What are your favorite HFCS-free products?

[Avila]

OK, I have spent the last month trying to get HFCS out of our diets. Or at least out of my house! I was able to get to Whole Foods Market, and it was really great, but it is 30 minutes away and not an option for weekly shopping. I do have Aldi's, Save-A-Lot, Shop N Save, Schnucks, Dierburgs and Walmart Supercenter close by, so I have a good assortment of stores, but I am having trouble finding great products that are HFCS-free, especially in certain areas.

 

So what are your favorite HFCS-free products that you don't have to go to a specialty store to get?

 

Thanks in advance from a real newbie in this!

[LaxMom]

I make pretty much everything from scratch, so don't worry to heavily about HFCS... there's none in oats or flour or other "ingredients".:D

 

Nature's Best bread doesn't have it. Annie's products don't (I just checked a rogue box of cinnamon bunnies to make sure) and my kids like their "bunnies" snack crackers and mac & cheese. Pretty much anything organic isn't going to have it because corn grown for HFCS is generally not organic and is genetically modified.

[Jen in PA]

I make from scratch here as well. It takes all of the guesswork out.

[Ria]

LOL. I'd be hard-pressed to name one item I buy that contains HFCS. I guess our ketchup has it. That would be all. We make everything from scratch. I don't buy cereal, cookies, yogurt, jam...I make it all.

 

Do your own cooking...you won't have HFCS in your foods.

 

Ria

[mamaof2andtwins]

I also cook from scratch. I might help if you listed some of the items you had in mind. I do love Stonyfield yogurt. I buy it every week.

 

Jennie

[sleepymommy]

I also make practically everything from scratch. When I get the craving for soda I buy Reed's Premium Ginger Brew or Boylans. Their "coke" tastes better then regular Coke and they use suger for the sweetening not HFCS.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

OK, I have spent the last month trying to get HFCS out of our diets. Or at least out of my house! I was able to get to Whole Foods Market, and it was really great, but it is 30 minutes away and not an option for weekly shopping. I do have Aldi's, Save-A-Lot, Shop N Save, Schnucks, Dierburgs and Walmart Supercenter close by, so I have a good assortment of stores, but I am having trouble finding great products that are HFCS-free, especially in certain areas.

 

So what are your favorite HFCS-free products that you don't have to go to a specialty store to get?

 

Thanks in advance from a real newbie in this!

 

Bryer's regular ice cream. Heinz organic ketchup (usually cheaper than the regular) and Coriozon (?) (which is now distributed by Annie's Organic) barbecue sauce.

 

What are you having trouble finding?

[Jen in PA]

Oh! I'm not much of a soda drinker, but here's a thought if you are.... Stores that have "Kosher for Passover" sections will be carrying HFCS-free Coke (aka the Coke we grew up with). It should be around now or later this month, and is made with cane sugar. I chose not to indulge last year, and then regretted it -- I will buy a couple of six-packs this time.

[Avila]

You know, the worst is salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, bread and ice cream. I will have to try the Breyer's Natural.

 

We are actually not eating sweets right now because of Lent, but I am just assuming I will have to make all of that from scratch.

[Shannon C]

Any good cookbook recommendations or online resources for cooking from scratch?

[Peek a Boo]

my FAVORITE non-HFCS product? probably A-1 steak sauce :D

followed closely by HEB's generic sweet pickles ;)

 

i have actually found several non-HFCS products at the regular stores:

 

some sizes of regular del monte ketchup

Del Monte Four Cheese canned spaghetti sauce [WalMart]

WalMart's Great Value canned diced tomatoes.

some of the Nature's Own bread [check the label]

some generic Strawberry preserves.

 

i noticed that my Dollar Tree is regularly carrying Nature's Own Bread [even the double fiber / whole wheat/ non-HFCS loaves, as well as HD/ HB buns], a generic strawberry preserves, AND some salad dressings that are all HFCS free. For a DOLLAR!

 

so i guess it depends on what types of things you are trying to stock your pantry with that you can't find. I'm not a cook-from-scratch kinda gal, so all these work well enough for me.

 

more ideas in the thread below:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=784799&postcount=24

 

good luck!~

 

eta: some of the Ken's salad dressings are HFCS-free.

Edited March 4, 2009 by Peek a Boo

[Matryoshka]

You know, the worst is salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, bread and ice cream. I will have to try the Breyer's Natural.

 

I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and also cook mostly from scratch, so it's been easy to avoid HFCS.

 

But... of the items you mention, I can think of a couple brands from the "regular" store that I know are safe...

 

Classico spaghetti sauce has no sweetener at all. Can't stand sweetener (even sugar) in my sauce. If Trader Joe's didn't have a non-sweetened organic sauce for as cheap or cheaper than non-organic Classico, it would still be the sauce I buy. The Classico has more yummy flavors. :001_smile:

 

DH buys Country Kitchen brand bread at the regular store - it has cane sugar, honey and molasses but no HFCS.

 

Other regular store brands on our shelf that I know are HFCS-free are Healthy Choice canned soup and Teddy's Peanut Butter.

 

I'm no help with salad dressing, as I can't stand the stuff, but isn't it really easy to make your own??

 

Canned tomatoes have HFCS? Yikes. I usually buy Muir Glen brand - not sure if you can get that at the "regular" grocery, but maybe in the natural foods section?

 

PS. I checked and my favorite ice cream (Edy's Light French Silk) - which I try to indulge in only infrequently - has corn syrup, but not the high fructose kind. Since it appears to be one of my only sources, I don't know that I have the strength to give it up... :tongue_smilie:

[Unicorn.]

Spaghetti sauce- Newman's Own! No hcfs, and it's not that much more than other big brands, and it supports charity. OH! and even better, it's thicker, so you really do get more for your money (and it tastes better too).

[Guest Katia]

Well, out of all the items you listed, I make them all from scratch except for the tomatoes. Just read the labels because not all canned tomatoes contain HFCS.

 

I get Hunt's Naturals and they do not contain HFCS. Also, Great Value brand from WalMart does not contain HFCS.

 

Really, just read all the labels. You'd be surprised that 4 brands will all contain it, but that 5th one will not. I only have two grocery stores in my town so I have to make-do with what they sell....and I spend a LOT of time reading the labels. Our WalMart only has two food aisles so my choices are limited.

 

If I mis-read and actually purchase an item that contains HFCS I will return it to the store and tell them I don't want food with HFCS in it. That way the store will know that we mean business. Otherwise, how will they know?

[Stacia]

Great thread. I'm hoping to glean lots of helpful info here.

 

But, all the cooking-from-scratch types have to know that some of us never learned how to do that.

 

My dad always says that my mom's version of cooking from scratch is... she SCRATCHES open the box. :lol:

 

So, some of us really need help! ;)

[Liz CA]

Any good cookbook recommendations or online resources for cooking from scratch?

 

"Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.

[Colleen]

Congratulations on phasing HFCS out of your diet. Good job! I'm sorry you're having a hard time finding a products without it. Nothing I buy contains HFCS, and I don't find it's necessary to cook everything from scratch in order to avoid it. I do shop at a natural food co-op, so that of course makes it easy for me. But I know from my forays into mainstream groceries that there are products there without HFCS, too. Newman's Own, Muir Glenn, Annie's ~ all those brands are available in regular groceries. I'm sure there are more. But what I'd really encourage you to do is to consider shopping elsewhere, if at all possible. Good luck!

[runninmommy]

my FAVORITE non-HFCS product? probably A-1 steak sauce :D

followed closely by HEB's generic sweet pickles ;)

 

i have actually found several non-HFCS products at the regular stores:

 

some sizes of regular del monte ketchup

Del Monte Four Cheese canned spaghetti sauce [WalMart]

WalMart's Great Value canned diced tomatoes.

some of the Nature's Own bread [check the label]

some generic Strawberry preserves.

 

i noticed that my Dollar Tree is regularly carrying Nature's Own Bread [even the double fiber / whole wheat/ non-HFCS loaves, as well as HD/ HB buns], a generic strawberry preserves, AND some salad dressings that are all HFCS free. For a DOLLAR!

 

so i guess it depends on what types of things you are trying to stock your pantry with that you can't find. I'm not a cook-from-scratch kinda gal, so all these work well enough for me.

 

more ideas in the thread below:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=784799&postcount=24

 

good luck!~

 

eta: some of the Ken's salad dressings are HFCS-free.

 

Hey Peek..Please tell what kind of A-1 does not have Corn syrup. It is my favorite but I can't find any w/o corn syrup.

[runninmommy]

OK, I have spent the last month trying to get HFCS out of our diets. Or at least out of my house! I was able to get to Whole Foods Market, and it was really great, but it is 30 minutes away and not an option for weekly shopping. I do have Aldi's, Save-A-Lot, Shop N Save, Schnucks, Dierburgs and Walmart Supercenter close by, so I have a good assortment of stores, but I am having trouble finding great products that are HFCS-free, especially in certain areas.

 

So what are your favorite HFCS-free products that you don't have to go to a specialty store to get?

 

Thanks in advance from a real newbie in this!

 

I have to drive at least 20 minutes just to go to a so-so grocery store. I would drive an hour away if we had a Whole Foods anywhere close. I wish we had that or a Trader Joes. sigh..

[Ria]

Hey Peek..Please tell what kind of A-1 does not have Corn syrup. It is my favorite but I can't find any w/o corn syrup.

 

Corn syrup is not the same as high fructose corn syrup; they are different ingredients. Peek mentioned that her A-1 didn't have HFCS.

 

Ria

[Peek a Boo]

Corn syrup is not the same as high fructose corn syrup; they are different ingredients. Peek mentioned that her A-1 didn't have HFCS.

 

Ria

 

yeah... I'm doing good to eliminate the HFCS in a few key ingredients, I'm no where ready to also try eliminating corn syrup ;)

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

You know, the worst is salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, bread and ice cream. I will have to try the Breyer's Natural.

 

We are actually not eating sweets right now because of Lent, but I am just assuming I will have to make all of that from scratch.

 

What I meant was just plain ol' Bryers without any additions like moose tracks or such. And that might be HFCS-free as well, I'm just not positive. Just plain ol' Bryers. For spaghetti sauce, Barilla is great (and cheap) and Classico and Bertolli when it goes on sale. For tomatoes including paste, sauce, crushed, and canned, Contadina is what you want.

 

Nature's Own whole wheat or white wheat is your bread. Salad dressing, just make your own is easiest, or stay away from typical commercial brands (Kraft, Wishbone, etc) and just buy a good brand on sale, reading labels as you go. I don't buy enough to know what is good. There's a raspberry viniagrette that I buy if I buy dressing, but I forget what the brand is. I usually just dress with a little oil and vinegar.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Newman's Own, Muir Glenn, Annie's ~ all those brands are available in regular groceries. I'm sure there are more. [/color][/font]

 

There definitely are more, and if one cannot do strictly organic, just doing an initial investment of time looking and then noting which brands are which will yield a number of options that aren't terribly pricey. Some are even cheaper, in the case of the organic ketchup (Hunt's or Heinz, I can't remember which) that we buy.

[SnowWhite]

I'm just beginning the no-HFCS journey, and here are some of my recent finds:

 

Jones Pure Cane soda (I told ds this is a super special treat, to be reserved for special occasions. Otherwise we have gone soda free except for dh who still insists on his Dr. Pepper. :glare:)

Vitamin water

Aunt Millies, Arnold 100% Natural, and Healthy Life breads (Healthy Life even has hamburger and hot dog buns!)

I also discovered the Breyer's Natural ice cream mentioned by others.

[mamaof2andtwins]

You know, the worst is salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, bread and ice cream. I will have to try the Breyer's Natural.

 

We are actually not eating sweets right now because of Lent, but I am just assuming I will have to make all of that from scratch.

 

 

I make my own Italian, Thousand Island, ranch and bleu cheese dressings. If my family wanted another variety, I would figure out how to make that as well. These are all very easy to make. I found all my recipes for these on the internet. I have made my own TI dressing since I was in high school. My mom didn't buy it, but she taught me how to make it.

 

I have a recipe for spaghetti sauce that my mother makes. I make it about once a month in the crockpot and freeze the leftovers.

 

I do can my own tomato sauce. If you buy puree or crushed tomatoes then you are not getting HFCS. It is the tomato sauce that you have to watch. Also, sometimes the paste hase HFCS in it. I get my paste from Aldi.

 

I make my own bread for the most part. I have several Amish cookbooks that have good recipes, and I made 4 loaves yesterday with a recipe from the More with Less Cookbook.

 

I buy ice cream so rarely (usually just birthday parties) that I put up with the content. I do buy Stonyfield frozen yogurt to make smoothies. It is pricey.

 

Anything else?

[SapphireStitch]

I'm going to look for the ketchups mentioned here...good to know there are some out there w/o HCFS.

 

Costco carries the Mexican version of Coke, sweetened with sugar. We buy that and ration it out like it's gold. :) DS likes Jarritos which is another Mexican soda that's sold in grocery stores around here. Unfortunately it comes in very unnatural bright colors, so we probably trade HCFS for dye when we buy that.

[6packofun]

To specifically answer your question (because we don't make everything from scratch and I don't plan on it), here are some products that do not have HFCS (from http://www.stophfcs.com):

 

Baking and Cooking Ingredients

Betty Crocker 7-Layer Bar(mix)

Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Brownie mix

Betty Crocker cake icing

Bisquick

Beverages

Northland Cranberry Juice

China Cola

Dr.Pepper(original formula)

Jones Soda (recently announced that they were going back to real sugar)

Goose Island soda (Root Beer, Orange Soda)

Calistoga Juice Squeeze

Simply Orange juice products

Simply Lemonade

Tropicana OJ

Nestle NesQuik Chocolate Milk Mix

Nestle "Abuelita" Chocolate Syrup (Hispanic Section)

R.W. Knudsen Recharge (sports drink)

Fuze Drinks link

TeaZazz link

Vivi Smart Soda link

Bread

Pepperidge Farms whole grain honey oat

Nature's Own Sugar Free 100% Whole Grain bread link

Nature's Own -Honey 7 Grain link

Nature's Own 100% whole wheat link

Martins Potato breads and rolls

Thomas's Low Carb English Muffins

Thomas Hearty Grain Honey Wheat English Muffins (?)

Nature's Own -Healthline SugarFree Wholewheat

Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain breads (in freezer section)

Francisco International Extra Sour Dough bread (the regular Sour Dough has it!)

Pepperidge Farm Honey Wheatberry

Milton's Wheat and Multi-grain bread

Bagels from a local Jewish bakery

Kirkland brand (Costco) multigrain bread

Sara Lee Cinnamon Raisin

Pepperidge Farm whole grain bagel

Matthew's All Natural Bread link

Amana Multi Grain Bread

Country Hearth 12-Grain Bread

Earth Grains 100% Natural 7-Grain Bread

Orrow Wheat Light 100% Whole Wheat

Rays New York Bagels

Whole Foods store brand hot dog and hamburger buns (they are whole wheat)

FlatOut Bread link

Alternative Bagel --- sweat wheat link

 

Breakfast Cereals

Post Grape-Nuts

Life Cereal/Cinnamon Life

Quaker Oatmeal

Cheerios

Most cereals labeled "Organic"

Kashi Go Lean (original and Crunch)

Barabara's Puffins

Chex Cereals (Wheat, Rice and Corn)

Kroger Apple Dapples

Post Honey Bunches of Oats

Great Value fruit and cream instant oatmeal

Mom's Best Natural Cereals (all varieties) link

 

Breakfast Pasteries / Waffles / Bars

Eggo Nutrigrain Blueberry

Kashi Go Lean and Heart to Heart Waffles link

The TLC granola bars, by Kashi, all are HFCS free link

Bisquick Mix

 

Candy and Childrens treats

 

Lindt Lindor truffles (balls)

Cost Plus World Market has a lot of imported candy from Germany that I've found to be HFCS free.

Kellogg's Yogos Bits

 

Condiments

 

Heinz organic tomato ketchup

French's Worcestershire

Farman's pickle relish

Mt. Olive Hamburger dill chips

Annie's Natural Organic Ketchup

Frenchs Honey Dijon Mustard (I don't think most regular mustard contains hfcs, but a lot of the "honey" mustard does, which is why I'm listing some honey mustards here that don't.)

Woeber Sweet And Spicy Mustard

Consorzio Bbq Sauce Organic Original

Whole Foods 365 Ketchup (both regular and Organic)

Kroger coctail sauce

 

Cookies and Cakes

 

Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies -- plain and the new chocolate

Kedem Tea Biscuits (reg. and chocolate) --- found in the Kosher section

Paul Newman sandwich cookies

Kashi line of cookies

Back to Nature peanut butter sandwich cookies

Destrooper Almond Thins Cookie

Destrooper Butter Crisp Cookies

Keebler Pecan Sandies Cookies

Keebler Simply Sandies Cookies

Lu Le Petit Beurre Cookies

Lu Scottish Recipe Shortbread

Mi-Del Snaps Ginger

Newmans Wheat Free Fig Newton Cookies

Newmans Own Ginger Os Ginger N Creme Cookies

NewmanS Own Alphabet Cookies

Pepperidge Farms Butter Chessman Cookies

Pepperidge Farm 100% Natural Varieties

 

Chocolate

 

Cadbury - Most Varieties

Hershey's Symphony

Hershey's 100 Calorie Wafer Bar

Hershey Skor Candy Bar

Hershey Special Dark Candy Bar

Dove - Most varieties

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Most Imported (Europe) and Organic chocolate

 

Crackers

 

Annies - Cheddar cheese bunnies and honey graham bunnies

Wasa Crisp Breads (all varieties)

Atheno's baked pita chips

Stacey's Naked Pita bread chips *note, have not seen HFCS in Hummus

Dare Vinta Crackers

Triscuits

Great Value (Walmart's brand) cracked wheat rounds

Stone Ground (the white square crackers from Canada)

 

Dairy

 

Brown Cow vanilla yogurt

Southern Home Nonfat Plain Yogurt

Dannon Plain Yogurt*

Mountain High Yogurt (it appears all varieties are HFCS free)

Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt

Dannon All Natural Coffee Yogurt

Horizon Organic Fat Free Yogurt

Nancys Reduced Fat Plain

Nancy's Whole Milk Honey Yogurt

Stoneyfield Farm Yobaby Yogurt

 

Fruits and Vegetables - Canned

 

Motts Natural (No Sugar Added)Apple Sauce

Most no sugar added packed fruit --- please check labels

 

Granola Bars

 

Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch bars

Kashi Bars

Odwalla Bars

 

Ice Cream

 

Breyers - All Natural Coffee

Breyers - All Natural Cherry Vanilla

Breyers - All Natural Mint Chocolate Chip

Luigi Italian Ice

 

Jam, Jelly, Syrup, Spreads

 

Skippy Peanut Butter

Costco makes an organic peanut butter

Whole Foods brand peanut butter

Karo Dark (with Blue label)

Karo Brown Sugar syrup

Hero Jams (from Swizterland) --- can be found at Cost Plus World Market

Darbo Jams (from Austria) --- can be found at Cost Plus World Market

Whole foods brand (365) strawberry jam

Sarabeth Jam link (you can buy these jams marked down at Marshalls and TJ Max).

Smuckers organic grapy jelly

Safeway "O" Organics Maple Syrup

Harry and David Ancho sweet chili peper spread

 

Pastries

 

Try your local, family operated, pastry shop. Since HFCS is added to extend shelf life it is not generally found in family operated bakeries.

 

Salad Dressings

 

Great Value (WalMart) Zesty Italian Dressing

Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise

HIdden Valley Ranch Old Fash.Buttermilk

Blue Plate Mayonnaise

Ken's Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing

Annie's Naturals organic papaya poppyseed salad dressing.

Annie's Naturals Goddess Dressing (check other Annie's too, quite a few are HFCS free).

Brianna's Homemade Blush Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (all varieties seem to be HFCS free)

Drew's Salad Dressings

Most Neumann's varieties

Kraft Honey Dijon Vinaigreette, dressing & marinade

Kraft Balsamic Vinaigreette, dressing & marinade

 

Sauces

 

Barilla Pesto

Ken's Steak House Honey Teriyaki Marinade

Kikkoman Soy Sauce

Soy Vey Very Very Teriyaki --- check marinade section, also Kosher section

Bullseye BBQ sauce Original

 

Snacks

 

Frito's corn chips

Natural Cheetos

 

Soups

Annie's Organic Soups

 

 

Here are some more, not organized, that I found in searching online (Some are repeats):

Chef Boyardee Pizza Sauce

Bertolli Spaghetti Sauce

Classico Spaghetti Sauce

Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup

Jim Beam's BBQ Sauce

Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce

Polaner All Fruit Spreads

Joseph's Low-Carb Pitas

Thomas' Light Multigrain English Muffins

Pepperidge Farm's new Wheat Crisps and Pretzel Crisps

Consorzio marinades

Marie's Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing, Thousand Island Dressing

Breyer's All-Natural Fruit Bars

Hellman's/Best Foods Mayonnaise

Nabisco Original Triscuits

Simply Lemonade and Simply Limeade

Cheerios

Stacy's Naked Pita Chips

Skippy Peanut Butter

Soy Vey Very Very Teriyaki Sauce

Southhaven Farms baking mixes

Quaker Oatmeal Squares

Quaker 100% Natural Granola

Weetabix (of course!)

Kronos Authentic Pita Flat Bread

Any flavor of Matt's cookies

Any Juicy Juice flavor

Brownberry Arnold Natural Wheat bread

Arnold Sandwich Thins

Kudos snack bars and cereals

Nature's Own breads (all natural, whole grain, particularly their Organic Flour Bread)

Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback

Kellogg's NEW Granola Bars

Stonyfield Farms Yogurts, including Oikos Greek Yogurt

 

*****A great site for quickly finding products without HFCS is http://www.calorista.com where food items from the grocery store are reviewed, rated and have a key to quickly show if they are low-fat, NO HFCS, etc.*****

 

*****Great blog article--be sure to check out all the links to the Life Less Sweet blog, which are so helpful, including some No HFCS food reviews! http://foodwithkidappeal.blogspot.com/2009/03/high-fructose-corn-syrup-in-unexpected.html *****

 

So You're Ready to Give Up HFCS: http://alifelesssweet.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-youre-ready-to-give-up-high-fructose.html

Edited March 6, 2009 by 6packofun
..

[6packofun]

Posting up here--I included a great BIG list of items in a post way down this thread! Hope it helps someone.

[Kathleen in VA]

So glad to find out Lindt Lindor truffles (balls) have no HFCS - I ate two of them today.:D

 

Just to clarify, will the label actually say High Fructose Corn Syrup or might it just say "sugar"? My bread label - Nature's Pride - lists sugar but not HFCS. My spaghetti sauce (Hunts) says sugar, too.

[Avila]

Posting up here--I included a great BIG list of items in a post way down this thread! Hope it helps someone.

 

Yes! This is perfect!

 

I am not opposed to cooking from scratch, but DH won't do it, and so when he does cook, I need stuff he can just use.

 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!:001_smile:

[Pretty in Pink]

A few suggestions...

 

Hunts makes canned spaghetti sauce. The garlic & herb variety is free of HFCS. Ragu makes a light variety of jarred sauce that is also free of HFCS.

 

Arnold is putting out HFCS-free whole wheat bread now for around 2.00/loaf.

 

Smuckers reduced-sugar grape jelly in the squeezable jar is made with white sugar rather than HFCS.

 

Breyer's all-natural vanilla and chocolate ice-creams.

 

Dannon Natural's yogurt.

 

Kashi, Annie's, and Cascadian Farms granola bars, crackers, cereals, etc.

 

I'm pretty sure the Wal-Mart brand of canned, diced tomatoes is free of HFCS but check to make sure.

[Alison in KY]

Just curious, what exactly is so bad about HFCS?

 

I do avoid this, just on comments from people like Dr. OZ, but then my husband looked around at a few websites and he thinks it's a bunch of hooey over nothing. I'm not really convinced, but I did once find a blog from a scientist and he described the diff sugars and how they were all really alike. So I'd love to hear your views.

 

Alison in KY who hopes no one minds adding on a question to this thread

[Faith]

Here is one blog you can read. There is tons of info out there though.

 

http://kellythekitchenkop.com/category/high-fructose-corn-syrup

 

 

Just curious, what exactly is so bad about HFCS?

 

I do avoid this, just on comments from people like Dr. OZ, but then my husband looked around at a few websites and he thinks it's a bunch of hooey over nothing. I'm not really convinced, but I did once find a blog from a scientist and he described the diff sugars and how they were all really alike. So I'd love to hear your views.

 

Alison in KY who hopes no one minds adding on a question to this thread

[Peek a Boo]

So glad to find out Lindt Lindor truffles (balls) have no HFCS - I ate two of them today.:D

 

Just to clarify, will the label actually say High Fructose Corn Syrup or might it just say "sugar"? My bread label - Nature's Pride - lists sugar but not HFCS. My spaghetti sauce (Hunts) says sugar, too.

 

YES-- it will specifically mention High Fructose Corn Syrup. I think it even spells it out most of the time instead of listing just the abbreviation HFCS.

 

 

and as Ria pointed out, there is a difference between plain ol' corn syrup and *high fructose* corn syrup. sugar is in a whole 'nother category.

[Peek a Boo]

Just curious, what exactly is so bad about HFCS?

 

I do avoid this, just on comments from people like Dr. OZ, but then my husband looked around at a few websites and he thinks it's a bunch of hooey over nothing. I'm not really convinced, but I did once find a blog from a scientist and he described the diff sugars and how they were all really alike. So I'd love to hear your views.

 

Alison in KY who hopes no one minds adding on a question to this thread

 

Alison, I too am not THAT worried about it, but since I can find products w/o it that don't cost much more than what i was already getting, there's enough concern that I am trying to watch that for the things we eat a LOT of.

 

'cept my Cokes ;)

 

If i had to pay a lot more to avoid it, i would probably NOT be eliminating it.

[6packofun]

Yep. There is still enough evidence that HFCS is not SO different from sugar and SO much worse to make us want to eliminate it much more drastically than we already want to eliminate sugar-overload in *general* at our house. But I do like to be ingredient-savvy! :)

[StaceyinLA]

Most baking mixes and prepared baked goods, even if they do not contain HFCS, WILL contain partially hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils were eliminated from our diet before HFCS. IOW, I don't know that I would trade eating an item with HFCS for one with hydrogenated oil. Of course, I'm not speaking for everyone.

 

I have to agree with the others that cooking from scratch or buying certain brands of prepared foods (we also buy a good many Annie's products so the kids will have quick stuff to fix - like mac n cheese of course). For baked goods like crackers, cookies, etc., I stick with Kashi, Back to Nature and TLC.

 

My dh loves a cookie and milk before bed so I do Back to Nature's choc chip or pb cookies, or I do Newman-O's. I only buy a couple of boxes/month of these. I used to do scratch cookies all the time, but we tend to overindulge on warm cookies from the oven. This way, no one really eats them besides him.

 

Kashi and TLC both make good crackers to eat with cheeses. I buy organic corn chips and make homemade salsa and/or guacamole for snacks.

 

Kashi also has really good frozen pizzas and I'll keep a few of those on hand if we need something quick.

 

We ALWAYS keep frozen fruit, organic yogurt and skim milk on hand. My kids drink smoothies almost every morning. We have a couple of favorite cereals - Whole Foods has a "honey-nut cheerio type thing" that is delicious, but I think regular cheerios are also exempt from most garbage. I buy the organic oatmeal packets occasionally as well. We also eat fresh fruit for breakfast a lot. We have fresh eggs from our chickens so we do those with toast too.

 

We do sandwiches or wraps for lunch. Check breads til you find the best one and stick with it. Whole Foods has tortillas with nothing bad at all in them (in fact, they only have like 3 ingredients and they are AWESOME). Pita bread is usually a great option too as it has very few ingredients. Get peanut butter (buy natural or you'll get hydrogenated oil), lunch meats (we get that from whole foods cuz I don't do nitrates either but lots of stores sell the nitrate-free now), and other sandwich favorites. You can also do beans and strips of meat for wraps, or cheese quesadillas (a favorite for us). We do pita pizzas too. I make pizza sauce from scratch, we put it on pitas, top with whatever then cheese and bake - very good and a perfect size!

 

I cook dinner meals from scratch. We get our beef from my sister (raises angus on pasture), from dh's hunting, and now we're doing our own chicken. We eat lots of veggies and usually potatoes or pasta. We eat a fair amount of veggie meals. We also do a good many beans. We usually eat sauteed or blackened fish once/week (dh cooks it in his cast iron skillet)

 

I use olive oil as much as possible. I also use coconut oil, and canola very occasionally.

 

I don't know if this helps, and I know I've rambled. But hey, it's early Sunday morning and I'm bored at work. :tongue_smilie:

[HSMom2One]

Milk from certain grocery stores (more are carrying RBST free in recent months), fresh eggs and naturally grown/free range chickens from a nearby farm, and organic veggies from our CSA farm (Community Sponsored Agriculture).

 

Blessings,

Lucinda