Food Rules: The Edible Experiment, Week Two

Journal Entry:
Week Two
September 10, 2010


Rule 7 “Avoid food products containing ingredients that a 3rd Grader cannot pronounce”

So I hit the local Supermarket today for the first time since reading “Food Rules.” I had made a list of some of the things I typically buy, but was determined to check the ingredients of each product that I usually purchase. So to begin:

Grape Tomatoes: Ingredients – um, grape tomatoes. Grown in Costa Rica vs. grown in Alabama. So I opted for the more “local” of the two packages and added the bright red “grown in Alabama” tomatoes to my cart.

Fresh Broccoli: check.

Fresh Squash: check.

Salad Mix: Yes, typically I go for the whole “salad in a bag” deal. Although I did check the labels on the different packages, making it a point to see if there were any additives or preservatives listed on the ingredients list. Something that struck me as funny was the catch-phrases on the different product packaging: Dole brand packaging used wording like “Preservative Free,” whereas Earthbound Farms’ Organic Mix used wording such as “No Preservatives” and was marked “Organic.” Well, they were both the same price so for this trip I went with the “No Preservatives, Organic” mixture. Hey, organic might just be a word. But it makes me feel healthier, as if you weren’t already being pretty healthy by eating some iron-rich rabbit-food! 

Deli: Went with the Low-sodium Boar’s Head Turkey, a staple in my fridge!

Feta Cheese: Well, I searched the labels and picked the one that had the least amount of things I couldn’t pronounce. However, I remembered another rule in the book that said opt for full-fat rather than low-fat or fat-free, since the sodium content and additives are usually higher. In this case, the “Reduced-Fat” plain option was not much different from
the Basil and Tomato option I was considering; so, I ended up with the reduced-fat, non-flavored Feta.

Cream Cheese: Wow, now here was a surprise. I usually buy fat-free Cream Cheese. However, I decided to actually check the ingredient label today and see what exactly was in the “fat-free” version when compared to the “real deal.” A slew of unpronounceable sodium-glutamate, vitamin A fortified, xanthan gum, gelatin flavored mess! You mean I was eating that stuff? No wonder it had no taste! I decided to try the Whipped version of the real cream cheese: less fat since it was whipped, but also less sodium, more familiar ingredients, and definitely a whole lot better taste!

And so it went for the remainder of my little shopping list. A very interesting and eye-opening experience! Just when you thought you were eating well… :)