Phony Foods : Flat Earth Veggie Crisps

The claim: "Flat Earth veggie crisps are deliciously fun, baked snacks with the goodness of real vegetables and other wholesome ingredients. These "Impossibly Good" crisps make it possible to have great taste and nutrition." Each ounce contains a half serving of real vegetables!

The reality: I was skeptical that a half serving of real vegetables could be packed into ONE ounce of "crisps" so I flip the package over to read the ingredients:

Rice flour, potato flakes, corn oil, dried vegetable blend (pumpkin, tomato paste, onion, sugar, sunflower oil, red bell pepper, beet juice concentrate with citric acid [color]), modified corn starch, whole oat flour, sugar, corn maltodextrin, salt, lactose, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, ..... and the list goes on.

Congratulations! You ate a half serving of vegetables in the form of potatoes and corn oil! (Plus a pinch of vegetable blend powder) Remember that the ingredients list goes by weight, so you're basically eating more oil than "real vegetables" ... Not quite the "wholesome ingredients" and nutrition we were thinking. Sure they're slightly healthier for you than deep fried potato chips, but they're no miracle food!

Food Labels, Demystified!

Get your calcium - eat more butter!

Reduced fat! Sugar-free! Seal of approval by the American Heart Association!

These claims may sound good, but know the facts on what they really mean! Though the claim itself may be true, it's not showing you the whole picture.

Reduced fat = Contains at least 25% less fat than the original product. So even if a deep fried Twinkie went from 100 grams of fat to 75, they can call it reduced-fat. Also, just because it's 'reduced fat' doesn't mean it's reduced in anything else. Take for instance a "reduced fat blueberry lemon muffin" from Peet's Coffee. It still has 13 grams of fat, along with a whopping 470 calories (120 from fat alone), 36 grams of sugar, and 75 grams of carbs. Reduced fat usually means the fat is replaced by sugar and processed fillers such as isolated soy protein and high fructose corn syrup.

Trans-fat free = Contains less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat per serving. It seems like nothing, but the 0.5 grams add up quickly. To make sure your food is truly free of trans-fats, look on the ingredients list for the words "partially hydrogenated," which is the complicated word for trans-fat!

Sugar-free = Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. Removing sugar from a product does lower the calories, but the artificial sweeteners used in its place can be even more harmful. There are research studies that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain because of the trick the sweetness plays on your mind. Sugar-free doesn't mean it's low in calories, fat, cholesterol, and especially chemicals.

American Heart Association = Meets AHA standards of being low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. But a food can have as much sugar, calories, and everything else and be called heart-healthy! My favorite example - Chocolate Lucky Charms Cereal: it has minimal fiber, tons of sugar, and added artificial colors and flavors, but is certified "heart healthy" by the AHA!

Light = 1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat. Such as light cream cheese.

Low fat = 3 grams of fat or less per serving.

Good source of "X" = Contains 10-19% of the daily recommended value.

Excellent source of "X" = Contains 20% or more of the daily recommended value.

Made with "X" or "Contains X," as in made with real vegetables, fruits, contains whole grains, etc = Add just a pinch of this ingredient, and it's a legitimate claim.

Cage-free = Chickens aren't kept in cages, but if you've seen the documentary "Food, Inc" you know that it doesn't mean sanitary or humane conditions.

Free-range = The animal lived in a pen or shed where a door was open, even if the animal can't even get to it. The end. No roaming on sunny pastures here.

High in antioxidants = Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, and E, which is in basically EVERYTHING, from beans to fruits to fortified cereal, so don't fall for fancy packages with this claim, and just eat an orange.

Conclusion: Don't rely on flashy claims on the front. Read the ingredients and the nutrition facts for what's really in your food. If a packaged food needs to be embellished with such labels and claims, it's probably trying to hide something.

Natural vs Organic

I always get pissed off when I see food companies using their clever marketing strategies to make their food seem healthy when they're really not. One of the things I want to clarify is the difference between foods that are labeled "natural" versus "organic."

Recently, the organic soy milk brand Silk made the furtive switch from using organic soybeans to conventional soybeans from China, calling it "natural" soy milk and charging the same price. Soon after, Horizon organic milk brand decided to introduce a new line of "natural" dairy products. Why is this bad?

The label "organic" is regulated by the USDA and other international organizations. For something to be certified organic, the company has to prove that their product is free of chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified ingredients, artificial colors and flavors, and artificial preservatives.

The label "natural" sounds healthy but is not regulated, so anything can be labeled "natural" and it'll have no meaning behind it. It could contain chemical additives, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified ingredients, and so on. The Horizon company is putting out so-called "natural" products using conventional ingredients, thinking no one will know the difference...

...Not that anything organic is automatically healthy either! An organic Oreo is still an Oreo. Another tricky label is "Made with organic ingredients." You could be eating a muffin made with one grain of organic wheat and the rest nuclear waste, and you could technically say it was made with organic ingredients. Well, maybe it would need two organic grains, since it says ingredientS.

I'm disappointed with Silk and Horizon brands for switching to conventional ingredients and calling their products "natural" to fool consumers. Now that you know the difference between organic and natural products, you can avoid such greedy scams and shop wisely!

Did you know the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary?!

Okay, so maybe you didn't fall for that one. But many of us are so gullible when it comes to nutrition! We hear about the latest in food news and put all our trust into it - It's a scientific research study, so it can't be wrong, right?! But with every "breakthrough" study, we get more and more confused. For example, studies used to say omega-6 fatty acids are bad, and now they say they're good!

The key is to let go of the small details and focus on the bigger picture. Don't fall for every study you hear about! The basics of health have and will remain constant. To illustrate this point, here's a list of dietary guidelines from 1959, as reproduced in the book Food Politics by Marion Nestle:

1. Do not get fat, if you are fat, reduce.

2. Reduce saturated fats, the fats in beef, pork, lamb, sausages, margarine, solid shortenings, fats in dairy products.

3. Prefer vegetable oils to solid fats, but keep total fats under 30% of your diet calories.

4. Favor fresh vegetables, fruits, and non-fat milk products.

5. Avoid heavy use of salt and refined sugar.

6. Good diets do not depend on drugs and fancy preparations.

7. Get plenty of exercise and outdoor recreation.

8. Be sensible about cigarettes, alcohol, excitement, business strain.

9. See your doctor regularly, and do not worry.

Even though this was written 50 years ago, and intended for the prevention of coronary heart disease, it's still completely relevant today! Considering the thousands of research studies trying to come up with the most advanced discoveries, it sure contradicts the phrase "Knowledge is power." More information isn't always better! So stick to the basics, and do not worry ;)

I have a crush on a trader named Joe...

Considering the price, quality, and variety of foods offered at Trader Joe's, it's probably one of the best markets around. Whatever I can get at Trader Joe's, I'll buy there first, before going to Whole Foods, where it is more expensive. Reasons to love Trader Joe's:

+ Everything at Trader Joe's is free of artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors, trans-fats and MSG. No genetically modified ingredients in their private labels, either.

+ The price is almost always cheaper than Whole Foods, for the same exact products (like brand-name cereals) or similar privately labeled ones.

+ No clipping coupons or using a members card because everything is always at the lowest price.

+ Tons of organic products, from pasta sauce to dried cranberries to string cheese.

+ Bring in your own bags and fill out a raffle ticket to win a TJ's gift card!

+ Creative food samples using TJ's products!!

+ Big selection of wine and beer.

+ Easy to read symbols on the back of products that indicate "low sodium," "vegan," "gluten-free," and others. See here for a complete list http://www.traderjoes.com/labels_and_lists.html

+ Cheap prepared foods - They have a lot of tasty prepared fresh, frozen, and shelf stable meals that are friendly for your budget and your body. Just make sure that you read the nutrition label, especially the serving size! Not everything will be low in fat or calories. At least you will find real natural ingredients, not artificial chemicals you can't pronounce.

Some trade offs are that they don't have a lot of produce selection, everything is packaged (no bulk bins!), and some specialty items get discontinued. But for all it's worth, Trader Joe's is top-notch in my book!