Blueberries? Baloney!
Blueberries are touted as a super health food. Eager to capitalize on that, manufacturers of prepared foods are plastering the berries all over their packaging. But Consumer Reports finds just because it's blue on the outside doesn't necessarily mean it's blue on the inside.
For instance, the blueberry pancake mix from Krusteaz does not have blueberries or fruit of any kind in a long list of ingredients. It does have a disclaimer that says "artificially flavored" and "imitation blueberries," which in the Krusteaz pancake mix are made of palm oil, cellulose gum, and several dyes.
What about Kellogg's Blueberry Muffin Frosted Mini-Wheats? Blue on the outside, but the only blue thing in the cereal is a dye called blue 2 lake. A Kellogg's company spokesperson says, "The term 'Blueberry Muffin' is used to describe the flavor, and the product is labeled in compliance with laws and regulations."
Consumer Reports found some other products that prominently display blueberries but have only blueberry juice in them, and that comes way down on the list of ingredients, behind sugar and corn syrup. And Ocean Spray's Blueberry Craisins are not dried blueberries at all, but cranberries "infused" with blueberry juice.
As with most fruits and vegetables, Consumer Reports says it's best to eat blueberries before they or their juice end up in packaged products.
For instance, the blueberry pancake mix from Krusteaz does not have blueberries or fruit of any kind in a long list of ingredients. It does have a disclaimer that says "artificially flavored" and "imitation blueberries," which in the Krusteaz pancake mix are made of palm oil, cellulose gum, and several dyes.
What about Kellogg's Blueberry Muffin Frosted Mini-Wheats? Blue on the outside, but the only blue thing in the cereal is a dye called blue 2 lake. A Kellogg's company spokesperson says, "The term 'Blueberry Muffin' is used to describe the flavor, and the product is labeled in compliance with laws and regulations."
Consumer Reports found some other products that prominently display blueberries but have only blueberry juice in them, and that comes way down on the list of ingredients, behind sugar and corn syrup. And Ocean Spray's Blueberry Craisins are not dried blueberries at all, but cranberries "infused" with blueberry juice.
As with most fruits and vegetables, Consumer Reports says it's best to eat blueberries before they or their juice end up in packaged products.
This illustrates the problem with allowing industry to "capture" regulation but, US citizens should be used to that scam already as long as its been going on and as wide spread it is. Where is the FDA and the consumer protection agency?
This is why I made a decision over the summer to:'
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1) Eat at home when at all possible
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2) Make it from scratch - everything - salad dressings, pastas, sauces, everything possible that isn't so time consuming that it isn't feasible.
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3) Get more creative. If I have to buy an ingredient like sour cream and I have most of it left over, what can I make in the next week or two that uses a lot of sour cream so I don't throw it out. I've cut down on my kitchen waste - still not perfect. One trick I'm doing is buying spinach for salads, if it starts to get to the state that it's losing its crispness and not appealing for salad, then I steam it and eat it cooked.
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Since August I've lost over 20 pounds, restaurant food at casual dining chains is starting to taste flavorless to me, and I am saving almost $1000 a month on eating out costs. It is generally far cheaper to prepare it yourself and some things like salad dressings, hummus, mayo and whipped cream are amazingly easy to make. You do need to invest up front in some proper tools for the kitchen, but the dividends they pay out are huge.
 @Howard Beale Good start. Parallels the book Food Rules pretty well. Basically, if a third grader can't pronounce the ingredient name it likely isn't a real food. Likewise there should minimal processing done (I like to think nothing with more than 3 ingredients total on the box/bag/bottle)
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Difficulty I have is my meals are when out in the service vehicle and not having access to any cooking devices. Something about cold sandwiches on a cold day Just Don't Work (for me)
 @theToucan It is very hard to escape all processing these days. One of my biggest pet peeves is the requirement to but sulfites into wine in the United States as a preservative. IT'S WINE! If it goes bad it is either utterly undrinkable or turns to vinegar. Neither of which will kill you. I can only guess the sulfur industry lobbied for this stupidity.
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My friends see how I eat at home and it doesn't compute to them that I'm losing weight. What? Steak with a baked potato and a mixed greens salad with blue cheese crumbles. That makes you fat! Not if you use logical portion control and don't load up on a lot of process crapped. I only buy my meat from Central Market, my seafood from Ranch 99 (can't beat still swimming in the tank for fresh). I do buy some organics and cheeses at and any other assorted finds at Grocery Outlet, there can be some real surprises there!
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About the only thing I'm buying that is "processed" is some real basic sauces like ketchup and mustard, crackers (I looked, basically impossible to make Triscuits at home damn it), and bread - but I don't get white bread. Bleached flour is the enemy!
And this is surprising to who exactly? If you didn't already know this then you are more naive then most. My favourite is "Made with 100% real cheese" instead of "made 100% with real cheese." Don't blame the companies. Blame the dumb asses who believe it.
 @Barlion Marketing is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately many folks haven't/can't take the time to learn to cook, or can barely read the labels (what ARE some of those 'ingredients') or have no time (according to them) to cook properly.
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Sad
Ah, capitalism at its finest ...
It should read: "Blueberry flavored muffins".
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If you want blueberry muffins, do what my Wife and I do at home, we put real blueberries into the muffin mix. Â Same with pancakes, etc.
@Landshark You make your own muffins - from scratch, I take it? Good for you.
I think a little more truth in advertising should be required. Cereal companies also claim to have made the cereals with 'less sugar', which is apparently because they have replaced some of the white sugar with cane syrup. The end result is the very same calories and carb to fiber ratio as before.
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In general, it's best to learn to cook from scratch and get real about where the food comes from.
And this is news? Â This is the same with almost ALL packaged foods. Â This is why we stay away from processed/packaged and fast foods. Â I like to know what's in my food.
Aren't chemicals yummy?
You have to wonder what all this Frankenfood is doing to us.
 @belsnickles Well if it's GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) like most of it probably is, then it's slowly causing us to be allergic, infertile, and giving us cancerous tumors.
 @MoonDragonWitch  @belsnickles GMOs are highly unlikely to cause any of that.
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I'm MUCH more concerned about the patenting and ownership of the food supply than unproven tinfoil hat fears.
 @mhungry  @MoonDragonWitch It's not the genetically modified foods I worry about.  What concerns me is all the additives and, frankly, that much of it is now coming from China where there are no safeguards at all on the food supply.
Grow your own blueberries! They're easy to grow and to freeze. You get the real thing in your food - very inexpensive and tasty!
On the flipside, the Mountain House "Granola with Blueberries" backpacking food has some of the highest concentration of blueberries I've seen!
I always find myself questioning products that say "made with real cheese/chicken" Am I supposed to be delighted that something is actually made out of the suggested flavors? Effort in = Energy out. Prepare your own foods with the real stuff!
 @SoTweetie I'm confused.  We have a news story here about companies that purposefully confuse the consumer into thinking they're using actual blueberries when they're not.  Yet you're questioning the companies that DO use real ingredients and promote it?  Does nothing make you happy?  What are they supposed to do?  Use the real thing and hide it? Â
 @sleever  I think she is just expressing her frustration at the sleezy marketing campaigns in general. You'd think that what appears in the picture in the food is what you get, but that's now rarely the case.
@SoTweetie Reminds me of those pizza adds that proudly tell us they use "real cheese," as though they should get a medal for not topping the things with plastic.