Is Your Sugar Vegan? - The Vegetarian Resource Group

NUTRITION HOTLINE
SUZANNE HAVALA HOBBS
DrPH, MS, RD
This issue’s Nutrition
Hotline helps readers
identify healthful
convenience foods
that can help cut
the time and effort
needed to prepare
home-cooked meals.
QUESTION: “I’d like to prepare more
meals at home but don’t have time
to make many foods from scratch.
What do you suggest”
ANSWER: Eating more meals at
home—rather than out—usually
results in fewer calories and better
nutrition. But home cooking
doesn’t mean you have to soak
beans and make sauces from
scratch. Shortcuts are OK if you
use high-quality ingredients.
And, let’s face it, convenience
foods are a necessity for most
of us. I know few people who
have the time to press and fill
fresh ravioli and then clean and
chop vegetables for a green salad
to go with it. Therefore, carefully
chosen, ready-to-use products
can save time and make homecooked
meals possible.
So, what makes a product
“high-quality” Generally, the best
foods are as close to their natural
state as possible. They contain
few—if any—artificial flavorings
or colorings, minimal sodium
and added sugar, and no partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil, the
biggest source of trans fat. If the
product is a bread or a cereal,
it is made with the whole grain.
Preferably, the ingredients are
organic. Here are some examples:
• Ready-to-eat vegetables. For
instance, grab some prewashed
salad greens, chopped vegetables
for a stir-fry, a coleslaw
mix, or peeled baby carrots.
Do you lose nutrients when
vegetables are cut up and left
to sit on supermarket shelves
Sure, but what’s left is still full
of what’s good for you. Also,
you will pay more if someone
else peels your carrots for you.
But if these items save you
lots of prep time and help
you to eat more vegetables,
they’re worth it.
• Canned beans. Cans of black
beans, pinto beans, garbanzo
beans, and kidney beans are
staples found in many vegetarian
homes. One reason is
because they’re so quick to
prepare. Just open a can, rinse
the beans in a colander, and
add them to salads, soups,
chili, casseroles, burritos, or
rice. Do canned beans contain
more sodium than soaked,
dried beans Yes, but rinsing
removes most of the added
sodium.
• Pasta sauce. Bottled tomato
sauces are higher in sodium
than those you would make
from scratch with fresh tomatoes.
Served over whole wheat
linguine with steamed vegetables
and a salad, though, they
can be part of an overall nutritious
meal. Look for brands
made with organic tomatoes,
such as Muir Glen.
• Seasoning short-cuts. Buy bottled,
minced garlic and use it by
the spoonful. It tastes nearly
as good as fresh, and it beats
garlic powder for flavor. Also
good are fresh (refrigerated)
basil pesto and bottled sundried
tomatoes. I buy mine
at large warehouse clubs.
(Continued on page 21)
2 Issue Four 2007 VEGETARIAN JOURNAL