Kitchen

[HonnyBrown]

On 10/15/2014 chickenbutt said:

Right. What I did a poor job of was that my original meaning was to clarify the difference between 'sugar-free' and 'no sugar added'.

Sugar-free needs to mean that there is no (or no discernable, beyond a point that is accepted by the designation) sugar in the product.

No sugar added means that there could be natural sugars in the ingredients of the product, but there is no refined sugar ADDED to the ingredients.

Yep! My Dad and I had this conversation last week about salt.

He said that even though he doesn't add salt to his food (neither when my Mom cooks nor his plates), he's still meeting half of his daily requirement. He couldn't see how.

Celery, carrots and onions are a perfect example: you can use them as a base for broth or poaching liquid and not use any salt. The added salt won't be missed!

[KJPA]

Yes to what Chickenbutt said Tomatoes have sugar in them naturally but the makers of the marinara have not added any of what we traditionally call "refined sugars" such as that white granular stuff or high fructose corn syrup.

Some people feel "sugar is sugar" and to some degree they are right. But the sugar in fruits and vegetables come along with vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. I don't think there is much nutritional value to refined sugar.

All sugars are still carbs and if you need to lose weight or otherwise watch your carbs/sugars for diabetes, etc. you have to count them no matter the source. But refined sugars are really not beneficial to most people.

Just for the sake of curiosity, read the ingredients list on marinara and spaghetti sauce in the grocery store, things like Prego, Ragu, etc. I think they all have sugar as an actual ingredient. Look for the words "sugar," "corn syrup," "high fructose corn syrup," etc. They almost all have those types of sugars, at least the last time I looked a few years ago. I was stunned to see the Marinara at Costco did NOT have any of those things and I've purchased it ever since!

[KJPA]

Honny, I never knew those veggies have some salt in them!! Very interesting!

[Hoovermom]

On 10/15/2014 KJPA said:

Yes to what Chickenbutt said Tomatoes have sugar in them naturally but the makers of the marinara have not added any of what we traditionally call "refined sugars" such as that white granular stuff or high fructose corn syrup.

Some people feel "sugar is sugar" and to some degree they are right. But the sugar in fruits and vegetables come along with vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. I don't think there is much nutritional value to refined sugar.

All sugars are still carbs and if you need to lose weight or otherwise watch your carbs/sugars for diabetes, etc. you have to count them no matter the source. But refined sugars are really not beneficial to most people.

Just for the sake of curiosity, read the ingredients list on marinara and spaghetti sauce in the grocery store, things like Prego, Ragu, etc. I think they all have sugar as an actual ingredient. Look for the words "sugar," "corn syrup," "high fructose corn syrup," etc. They almost all have those types of sugars, at least the last time I looked a few years ago. I was stunned to see the Marinara at Costco did NOT have any of those things and I've purchased it ever since!

Thank you. I know tomatoes for example have "natural" sugar but only looked at the label that said 5% sugars, not at the actual ingredients.

[HonnyBrown]

On 10/15/2014 KJPA said:

Honny, I never knew those veggies have some salt in them!! Very interesting!

KJPA, before my current job, I tried for Career II as an MD. One of the prerequisite classes I had to take for the school I wanted to attend was Nutrition. That's where I learned about the salt.

I also learned, as you very well stated, about refined sugar.

USELESS! They were created by stripping all nutritional value from whatever is being refined (sugar, wheat, etc.) and the purpose was to fatten up malnourished soldiers!

White bread, white pasta, white sugar, white flour all have to have nutrients added (hence, "enriched").

No thanks! While the MD path didn't work out, that class alone made it worth pursuing.

[Jump4joy2]

I have Costco and BJ's memberships. We definitely prefer Costco -- more selection, better quality, and customer service. Won't be renewing BJ's membership when it expires!

[lizzief]

We prefer BJ's, the parking lot at our local Costco's is horrendous, and we find everything we need a lot easier. We joined Costco so I could buy contact lenses - their price was the lowest of the places that took our insurance. Turns out you get what you pay for. The contacts must be "seconds" or just plain defective. They shrivel up after three days when they should last two weeks.

[HonnyBrown]

lizzief, that is horrible about the contacts!!!!!!! 800CONTACTS takes insurance AND they beat the lowest price you can find online.

Don't mess with my eyes.

Before Costco, my eye doctor was at one of those high volume mills. They mixed up my left and right eye prescriptions. I could see, but not crisp. Headaches. Blur.

The eye doctor at Costco found the problem.

[HonnyBrown]

We got our membership this morning. I didn't want to wait for them to come to my job.

First, it wasn't crowded! That's a big plus over Costco.

Like I noticed before, they have a great variety and they sell smaller bulk items (ie, simmer sauces by the bottle).

I buy ground turkey from Costco. They come in a six pack and are folded and taped. When I cut the packages to freeze them individually or by twos, I cut in the wrong place and the packages leak. Yuk. BJs sells the same ground turkey, but in 3 packs.

The s/b chicken thighs are wrapped by twos and threes. I can freeze the entire package and remove the amount that I need for my hot dish.

BJs sells peppers and onions, which is a plus for me! I now have 6 packages in my freezer.

They were out of the razor blades that I wanted, but I got a different one. They were also out of a hair product I wanted.

I didn't see many gourmet items, but that's fine.

Everyone, thanks again for your recommendations!

[Arley1210]

I think it depends on your location. We have all three but COSTCO is Number ONE in my book!! And their meat is exceptional. Expensive but worth every penny for the steaks!!

Arley