Newbie mistakes?

(Morgan Rose) #1

Sorry if this is a topic already…i couldn’t seem to find…

So I didn’t even realize I was buying bags of preshredded cheese and because of a previous post and I think it was mentioned in one of the podcasts… I was adding unnecessary “carbage” ---- boy do I feel super dumb!!!
Needless to say I’m trying to decide if the bags of cheese I have should I give away, lol, or just use till next grocery round…

Now some of you may be laughing or thinking it’s not a big deal but…that adds up… no wonder my recipes in MFP broke down to more then some of the sites that posted the recipe!

Is there any similar mistakes that you have made? Or other things whether it’s just starting out or later on that a light bulb just clicks? :hugs::heart_eyes::upside_down_face:

#2

There’s no reason to toss that cheese. The filler is there, sure, but ratio-wise it’s not that much. Just buy block cheese next time; you’re good.

I think a huge newb mistake is not using enough salt.

(Morgan Rose) #3

Your right, I’m being dramatic. But when making certain recipes like I made a mac and cheese broccoli/cauli and I used a couple bags…I was so blown by how high in carbs it was and then I took a closer look like :scream::scream::scream::scream::dizzy_face::dizzy_face::dizzy_face::dizzy_face:

But yes I agree with you on the salt! 45 days in and I’m discovering that!

#4

Don’t panic. The statement is not 100 % correct. There are bags of pre shredded cheese that are in fact just that…pre shredded cheese.

What happens sometimes is that there are pre shredded or pre grated cheeses that are full of fillers. For example, Parmesan cheese that is pre grated is most often junk. Go ahead and throw that away. Buy the Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself.

Shredded cheese you can inspect visually, and many times it is quite obvious that it is indeed cheese. Because the cheese shreds are quite large (not like the powdery small bits of grated cheese…impossible to inspect, unless you own a microscope).

So, don’t panic, and don’t throw perfectly good food away. Look at the cheese product in the bag. If the shreds are large, and the ingredient list (and nutritional data) doesn’t list suspicious filler-type ingredients, then you may have a perfectly good product.

Hope this helps.

(Meeping up the Science!) #5

Definitely don’t throw it away.

Here in the US they add starch or cellulose as a filler for almost all shredded cheese to stop it from sticking, even the ones with larger pieces. Always better to read the label to be sure, of course. I personally still used it, since it’s minimal carbs, really. More a waste of money than anything since it adds to final product weight. Almost all of the cheese I can find pre-shredded typically has it, though, not just the hard cheeses.

(Morgan Rose) #6

Wait hard cheese has it too!?

(Meeping up the Science!) #7

Only shredded. Just read the label and don’t sweat it if you have it already. Many people use it anyway, regardless. However, it is indeed found in all/most common shredded cheese here in the US.

For example, here is a bag of shredded cheddar cheese from Walmart.

Here are the ingredients - they include starches and an anti-fungal ingredient:
Ingredients: Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Pasteurized Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto [Color]), Potato Starch and Powdered Cellulose Added to Prevent Caking, Natamycin (A Natural Inhibitor). Allergy Warning: Contains Milk. May Contain Traces of Almonds, Pecans and Soy.

(Kerri Hines) #8

Don’t stress it. I use shredded cheese when it’s convenient too.

#9

Shows how different products are in different countries. Here in France, Parmesan is the one cheese that I can guarantee will be zero carb pre grated! Unless you mean that revolting stuff that is dried? I don;t count that as cheese!

(Dave) #10

It doesn’t really take to long to grate it yourself… Maybe 5 mins and you save some money

… I must admit I just learnt about this too and felt the same so I bought I kilo block of cheese and grated it and I thought - I think I can keep doing this

(Michelle) #11

One mistake I made was buying breakfast sausage. I looked at the carb count and it was <1g carbs. So, I bought it and tried it. And then was reading this forum and someone mentioned they put sugar in sausage, and I was like DING!! Looked at the package and sure enough, sugar was like the 2nd or 3rd ingredient. Now, I read carb counts and ingredients so I know for sure what I’m putting in my mouth.

Basically, anything “convenient” will be more processed. I do always shred my own cheese.

(David K) #12

The amount of sugar in breakfast sausage is so small I don’t even worry about it. Yes, it is the second or third ingredient but number one takes up so much volume to make it fairly insignificant unless you are going to eat the whole pound. But… to each their own.

#13

Im talking about that revolting stuff, usually comes in a container that hides the product. It looks like powdered sawdust, and tastes like sawdust with salt in it. It’s revolting and an affront to real cheese.

#14

I also noticed that the nutritional info can be deceiving, or very inaccurate. I remember taking a bite into a breakfast sausage, and it was way too sweet to be the zero carb as listed on the package. Ingredients said it contained a bit of brown sugar…but, it was a whole lot than just a bit.

(Beth) #15

I made the same mistake with pickles the other day. I was craving them and the store had no Bubba’s or anything decent so I looked at the carb count which was 0. Looked at the label more closely and it’s made with high fructose corn syrup! Sheesh! No pickles for me!

#16

totally agree. It is not cheese IMO. Smells like sick.

#17

:laughing: funny!

(Jackie Gonzales) #18

One of my mistakes in the beginning was with beef jerky. I’d eaten it for years when I was a “low carber”. I would get it at my local meat market cause it just tasted better. Any who… I was using it as an afternoon snack and I gained like 2lbs in a week. I mentioned it to my husband who very nicely informed me all jerky is cured with sugar. Seriously!!! Dang it