Saturday, May 26, 2012

Read the labels

Hi folks,

Sorry for the long leave of absence.  I was out of town, then feeling lazy... but hubby and I are back on the healthy bandwagon, working out, running, and getting the diet back in order. So I thought that instead of a recipe today, I would talk a bit about tricky food labeling.

I was caught by tricky food labeling just yesterday. You see, I've been on a big Greek yogurt kick lately. Greek yogurt is high in protein, low in fat, and extra thick and creamy. We've been buying this brand here:


It's fantastic! Comes in handy single servings for work, a few yummy flavors (honey and lime are my favorites, hubby prefers berry flavors), and comes in a non-fat version too.  Here's the nutritional info:


Note in particular the amount of fat - this is in the regular version, so going non-fat isn't even all that different. 

Problem is, everyone and their dog seems to be on this Greek yogurt kick too, and it sells out in minutes in the local Safeway. So I was home on Vancouver Island last week, and my mom introduced me to a new Greek yogurt:

Note that it says "Greek Style" yogurt. This is important.
Because when I came home and bought a tub yesterday, I ate a few bowlfuls, then read the label:

 Holy guacamole Batman!  66% of my daily saturated fat in a bowl of yogurt?  This stuff is dessert, not breakfast! 

So here's my warning.  Beware of any labels that include the word "style", because it sure as heck isn't authentic.  I'll give the Krema yogurt props for being totally delicious, but with that much fat it damn well should be! 

Ditto with the word "drink" in place of "juice". Juice is liquid squeezed from a fruit. "Drink" is sugar water that may or may not include some form of fruit-based liquid, along with sugar, sugar, more sugar, and sugar.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I'm off to feed some pigs :)