I've been mulling this post for awhile. Through the years I have become an unrepentant label reader, and my friends will frequently ask, "how do I know what food to buy and where to find all natural products?" I am not an expert, and I am not perfect, so I've been hesitant to write up a list that in any way makes it sound so. But on the other hand, it is quite simple to avoid unnecessary food gunk, so without further adieu:
Here is my check list of ways to avoid UFIs (Unidentifiable Food Ingredients/Ultra Funky Ingredients) in your food. After my last post a couple people asked specifically about food-dyes, but this is a good way to check all your food ingredients:
*The easiest way: shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or other natural food stores. Although this strategy runs into two issues: Whole Foods can be pricey and Trader Joe's does carry a few items that have gunk in them, so you have to also follow up with...
*Read your labels. Look at the ingredient list, and if you run into a bunch of ingredients with numbers, or unpronounceable words, chances are you are skating into food funk territory. There are items though, like tocopherols (Vitamin E) or citric acid (Vitamin C) that may sound a bit funky, but are just scientific names. Which leads me to the next step...
*Bookmark www.labelwatch.com, specifically their glossary of food ingredients. You can find almost any unknown food ingredient in this list, and since they are color-coded, you can easily see if they are a beneficial item or a cautionary ingredient. As you learn more about the food you are eating...
*Make a mental or written list of name brand and store items that are all natural. For me, this list includes a random list of foods such as Target Brand Natural Applesauce (just apples, no high fructose corn syrup, preservatives or artificial ingredients), Newman's Own Salad Dressings, Trader Joe's Organic Ketchup and Whole Foods Tortillas. Each of these are a good stand-ins for mass manufactured items that tend to have gunk in them (check out the ingredient list of a traditional tortilla next time you think of it and compare it to Whole Foods). Already at the grocery store and need a little help? Then check out this cool app...
*Fooducate.com is an app you can download and then use at the grocery store to scan bar codes to alert you to any potential gunk in your food. (Thanks Jenn for the tip!) If you don't have a smart phone and still need help in the grocery then...
*Use your judgment: food that is day glow rainbow colored, or not quite right (chili cheese flavored chips) probably has some level of gunk in it. In the end though, most families decide it is impossible to avoid all food gunk and decide...
*Just do your best. Birthdays, holidays and other special occasions often call for special occasion foods, often with bright colors and some gunk too. We do a 90-10 rule in our home, aiming for at least 90% all natural foods, and no more than 10% (roughly--I do not get out a calculator!) of gunk.
And yes, "gunk" is a highly technical term.
A scientist I am not, just a mom who wants to keep my all natural kids as natural as possible-
SPC
1 comment:
thanks for sharing this - we are similar in approach as well. The labelwatch site is really cool and I bet the fooducate app is helpful too (if I didn't have dumb phone :) )
Making stuff homemade as much as possible vs. buying a pre-made or processed version will always help cut the gunk.
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