Ingredient Matters | Avoiding the muck in food

As moms, we strive to make healthy choices for our family.  We know it's better to eat whole unprocessed foods but sometimes, when we are in a pinch and short on time, it's hard to not reach for something packaged or frozen so that we can get dinner on the table.

So for those times when processed foods inevitably finds it's way into my shopping cart, how do I make sure that I'm still making good choices?

There are a few basic rules I go by when purchasing processed foods:

- Read the ingredient list and steer clear if I see anything of these on the list -

• artificial food coloring (easy to spot because food coloring names usually has a numerical value in it - Red 3, Yellow 5, Blue 2)
• trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils)
• high fructose corn sugar
• bleached white flour
• monosodium glutamate (msg)
• sodium nitrates

- Avoid if there are more than 5 ingredients, if there are too many items listed that I can't pronounce or anything with a cartoon on the package

- Shop the perimeter at most supermarkets and only purchase processed goods from places like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods where they make a concerted effort to not allow items with artificial coloring, flavoring or preservatives on their shelves.

I try my best to to make good safe choices for my family when it comes to products and foods but like most busy moms, there are times when I become overwhelmed with the choices and draw a complete blank .... so keeping these basic things in mind helps me preserve my sanity and still make good choices.