Shopping for the Right Foods

The key to healthy eating is to know how to read labels.  If you are used to eating a lot of convenience foods, it may seem that there is nothing for you to eat.  With a little bit of practice and an open mind, you will be eating healthily and enjoying it.
When you read a label, it is important to realize that on the label the most plentiful ingredient is listed first, the second most plentiful is listed second, and so on.  It may be a rude awakening for you to find that the breakfast cereal that boasts "honey and nuts" has much more sugar and chemicals than honey and nuts.  You will discover that juices that advertise themselves as "natural" have a lot of sugar or corn syrup. When you read labels, you learn that many of the foods in the aisles of the supermarket should possibly be avoided.  A list of foods and suggestions follows.  
Bread
Bread is one area where you will really have to develop label-reading skills. You may intend to eat whole grain bread, but if you don't look at the label, you will eat refined flour and chemicals without intending to. 
Bread labeled as "wheat bread" that looks brown, like a whole grain bread, often has white, enriched flour as its first ingredient.  The very first ingredient in a whole wheat bread should be whole wheat flour.  If white, enriched flour is on the ingredients list, it should be listed after whole wheat.  Avoid bread with hydrogenated oil. (Generally, avoiding hydrogenated oil in commercially prepared breads is sometimes difficult.)  Absolutely avoid bread with brominated or bleached flour.
Kangaroo Whole Wheat Pockets: is 100% whole grain and has no fat.  Natural Ovens 100% Whole Grain Bread is also excellent.  Here are the ingredients:  Stone ground whole wheat flour, flax seed, oat bran, wheat germ, barley, malt, canola oil,  yeast, sea salt and honey.
Breads made by Natural Ovens of Mannitowoc are of high quality. They make some breads that are 100% whole grain, and they use flax oil (an excellent source of essential fatty acids) instead of hydrogenated oil.  Their whole wheat bread is an excellent choice.

Breakfast cereal
The cereal aisle in the supermarket is a study in additives and sugar.  Grain that has been baked and pressed into a flake is not the greatest source of nutrients.  If this is something you love to have, Nabisco Shredded Wheat has no sugar or additives. Some cereals use BHT in the packaging. Grape Nuts are also not too bad.  Health Valley makes a whole line of cereal without sugar or additives.  Cold cereal is not great food. Eat oatmeal or quinoa.

Peanut butter
Yes, peanut butter has eight grams of fat per tablespoon.  It is, however, a good source of protein and other nutrients.  It is good to have with your morning toast. It's a much better choice than butter or margarine.
When you buy peanut butter, make sure that it is the kind with the oil floating on the top.  Smuckers and Holsum are good brands.  You can also grind the peanuts yourself in some supermarkets and health food stores.  The only ingredients in peanut butter should be peanuts and perhaps salt.  The peanut butters that do not have the oil separating out have added sugar and hydrogenated oil.  Avoid these!

Jelly
Most jellies and jams have added sugar.  You can, however, buy all-fruit spreads.  These are made with fruit, fruit juice and perhaps a little pectin.  Smuckers Simply Fruit and Polaner All Fruit are good examples.  Read the label. Even jellies labeled "low sugar" have added sugar.

Condiments
In general, condiments often have a lot of sugar, but many have little or no additives.  The good news is that you don't eat much of them.  A little catsup or chili sauce won't hurt, in spite of the added sugar.  Salsa is usually free of additives.  Mustard is usually free of sugar and additives.  Soy sauce will vary with the company; read the label.  Stay away from mayonnaise and most bottled salad dressings.  Read the label of your salad dressing. Many of them are full of added chemicals. You'll find that Neuman's Italian and Cordon's dressings are not too bad.  Salad dressings are source of dietary fat, so use them sparingly if you desire to lose weight.  Avoid salad dressings that have hydrogenated oil.  We did find some salad dressings that are additive-free and fat-free.  Rising Sun Farm makes a fresh pesto, dried tomato dressing; Montserrati makes organic basil dressing.  Both dressings are fat-free.

Frozen dinners
Frozen foods are generally better than canned foods, but not an ideal food selection.  Often the foods are cooked before they are frozen.  This means the food gets heated, frozen, then reheated when you eat it.  This destroys many vitamins. Some researchers tested a frozen dinner for vitamin C and found none.  They added vitamin C and refroze the dinner.  When they thawed it out again, 25% of the added vitamin C had been destroyed.  While additives are usually not a problem in frozen foods, some nutrients are destroyed when the food is precooked and frozen. You can make casseroles that don't take much more preparation time than a frozen dinner, and they contain fresh food.  In the winter time, frozen vegetables are an acceptable substitute for fresh ones.
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