Confessions from a new "Label Reader" part two

Several blog posts ago I wrote about food labels. Hopefully some of you are looking at what you are putting in your tum tum after you read that. If you aren't I encourage you to do so. In that post I said something about not being able to find the Velveeta ingredients online so I FINALLY went to the store and took some pictures. BTW no store really WANTS you to take pictures of their stuff. Unless you are a professional don't try this at home.
There she is. In all her "Melts better and 45% less fat" glory. I think the commercials calls it "liquid gold" doesn't it? (wait isn't that suppose to be breast milk that is liquid gold)
First of all let me clarify something. I HAVE eaten this and on occasion I do CRAVE my mothers queso dip. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Its true.
Did you know that this stuff comes in unrefrigerated? (I worked for a grocery retailer I know. I have seen it come in on pallets off a HOT NASTY truck and it didn't melt. Wait...it just said it melts better than cheese) That should speak volumes. I am not sure why they put it in the refrigerated section. Maybe to make you feel better? I think in some places it is just on the shelf.
I am not going to bust this down and link up every single ingredient like I did in my first post, but what I do want to do is link the ones I can't pronounce or know what it is without a science degree....anyone have one of those?
Sodium Phosphate--After looking this one up I remembered what it was. It sounds delicious.
Modified Food Starch--My favorite part of that article " the word "food" in its description interjects some ambiguity into the mix" What in the CRAP are we eating???
Calcium Phosphate-- Do you ever suffer from any kind of stones? There is your culprit!
Maltodextrin-- FILLER
Sodium Alginate--comes from brown algae. Very salty.  
Sodium Citrate--Check out the side effects
Apocarotenal--That explains why velveeta is yellow.
Things I just learned from writing this:
1. I now understand why we all have health issues. This isn't food. Healthcare starts with the food we put into our bodies. Not treating the symptoms later.
2. Why are we demonizing cheddar cheese? Not all fats are created equal!   The Dr who came up with the "Low Fat/No Fat" diet...died of depression. No lie. Your body and BRAIN need fat to survive.
3. I may possibly never buy that again. I need to find another way to make my moms cheese dip.
Now for the "No preservative" Ketchup.

When I first saw that I was like "YEAH! Good Job Hunts for stepping up and making a healthy option for moms like me". First of all...Its NOT refrigerated. Red FLAG! Second...That ketchup is good for TWO YEARS! excuse me? Anyone leave a tomato on your counter for a few weeks? Yuck! What did they do to those tomatoes that they are good on the shelf for TWO YEARS! They aren't tomatoes folks. That's all I am saying.

Then I read the label:

I love that they used vined ripened tomatoes...I guess its better than getting the green ones. How else do tomatoes grow?
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! Ok, so maybe that ISNT technically a "preservative" but excuse me...you are taking advantage of people who think are making a "better choice".  Smashing that on the very top of your label makes you, in my book, a LIAR!
There is that Natural flavors again...why are they so afraid of telling us what that is exactly??
Is anyone else bothered by companies selling us food that is making all of us sick?! Don't believe me? Go back and read the side effects of the ingredients I just showed you. Don't believe me still?? Do a little research.
People!!!!! its.our.food.
I went and spent over $100 on real food at the grocery store a few weeks ago and the food went bad faster than I could eat it. I am not used to that. I am all about shopping 1 time a month. Real food goes bad FAST. That's how you know its real food. We HAVE to change the way we look at food. Your families health and your children's health depend on you.
Make it happen momma!

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6 comments

  1. Jenn,
    I totally agree. I hear ya. I look at labels and try so hard to shop just whole foods. However, I CANNOT stop making queso!! Please come up with a better alternative. You have more energy than me. Like my momma used to say "REAL BUTTER IS BETTER!" Love ya!

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    1. I will. Apparently there is a need for it. That is 3 of us. I will work on this. xoxo

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  2. whatever you do lady, don't tell me what is in MRE's!!! and yea, if you can come up with another recipe for queso, you will be RICH!

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    1. I wont tell you what is in MRE's. lol. I swear. I will look into a new way to make queso. Its my favorite dip.

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  3. I am so with you. I can't barely shop at a regular grocery store anymore and try never to go down the interior aisles. So many ingredients are absolutely horrific. For the majority of things I'd rather make my own than purchase the boxed version. Unfortunately I still haven figured out how to make my own queso. ;)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and reading! Thanks Lara! Its about education. I really hope that whatever people get out of this they will just make better choices.

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