Things you should stop buying at the Grocery Store

​www.msn.com/en-ie/foodanddrink/foodnews/29-things-you-should-stop-spending-money-on-at-the-supermarket/ss-AADGU6B?li=BBr5PkP#image=1

I found this article this morning while I was doing my usual rounds through the MSN homepage and wanted to share with you guys some of the things from this list I agreed or disagreed with. The list compiles 29 products from the grocery store that you really shouldn't be buying when considering how easy it is to do at home or how much better for you it is to do from scratch. Let's break down some of the things on this list :)

SALSA

AGREE 

The article suggests avoiding store bought salsas in favour of making quick picos at home which I fully support. As the article mentions, jarred salsas can hide preservatives and additives as well as not being as fresh or flavourful as a quick and simple to make pico. All you need is tomatoes, onions, jalapeno if you're feeling spicy, cilantro, lime, and salt for a fresh pico that's ready in under ten minutes. With that being said, if you find fresh picos prepared in store and you really want to save the ten minutes, go for the freshly made pico but avoid the jarred stuff and you'll be avoiding unnecessary additives.

PESTO

AGREE / DISAGREE 
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The article suggests avoiding store bought pestos because they too harbour additives and unnecessary ingredients stating it's as simple as pine nuts, parm, basil, garlic, oil, and salt. While it's true that fresh pesto tastes and looks so much better than the jarred stuff, pine nuts are outrageously expensive and not something you will always have on hand. Now, you CAN however make a delicious pesto using other seeds or nuts like walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, or even almonds. Once again, don't be scared to buy the premade stuff but make sure to read your ingredient labels, there shouldn't be 100 ingredients in your pesto. Look for the freshly made in store pestos if they're available and you'll avoid the additives.

TOMATO SAUCE

AGREE
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Agree 100%. Jarred tomato sauce in my opinion is always cloyingly sweet and lacking in really any other recognizable flavour. The jarred sauces also contain unnecessary amounts of sugar as well as additives that are simply not found in home made sauce. Home made sauce is super simple to make and tastes SO MUCH BETTER! A tin of whole tomatoes, some onion, celery, carrot, garlic, spices, and a blender is all you need for A+ sauce without any of the scary stuff.

VEGGIE STOCK

​DISAGREE

I agree AND disagree with this one. Saving your scraps from food prep in a freezer bag until the bag is full and boiling them down with some simple herbs and peppercorns yields a wonderful, scratch made stock. The problem is, if you cook a lot and use stock often like I do, you simply won't have enough scraps to make fresh stock every time so store bought is a necessity for me. When shopping, look for low sodium and you'll avoid the bombardment of salt found in the full sodium versions.

GARLIC BREAD

AGREE

Store bought garlic bread is delicious but it's completely unnecessary when you've got bread and garlic cloves at home. All you need is some lightly toasted bread in a fry pan and once out, gently smash a clove of garlic and rub it on the bread for some seriously punchy garlic bread without all of the greasy, fattening (yet delicious) garlic butter. Finish with a pinch of salt and some fresh or dired herbs and you're good to go!

SPICE MIXES

AGREE

It's so convenient to buy a pre made packet of taco mix or fajita seasoning but you've probably got all of the spices at home to do it yourself so why waste the extra money? You can even go and get larger batches of your necessary spices and pre mix them in their own jar for future use. Save the extra money!

GUACAMOLE

DISAGREE

The article suggests that store bought guacs contain unnecessary additives and preservatives which in some cases is true but as someone who loves guac almost more than the air I breathe, there are plenty of fresh options that do not contain any of those crazy extras. I love fresh guac don't get me wrong but fresh guac is dependant on perfectly ripe avos which sometimes simply aren't available, don't ever feel bad about reaching for the pre-made stuff. Just read your labels and make sure that what's in it is what should be in it. I'm a big fan of WHOLLY GUACAMOLE in spicy and chunky varieties. No scary ingredients, juts fresh guac!
www.eatwholly.com/

Do you agree with my position on things? Check the article out for yourself and see how many of these things you buy that maybe you can start quickly whipping up at home!

HAPPY VEG