So about six weeks ago, in a renewed quest for greater health and well-being, my candy- and white carb-loving husband and I embarked on a new adventure: a no-sugar, no-flour diet eating plan. It hasn’t been nearly as hard as we’d both feared, to be honest. The most difficult part has been finding all of the hidden sugar in the foods we eat. Like, the kind that sneaks into mayo and (here’s a favorite) ShopRite brand chicken stock. Really? Sugar in chicken stock? What’s THAT about?
Apparently, ShopRite loves to put sugar into its brand foods. For instance: during this evening’s shopping trip, we picked up a pack of lightly salted dry roasted peanuts. Joe dug into them when he was unpacking the groceries. Then, when I came into the kitchen to start dinner, he said, “I ate some of the peanuts already. We chose wisely.”
I opened the jar and popped a few into my mouth. They tasted good, but not entirely peanut-ty. I checked the label, and this is what I found:
I read the ingredients out to Joe.
“No wonder they were so tasty,” he said.
This reminded me of a very important lesson: ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.
I mean, you can see, nothing about these peanuts indicates that they are seasoned with both sugar AND corn syrup solids. Nothing screams “extractives of paprika” or garlic and onion powder. Note that there is “natural flavor” added into this mix of very unnatural flavors.
Thanks, but no thanks, ShopRite. These will likely end up on the free table at one of our offices. To whichever co-worker ends up with these in their tummy, I extend my sincerest apologies.
My youngest is allergic to milk. When he was younger I used to have to read ALL THE LABELS, you have no idea how many disguises milk hides under.
I can imagine! When we started this new eating plan, I went through the pantry to suss out all hidden traces of sugar, flour, starch, etc. I found it in the most random things. Mustard? Plain, not honey. Sriracha? But the chicken stock is what blew my mind.
How’s he doing with milk now?
The hardest and weirdest one for me was deli meat. We could find one brand that didn’t have sugar added. To meat! Craziness.
Trader Joe’s sells a brand of deli ham without sugar. And they have a sugar-free turkey, too! (:: waving hello from inside the computer box ::)