Monday, January 30, 2012

What's In My Food?: Hungry-Man Roasted Turkey Dinner


In this blog series, I show you how many of the 7 Deadly Foods are found in various processed and prepared foods. In this post, you get to see how healthy the Hungry-Man Roasted Turkey Dinner is. (1)

Ingredients (that are from the 7 Deadly Foods)
Here's the ingredients break down (if any of the ingredients found in this food does not fall into one of the seven deadly foods, then it is not listed):
  • Wheat: Gravy (Wheat Flour), Stuffing (Breading [Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour]).
  • Soy: Mashed Potatoes (Margarine [Soy Lecithin]), Cooked White Meat Turkey (Soy Protein Concentrate), Stuffing (Breading [Soybean Oil], Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Turkey Flavor [Monosodium Glutamate, Soy Lecithin]), Sauce (Margarine [Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Soy Lecithin], Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil).
  • Gluten Grains: Gravy (Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Wheat Flour).
  • Refined Sweeteners: Apple Cranberry Dessert (Sugar, Apple-Cranberry Compote Seasoning [Dextrose]), Stuffing (Breading [Sugar], Turkey Flavor [Maltodextrin, Sugar], Sugar), Sauce (Sugar).
  • Chemical Additives: Gravy (Turkey Type Flavor [Monosodium Glutamate, Caramel Color, Flavors, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate], Caramel Color, Mono and Diglycerides), Mashed Potatoes ([Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Citric Acid], Margarine [TBHQ and Citric Acid as Preservatives, Mono and Diglycerides (BHT, Citric Acid)], Potato Flavor [Natural Flavors, Calcium Chloride]), Cooked White Meat Turkey (Carrageenan, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Phosphate), Stuffing (Breading [Dough Conditioners (Ascorbic Acid, L-Cysteine Monohydrochloride, Azodicarbonamide), Yeast Nutrients (Ammonium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate)], TBHQ and Citric Acid as Preservatives, Turkey Flavor [Natural Flavors, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Monosodium Glutamate, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Caramel Color, Sodium Lactate), Sauce (Margarine [Mono and Diglycerides, Natural Flavor], Salt, TBHQ and Citric Acid as Preservatives).
  • High Omega-6 Oils: Gravy (Turkey Type Flavor [Canola Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed and Soybean oil]), Mashed Potatoes (Margarine [Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Beta Carotene for Color (Corn Oil)]), Stuffing (Breading [Soybean Oil, Shortening], Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Sauce (Margarine [Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil], Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil).
  • Trans Fats: Gravy (Turkey Type Flavor [Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed and Soybean oil]), Mashed Potatoes (Margarine [Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil]), Stuffing (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Sauce (Margarine [Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil], Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil).
Quick Analysis
From the ingredients list above, you can see that this product has all seven deadly foods. Aside from some wheat, gluten, and sugar, this product uses quite a few chemical additives, high omega-6 oils (which are likely to be rancid due to processing), trans fats, and soy ingredients. It also appears to use soy protein concentrate (SPC) to cut the turkey meat. SPC is a cheap protein filler used to reduce product costs. 
  • Energy-Dense Ingredients: Sugar, dextrose, maltodextrin, wheat flour.
  • Pro-Inflammatory Ingredients: Wheat (from gluten), sugar, corn gluten, soybean oil (high omega-6; soybean oil is also highly unstable and likely rancid before consumption), canola oil (high omega-6), cottenseed oil (high omega-6), corn oil (high omega-6), calcium chloridecarrageenan
  • Toxins: Partially hydrogenated soybean oil (trans fats, rancid oil), soy protein concentrate (all the anti-nutrients and toxins that naturally come in soy), wheat flour (gluten, lectin), monosodium glutamate (possible excitotoxin), soy lecithin (possible excitotoxin), yeast extract (possible excitotoxin), TBHQ (possible carcinogenic at very high dosages), BHT (possible carcinogen), natural flavors (could be anything that is derived from a natural source, so you'll never know if it is or is not harmful), Carrageenan (possible carcinogen), azodicarbonamide (possible allergen)

Final Thoughts: Ditch this near-food (and all others like it). Instead, take the time to make yourself some homemade butter roasted turkey, mashed potatoes (with cream and butter), and a fresh salad. For dessert, try some fresh pineapple or mango (or any fruit). That's a real meal.


References
1. Hungry-Man Turkey, Roasted Carved White Meat. Wegmans.com. [Online] [Cited: January 29, 2012.] http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=698750.

2 comments:

  1. If THAT doesn't make a fella hungry I don't know what will.

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