The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal
Creating healthier food choices
Nutritionists constantly encourage us to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. But some of those healthy picks will be harder to find this year, as will some other foods like domestically raised beef, reports Tasting Table, mostly because of lower production.
For one though, cottage cheese, increased demand is creating shortages.
Continue reading “2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find”
Food-related recalls seem to be everywhere at the start of 2026.
Eating Well magazine’s website has a roundup of five recent ones that involve everything from fried rice to dietary supplements. And more than 20,000 peanut butter items are being recalled in 40 states by a processor called Ventura Foods. LLC.
The five items reported on by Eating Well include:
For the peanut butter recall: “More than 20,000 single-serve peanut butter items and peanut butter-and-jelly combo packs are affected. Some were distributed by DYMA Brands, Inc., US Foods, Sysco Corporation, Gordon Food Service and Independent Marketing Alliance, among others,” People reports.
I’m feeling good about not liking peanut butter right now.
Ever notice how nutritionists balk when you say you like iceberg lettuce? I had one audibly scoff at me once.
But a recent piece in USA Today says all lettuce is good for you, even the maligned iceberg.
Turns out it’s not as good as lettuce that more deeply green, and so higher in good things.
But “choosing darker, red-leaf varieties or mixing in baby greens or microgreens can really boost the nutritional value of your salads,” one nutrition expert tells USAToday.
So let the salads begin and enjoy the type of lettuce you enjoy.
Grocery prices have reached the stratosphere and we’re all scrambling to lower our food bills. Enter Consumer Reports which recently looked at where the cheapest groceries can be found.
Surprise, the winner wasn’t a traditional supermarket or even Walmart, it was Costco.
“Only six chains nationwide had lower prices than Walmart, and the cheapest grocery store in America was none other than Costco. According to the study, groceries at Costco cost, on average, 21.4% less than at Walmart,” reports Delish in analyzing the Consumer Reports study.
But before you run to Costco, keep in mind there are some downsides to shopping there. You have to buy a membership, to start. Costco also doesn’t stock as many grocery products as traditional stores. And you likely have to buy in large quantities, more than a small family might need.
But you could join with neighbors, splitting the $65 membership fee and dividing up what you purchase.
BJ’s Wholesale came in second, another warehouse concept store.
My advice for getting lower prices — shop sales, use coupons and plan your weekly trip, and your weekly menu to maximize your purchasing power. I rarely pay full-price for any grocery item.
My goal each week — to save at least 33 – 40% off full price for my weekly shopping list.
Coca-Cola is dropping its iconic (at least for old people) Minute Maid frozen concentrate in the United States and Canada after a nearly 80-year run.
When it was first introduced, concentrate, essentially orange bits frozen in a can, was the height of convenience. Most people squeezed oranges for juice 80 years ago (it’s true, look it up).
With a can of concentrate, you took it from the freezer and dumped it in a pitcher of water, stirred and drank the stuff.
Today, though, people think nothing of buying big cartons or bottles of OJ and lugging it home.
Plus, I would guess with fewer people eating breakfast at home, home consumption is down as well. So Coke is concentrating on other, more profitable lines.
Coke and Pepsi are both scrambling to stay relevant for consumers who aren’t drinking their main soda offerings as much as in the past.
Pepsi just announced price cuts for some of its snack offerings, for example, worried that more people are gulping weight-loss drugs and turning away from snacks in the process.
I had to laugh at a recent New York Times piece titled 4 Easy Ways to Eat More Fiber. These might be easy for some, but they’ll also be distasteful to others and they won’t get you to your fiber-eating goals.
I resolved to eat more fiber years ago and went all-in with a fiber-rich breakfast. I eat Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal every morning, even taking it with me when I travel. Two-thirds of a cup has 9 grams of fiber. I eat an entire cup each morning, so roughly 13 grams of fiber.
That puts me well on my way to the daily recommendation of 25 grams. I also eat nothing but whole wheat bread and pastas and I grab whole fruit whenever possible, adding still more fiber.
Back to the Times piece and its recs. I don;t do smoothies, so blending fiber into smoothies won’t help me. I also don;t snack on trail mix or seeds or whatever, so that’s two of the four that don’t help. And I don;t believe in making gradual changes, the first recommendation. At almost 73, I don;t have time left for doing anything gradually.
Wendy’s is bringing back the thin mint Frosty in partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA which sell thin mint cookies this time of year.
Wendy’s will launch it thin mint Frosty, with either vanilla or chocolate soft-serve topped with thin mint sauce. The non-heart-healthy offering (sorry, I had to remind you) debuts Feb. 16, two days after Valentine’s Day.
Wendy’s also will be allowing Girl Scout cookie sales at its outlets.
A major food recall, this time from a distributor rather than a processor, is underway. More than 2,000 products are involved.
Minneapolis-based Gold Star Distribution Inc. has recalled food items, pet foods, beauty products and drugs that it distributes in three states, the Food and Drug Administration has announced.
First issued in December, the recall was recently classified as Class II by the FDA. Class II is used for products that “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” according to the FDA’s site.
Among the products recalled are Pringles, Nutella and Cheerios. The original recall was issued in December due to “the presence of rodent and avian contamination,” the company said. Products had been distributed in Minnesota, Indiana and North Dakota.