(6-minute read)
Just a few small changes in your eating priorities can wake up your systems, shape your body, and add years of healthy living to your NOW. You will look back and be grateful.
Watch Out for These 11 Sneaky “Vegetarian Sounding” Foods That Really Aren’t (#11 is Gross!) (529+ words)
More and more people are turning to the vegetarian lifestyle. Unfortunately, as new converts adopt this healthy, energy-filled, fat-burning way of life, several assumptions about certain foods are made.
In truth, some “vegetarian sounding” foods even fool veteran plant-based eaters by delivering animal byproducts and other non-vegetarian components. You may want to steer clear of the following 11 sneaky foods that most people think of as vegetarian but really are not.
1. French onion soup – The problem here is the second most prominent ingredient. Obviously, onions dominate French onion soup, but usually, beef broth is the base that this soup is made from.
2. Nonfat yogurt – Check to make sure there is no gelatin included in the ingredients list, put there to promote that yogurt-like texture.
3. Orange juice – Not all orange juice has been fortified with Omega 3 fatty acids. But those that are often brag about the fact. However, they get these essential fatty acids from gelatin, fish oil and anchovies.
4. Refried beans – Come on, refried beans are totally vegetarian … aren’t they? If you are eating away from home and did not make the beans yourself, you are probably chomping down on lard, which is full of gelatin, or beef gelatin.
5. Rice crispy treats – Made with marshmallows, marshmallows have gobs of gelatin (gelatin is often the deal killer in these foods).
6. Baked beans – These are beans, right? That makes them vegetarian, right? Wrong. Most baked beans, store-bought or homemade, begin with a ham hock. Animal fat, bacon, and other non-vegetarian products are also used to season and flavor baked beans in many cases.
7. Ramen and other instant noodles – These inexpensive, quick-serve noodle packages often boast they are full of vegetables. And in many cases, they are. But the seasoning packet frequently has beef powder and flavoring.
8. Beer and wine – Incredibly, a lot of wine and beer contains isinglass. This is a bladder component taken from tropical fish. It filters yeast out of alcoholic beverages, especially beer and wine manufactured in Britain.
9. Boxed cake mixes – You may think a homemade cake intentionally created with a vegetarian rule book in hand is safe to eat. However, most cake mixes that come in a box contain beef fat, often listed as lard.
10. Refined white sugar – Have you ever picked up a bag of sugar and read the food label on the back, only to find that the only ingredient listed is … sugar? That is often the case. However, sugar does not naturally occur in the white, bleached state in which you purchase it.
What makes brown sugar white is bone char made from the bones of animals. Seriously.
11. Red-colored candies – A lot of foods that are not naturally red, meaning they were made red in processing, contain beetles, the female Dactylopius coccus costa to be precise. Red pigments are extracted from this cochineal insect, used to color candies and other foods, and are listed as carminic acid, cochineal, or carmine on the food label. This animal pigment can also be found in vinegar, some colored kinds of pasta, and even wine.
Some pretty radical information today! Just remember to eat what makes you healthy and strong. You deserve it. Is it really worth it? Well, remember that it’s easier to stay well than it is to get well.
The NOW is all we have.