27 Foods You Should Never Buy Again Cross these items off your grocery store list—whether theyre rip-offs, fakes, drastically unhealthy, or just plan gross, here are the 27 foods you should never buy again. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese .......... A few shavings of nice cheese on top of pasta or vegetables can take a simple dish from good to great—but you dont have to fork out $22 a pound for the famous stuff. Instead, look for varieties like Pecorino Romano and SarVecchio, which offer the same flavor at half the price. Smoked and Cured Meats .......... From fancy charcuterie to “dime a dog” night, pass on cured meats in any form—they’ve been linked to cancer, disease, high blood pressure, and migraines. Plus they’re packed with artery-clogging grease: regulations allow up to 50% (by weight) of fresh pork sausage to be fat. “Blueberry” items .......... Ahh, blueberries...now in everything from your breakfast cereal to muffins, granola bars, and sauces—or are they? Turns out that most of the blueberry-flavored items on grocery store shelves dont feature a single actually berry, just artificial blueberry flavor. Buy your own berries and add them to plain cereal for a real health boost. Multi-grain bread .......... This is junk food masquerading in a healthy disguise. Check the ingredient list to make sure whole wheat is the first, and main, ingredient—otherwise, you’re just getting a few grains mixed into regular white bread. Better yet, forgo the bread and enjoy straight-up barley, brown rice, quinoa, or steel-cut oats. Reduced fat peanut butter .......... When companies take out the fat, they have to add something back in to make the food taste delicious. In this case, it’s lots of extra sugar—and who wants that? Instead, spread regular peanut butter on your sandwich for more of the good fats and protein without fake sweetness. Bottled tea .......... Brew your iced tea at home and youll save both big bucks and your waistline—bottled teas can have more grams of sugar than a soda or slice of pie. Tomato-based pasta sauces .......... A jar of spaghetti sauce typically runs $2 to $6. The equivalent amount of canned tomatoes is often under $1. Our suggestion: Make your own sauces from canned crushed tomatoes or fresh tomatoes — particularly in the summer, when they are plentiful, tasty, and cheap. The easiest method is to put crushed tomatoes (canned or fresh) into a skillet, stir in some wine or wine vinegar, a little sugar, your favorite herbs, and whatever chopped vegetables you like in your sauce — peppers, onions, mushrooms, even carrots — and let simmer for an hour. Adjust the flavorings and serve. Even easier: Coat fresh tomatoes and the top of a cooking sheet with olive oil and roast the tomatoes for 20 to 30 minutes at 425˚F before making your stovetop sauce. Swordfish .......... Large bottom-feeder fish such as tuna, shark, king mackerel, tilefish, and especially swordfish are high in mercury. Choose smaller fish, like flounder, catfish, sardines, and salmon instead. Energy drinks .......... Stick to a cup of coffee for your afternoon boost. Seemingly harmless caffeinated beverages are often sugar bombs—and the FDA has received numerous reports linking brands like 5 Hour Energy and Monster Energy to heart attacks, convulsion, and even death. Gluten-free baked goods .......... If you arent diagnosed with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, keep in mind that gluten-free doesnt necessarily mean healthy—and gluten-free baked goods like bread, cookies, and crackers often are packed with more refined flours, artificial ingredients, and sugar than traditional baked goods. Plus, they can cost up to twice as much as youd normally spend. Flavored non-dairy milks .......... Vanilla-eggnog-caramel soy milk doesnt win you any points in the health department—and it definitely wont help your grocery receipt bottom line. If you prefer non-dairy milks for personal dietary reasons, buy unsweetened versions. And if youre just trying to eat healthfully, skim milk should be just fine. Foods made of WOOD .......... Take a look at the ingredient list for your high-fiber cereal or snack bar, and youll probably see an ingredient called cellulose. Turns out that cellulose is a code word for wood pulp. Food manufacturers use it to extend their products and add fiber, so it looks like you’re getting more food. But really you’re just left with a mouthful of wood shavings. White rice .......... Skip the refined grains and go for whole: a 17% higher risk of diabetes is associated with eating five or more servings of white rice per week, compared to eating white rice less than once a month. Gourmet frozen vegetables Sure, you can buy an 8-ounce packet of peas in an herbed butter sauce, but why do so when you can make your own? Just cook the peas, add a pat of butter and sprinkle on some herbs that you already have on hand. The same thing goes for carrots with dill sauce and other gourmet veggies. Microwave sandwiches .......... When you buy a pre-made sandwich, youre really just paying for its elaborate packaging — plus a whole lot of salt, fat, and unnecessary additives. For the average cost of one of these babies ($2.50 to $3.00 per sandwich), you could make a bigger, better, and more nutritious version yourself. Premium frozen fruit bars .......... At nearly $2 per bar, frozen all fruit or fruit and juice bars may not be rich in calories, but they are certainly rich in price. Make your own at home — and get the flavors you want. To make four pops, just throw 2 cups cut-up fruit, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice into a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. You might wish to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water so the final mix is a thick slush. Pour into 4-ounce pop molds or paper cups, insert sticks, and freeze until solid. Boxed rice entree or side-dish mixes .......... These consist basically of rice, salt, and spices — yet theyre priced way beyond the ingredients sold individually. Yes, there are a few flavorings included, but theyre probably ones you have in your pantry already. Buy a bag of rice, measure out what you need, add your own herbs and other seasonings, and cook the rice according to package directions. Energy or protein bars These calorie-laden bars are usually stacked at the checkout counter because they depend on impulse buyers who grab them, thinking they are more wholesome than a candy bar. Unfortunately, they can have very high fat and sugar contents and are often as caloric as a regular candy bar. Theyre also two to three times more expensive than a candy bar. If you need a boost, a vitamin-rich piece of fruit, a yogurt, or a small handful of nuts is more satiating and less expensive. Spice mixes .......... Spice mixes like grill seasoning and rib rubs might seem like a good buy because they contain a lot of spices that you would have to buy individually. Check the label first: We predict the first ingredient you will see on the package is salt, followed by the vague herbs and spices. Look in your own pantry, and youll probably be surprised to discover just how many herbs you already have on hand, and you can improvise as much as you want. Powdered iced tea mixes or prepared flavored iced tea .......... Powdered and gourmet iced teas are really a rip-off! Its much cheaper to make your own iced tea from actual (inexpensive) tea bags and keep a jug in the fridge. Plus, many mixes and preparations are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and other sugars, along with artificial flavors. To make 32 ounces of iced tea, it usually takes 8 bags of black tea or 10 bags of herbal, green, or white tea. If you like your tea sweet but want to keep calories down, skip the sugar and add fruit juice instead. Bottled water .......... Bottled water is a bad investment for so many reasons. Its expensive compared to whats coming out of the tap, its cost to the environment is high (it takes a lot of fossil fuel to produce and ship all those bottles), and its not even better for your health than the stuff running down your drain. Even taking into account the cost of filters, water from home is still much cheaper than bottled water, which can run up to $1 to $3 a pop. If you have well water and it really does not taste good (even with help from a filter), or if you have a baby at home who is bottle-fed and needs to drink safe water, buy jugs of distilled or nursery water at big discount stores. They usually cost between 79 cents and 99 cents for 1 gallon (as opposed to $1.50 for 8 ounces of designer water). And you can reuse the jugs to store homemade iced tea, flavored waters, or, when their tops are cut off, all sorts of household odds and ends. Salad kits .......... Washed and bagged greens can be a time-saver, but they can cost three times as much as buying the same amount of a head of lettuce. Even more expensive are salad kits, where you get some greens, a small bag of dressing, and a small bag of croutons. Skip these altogether. Make your own croutons by toasting cut-up stale bread you would otherwise toss, and try mixing your own salad dressing. Individual servings of anything .......... The recent trend to package small quantities into 100-calorie snack packs is a way for food-makers to get more money from unsuspecting consumers. The price per unit cost of these items is significantly more than if you had just bought one big box of cheese crackers or bag of chips. This is exactly what you should do. Buy the big box and then parcel out single servings and store them in small, reusable storage bags. Trail mix .......... We checked unit prices of those small bags of trail mix hanging in the candy aisle not that long ago and were shocked to find that they cost about $10 a pound! Make your own for much, much less with a 1-pound can of dry roasted peanuts, 1 cup of raisins, and a handful of almonds, dried fruit, and candy coated chocolate. The best part about making your own? You only include the things you like. Keep the mixture in a plastic or glass container with a tight lid for up to 3 weeks. Snack or lunch packs .......... These all-inclusive food trays might seem reasonably priced (from $2.50 to $4.00), but youre actually paying for the highly designed label, wrapper, and specially molded tray. They only contain a few crackers and small pieces of cheese and lunchmeat. The actual edible ingredients are worth just pennies and are filled with salt. Gourmet ice cream .......... Its painful to watch someone actually pay $6 for a gallon of designer brand ice cream. Dont bother. Theres usually at least one brand or other on sale, and you can easily dress up store brands with your own additives like chunky bits of chocolate or crushed cookie. If you do like the premium brands, wait for that 3-week sales cycle to kick in and stock up when your favorite Pre-formed meat patties .......... Frozen burgers, beef or otherwise, are more expensive than buying the ground meat in bulk and making patties yourself. We timed it — it takes less than 10 seconds to form a flat circle and throw it on the grill. Also, theres some evidence that pre-formed meat patties might contain more e. coli than regular ground meat. In fact, most of the recent beef recalls have involved pre-made frozen beef patties. Read more: rd/slideshows/15-foods-you-should-never-buy-again
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 00:11:16 +0000