Misleading Product Roundup: Don't be Fooled ⋆ 100 Days of Real Food

Today I am sharing a “roundup” of the misleading products I’ve been sharing on Facebook lately. Just in case you missed some or need a friendly reminder…please don’t let the food industry fool you with these products!

Taco Seasoning

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I couldn’t believe it when I looked at the back of this taco seasoning packet and saw “Maltodextrin” as the first item on the ingredient list (meaning what it contains the most of). Maltodextrin is a filler found in highly processed foods and is usually made from corn. I don’t know about you but it’s not an additive I cook with at home. So then why would it be the main ingredient in something as simple as taco seasoning?

Real Food Alternative: Throw together a big batch of homemade taco seasoning by combining 1 tablespoon of chili powder and 1 ½ teaspoons each of cumin, oregano, and salt. Add some red pepper to taste then store in an airtight container. I use 2 ½ teaspoons of taco seasoning per 1 pound of ground meat. Also check out my taco salad recipe for a different take on tacos!

Pasta “Plus”

This is the pasta I used to buy before we cut out processed food because I thought it was the “healthier” stuff. But, the thing that makes pasta “real” is being made with whole grains. The first ingredient in this pasta (and what it contains the most of) is “semolina” flour, which is actually a refined grain. The whole grain version of semolina is called whole durum wheat.

Real Food Alternative: Whole-wheat pasta is pretty easy to find and usually only contains 1 ingredient: whole durum wheat. And the word “whole” is very important! If you are new to understanding grains check out our post about grains for more info.

Breadcrumbs

It’s amazing how the food industry can take something as simple as plain breadcrumbs and make them full of so much junk. This one has more than 30 ingredients including high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (a.k.a. trans fat)! Not to mention it’s made with highly refined white flour (labeled as enriched flour).

Real Food Alternative: It’s easy to make your own bread crumbs (there’s a recipe at the end of this post), but if you don’t have time I like “Ian’s Whole-Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs” made with only a few simple ingredients. It comes in a yellow bag and is available in some grocery stores and on Amazon.

Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal

Out of all the label reading I do this one really upsets me. Quaker (you know the “heart healthy” breakfast) says this on their website about their Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal, “Imagine a warm summer morning and a fresh bowl of juicy, sun-ripened strawberries topped with rich, dairy cream. Now imagine all of that warmth and rich flavor in a bowl of Quaker Oats.” Yet, when you actually read the ingredients you’ll find that the pictured red fruit chunks aren’t even strawberries! They are dehydrated apple pieces treated with artificial strawberry flavor and red dye. Not to mention this product also contains partially hydrogenated oil (a.k.a. trans fat), and a few other strange things I would never make oatmeal with at home.

Real Food Alternative: The key to products like oatmeal (and yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.) is to always buy plain and flavor them yourself! Check out our basic oatmeal recipe…it takes less than 5 minutes to make. And it would be really easy to top it off with fresh, real strawberries.

Crystal Light

This “lemonade” product is another one that’s rather disturbing. Crystal Light’s “Natural Lemonade” mix doesn’t even contain a single drop of lemon or lemonade! Plus both its sweetener (aspartame) and yellow tint (yellow 5) are completely artificial. There are currently no regulations for slapping the word “natural” on a food package so don’t let this terminology fool you.

Real Food Alternative: Unfortunately even if you make REAL lemonade from scratch at home it calls for quite a bit of sugar. You are better off just squeezing a little fresh lemon juice in your water or saving lemonade for an extra special occasion!

Ranch Dip

This packet of Hidden Valley ranch seasoning looks pretty innocent…you just add sour cream and you have yourself a zesty dip for veggies. Except the fact that, according to the ingredients, it contains more maltodextrin (an additive made from corn), salt, and MSG than it does any actual herbs or spices.

Real Food Alternative: I find this unfortunate when it’s super simple to make your own ranch dip at home. My recipe has been adapted from the $5 Dinner Mom’s ranch salad dressing!

Cool Whip

I know “Cool Whip” is quick and easy, but I find it strange that it contains more water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (might contain trans fat), high-fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup than it does cream, which happens to be the main ingredient in REAL whipped cream. I know this product doesn’t claim to be “whipped cream” and instead calls itself a “whipped topping,” but let’s face it…we all know what this is trying to imitate!

Real Food Alternative: In case you’ve never tried making your own homemade whipped cream before it’s actually pretty easy…check out the simple instructions at the bottom of this chocolate torte recipe.

Uncrustables

Uncrustables seem to be a pretty popular school lunch item. Just be sure to know they contain high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, AND sugar as well as partially hydrogenated oil (a.k.a. trans fat). This variety also uses bread made from refined white flour, dough conditioners, and quite a lot of other ingredients I cannot even pronounce and would never cook with at home.

Real Food Alternative: I don’t know about you, but when I make PB&J at home it doesn’t contain any of that junk. And you can even make your own “Uncrustable” sandwich with one of these handy little sandwich cutters/sealers from amazon (just wrap it up and throw it in the freezer when you are done)!

“Wheat” Crackers

This product comes to you from the health food store (where you STILL have to read ingredient labels). The front of this healthy-looking brown box says “Crispy Wheat Crackers” but don’t let that lead you to believe there is anything “whole-wheat” about them. Even refined white flour comes from the wheat plant so if it doesn’t say the word “whole” then it’s not a “whole-wheat” product. I don’t understand why our society has given “whole-wheat” the nickname “wheat” because they are NOT the same thing and it makes things confusing! If you look at the ingredients on this box you can see these crackers contain no “whole wheat” flour at all…only refined “wheat flour” a.k.a. white flour.

Real Food Alternative: For 100% whole-wheat crackers our favorite is Ak-Mak, which is available in stores like Earth Fare and Trader Joe’s as well as on Amazon. To learn more about the difference between “wheat” and “whole-wheat” check out our post about Understanding Grains.

Strawberry Syrup

I am guilty as charged because I used to buy this stuff for my kids. It was right there by the chocolate syrup, and I thought it would be a fun way to switch things up. But soon after my real food wake-up call I started raiding our pantry and fridge, and I was shocked to see (according to the ingredients) that this “strawberry” syrup doesn’t even contain any strawberries at all. The flavor and color are both completely artificial.

Real Food Alternative: If you are looking for a berry flavored drink try making this homemade berry sauce instead and sieve out the seeds…it would be great in some nice cold (organic) milk.

Bread

If I were to make sandwich bread at home it would take about 5 ingredients (whole-wheat flour, water, yeast, salt, and honey) and even if I were to add a few extras like nuts, seeds, and a different type of flour maybe we are up to 10 ingredients. So why does it take “Arnold” 31 ingredients including white flour (a.k.a. unbleached enriched wheat flour) to make their whole grain “Health Nut” bread?

All those extra additives aren’t there to make the bread taste better, but instead to give it a longer shelf life (and ensure it travels well before even hitting those shelves). I admit I used to eat white sandwich bread before all of this and that’s because I did not like whole-wheat bread. Then one day I tried “real” whole-wheat bread, made from only a few simple, fresh ingredients, and what do you know… it actually tastes pretty good!

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Real Food Alternative: Nowadays we either buy the honey-whole wheat loaf from Great Harvest (a franchise chain that bakes fresh bread daily) or make it ourselves using our whole-wheat bread machine recipe.

Nutella

Last but not least…Nutella! I shared Nutella on Facebook the other day after seeing their ad in a parenting magazine, which I personally found misleading. But after posting it quite a few readers pointed out to me that this product, which is positioned as a breakfast spread, actually has more sugar per serving than chocolate cake frosting…and they were right! “Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Chocolate Frosting” contains 18 grams of sugar per serving (2 tablespoons) and “Nutella” contains 21 grams of sugar per serving (also 2 tablespoons). Yet they advertise that their spread can “turn a balanced breakfast into a tasty one, too.” Just because something like chocolate frosting might taste good on your breakfast doesn’t mean you should necessarily indulge in it (or offer it to your children before school) on a regular basis! Of course moderation is one thing, but as I’ve said many times before different people seem to define “moderation” quite differently…and in our society junk food exceptions and special occasions add up pretty quick..

The part of the ad that I thought was misleading though was where they say, “Each jar contains hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa.” When you look at the ingredient label on a jar of Nutella you’ll find sugar listed as the first item (i.e. what the product contains the most of). They purposely omitted the main ingredient, which is also coincidentally the part that’s not good for you.

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Real Food Alternative: I would say just go for butter or 1 ingredient peanut butter on your morning toast, but, even though I’ve never tried it myself, many people tell me it’s easy to make your own “Nutella” spread at home. Here’s a recipe for chocolate hazelnut spread from Weelicious. I would personally make it with the honey instead of agave, but either way at least this version contains more hazlenuts than it does sweetener!

Misleading Product Roundup: Don’t be Fooled