karadinart (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
karadinart) wrote2013-06-27 07:11 am
karadinart) wrote2013-06-27 07:11 am
Six processed foods you can easily make at home
Salad dressing
Next time you grab a bottle of salad dressing off the shelf, read the ingredients. It may alarm you that something so simple has so many ingredients that you've probably never heard of. Some keep the dressing from spoiling on the shelf while others are used to improve texture. While some may be harmless, it's easy to avoid them if you make your own dressing at home. A simple dressing takes no more than 10 minutes to make and is as easy as whisking oil into vinegar and throwing in a few seasonings like garlic powder, Dijon mustard and minced garlic or shallot. Making your own dressing can help you control calories too. If you find a recipe you like, double it so you can keep some in your refrigerator to use throughout the week.
Breakfast cereal
With more than 100 kinds of cereal in many grocery store aisles, choosing a healthy cereal can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Some cereals are packed with sugar while others are low in nutrients that you want to get out of cereal, such as fiber. Take the stress out of the search by making your own granola or muesli mix at home. You can pick the ingredients and have control over how much fat, fiber and sugar goes into your first meal of the day. Homemade granola holds well, so make a batch on Sunday and you'll be set for the rest of the week. And cost-wise you will get more for your money by making a batch than buying a box of cereal.
Canned soup
It sure is convenient to have canned soup on hand, but it's high in sodium (yes, you can get lower-sodium versions, but that limits your selection). And many cans are lined with the chemical BPA, which has been linked to infertility, heart disease and diabetes. So instead of forgoing soup altogether, get out your soup pot and get cooking. Most soups freeze well, so if you like the convenience of portion control, freeze them in individual serving sizes. Don't have the whole afternoon to spend in your kitchen? Many delicious soups can be made in 30 minutes or less.
Pasta sauce
We don't often think of pasta sauce as being "sweet," but many jarred pasta sauces have sugar listed as an ingredient. Although it's not a lot of sugar, it certainly isn't necessary. Another problem with jarred pasta sauce? It's high in sodium. You can do much better at home. You can make a simple sauce by just adding garlic powder and fresh basil to canned no-salt-added crushed tomatoes (look for crushed tomatoes in glass or aseptic packaging if you're worried about BPA) and add a pinch of salt to bump up the flavor. Or you could sauté fresh chopped tomatoes and minced garlic in olive oil in a sauté pan until they melt into a nice thick sauce. Either way, you have options. If you make a big batch, you can freeze leftovers for later use.
Flavored yogurt
Plain, low-fat or nonfat yogurt offers plenty of calcium and probiotics that help with digestion. But no one wants to eat plain yogurt by itself, so we often reach for flavored varieties. The problem here is that flavored yogurt can contain artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. Even the healthy-sounding "fruit-at-the-bottom" stuff is less than ideal, since it can come loaded with sugar, making it more like a dessert than a breakfast food. The solution? Stir fresh or frozen fruit into plain yogurt. One trick to making it taste sweet without adding sugar is adding a splash of vanilla extract for a confectionary flavor.
Granola & energy bars
Granola bars seem healthy, but if you've ever looked at the nutrition label, you may think otherwise. Sure, they may have grains and nuts, but they also tend to be loaded with sugar and fat. There is no reason to cut them out of your life completely, though: you can make them at home cheaply and with much less fat and sugar than what you might find in a boxed version.
Next time you grab a bottle of salad dressing off the shelf, read the ingredients. It may alarm you that something so simple has so many ingredients that you've probably never heard of. Some keep the dressing from spoiling on the shelf while others are used to improve texture. While some may be harmless, it's easy to avoid them if you make your own dressing at home. A simple dressing takes no more than 10 minutes to make and is as easy as whisking oil into vinegar and throwing in a few seasonings like garlic powder, Dijon mustard and minced garlic or shallot. Making your own dressing can help you control calories too. If you find a recipe you like, double it so you can keep some in your refrigerator to use throughout the week.
Breakfast cereal
With more than 100 kinds of cereal in many grocery store aisles, choosing a healthy cereal can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Some cereals are packed with sugar while others are low in nutrients that you want to get out of cereal, such as fiber. Take the stress out of the search by making your own granola or muesli mix at home. You can pick the ingredients and have control over how much fat, fiber and sugar goes into your first meal of the day. Homemade granola holds well, so make a batch on Sunday and you'll be set for the rest of the week. And cost-wise you will get more for your money by making a batch than buying a box of cereal.
Canned soup
It sure is convenient to have canned soup on hand, but it's high in sodium (yes, you can get lower-sodium versions, but that limits your selection). And many cans are lined with the chemical BPA, which has been linked to infertility, heart disease and diabetes. So instead of forgoing soup altogether, get out your soup pot and get cooking. Most soups freeze well, so if you like the convenience of portion control, freeze them in individual serving sizes. Don't have the whole afternoon to spend in your kitchen? Many delicious soups can be made in 30 minutes or less.
Pasta sauce
We don't often think of pasta sauce as being "sweet," but many jarred pasta sauces have sugar listed as an ingredient. Although it's not a lot of sugar, it certainly isn't necessary. Another problem with jarred pasta sauce? It's high in sodium. You can do much better at home. You can make a simple sauce by just adding garlic powder and fresh basil to canned no-salt-added crushed tomatoes (look for crushed tomatoes in glass or aseptic packaging if you're worried about BPA) and add a pinch of salt to bump up the flavor. Or you could sauté fresh chopped tomatoes and minced garlic in olive oil in a sauté pan until they melt into a nice thick sauce. Either way, you have options. If you make a big batch, you can freeze leftovers for later use.
Flavored yogurt
Plain, low-fat or nonfat yogurt offers plenty of calcium and probiotics that help with digestion. But no one wants to eat plain yogurt by itself, so we often reach for flavored varieties. The problem here is that flavored yogurt can contain artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. Even the healthy-sounding "fruit-at-the-bottom" stuff is less than ideal, since it can come loaded with sugar, making it more like a dessert than a breakfast food. The solution? Stir fresh or frozen fruit into plain yogurt. One trick to making it taste sweet without adding sugar is adding a splash of vanilla extract for a confectionary flavor.
Granola & energy bars
Granola bars seem healthy, but if you've ever looked at the nutrition label, you may think otherwise. Sure, they may have grains and nuts, but they also tend to be loaded with sugar and fat. There is no reason to cut them out of your life completely, though: you can make them at home cheaply and with much less fat and sugar than what you might find in a boxed version.
Yogurt
First time I put berries in yogurt, I used blueberries, and it was too sour somehow. I think I'm too used to sugar.
I also often leave my lunch in the car (in the cooler) and I've been using mason jars as lunch containers.