Confused By Food Labels? Here’s A Solution

Thank you for this useful post. I forget if the order of the ingredients is by weight or volume. I also check for protein just in case. Would you speak a little about the different kinds of oil? Palm oil and palm kernel oil are very different I think...but the wisdom changes on oil all the time!

Can't wait to try the pumpkin pancakes this week. What a powerful punch!!

Jennie

Jennie McKenna

And the only reason sugar is not the first ingredient is because they have added 10 different kinds. I wish they had to list them by categories. Now I have to go google algin now to see if that's an 11th sugar.

Michellea

I think we are often fooled by the front of the package saying organic or real fruit. I think a lot of parents are buying snacks for their kids that are not as healthy as they think they are.Very Helpful post.

judee@ Gluten Free A-Z

This is a good reminder that just because it's organic, doesn't mean it is healthy. Companies are out to make money. Unfortunately alot of people don't educate themselves on the foods that they eat. Thanks for the great site.

Sue

Thanks for this! It's a good lesson for me to use when shopping for healthy items to eat!

Melissa2

No matter what, I can't find a healthy poptart unless I make my own!! Great post!! You can't let organic or a name of the product fool you!!!

Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers

Super helpful. I might have been fooled by the poem :)

I always look at sugar and the fat breakdown. I used to obsess over sodium but now I look at that after fat & sugar.

What I need to get into the habit of doing is reading the list just like you posted - I always go to the chart and stop there.

Thank you!

De

Thanks Lisa ! This helped me tremendously. It is difficult when they try to trick you into thinking its healthy. This puts things into perspective :-) Never knew the trick about the first ingredient..cant wait to try it out.

Wendy

everybody should try using the fooducate app (http://www.fooducate.com/). You can use it to scan the barcode on stuff you want to buy and it rates the item based on ingredients in it. They have a pretty good database and are mostly reliable with most of the ratings.

Jeff

So helpful. I always check the Fiber & Protein in a product as well.

Laura

My rule is always: is that an ingredient that my grandma would have kept on hand in her kitchen? If not, it won't be in mine either? I don't think my grandma had any monocalcium phosphate lying around... or "blueberry flavor" for that matter.

Cristina @ An Organic Wife

I would never buy these for me or my family. It's a pop tart in disguise. The word "organic" just means the ingredients they used are organic, but sugar is still sugar, wheat flour is still wheat flour, etc. The carb, calorie and sugar count is higher than any snack I would give to my kids. I might offer this as a dessert, but NEVER as a snack. The big thing people need to understand is that "organic" does not mean it is healthy food--just that the ingredients are organic. This is one of the ways food manufacturers try to trick consumers.

Ilyse

If I can't pronounce it, I don't eat it. Unless the reason I can't pronounce it is because it's from a country whose language I don't speak.

LWB

Thanks for this great post! I am religious about checking lables and rarely eat anything with more than 5g of sugar per serving. For the most part, I actually avoid anythign with more than 5 ingredients or ingredients i can't pronounce.

That said, sodium has been tricky for me. I always check the amount of sodium but I dont actually know what is reasonable. Any insight?

Kathy

Thanks for the useful Information. MY daughter has pre-diabetes, so I always look for the content of sugar, sodo, and of course calories. I am so surprise to find that many organic products have more calories, and/or sugar than the regular ones.

María T Owens

Face it, processed foods really aren't that healthy. I am many years past the stage of life where time matters--retired, kids scattered around the globe, etc--so I completely skip this stuff, but I can remember what it is like for those with more complicated lives. If your life requires the expedience of this kind of food, consider some of the cold cereals that are equally expedient, low in sugar (or even without added sugar), and fresh fruit. Trying to find healthy food in whatever category it is that incorporates Pop Tarts is simple dooming yourself to frustration.

martin

Thanks for a great post! I have just became aware of the NuVal numbers. This number appears on the price tags on the store shelves. Not all products have been evaluated by this algorithm yet, but I am finding that most are. It is a quick way to reference the healthiest choice of a specific product. I find it extremely helpful when standing there puzzled in the bread aisle and even at the fish counter. Snack girl, I am wondering if you use this or are aware of it and I am wondering what you think?

Colleen

WOW! Thank you for the note of 5 grams of sugar is about 1 tsp!

Tanya

Thanks snack girl!! Knowing that 5 grams of sugar is a teaspoon is helpful. I never know how much sugar would be considered 'a lot' for one serving. Do you have any advice on that??

Stacy

I love that APPLES are before BLUEBERRIES when it's a blueberry pastry!

Samantha