Reading Labels Made Simple

Reading labels has become an extremely important skill as advertising has become SO incredibly deceiving.

I can go into each of the ingredients that are in the majority of pre-packaged foods and explain how dangerous and unhealthy they are for you but the goal here is to keep it simple. 

Here is the thing. The end goal is to avoid pre-packaged foods altogether. Before all this diabetes stuff happened I didn't know how to make anything that didn't come out of a can or box.

I mean, I didn't even know that people actually made things from "scratch" and why would they its so much WORK.. 

But, I have now learned how completely untrue that is...

And my goal is to share here on this blog how easy it is to whip up a batch of pancakes or quickly make your own soup or topping on your casserole. 

All that said, It's important for you to know that we don't follow all of these guidelines to the "T". It would be incredibly stressful and a lot of work to have the "perfect" diet. Our rule is to eat the best we can at home so when we are out we don't feel guilty about following our rules. (of course, we don't go "out" very often so that rule might not work for you. Just do what is best for your family).

Below are some pointers on what to look for in labels BUT the end goal is to not have to worry about reading labels.  The end goal is for you to know exactly what is in your food because YOU put all of the ingredients in there. You can get there... its not as hard and overwhelming as you think...

Rule number 1 - THE LEAST AMOUNT OF INGREDIENTS AS POSSIBLE - so, you flip the box over and the list takes up the entire side of the box. Just do yourself a favor and put it back on the shelf. Don't even bother translating it all. Unless there are a lot of spices or vegetables in it, if the product has more than five ingredients it most likely isn't good for you. 

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup and Sugars - Most people by now have heard of high fructose corn syrup and know that it isn't all that good for you. But, sugar isn't good for you either and neither is about 50 other names of sugars that are in labels. Google something like "names of sugars in labels" and you can get an idea of what to look for. The real problem is that it is in EVERYTHING... and so much of it.

I love the video  (its kind of long but worth it) "Sugar The Bitter Truth" by Dr. Lustig:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

GOOD SUGARS - There are sugars that are good for you. Honey, pure maple syrup (not high fructose corn syrup with maple syrup flavoring and carmel color), molasses (blackstrap is the best), turbinado sugar (not the best but definitely a good substitute) 

and there are probably others that are not as bad but try to stick to those above 

3. Hydrogenated oils - Just steer clear of them

GOOD OILS - Coconut oil and Olive oil are the best. 

Nutrition Facts:

Watch your saturated fat. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are usually pretty good.

DO NOT BUY "LOW FAT" ITEMS. IT JUST MEANS IT HAS MORE SUGAR...

Try to keep the carbs low and fiber high. Remember that you can subtract the fiber from your carbs SO if your beans have 20 carbs but 15g of fiber, then you really only have to worry about 5g of carbs - which is great. If your food has 20g carbs and 0 fiber .... then the carb content is a little high.

PLEASE COMMENT WITH ANY QUESTIONS. Reading labels can be so confusing!