What is in this food? I was at work the other day and I saw someone eating this meal. She was explaining to her friend that she was trying to eat right so that she could lose weight. But will this food make you “lose weight?” First, notice the outside label. It says “Smart ones” and “weight watchers”. It says “2x the fiber versus regular pasta” It says “vegetarian” and only “270 calories”–all enticing marketing ploys. So I went in for a closer look. First, let’s look at the ingredients. The first ingredient is “enriched” pasta (which means they added some vitamins to the pasta with questionable absorption in the body) and then sauce. Then, there is parmesan cheese, half and half (milk, cream), whey protein concentrate, cornstarch, olive oil, sugar, salt, lipolyzed cream, butterfat, xanthan gum, flavor, lactic acid, spice and reduced fat mozzarella cheese.
So, look at how many ingredients are in this thing. Then, look at how many types of cream, milk and oil that are in this product. Think about how much processing is in this food. Remember, our body doesnt like all that processed foods. It is highly inflammatory. What do you think “flavor” is? A good guide to what you should eat is to ask “would my grandmother recognize these ingredients?” Also, consider, how you make pasta at home. When I make it at home, I take pasta noodles, red sauce and vegetables. What do you think all that other stuff is needed for? Consider that if the food has more than 5 ingredients in it, you probably dont want to eat it. Also note that this food has 500mg of salt in it! So, in order to make it taste better, they have added loads of salt to it. I asked the woman if she felt full after eating it because when I eat, I like to feel full. She said she never feels full after eating the meal but that this what was she was allowed to eat. I then asked her what happens when she gets home. She said she was so hungry that she often ends up snacking or eating a large dinner.
This is not a healthy product. It will not get you to lose weight and it creates an inflammatory environment for your body. If you want pasta, eat fresh pasta. Skip the cream. Skip the cheese. Add red sauce and vegetables and eat well. Yum.
