Neurotic Label Reading
Sometimes it seems like I spend an inordinate amount of time and energy food shopping and reading ingredient lists and nutrition facts. Not that this is anything particularly new- I was raised to be a label reader, but since discovering the gluten intolerance, I’ve developed an even stricter criteria for what qualifies as cleanliness. When I stop to think about the hours I spend searching for clean ingredients, it does make me wonder how my time could be better put to use. Do you ever jump for joy when you find the words “gluten free” ACTUALLY printed on the container? I do! Not that this is a sure fire fix, but it does make it much easier.
The fact is that wheat products, soy, or dairy derivatives are added to everything now.
Basically these are the criteria that I use:
- Gluten Free
- Egg Free
- Dairy Free
- Soy Free
- No Transfat (hydrogenated oils)
- No HFC (high-fructose corn syrup)
It definitely helps to have stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods who, at least, don’t carry products with HFC or transfat. I’ll stop venting now. I’m sure that it will only get better in the future as demand fuels the market.
Peace.
Thanks for starting up your blog – looks very interesting. My fiancee and I will definitely be reading your posts. We also spend an inordinate amount of time food shopping and list-making and have a very similar checklist. In fact, I learned how to read from nutrition labels
, so your post hits home. Look forward to more!
Jon
I’ve only been vegetarian for a few months now, which means I’ve tried a lot of new foods. I had a pita wrap a few days ago and I broke out all over my face and neck and my palms itched like crazy. I looked at the ingredients and the only thing I noticed odd was gluten and something else that looked similar to gluten. Is it possible that I’d never consumed these ingredients before? I can’t think of what else it could be! I am very impressed by your blog! It is well put together and has great content.