Unhealthy "health" foods

[GeekyGuy]

Before I went on medical leave, and for about four or five years prior, I had been eating these Taylor Farms salads. They served their purpose, no doubt. With regimenting my diet, of which they were a daily part, I lost a lot of weight -- got back down to my ideal weight. It was convenient and much better than fast food. That being said, when I went on medical leave, I had time on my hands, so I made my own salads at home with fresh greens and a good variety of crisp, crunchy veggies and a lot less dressing. The only toppings I used were plain, organic raisins (no sugar added, nothing but raisin) and pumpkin seeds.

Now I'm back at work -- a little over two months now -- and with the type of physical labor I do, I've let myself slip back into using these salads again a few times a week, alternating with fresh veggies and hummus the rest of the week. Yesterday, after finishing my shift, I bought the Taylor Farms avocado ranch salad because it was marked down. I was off the next day, and want one for lunch (which I ended up eating this morning for breakfast instead). Ugh...

The shit just tasted so junky. Now, granted, I typically used to try and get the kale salad they had, but I also like variety. I used to like this one, but man, after making my own salads at home, it's hard to go back to this shit. And of course, if you read the ingredients and nutrition information, I feel this is less "health" food than it proposes to be. It's more like a souped up, junky coleslaw.

Long story short, I think I'm gonna try and go back to making my own salads at home, and wean myself off of the other treats and snacks that they keep in the "Natural Foods" department at my local grocery store. There are so many of these products that, when we actually look at the sugar, salt and fat quantities, we know are not healthy, though they slap on the "non-GMO," "organic," vegan," and other labels to try and help make us feel less guilty about making poor choices.

Your examples?

 

[FAST6191]

I do find it amusing when in the US a salad routinely comes with deep fried bread croutons (probably also sugar* bread at that) on it that probably knock up the relevant counters past what the burger you really wanted has in it (especially if you ignored the chips that seem to be a mandatory extra). Granted I also don't have dressing on salads -- can just about tolerate some olive oil on it, the swimming in dressing thing some do makes me gag.

*most of the rest of the world (though China is an exception) would balk at the idea of routinely adding sugar to bread. Some brown breads might have a spoon of honey in them but that is about it. If there is sugar in it then it is a cake.

For the most part I am not a great fan of the sugar alternatives (by and large if it is not fructose, sucrose or glucose I don't want it) and a lot of health foods seem to want to load it up with soy.

Also somewhat amusing that vegan is considered a synonym for healthy when most I ever meet are some of the most malnourished people out there (assuming you don't count over eating, which I suppose I do).

 

[BlazeMasterBM]

I do find it amusing when in the US a salad routinely comes with deep fried bread croutons (probably also sugar* bread at that) on it that probably knock up the relevant counters past what the burger you really wanted has in it (especially if you ignored the chips that seem to be a mandatory extra). Granted I also don't have dressing on salads -- can just about tolerate some olive oil on it, the swimming in dressing thing some do makes me gag.

*most of the rest of the world (though China is an exception) would balk at the idea of routinely adding sugar to bread. Some brown breads might have a spoon of honey in them but that is about it. If there is sugar in it then it is a cake.

For the most part I am not a great fan of the sugar alternatives (by and large if it is not fructose, sucrose or glucose I don't want it) and a lot of health foods seem to want to load it up with soy.

Also somewhat amusing that vegan is considered a synonym for healthy when most I ever meet are some of the most malnourished people out there (assuming you don't count over eating, which I suppose I do).

You know, I hear Subway is responsible for putting very large amounts of sugar in their bread.

 

[FAST6191]

You know, I hear Subway is responsible for putting very large amounts of sugar in their bread.

I don't think they are the progenitor of the trend; I have US cookbooks going back quite a way and it predates subway, and especially their rise to prominence.

I don't know if it is a myth (some tell me the yeast needs it to activate, it really does not), corn subsidies (see also why corn syrup is in many things as a bulking agent of sorts made cheap by the tax payer), some perverse fondness for things (the history of why US chocolate literally, as in same chemical, tastes of vomit is a fascinating one, though short version preservatives from world war 2), the war on fat* (at one point fat was being pointed to as the reason for the climbing rate of fat bastards, if you take out the fat you put in the sugar either by simple physics or because fat actually has a role in flavouring things) or something else entirely (sugar is basically a drug, and the sugar industry are as cozy as any industry whilst also being as unpleasant as any other drug dealers).

* https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/article/63/2/139/772615 is a fun read, can see the resulting spike in a graph as well corresponding to various campaigns which is amusing.

 

[OscarSellersp]

Oh yeah, I ate that shit! It is delicious only with cabbage, but not with other flavors.

 

[MichelleMarko]

I am glad that you managed to lose weight after you kept the diet and, as far as I understand, refused to use sugar, replacing it with raisins. Salads that we buy ready-made are not always healthy because we do not know what sauce was used and whether the ingredients were fried. Many sellers can give out frozen vegetables for a fresh salad, which is terrible. There are also ready-made salads with fish content. Because of such a cheap and ready-made salad, my girlfriend got helminthiasis! She took these pills for a long time https://www.niclosam.com/product/niclosamide-powder/. It helped her, but now we will never buy a ready-made salad in the store again, no matter how expensive it is - only homemade food!

 

[GeekyGuy]

I am glad that you managed to lose weight after you kept the diet and, as far as I understand, refused to use sugar, replacing it with raisins

Thank you. Yeah, I've gotten into a routine of making my own salads the night before each workday, and ugh, it's so much better. I just love the crunchy veggies the most. That being said, there are days like yesterday where I end up having to do a little overtime and then be in at 4am the next morning. So, today I'll end up buying one of the Taylor Farms salads.

Eh, do whatcha can, I guess.