Label Reading Day 1~Familiarize yourself

So you are in the store the kids want twenty things you don't want to get them one kid is half asleep and you forgot to eat lunch. You know the kitchen at home has nothing in it and you have company coming this weekend. This is not the time to start trying to read labels! You will get confused, frustrated and look like a crazy person.
One of the easiest ways to acquaint yourself with what information is on the label, serving sizes, and ingredients is at home. Go to your kitchen with a pen and two pieces of paper. On one write DO NOT BUY AGAIN on the other side of that paper write ACCEPTABLE TO PURCHASE. On the other paper write WHAT IS THIS ANYWAY? This second piece of paper is very important if you have allergies or dietary restrictions. If you are on a specific diet ie trying to loose weight or have health problems I want you to have a third piece of paper that says TALK TO DOCTOR/NUTRITIONIST. This will mostly be about calorie intake, sodium intake etc.
Now I want you to look at every single thing in your kitchen/ pantry. I mean everything, if it is going in you or your family's mouth you need to look at it. Is the food as good as you thought it was? Is it full of things that you can't pronounce or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. If it has these things in it write this down on the DO NOT BUY AGAIN list. If you hit the jack pot and find that your tomato paste only has tomatoes in it write that down on your ACCEPTABLE TO PURCHASE list. This is very important to be specific with brands as things can vary. This will be your list you take with you to the store to help you get started on label reading and making decisions on what to purchase for your family.
Now is also a good time to write down all those things that you don't know what they are especially if you have food allergies many things have wheat, corn etc in it but they go by a different name. You could be eating the very things you are allergic to and not even know it! When you are done making your list take it to the computer and look up all that stuff you don't know what is it will give you a new outlook and help you understand how you are feeding your body.
Now I said check everything and I want to make sure you really get me. Check your freezer some of those frozen veggies you thought you were doing good to buy have added salt and sugar. Your beans, peas, and corn do not need extra salt and sugar check it. If it has it you know what list it goes on. Check your baking supplies check everything!!! Also those of you that love peanut butter check it there should be one ingredient on that list peanuts if there is anything else you know what to do.
This is also a good time to check those serving sizes have you been eating way more than you thought? If you are trying to loose weight this is a good thing to talk to your doctor about.
When you are finished with all of your list put the ones you are taking to the store with your bags, in your purse wherever that you will take it with you.
If you are like me you will purchase things you didn't really mean to without realizing it. This takes time and retraining yourself to shop. When you come home from the store and are putting things away check your purchases. If you happened to purchase something with chemicals and junk in it pull that list back out and add it on there. If it is something you can take back put it aside with the reciept and then you can look for a reasonable alternative.
I am not suggesting you throw out everything in your kitchen I do think that would be wastfull and cost you a lot of money. Simply don't buy it again if you see that it is not a healthful choice. Now if you have a stock pile of little debbies I would say toss them some things are not worth eating at all for anyone!
If I can do this I know you can it really is a lot of work but it is all worth it!!!
Please email me if you have any questions about today's article or have a question you would like me to address on label reading.
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