Cooking With Que

How to Read Food Labels

The question of the day goes to all the last minute shoppers like myself who need to go grocery shopping for the holiday (today.. Yep. I’m super last minute). Do you read labels at the grocery store? Or do you just Grab-N-Go?

In the last blog, we talked about grocery shopping and how to keep it healthy. Now, I want to take it a bit further and look at the items that you are purchasing, read the label and understand what it’s telling you.

Look at this nifty sample macaroni label  --------------------------------->

Now, many people look at the calories and just take it for what it is, as opposed to looking at the actual serving size and noticing that 1 package could have more than one serving size.

I am a culprit. I have to be honest and tell you how much I love White Cheddar Skinny Pop .  Listen, its a Vegan weakness of mine.  That bag says it’s 150 calories…..PER SERVING!!! There are 4.5 servings in that bag family!!!! 4.5…..if a human consumes that bag alone….that is over 600 calories.  Please let us not speak of the Red Wine that is used to wash it down. (Slowly moving along….completely guilt free) I said it was my weakness! At least I’m not in denial!

So let’s take a deeper look into the labels, I tell people to ignore the front of the packaging all the time.  Look at the ingredients list.  I have to look at the ingredients because, I’m a Vegan that is allergic to Dairy. (sigh)  This not only means if it has a Momma, I can’t eat it, but if it has any milk, eggs, or cheese, I will end up in the ER.  So I really have to look at the labels.

Some manufacturers don’t give you the full truth on the front of the packaging, and that is why I say, ignore it. The ingredients on the back tell you everything.  Look at ingredients list it will give you all the information you need.

  • Product ingredients are listed by quantity from highest to the lowest amount  
    • Rule of thumb, check out the first 3 items, that is pretty much what you are eating in a nutshell
    • Choose foods that have whole foods as the first three ingredients
  • Ingredients with names you can’t pronounce
    • Your body probably can’t break it down
    • Avoid them at all costs

Just be mindful of the things you purchase at the grocery store.  Read and be an educated shopper.  These are just a few of my tips, if you have some tips for me, let me know.  I gotta hit the grocery store  🙂

May your tastebuds be forever satisfied!!!

Que 🙂

 

 

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