Food labels- sly, sneaky and confusing the world!

Hello friendly ladies and jellybeans! Today I'm in the mood to rant a little. So bear with me.
Food labels.
One of the most confusing pieces of writing on the planet.
Move over Shakespeare and physics text books, food labels are confusing everybody. E.V.E.R.Y.B.O.D.Y

I pride myself in being somewhat competent in reading food labels but I still find it extremely difficult to compare/ contrast/ make sense of two products when I'm trying to find the better choice.

Now we all know that producers do have rules they have to follow when creating their food labels. They have to list every ingredient used in the product. They have to list the amount of each ingredient in descending order and include a table of the amount of protein/ fiber/ sugar/ sodium etc. in that product.

Well you see, just like a cheeky school kid trying to get around the teachers no talking rule by humming, food producers do this by changing serving sizes and using alternate names for unattractive ingredients.

For example a product that contains a high amount of sugar, probably won't go calling it sugar, instead using fancy-pants words like sucrose, fructose, glucose solids, barley malt, dehydrated cane juice (seriously?), maltodextrin, dextrose.. and the list goes on!

You could also look at a food label and see low amounts of fat/ sugar/ sodium and think 'Hey that's pretty good!' little did you know that the serving size is about a quarter of what any human would deem acceptable

If you thought it stopped there, think again! The FDA defines sugar as sucrose... therefore if the product is sweetened by any other sweetener it can legally be labelled 'sugar free.'
Also, have you ever noticed packages with a big 'All Natural!' heading splashed across the front? Well sugar is natural my friends, so is salt and so is high-fructose corn-syrup (a corn-derived artificial sweetener) this would be pretty funny, if it weren't true. Like labeling a packet of potatoes as gluten free. Um, I'm pretty sure every potato is gluten free :)

Why food industry? Why!?!

Why can't you just create products that contain actual whole, natural ingredients. Why do you have to be so sneaky and trick everyone into thinking your product is amazing? What did the world ever do to you?

So many questions and really only one answer.

Money.

If your product tastes good (thank you sugar, salt and whatever type of chemical thrown in there) and appears to be relatively healthy on that teeny food label printed on the back, then chances are people are going to buy it. Insanity, I know!

So what's the solution?
Luckily an apple doesn't come with a food label. Do you know why? Because the ingredients include: apple. A pumpkin also doesn't have a food label, with one ingredient there probably isn't a point ;) And get this... a tomato.... doesn't have a food label either!

Ok, I think you get the picture. Buying fresh, unprocessed foods ensure you know exactly what's in them, even without the use of a food label. So it's indisputable that we should stock up on these instead of those 'All Natural!' 'Fat Free!' juices etc.

However, I know that now-a-days it's pretty impossible to live of only natural wholefoods., especially if you're a mother with picky kids, or you're throwing a party, or you're having friends round, or you simply want a cracker! So here's some extra tips when trying to decipher the bewildering food labels.

• Check out the serving size relative to the amount in the packet. If it is ridiculously tiny, multiply the amounts on the food label by however many you are actually going to eat- then make your judgement as to whether or not it's still 'healthy'.
• Take the phrases 'All natural' 'Sugar free' 'Gluten free' 'Fat free' and many other claims with a grain of salt (well maybe not salt- there's probably enough in the product already!) and make sure you figure out what's subbed into the item to make it still taste good (sugar/ salt/ fat)
• Lastly, if you don't know what that ingredient is (looking at you Thymine Hydrochloride) then chances are your body won't either so step away from the product

That's it from me today, but I hope I've helped some of you out with the dreaded food label.

Before I go- today's budget meal of the day:

 Wholemeal pita pockets, spread with hommus, stuffed with a veggie patty, sliced tomatoes, grilled capsicums + mushrooms + eggplant + zucchini and spinach with a side of roasted brussels sprouts and brocoli. (Steam brussels and broccoli for 5 mins then place in oven- 180 degrees celsius- for 15 mins)

 Budget meal because: All the ingredients are easy to find, pita pockets are cheap and healthy (especially wholemeal varieties) and can be stuffed with pretty much anything. Grilled veggies taste great- so you can use the same as I did or grill up your own! and veggie patties are super delicious and healthy too (watch out for salt though!)

 The best part about this budget meal is how filling it is! Pita-pockets can hold quite a bit!


Any comments/ questions/ queries are always welcome!

Do you understand food labels?
Have you ever got sucked into false claims?
Do you think tomatoes should come with a food label?

See ya later! :D

Budget week begins!

You may have remembered from this post that I mentioned doing a week of budget-friendly meals for all those readers out there who are perhaps college/ university students/ on a tight budget/ can't justify spending $15 on chia seeds (I hear ya!)

Well today marks the first day of this weeks theme- cheaper... but still ridiculously healthy and yummy!... meals!

Before we dive in I thought I might just share today's brekky because it wasn't exactly cheap, but I figured it wouldn't exactly be featuring this week!
It involved some banana yoghurt:

 1/2 banana+ 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt whazzed together in a small food processor until smooth.

Chocolate cashew granola:

 3/4 cup muesli + a small bowl with 1/2 cup of almond milk+ 1 spoonful of cashew butter heated in microwave for 30 seconds then rubbed into muesli + a scoop of raw cacao- baked in oven (180 degrees celsius) for 15 mins.
And also some nice sun placement:

 And some fresh green grapes and leftover banana slices thrown in:

 Deeeelicious!

 How it looked after about 2 minutes :)

So onto the cheap meals!
Here's how it's gonna work. Everyday (well, Monday, Tuesday, possibly Wednesday and Friday) I will either post a breakfast/ lunch/ dinner that involves ingredients you can find in any grocery store that doesn't break the bank! Along with a rough total cost. The meals will be single serving, but doubling/ tripling/ quadrupling the amounts would be no problem whatsoever :)

Budget tip of the day:
Now, it's a common misconception that buying fresh veggies is extremely expensive. The only reason this could become expensive is if you buy the veggies, store them away and then forget about them, only to find them a week later sporting a funky goopy look and acrid smell.  Fresh veggies are relatively cheap (especially if they're in season) so make sure you stock up and then remember you've stocked up and throw them into anything! When in doubt- freeze them... seriously you can pretty much freeze anything!
I also found this while searching freezer memes:

Interesting!

Make sure you're ready for tomorrow's budget meal, I have a feeling it's going to be yum-tacular! (Yes. I just said that.)

What's your favourite super cheap meal?

Catch ya later! :D

Pink-tastic!

Hey guys! Happy Saturday! Do you know what makes my Saturday even happier? A little touch of pink. Well.. when I say little:

I mean quite a lot :)
Now what are these mysterious balls of crazy pink? Well they're quite similar to these truffles, just with a few added ingredients.

If you guessed oats, give yourself a pat on the back. If you guessed dried raisins- another pat on the back. If you managed to guess coconut butter.. well it's kind of fundamental for this recipe to work, but still you deserve a pat on the back!

So how's it pink? If you guessed beetroot- no pat. If you guessed food colouring- no pat. For all of you who guessed berries.. well done!

Oh and don't forget your pat on the back!

Now is everyone's back sore? Good, let's get started! ;)

Berry Coconut Breakfast Truffles:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
A small handful of chopped raisins (or any dried fruit)
A sprinkle of chia seeds
1/2 cup mixed berries (fresh/frozen)
1 tablespoon coconut butter
Optional- chopped mixed raw nuts (added some nice crunch)

Method:
1.Combine oats, raisins and chia seeds in a bowl
2. Place berries in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, give a stir and heat again if needed (especially if you used frozen).
3. Once thoroughly heated, mash with a fork until as smooth as possible, add coconut butter and stir until melted and combined. Add to oat mixture.
4. Form into balls and place on a plate lined with baking paper. Place in fridge for 30 mins- 1 hour until firm.
5. Take out for a few minutes to soften and then enjoy :)
I had mine with some banana ice cream!

Matches the table pretty well, huh?

 Creamy dreamy + tart berries= perfection!

Cross-section view:

I think I liked these so much because they reminded me of these muesli bars that I used to love as a kid:

Although mine probably didn't have any of the same ingredients... except for berries... maybe.

See-  'Yoghurt topped berry muesli bar!'

Steph style ;)

Feeling something delicious for brekky. You just found it!

Have a great day guys! :D

Thinking Out Loud- The sun is playing tricks on me!

Hello.
How's that for an intro ;)
Seriously though, it's that time of the week where I can allow my brain to go where it will, display my thoughts and funny/ weird musings from the week and simply think out loud. Thanks Spoons for this awesome link-up every week!
Shall we begin?

1. This week started off with me laughing my head off at this:

This is seriously one of the best things I saw all week. I had to look twice to see what everything was! It's simply genius! I'll probably end up being one of those mums who does crazy stuff like this in order to get my kids to eat healthier. They will love me so much.

2. On the topic of funny pics from around the inter web- how about this one?

I'm so tempted to do this to someone- I mean how realistic does that look! Whoever came up with that is pretty evil :)

3. With school starting back up I've had to have breakfast about half an hour earlier than normal and unfortunately my perfect sun placement isn't as perfect at 7:00am, shifting about 2 meters back:

Then the world decided that wasn't annoying enough, so decided to create a band of sun:

 At least there's still sun though, right? I'm loving the sun waking with me at 5:30am (some call me crazy:)

4. I'm blaming the moving sun for this picture. I'm sure it decided to shine super bright for the nano second in which my camera took the shot:

 Seriously though- how did that happen? Did I miss an eclipse?

5. Even though the sun is a bit far back for my liking at 7 in the morning, it doesn't affect my creative juices from flowing and creative amazing sculptures with my surroundings:

Inspiring. I call it the idiosyncratic smoothie jar.

6. On the topic of idiosyncratic things... some of my friends think I'm kinda weird when I take a container of peas to school for recess:

I don't know what they're problem is... peas are yummy!
I guess I stand out a little bit amongst the muesli bars/ cookies/ muffins/ chips munching on my little pot of peas but life's too short to care!

7. Today I went on my first long run for about 10 weeks! It was glorious! I think my injury was a bit of a blessing in disguise because even though it was a long run, I also knew when to stop. I feel like I'm more in tune with my body:D

 8. For my last point I want to show you this:

What!?! I mean... what!?! Did everyone else have to go back like 7 times to find the second 'the'?

So that was one of the most mind bending things that happened to me this week!

Do you ever get annoyed at the moving sun?
Do you like to run?
Did you read the second 'the'?

I'm just thinking out loud here!
See you later! :D

WIAW #28

Hello folks and happy Wednesday!

It's that time of the week again where I get to bombard you with photos of a full day of eats- WIAW style!-and you willingly look at them! (Why are we always so interested in what other people nom? ;)

As always, thanks to Peas and Crayons for this brilliant link-up, I can't begin to tell you how many amazing blogs I have come across because of it!

Let's jump to it!

Breakfast:
 Breakfast was filling, healthy, yummy and nope.. ran out of words! Good in every way!

 Featuring some home made spelt bread with crunchy peanut butter on one slice and cashew butter on the other and a watermelon/ banana green smoothie:

1/2 chopped frozen banana + 5 big hunks of frozen water melon + a BIG handful of spinach+ chia seeds + 3 scoops of greek yoghurt + a dash of oat milk

 Served in my favourite smoothie jar:

Snack:

A nice hunk of capsicum :)

Lunch:

 A yummy salad of brown rice, red quinoa, raw carrot, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, black beans, corn, lentils and kale :)

Love a good hearty salad!

Snack:
Came home from school huuuuungry! So I had some fruit and soy milk:

 Small fuji apple with a kiwi fruit and a glass of So Good Essential soy milk

Dinner:

It may not look like much but this was one of the best wraps I've had in a long time!

Inside was spread with hommus, topped with some spinach then topped with a mixture of mashed steamed veggies (sweet potato, pumpkin, beetroot, swede and parsnip) and garlic tofu, folded up and toasted in a sandwich press until golden on top :) Sooo yummy! You should try it!

Just a little too big to pick up and eat all-in-one, so make sure you cut it in half ;)

Aaaand... that's it!
You might be wondering if I ever snack more during the day or after dinner and don't show it but the answer is simply no. I eat a lot at meal times, so I'm generally not too snack-y during the periods in between. I know this doesn't work for some people and that's fine! We're all different!

Don't forget to head on over to peas and Crayons to see what everyone else is nom-ing!

Bye for now! :D