Far too many people shop unconsciously.
They buy their food without really caring about the quality or the price.
But did you know that there are many good reasons to avoid certain foods?
The list is long:'scam' products, disgusting ingredients and, above all, products that are bad for your health.
Here are the 25 foods to never put in your shopping cart again:
Parmesan is an excellent accompaniment to pasta.
Indeed, this Italian cheese can transform any dish into an excellent one.
The only problem with parmesan is its price.
Fortunately, there is another variety of cheese that offers the same taste, but for half the price.
No need to invest in Parmigiano Reggiano anymore:try Pecorino Romano instead .
No matter the quality or price, smoked or cured meats are bad for your health.
Whether it's hot dog sausages or charcuterie, it's the same thing.
Why ? Because scientific studies have clearly shown that this type of meat increases the risk of cancer, blood pressure and migraines.
In addition, current standards allow pork sausages to contain up to 50% fat!
Of course, it won't hurt you if you eat it occasionally.
But for those who eat it every day (like me a few years ago!), it would be better to try to reduce the frequency.
The cereal bread is a nice rip off. It's junk food in disguise.
The next time you want to buy some, take a good look at the ingredients.
If whole wheat isn't the first ingredient, don't buy this bread!
Otherwise, it's just normal bread with a few cereal seeds added.
For a good intake of cereals, it is better to skip the bread.
Try eating barley, brown rice, quinoa or ground oats instead:it's much healthier.
Everywhere bottled iced tea is loaded with sugar.
It may even contain more than Coca-Cola.
If you like iced tea, make it yourself at home.
It will cost you much less and make you lose weight.
The price of a tomato sauce for pasta varies between €2 and €6.
The equivalent quantity of a can of crushed tomatoes costs you much less — sometimes under €1.
Even better, fresh, in-season tomatoes are cheaper and simply delicious.
Plus, making your homemade tomato sauce is super easy.
How to
1. Put crushed tomatoes in a pan.
2. Add a little wine (or vinegar), sugar, your favorite spices and some vegetables of your choice cut into pieces (peppers, onions, mushrooms or even carrots).
3. Brown the sauce over low heat for about 1 hour.
4. Taste and salt to taste.
For an even easier recipe:
1. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put fresh tomatoes on the plate, and cover them with olive oil.
3. Put the tomatoes in the oven at 210° for 20 to 30 min.
Use these tomatoes to make your sauce — it will be even more delicious.
Swordfish is a benthic species of fish.
This means that swordfish live and feed near the bottom of seas and oceans — environments that are high in mercury.
Tuna and king mackerel (or mackerel) are among these species and should also be avoided.
Instead, try small-sized fish:flounder, catfish, sardines and wild salmon (not farmed!).
More and more people are replacing coffee with energy drinks.
It's a shame, because these drinks are literally loaded with sugar.
Consuming energy drinks presents considerable health risks.
Indeed, many cases of heart attacks, seizures and even death are associated with their consumption.
Better to avoid energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster.
If you are not diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, be aware that gluten-free foods are not necessarily healthier.
Besides, most gluten-free pastries are full of products that are bad for your health.
Here's what you can find in gluten-free breads, cookies and pastries:
- refined flour (less nutrients than wholemeal flour)
- artificial ingredients
- sugar
In addition, gluten-free foods cost almost double the usual products.
If you are a fan of eggnog or flavored soy milk, know that it does not contribute at all to a healthy diet.
And, considering their price, it doesn't contribute to your savings either!
If you choose these products for dietary reasons, avoid those that are flavored.
If you're just trying to eat healthier, skimmed milk is a great dietary alternative.
Do you eat high fiber cereal or cereal bars?
Take a good look at the list of ingredients:you will surely find cellulose there.
In fact, "cellulose" is the fancy way of saying "wood pulp !
Manufacturers use cellulose to add consistency and fiber to their products.
This gives the illusion that the food is more nutritious than it appears.
But the truth is that you are consuming modified sawdust! Appetizing, right?
Choose brown rice over white rice.
In fact, brown rice must be subjected to a refining process to transform it into white rice.
The effects on your health are not negligible.
For example, the risk of diabetes increases by 17% if you eat white rice 5 times a week.
Why buy frozen peas with herb sauce?
It's so easy (and cheaper) to buy peas and add some butter and herbs yourself!
Same for the carrots:add a little dill and it's ready!
In fact, you can do the same with virtually any vegetable!
When you buy a sandwich at the supermarket or gas station, you're only paying for the enticing packaging.
In addition, you are consuming a product with lots of unhealthy ingredients:salt, fats and lots of unnecessary additives.
If you look closely at the price of these unhealthy products (between €3 and €5), you quickly realize that preparing your own sandwiches is not only healthier, but also much more delicious!
At almost €1.50 a stick, frozen multifruit ice cream isn't high in calories — but how expensive!
Yet it's so easy to make them at home — and the flavors are up to you.
Ingredients
(for 4 sticks)
- 350 g of fruit, cut into pieces
- 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon squeezed lemon juice
How to
1. Pour all the ingredients into a blender.
2. Put them in the blender until the mixture becomes smooth and liquid.
3. You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water, to give a nice sorbet texture to the final mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into 4 ice cream molds and insert sticks.
If you don't have ice cream molds, you can use cardboard glasses.
5. Put the ice cream molds in the freezer, until they solidify.
Instead of buying canned rice, prepare it yourself.
Boxes of side dishes to take away, sold individually, are often extremely expensive.
Most of the time, the only ingredients are rice, salt and some basic spices.
It's really not complicated to cook rice (just read the instructions on the box).
Add some spices from your cupboard and you have a great accompaniment.
Energy bars are loaded with calories.
Supermarkets display them right in front of the checkouts. It's because they hope you'll make an impulse purchase.
The real scam is that you think these energy bars are a healthy alternative to candy bars.
But in reality, they contain a lot of fat and sugar.
Often they have as many calories as candy bars.
If you really need a little boost, there are much healthier and cheaper natural alternatives (fruit, yogurt, nuts, etc.).
The spice blends are designed for grilling and marinades.
On paper, it sounds like an excellent deal. No need to buy several boxes of different spices, just one is enough!
But be careful, read the ingredients carefully!
The first ingredient is often salt, followed by a vague description:"herbs", "herbs and spices", etc.
If you look in your own cupboard, you'll be amazed at all the spices you already have.
Why not improvise and try making your own mix?
And don't worry, you can consume the spices even if they are expired.
Here is another product that you can categorize as "scam".
It's MUCH cheaper to brew your own iced tea and store it in a jug, in the fridge.
In addition, powdered iced teas contain unhealthy ingredients, including corn sugar and artificial additives.
How to
1. For 1 liter of iced tea, you need 8 black tea bags (or 10 bags for green tea, herbal teas and white tea).
2. To sweeten the taste, try adding a little fruit juice to replace the sugar.
There are several reasons to avoid this purchase:
- Compared to tap water, bottled water is extremely expensive.
- Its carbon footprint is enormous:think of the machines needed to bottle, distribute all those bottles and all the plastic waste that this generates!
- In addition, bottled water is not necessarily better for your health.
Even if you use a water filter in your home, the cost is still much lower than buying bottled water (between €1 and €3 per bottle).
On the one hand, bagged salads are extremely practical and save time.
But is it enough to justify prices up to 3 times higher than a normal salad?
And that's not all. Salads sold in sachets are not very good for your health.
Why ? Because, as we saw in this article, these salads are washed in lightly bleached baths and are sorely lacking in vitamins.
Even more exorbitant:salads sold in “kits”.
These salads, which are sold in plastic boxes, offer accompaniments:some raw vegetables, croutons and a vinaigrette.
For the sake of your wallet, it is better to avoid kit salads.
Instead, try toasting some stale bread for your croutons and making your own vinaigrette:it's easy and much tastier.
It's the new craze of virtually all food manufacturers:to offer their products in small individual portions.
This is another way to scam you.
If you look at the price per kilo, it is much more advantageous to buy a large box of the same product.
For example, did you know that buying a small bag of crackers costs you more per kilo than buying a large bag?
Better to buy a big bag:you can keep the rest of the box in reusable freezer bags.
Take a good look at the price per kilo of dried fruit and nut mixes, it's shocking!
Instead of buying these mixes, take a look at the part of your supermarket where the foods are sold in bulk.
Stock up on your favorite nuts and dried fruits and make your own mix.
To store the mixture, put it in a jar or container that closes airtight.
These meals seem like a good deal (between 3€ and 5€).
But, in reality, you mostly pay the price for a nice label and a plastic box.
Indeed, because the ingredients of most of these meals are cheap and full of salt.
The prices of ice cream from major brands are mind-blowing:up to €10 per liter for Häagen-Dazs!
Avoid falling for this scam:buy your supermarket brand ice cream instead, which will surely be just as good in taste and nutrition.
You can spice it up by adding your own ingredients:
- Crush a few pieces of chocolate or your favorite cookies.
- Mix the pieces with ice.
- Enjoy.
It's not only cheaper, but you get to choose the flavors.
If you can't live without your favorite ice cream, at least try to wait until it's on sale before filling your freezer.
Do you know that it is cheaper for you to buy fresh minced meat and freeze it yourself?
Shaping your own burger takes no more than 10 seconds — and the meat will be of better quality.
Indeed, frozen minced steaks sold on the market are more subject to contamination from E. coli (bacteria that cause serious illnesses) than homemade steaks.
There you go, you now know the 25 foods to avoid in the supermarket.
Know of any other foods to add to this list? Share them with us in the comments. We can't wait to read you!
