The food industry has been moving away from artificial colors, the Associated Press reported recently. The reason — consumers don’t want anything artificial in their foods these days.
Would you eat this?
I read the story first in the New York Post and then in the Chicago Tribune. What really gave me pause was a picture of what some familiar items like pork sausage and chips, look like without artificial color. It was pretty distasteful, another reason not to eat such processed food which remains high in fat and salt.
It will be interesting to see if the end of artificial color impacts consumer buying habits for many processed foods that won’t look the same with natural coloring added.
Nestle is joining the move away from artificial ingredients, it announced last week. What’s even more exciting from my perspective is its pledge to reduce salt in such items as its DeGorno frozen pizza by 10 percent.
Nestle is cutting salt in its frozen pizzas, but 10% isn’t much for a product loaded with almost 3,000 mgs of salt.
It isn’t much, but it’s a start. Pizza is loaded with salt and fat thanks to the cheese and crusts which are high in salt. One variety of DiGiorno, its thin crust Margherita, has 690 mgs of sodium in one-fourth of the pizza! Eat an entire frozen pizza, and that’s not difficult to do really, and you get 2,760 mgs of pizza, more than a normal person should have in a day and twice what I should be eating in a day.
Low-sugar jams and jellies can be a tasty topping for the multigrain Thomas’s English muffins I’ve been enjoying lately. But I’m finding the world of jelly and jam can be a sugar mindfield. There’s regular jams and jellies, which have sugar added. Then there are no-sugar-added varieties and low-sugar varieties, meaning, as always, read the labels if you have concerns about eating sugar.
Smuckers new fruit and honey spread.Nutrition information shows 8 grams of sugar per tablespoon.
Smuckers has a new variety out that further muddies the waters by using honey as a sweetener instead of sugar. Honey is in vogue these days but the reality is it’s all sugar to your body, nutritionists have told me. So even with Smuckers new Fruit and Honey spread, look at the nutrition label. The news there isn’t half bad. Continue reading “Smuckers Fruit and Honey fruit spread — a tasty lower-sugar option”→
Taco shells, especially the crispy kind, can be loaded with fat and salt. Old El Paso shells, as an example, have 7 grams of fat per three shells and 135 mgs of sodium. Double that for a typical full-sized serving and you see the fat and salt add up.
365 organic tortillas 365 organic tortillas nutrition information
After finding Mrs. Dash made a salt-free taco seasoning, I’ve been on a quest to create a low-salt, low-fat taco. I’ve found low-salt salsa and hit upon using 96% lean ground beef to cut the fat. But I needed something low-salt and low-fat to wrap them in. I could have used Romaine lettuce leaves but I wanted something a bit more substantial, so I searched the aisles at several food stores before finding organic corn Tortillas at Whole Foods.
This handy offering (in the refrigerated case) has only 15 mgs of sodium in three tortillas and only 2 grams of fat. So six of these have only 30 mgs of sodium and 4 grams of fat.
If you’re avoiding corn in your diet, these are not for you. Total carb count is 28 grams of carbs in three shells here, or 56 grams if you eat six as I did. If corn isn’t an issue though, give them a try. John
With salt literally off the table since my 2012 angioplasty, finding spices and marinades that also are salt-free has become a must. Luckily, I live near a wonderful spice store, The Spice House, which has a full array of salt-free spices.
Salt-free spices are a must-have for any kitchen.
I particularly like its blends that supposedly reflect various ethnic cuisines. My favorite is called Sunny Greek Islands which includes oregano, marjoram, garlic, lemon peel and red wine vinegar among others. I’ve used it on fish and poultry. Continue reading “Salt-free spices are a must-have for your kitchen”→
I wrote early this year about a great panko breadcrumb find at Costco. Indeed, the giant box lasted me from February through August. But I was very disappointed when I went back to Costco recently only to find it had switched to a different brand of panko breadcrumbs — one that’s incredibly high in salt. Shame on you Costco!
Costco has dropped a low-sodium brand of panko and now carries this from McCormick, an offering loaded with salt. Shame on you Costco.McCormick panko breadcrumb nutrition information
The warehouse store now carries McCormick brand Tuscan Herb panko bread crumbs. Anything that has a name like that is likely loaded with salt. A quick check of the nutrition panel confirmed my worst fears. A half-cup of this brand has 560 mgs of sodium, or a third of my daily limit. That’s simply unacceptable. Continue reading “Costco has switched bread crumb brands, shame on you Costco”→
Despite recent headlines like “Butter is Back” and “Eat Butter” and “Don’t Blame Fat,” dietary guidelines still tell us to limit our saturated fat intake to less than 10% of our calories and even 7% to further reduce the risk of heart disease. Total fat intake recommendations remain between 20-35% of the total diet.
I met Ginger Hultin MS, RD, LDN, is a Chicago-based freelance writer and dietitian, whle on a recent TV show to discuss diet, fat and health and was impressed by what she had to say.
The very low fat diet by Dr. Dean Ornish at about 10% total fat continues to be awarded “Best Heart Healthy Diet” each year and success stories like John Frank’s inspire people to eat healthy and stick to a diet relatively low in fat for optimal health.
All diets consist of three major food types, or macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein and fat. Even a very low-fat diet will have some percentage of fat included, so which are the best choices?
Recommendations show that unsaturated fats are healthful; you may hear the words omega-3, polyunsaturated, or monounsaturated. These are all types of healthy fat in the diet found in plant-based foods. If you’re going to eat fat-containing foods, opt for types including fatty fish (salmon, herring), nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, hemp and chia), healthy oils (flax, olive oil), and fatty fruits (avocado, olives). Choosing more highly processed, low-fat foods has been debunked (think low fat cookies!), so be sure to choose whole, unprocessed foods that have healthy fats in them naturally like the ones I listed above. Continue reading “Which fats should you be eating? A guest post”→
One of the three nutritionists I saw after my angioplasty in 2012 recommended I eat only egg whites rather than whole eggs to avoid cholesterol in eggs. Other nutritionists disagree about this. Indeed, eggs seem to be making a comeback and I’m sure the Egg Board, which promotes their consumption, is happy that it’s PR work over the years is bearing fruit.
But I prefer to avoid eggs these days and stick to egg whites only. I’ve been buying whatever brand of packaged egg whites is on sale. But then I realized that all egg white are not the same. A store brand I bought, shown here, has lots of additional ingredients, as you can see on my photos here. Another brand I found lists only egg whites as the ingredient in the carton. So that’s the one I’m sticking with these days.It doesn’t scramble yellow like the other does, but now I know that comes from added coloring which I’d rather not have.
Check the ingredients before buying packaged egg whites. All brands are not the same.
Egg whites are its only ingredient.This store brand has a lot in it besides egg whites.
John
Easter, and especially the day after Easter, was always a big candy day for me. I’d be first in line at places like Chicago’s Fannie Mae candy stores, waiting for the after-Easter sale to start.
But since my angioplasty and my new low-fat diet, chocolate, especially my favorite milk chocolate, has been largely forbidden to me. So this post-Easter time I went looking for some low-fat, sugar-free candies instead.
Sugar free twizzlers — not worth the stomach pain.
I blogged earlier this week about some low-sodium soups I’ve tried, unsuccessfully taste-wise. But I’ve also been searching for sodium free broth to use in things like turkey when I make a whole one for a special occasion.
Low-sodium broth is relatively easy to find. You have to look harder to find sodium-free broth, but it is out there. But always check the nutrition labels for the real story. You may find some so-called no salt added broth has more sodium than one calling itself low-sodium. That was the case for me with the broths shown below.
Low sodium broths are not created equal, always read the nutrition panels.
The lesson is always check for yourself, never believe any on-package advertising or hype language. John
The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal 