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Hall of Shame - Campbell’s Soup At Hand Creamy Tomato Soup
A new feature here at High-Fructose High - the Hall of Shame!
When a product that most people would not expect to have a sweetener in it lists high-fructose corn syrup in it, it is a contender for the Hall of Shame!
Today’s entry into the High-Fructose High Hall of Shame is Campbell’s Soup At Hand Creamy Tomato Soup. High-fructose corn syrup is listed as the THIRD ingredient!
Tomato puree, water, high fructose corn syrup…
WHY? That puts 1 serving of soup at 34 grams of carbohydrates (24 grams of which are SUGAR carbohydrates) - according to their own label.
That is, in my opinion, not much better than drinking a can of pop for lunch and popping a vitamin c lozenge. Your thoughts are welcome in the comments section!
BEWARE: You Can’t Go By the “Natural” Label When Choosing non-HFCS Products
In what I truly thought was a joke, the FDA has said that, because the enzyme used in the high-fructose corn syrup process is not contained in the final product, that it can’t be said that high-fructose corn syrup is not natural. Or some such vague verbiage that sounds cop-outish to me.
Whatever THAT means, what it means for you is that you can no longer go by the “100% Natural” label if you are trying to choose products which contain no hfcs. Unless the product says “organic” or “contiains no high-fructose corn syrup,” you’re going to have to go back to turning over every product while shopping and read the ingredients list.
That also means that there is the potential for some items on this site’s “no hfcs products list” to revert to having hfcs in them. I hope not. But if you spot any discrepencies, please do let me know.
Three Additions Today
Under “Beverages” we have Blue Sky Soft Drinks and Archer Farms brand Natural Italian soda.
And under “Bread” we have Franz “McKenzie Farms” Old Fashioned Buttermilk Bread
Continued thanks to everyone who writes in! I can personally vouch for tastiness of the McKenzie Farms bread. The more natural a product is, the closer to homemade it seems to taste. This bread is good for sandwiches and especially toast!
Trader Joe’s 100% Maple Syrup
It will probably come as no surprise to most that Trader Joe’s has 100% Maple Syrup (no high-fructose corn syrup, of course) and Organic 100% Maple Syrup (No HFCS there, either).
But I was surprised to find it for about half the price the super-market sells it for. I have eliminated HFCS out of most of my diet (that I know of), but it’s not always easy when you have a child. Especially if that child likes pancakes on occasion.
I had always found the price of real maple syrup prohibitive. But I’m happy to report my find today at Trader Joe’s, and that I brought home a bottle of it in my grocery sack this afternoon. I am very happy about this!
Increasingly, it seems that Trader Joe’s has nearly every type of item you would find in a regular grocery store with the exceptions that it is better quality, healthier, fresher, less expensive, and the staff is down-to-Earth, friendly, and happy you are there!
I guess I’ll make a new category on High-Fructose High for “Raves.” And this post about Trader Joe’s gets to be the innaugural entry!
Grilling Season: Alternative to Pre-Made Marinades
Now is the time on High-Fructose High where we share a little Link Love! Bart over at Bart Modern’s Bowleg wrote a great post on mindfulness when making food choices. He talks about grilling and how it “lines up nicely” with healthier eating and healthier choices.
My favorite part is the last two paragraphs where he describes how easy it is to make your own marinade/rub, complete with directions and grilling info. Check it out!
CHEWY Granola Bars With No HFCS
The Corn Refiner’s Association tells us that high-fructose corn syrup is what makes your favorite chewy cookies, granola bars, etc. so chewy. Some manufacturers do go that route, sure. But there are other ways to make bakery items chewy without using hfcs! (I’ll post my chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe later!)
But this post is about a new chewy granola bar by Amish Naturals, set to be on store shelves next month! Since it’s not out yet, I can’t add it to the list (yet). But when it does come out I will not only add it to the list, but I’ll write a review here for it as well.
According to this press release, the chewy granola bars will come in the following flavors:
Dark Chocolate (Five 1.4 oz bars per carton; each bar contains 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein)
Peanut Butter (Five 1.4 oz bars per carton; each bar contains 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein)
Fiber-Rich Peanut Butter (Five 1.4 oz bars per carton; each bar contains 7 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein)
Fiber-Rich Fruit and Nut (Five 1.4 oz bars per carton; each bar contains 7 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein)
Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney talk about “King Corn” in Online Chat
I try in this blog never to simply link to something else on the internet with no other content in the blog post - I’m here to provide information, not just link to it! But I came across a transcript of an Online Chat that happened on April 16, 2008, with Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis who are the makers of the documentary, “King Corn.”
It’s really excellent reading (these guys are not just super-knowledgable, but funny as well), and I highly recommend it. Follow this link to the chat transcript.
‘King Corn’ comes out on DVD April 29, 2008.
Newest Finds: A Lot of Additions
The first two additions are finds by me:
- Kellogg’s Reduced Sugar Froot Loops
- Capri Sun ALL NATURAL 100% Juice
The rest of the additions were sent in by reader Jennifer a.k.a. Tiger of http://www.tigertorreart.com/ . Thanks, Tiger!
- Vermont Bread Company breads
- Trader Joe’s brand Creamy, Unsalted Peanut Butter - much better tasting
- Trader Joe’s Reduced Sugar Organic Strawberry Preserves
- Trader Joe’s Hot and Sweet Mustard - an excellent honey mustard
- Nature Valley Oats & Honey flavor granola bars
- Giant brand Instant Oatmeal - most flavors
Be sure to send in any of your finds! The more who contribute, the better the list! I’ll even include a link your website, if you have one. And be sure to sign up for the RSS feed by e-mail so you can be alerted to new additions!
Thank you to everyone who has made this list so significant!
Newest Find: Kashi’s TLC (Tasty Little Crackers)
Thank you to reader Emily for alerting us all to a new non-hfcs find: Kashi’s TLC (Tasty Little Crackers). It’s amazing to me how many crackers actually have high-fructose corn syrup in them.
If you find something to go on the list, please use the contact tab to share it with all of us. The more eyes watching for these types of items, the better! In the near future I plan to set up a searchable database to make it easier to find what you are looking for here. In the meantime, at least the foods with no high-fructose corn syrup list is categorized.
Newest Find: Sweet Leaf Tea
Sweet Leaf Tea does not use high-fructose corn syrup in their tea, they use sugar! Plus they have a totally cute website and a (very subudued but vehement) rant about using sugar and good ingredients over using cost-cutting ingredients.
