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Why is packaged food not healthy?


We hear this.  Is it true?  How bad can it really be?

 

I have gathered some thoughts and a few examples.  I didn’t dig for any particularly unhealthy packaged foods, but I went with the first cookie, brownie, and frozen chicken dinner I found on a search at a local grocery store.

 

Chips Ahoy cookies contain canola oil, palm oil, high fructose corn syrup and caramel color. If you make cookies from scratch, they have none of these and almost certainly taste better.

 

Packaged brownies contain corn syrup, palm oil, soybean oil, carnauba wax, yellow 5, yellow 6, blue 1, red 3 and caramel color.  Homemade brownies have none of these ingredients and absolutely taste better.

 

Stouffer’s frozen chicken ranch pasta’s package proudly displays it has 38 grams of protein, but small print shows it has 1240mg of sodium, 25 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated and 10 grams of sugar.  Sautee some vegetables, add pasta, chicken, and sauce for better taste, 10% of the sodium of the pre-packaged meal, and none of the unhealthy fats.

 

Our local grocery store has bakery fresh bread.  It contains canola oil and ascorbic acid enzyme (preservative).  This one isn’t terrible, but we enjoy baking bread.  Ours has olive oil and no preservatives.

 

You can eat better tasting food that is healthier for you.  It takes a little more work and may take some learning to cook and/or bake some new foods.  Is it work if you learn to enjoy cooking and baking?

4 Comments


lksclark
Feb 16, 2024

I was making a shopping list.....now...I have to re-write it....thanks....😬. HAHAHAHAHA! Actually, I really look for the seed and soy oils in ingredients as I don't understand why those are needed in so many foods! It really is aggravating.

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Dave
Feb 17, 2024
Replying to

You are welcome. Now you can go down the baking isle. I see palm oil in lots and lots of packaged foods. This came about when the FDA banned transfats and the food industry needed a replacement. Enter palm oil. Super cheap and good mouth feel. Better for you than transfats, but not a lot.

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Guest
Feb 16, 2024

Isn’t ascorbic acid the same thing as vitamin C? Why is it bad to be in bread?

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Dave
Feb 17, 2024
Replying to

Ascorbic acid is the same thing(ish) as vitamin C for sure. It is a vitaminer of vitamin C which means it is a compoud that provides the same vitamin activity as vitamin C. That is kind of a ridiculous distiction for sure. One way or another, as far as preservative go, it is a fairly natural preservative. Of those examples, the bread was the one that came closest to the ingredients as making bread at home, but baking bread is a fair amount of work.

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