Buying Food At The Grocery Store

[Afra]

Hey everyone, I must confess that I have been confused lately when I am at the grocery store trying to figure out what to buy so I can have something to eat. What I am confused about is that several of my friends have told me repeatedly that some of the foods they put out on the market are fake and so they are not good nor healthy for you, and others are real and that you should eat those that are healthy . I really find this confusing because that's all my friends told me; they didn't tell me which foods are fake and which are real. All they told me was that some are fake and some are real, but they didn't tell me which ones they were talking about. Now I find myself confused every time I go to the store for something to eat, because I really want to eat what is good for me. Someone even told me that hot dogs are fake, that they are not good for you, and that you should not eat those. Can anyone lend me a hand here? It will be greatly appriciated!

[Mezzaluna]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "fake" and "real". I suspect you mean that the "fake" ones have lots of artificial ingredients and chemicals. In that case, read labels carefully. If you mean something else, can you be a little more specific?

[SeattleDeb]

Maybe they're referring to processed foods as fake? Good to stay away from.

[shroomgirl]

Afra~ your best bet for having a healthy diet is to prepare as much as you can from scratch using fresh veg., meats, dairy, beans, grains. Use meat as a flavoring instead of a huge portion.

If you have access to a library go check out cookbooks and start reading. There should be access in your community to healthy cooking lessons or demos, many social service groups provide them here.

[Afra]

Hey, Mezz, your guess about my idea of "fake" food is correct. I want to eat things that have REAL ingredients in them, not artificial ones. I got sick one time drinking some coke. Someone told me that they make coke from chemicals, etc. They even told me that table salt is made from chemicals and that the salt you should be using is sea salt. They told me that hot dogs are not good for you because they are artificial food. I was also told that frozen dinners, vegtables, and all other frozen food is not good for you either. Can you lend me a hand from here? I would really appriciate your help!

Afra,

Read the labels. There are hotdogs that are 100% natural and totally yummy for that hotdog craving. I don't know how we'd do in this house if we couldn't have chilli dogs ala the Southern way. Try some of those all-natural frozen veggies if you can't get them in season. They're tres tres yummy when you can't get to Caputo's. Labels are your best friend in the supermarket so be sure to read them. Even bologna can be chemical-free. If you don't have a Whole Foods in your hood, stick to the labels. Some canned goods use natural preservers.

Afra, you're my kinda girl. You are doing the right thing: asking questions!
The advice you are getting is correct. The closer you get to raw, fresh, etc. the better your chances are of getting healthy food. Also the better your chances are of stretching your tight food budget.
I saw your post on another thread about using food stanps and also not knowing what to do with dried beans and canned foods. You should ask someone to help you learn to cook dried beans. They are great and tasty and healthy and cheap. If you can't find a live cooking guide, all of us here will help you out. My daughter makes a fabulous vegetable chili with lots of types of beans -- maybe a good way for you to use up some of the canned stuff you've got.
The most important thing on a limited buget is an adventurous palate. During periods of extreme cash shortage, mt fanily did fine with some pretty creative meals and good humor.
The other important thing is to know how many meals you can get out of a certain item. A sale ham can make lots of pots of soup and beans and casseroles. A big roasting chicken can make a Sunday dinner, sandwiches, a casserole, soup (with the carcass): I had one $7 roaster last week that has now made more than 10 meals (including a company dinner) and I still have 2 quarts of great stock that will be soup tomorrow. That $7 would not have fed less than half that number of meals if I had bought pork chops or boneless, skinless, (tasteless) chicken breasts or fish fillets.
Keep up the good work and keep asking questions. Lots of us have had to stretch every penny and we're always happy to help.
I always start my meal planning with the sale ads for the local markets. If it ain't on sale, we don't eat it that week.
You are going to do fine and you will learn to be a great cook. Adversity can be a great advantage if you learn from it and you will appreciate what so few people now enjoy-- good, simple, nutritious food without spending like a crazy person.

Afra, also by fake food they may have meant Genetically Enginered or Genetically Modified food, a pratice that is happening to more of our foods than we are even aware of and as of right now, companies that do use GM food do not have to label it, although many companies who do not alter the natural state of their food do label the foods to that fact..... If you don't know about GM foods, it basically means they may cross say, a fish gene with a tomato for a result that some big farming corporation hopes will give them bigger and stronger crops. If that was the end of story it would be fine, but little research has been done to find out the effects of this on both the consumer and the enviornment...When you think about it, what we may put in our bodies is down right frightning. I would try to stick to as many organic foods as you can get your hands on..........