A few days ago I decided to cut out all of the bad things in my life, and that included going back to being vegan. Yeah, that didn’t happen. But, you know, baby steps, so I’m trying to cut out sugar. I went to the grocery store today in the attempt to save money and eat healthier (usually I just pick up something from Chipotle or Subway or whatever else is quick and easy…I enjoy quick and easy). I got a veggie tray, string cheese, english muffins and crackers. The last two were whole wheat. After I ate the whole veggie tray, three things of cheese, two english muffins, and was then munching on some crackers, I decided to check out the ingredients on the crackers. And what was listed as the third or fifth ingredient? Sugar. Boo. What the eff? So then I looked at the english muffin ingredients. Yup, sugar near the top of the list there as well. The sugar totally negates the whole wheat, so what the hell is the point? This is like when I was vegan and discovered how everything had the most random ingredients. There are things you wouldn’t believe that have nonfat milk (everything has nonfat milk!) or…urea. Luckily that last one wasn’t in any food products…but you’re probably washing your hair with it.
Posted by: Clarity Sage | May 26, 2009
Sugar Sugar Everywhere
Posted in Health Stuff | Tags: Food, Health, Ingredients, Shopping, Sugar, Vegan
I KNOWI could never be vegan… there are just too many animal products that we use on a daily basis. Good luck trying to cut out sugar. That’ll be a tough one!
By: Angela on May 26, 2009
at 6:43 pm
Oftentimes processed foods are the problem. They put stuff we don’t want in with stuff we want. You can solve a lot of problems (unwanted sugar, dairy, sodium, “I-can’t-even-pronounce-that-so-why-would-I-eat-it,” etc.), by choosing unprocessed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It can be difficult to eliminate processed foods without cooking everything from scratch, but perhaps a balance can be found if you decide how much of that stuff you’re willing to tolerate vs. how much time you’re willing to spend.
For example, I often cook with tortillas, which have more sodium than I would like. I live with that since they’re handy and I’m not interested in making my own. But crackers and string cheese are snacks, not part of a meal, so that could be changed to fruit or nuts. English muffins are breakfast, so you could switch to oatmeal made from rolled or quick oats and whatever YOU want to add to it (I find that if I add wheat germ and raisins to oatmeal I don’t need sweetener).
I have a blog where I blather on about what I eat, in case you’re interested. I write it for my friends, who tell me it is helpful. I don’t concern myself about sugar too much, but I am vegan: http://expandingcircle.wordpress.com/
Good for you for taking charge of your health, and good luck!
By: tinako on May 26, 2009
at 9:23 pm