Stuff you never even think about.  And then it gave you alternatives.

wellfleet04

We also avoid transfats (partially hydrogenated oils) in addition to the other things listed.

emilykristene2006

I just realized the waffles have yellow dye #5 and #6 in them. Nice. Looks like I am buying a waffle maker.

AnnapolisLari

wellfleet04:

We also avoid transfats (partially hydrogenated oils) in addition to the other things listed.

AHA! That's the one I was forgetting.

My mom really isn't that bad-- she does avoid the bad aisles of the grocery store and we loves us our Trader Joe's, but she does love artificial sweeteners and that kind of thing.

I wasn't making a list that is THE LAW of what we feed the kids and ourselves, just more food for thought. Slowly getting it out of the diet, kwim?

nettie

Yes, I have read a couple of the "eat this not that" books and one of them in the back has a glossary of additive and preservatives and what exactly they are...

AnnapolisLari

KittyKatBrat:

Reading Eat This Not That is a real eye opener.  I forget what spaghetti sauce it was that was loaded with sugar.  I was shocked.

 Stuff you never even think about.  And then it gave you alternatives.

I just looked up the Hunt's sauce that my mom likes because it's the lowest in calories. It's got HFCS in it-- less than 2%, but Classico doesn't have anything but pronounceable ingredients.

 

npeacock

kittycarr:

femmegem:

kittycarr:

I think I"m considering a bread machine too.  Saw a cute little $10 food processor at Tar-jay not long ago - looks perfect for me.  So there ARE breads w/o hfcs?  And a regular persons pantry for the most part then means not one with un-pronounceable, unnatural ingredients?

Kitty, people are talking about the INGREDIENTS, not processed foods with the ingredients in them, KWIM? So you may have bread with HFCS in your cupboard right now, but you certainly don't have a bottle of plain old HFCS sitting in there, right? So avoid buying foods that contain ingredients that you yourself wouldn't buy and keep in your pantry (crazy preservatives, dyes, etc.).

My brain feels over-processed right now...

This!

 

AnnapolisLari

Dammit. I just read the labels on our bread.

The Pepperidge Farm light bread has Splenda in it, and the PF soft farmhouse has HFCS. Time for a new brand.

Kapalua

just checked my bread-it's Nature's Pride brand and it is HFCS free. 

 

also, Emily (or anyone else)  I just checked my frozen waffles (Price Chopper brand whole wheat waffles) and they are also HFCS free and yellow dye free.

goodheartedmommy

Anything with the word "modified" or partially hydrogenated oils.

goodheartedmommy

I buy my grocery store's brand of organic bread. The ingredients are all fine. I make my own bread, too.

Nature's Pride that someone mentioned is pretty good, ingredient-wise. 

Sunflower777

Hooray2005:

great post - saving for later

ditto this