"Health Food"
There's a lot of confusing information out there about what constitutes healthy food. The words "soy" and "low-fat" on a label are enough to make some people salivate.
But...
Real health food doesn't come with a label or list of ingredients
Health food doesn't come with a label. One of the major upsides to eating a Paleo diet is that all the food is real, comes from nature and has a single ingredient. The challenge, of course, is in finding high-quality food like grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, wild-caught fish and organic produce. Luckily, that's getting easier as the number of suppliers of quality foods increases. Consumers are letting it be known that they have high standards when it comes to what they eat.
So, food labels shouldn't matter, unless...you're still eating "health food."
Can you guess these foods?
Sometimes it’s impossible to figure out what a “health food" is from its ingredients. That's a good indication it should be avoided.
Can you guess what the following foods are just from their ingredients?
Exhibit A:
Wrapper: Enriched Flour (Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Whole Wheat Flour, Corn Starch. Contains 2% or less of Salt and Vinegar. Filling: Chopped Spinach, Soy Base Cheese(Cascade Mountain Filtered Water & Organic Soymilk Powder), Casein [Milk Protein], Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Natural & Cultured Flavorings, Organic Brown Rice Flour, Sodium & Calcium Phosphates, Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Carrageenan, Expeller Grade Canola Oil, Bread Crumbs (Organic Unbleached Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, Yeast, Sea Salt, Malt Extract), Contains 2% or Less: Evaporated Cane Juice, Sea Salt, Spices, Troula Yeast, Garlic and Onion Powder, Maltodextrin (Natural Carbohydrates from Corn), Citric Acid and Natural Flavorings. Browned in Expeller Grade Canola Oil. Contains: Wheat, Milk and Soy.
Exhibit B:
Tortilla (Bleached Enriched Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Soybean Oil, Salt, Sugar, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Potassium Sorbate (A Preservative), Mono And Diglycerides, Calcium Propionate (A Preservative), Fumaric Acid, Sodium Metabisulfite (Dough Conditioner), Corn And Black Bean Blend (Corn, Black Beans (Black beans, Water), Poblano Chilies, Red Bell Peppers, Extra Virgin Olive Oil), Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese (Cultured Milk and Non-Fat Milk, Modified Corn Starch*, Salt, Vitamin A Palmitate, Enzyme. (*Ingredient Not In Regular Mozzarella Cheese)), Light Pasteurized Process Monterey Jack Cheese (Cultured Milk, Water, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Whey*, Sorbic Acid, Cream, Enzymes, Sodium Phosphate, Lactic Acid (Ingredient Not In Regular Pasteurized Process Monterey Jack Cheese)), Cooked White Meat Chicken (White Meat Chicken, Water, Seasoning (Salt, Flavorings, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch, Sugar Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Flavor (Maltodextrin, Smoke Flavor), Spices, Caramel Color, And Citric Acid), Isolated Soy Protein, Modified Rice Starch, Chicken Flavor (Dehydrated Chicken Broth, Chicken Powder, Flavor, Salt), Sodium Phosphates), Light Pasteurized Process Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Milk, Water, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Whey*, Sorbic Acid, Cream, Apo Carotenal and Beta Carotene Color, Enzymes, Sodium Phosphate, Lactic Acid (*Ingredient Not In Regular Pasteurized Process Cheddar Cheese)), Tomato Puree, Water, 2% Or less Of Tomato Paste, Soybean Oil, Seasoning (Flavor (Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Chicken Powder, Maltodextrin, Flavoring (Contains Canola Oil), Grill (Contains Sunflower Oil)), Salt, Spices, Onion And Garlic, Lime Juice Powder (Corn Syrup Solids, Lime Juice Solids, Natural Flavor), And Jalapeno Powder), Corn Starch. Contains: Milk, Wheat, and Soy.
Exhibit C:
Water, soy protein concentrate, reduced fat cheddar cheese, (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (color), Vitamin A Palmitate), wheat gluten, corn oil, contains less than 2% of methylcellulose, hydrolyzed corn protein, wheat gluten and soil protein, salt, caramel color, cheese powder (cheddar cheese, [milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], cream, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid), dried onions, yeast extract, natural flavor (non-meat), sesame oil, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate. Browned in corn oil. Contains: soy, milk, wheat, sesame.
Skip the "Health Food"
Have real food instead! It may not have a fancy label making big promises, but it is healthy.
