I got to do one of my favorite things on the Charlotte Today show this morning…debunk deceiving food labels! We went through 6 different examples of packaged foods, and I shared better (and realistic) alternatives for each. I used to buy every single one of these processed items before my real food wake up call back in 2010. Which ones have you fallen for?
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Here are some details for the alternatives I mention in the video.
Real Food Alternatives:
- Pasta: Look for 100% whole grain pasta that only has 1 ingredient (whole durum wheat) listed on the package.
– - Breadcrumbs: Make your own (by crumbling bread in a food processor and baking it at 300 degrees F for 20 to 22 min) or buy Ian’s brand that has only 4 whole ingredients.
_ - Honey Mustard: Make this at home by mixing together equal parts honey and mustard.
– - Popcorn: Add 1/4 or 1/3 cup kernels to brown paper lunch bag, fold it over 2 or 3 times, and microwave it until the popping slows down to 1 to 2 seconds between pops (it takes 3 minutes 15 seconds to fully cook at my house).
– - Lemonade: Even if you make it at home from scratch it’s still full of sugar! So try water with a slice of lemon or a splash of juice instead.
– - Taco Seasoning: Make it at home by mixing together 1 teaspoon chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, oregano, and salt.
We have been doing the popcorn trick for a few weeks here and I am so thankful for it. So easy and you are right, NONE of the added crap that the microwavable popcorn has AND it ends up being cheaper in the end. Love it!
I usually like to do my own spice and seasoning blends, but taco seasoning is one we use a lot and is good to have made up ahead of time. I like Penzey’s (www.penzeys.com) because they don’t use any junk. And it’s delicious!
I LOVE when you do these kind of videos this is so hard sometimes to figure out and these are very very helpful. Thank you very much!
Have you found anything showing that it’s safe to microwave or cook with a brown paper bag? This article references the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service ( http://www.fsis.usda.gov) and says to never use brown paper bags in the microwave. http://archive.freep.com/article/20121025/COL37/310250077/Susan-M-Selasky-Don-t-pop-corn-in-a-brown-paper-bag
I love my air pop popcorn machine. So simple and no paper bag required.