February 8, 2025 • 40 mins
Dealing with endless choices of processed foods is hard at the best of times, but it's even harder when you don't realise the food is processed.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Take them when ms start.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
No, Yes, welcome back to the Weekend Collective.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
I'm Tim Beveraging Texture Feedback anytime on nine two, nine two,
and but of course we want your calls this hour
on our one hundred and eighty ten eighty because this
is the Health Hub. And we're got a little bit
of a chat about a couple of things, and I
think they sort of dovetail into each other. Oh, I've
got to stop using that word dovetail. But anyway, but
there's this endless choice of processed foods, and you know
(01:03):
that process foods question. When I think of process foods,
I think of the confirmation of RFK over in America.
But let's not talk about that. That's me distracting myself.
But he's against the processed foods. And we hear a
lot how bad processed foods are. And I guess it's
also harder if you don't realize, you know, how those
foods are processed. There might be a big difference between
(01:24):
certain meals that you can buy where that things are
highly processed and buying maybe I don't know of can
of Italian sort of pasta source which may be not
as bad, but I don't know. But of course one
of the things that's worth getting to know is what's
on those labels, the ingredient list, the back and the
(01:45):
the preseratives that, oh, I can't even is that the
preservatives that they use when it see as we use
this preservative numbers such and such.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
And various fillers.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
So is there a way of understanding the ingredients which
can help you make better choices? And along those lines
as well, we're also going to have a chat about
just making good meals from canned foods, which should almost
give you a clue as to who our guest is
going to be. But the clue, of course, was given
when I started the show at three o'clock and I
said it would be the co host of Eat Well
for Less, And it's ganesh Rash and he's with me now.
(02:15):
Good afternoon, Good afternoon, sir. How are you today?
Speaker 5 (02:17):
Excellent?
Speaker 4 (02:18):
Have you had some sort of break over the summer
or you.
Speaker 6 (02:20):
Yeah, absolutely, I am very good with my breaks.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Excellent. You've actually you're just in the middle of doing
another filming another season I beat wellfull ys?
Speaker 6 (02:27):
An't you absolutely? So we filmed a little bit of
it before before the New Year, before the Christmas break. Yeah,
and then we're filming another set now. And everything you're
saying is so spot on with what I'm experiencing right
this second.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
What a relief because what you did there was you paused,
you said. Everything you're saying is just I'm.
Speaker 6 (02:46):
Like, oh, but it isn't it's time, but it is.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
But it is one of those I do read ingredient lists,
but usually it's on a one example, Okay, I can
of tomatoes, just to see where they've stuck, whether they're
Sultan or something, or maybe a can of spaghetti or
some sort of sauce or.
Speaker 6 (03:09):
What are you looking for when you look at the back.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Usually I'm just curious to know how many basic ingredients
I recognize, and if most of the ingredients, if not
all of them, are simply look, it's just tomatoes. It's
a bit of chipotle sauce, it's a bit of this
than that, and sodium. But usually i'm sometimes oh, okay,
the last time I did it was on stock and
(03:33):
my wife buys was.
Speaker 6 (03:36):
This vacuum pack stock or the mass It's actually not
checker boxes.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
It's little cubes of stock.
Speaker 6 (03:43):
Oh understood.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
And I was thinking how much salt is in the
low assault version versus the salted version, Because I'll be
honest with you, I go, well, actually, the lower salted
Version'm probably going to have to add a little sprinkle
of salt just for my taste. And so I look
at it and go how much different is it? And
then I have a chat with my wife and say,
maybe just buy the normal version, but it's usually it's
(04:04):
still a cup. What the salt and sugar content is?
Speaker 6 (04:07):
I mean, the fact that you're actually doing that alone
sets you apart from a lot of people, because you
know basic, You're looking for basic things you can identify with,
and since preservatives.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Four five seven six five three four five nine, I'm like,
you're suspicious, don't like it? That's right, that's right.
Speaker 6 (04:23):
And I think that's a good instinct for everyone to
carry into their supermarket shop, that type of suspicion, especially
with anything that comes in cans, such as tomato sauces,
such as pasta sauces. None of those things, a lot
of those things have over a quarter of sugar twenty
five grams per hundred grams.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Actually narrows it down really mostly I'm looking for sugar
and salt immediately.
Speaker 6 (04:47):
Those are alarms.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Cereals is another one. Yes, I did it the other
day because I make my own granola sometimes and I
know how much sugar it is on because I make it,
and there's you know, it's tasty, it's sweet, it's lovely.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
But you did it to yourself.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Yes, for instance, neutral rain, historically I don't have. They've
changed it, but we're on holiday and my wife just said, oh, look,
let's just get you neutral grain because we normally they're
generally pretty healthy. And I thought, how much sugar does
that still have?
Speaker 6 (05:15):
And You're like, it's a lot, isn't it, isn't it?
And I'm so glad you brought this up so I
don't have to be that guy all the time.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Oh but it'll be the devil.
Speaker 6 (05:26):
I mean, it's not even it's the fact that it's
happening around us. So obviously. Another one is you raised
it just now and we just had this revelation for
a family just a few weeks ago. They bought these
fourteen dollars for four hundred and fifty grams of pre
made organic fried chicken tenders in a box.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Right, hang on, hold it, hold it described.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
By thirteen ninety nine for four hundred grams of organic
convenience for chicken tenders, call it convenience chicken tenders organic.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
What's the chicken tender?
Speaker 6 (06:01):
It's those long strips that come off, you know that
they cut the crumb and the very popular with kids,
very popular with And it was with deep regret that
I had to tell her that it was only fifty
nine percent chicken. And it's said it was the first
item on the back of the box. I wasn't making
(06:22):
it up. She just people don't was that.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Of course that have been because the way they crumbed it,
they crumbed.
Speaker 6 (06:28):
It's just things that sit in a box in a
freezer of proteins attached to them are going to have
fillers and preservatives. That's just the game it's in. It's
not a fault. It's that mechanism.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
But so, so, just to clarify, yes, sir, so it's
not that they have with the so I'm kissing that
where they crumbed or something. Yes, okay, So it's not
a case of that they've added stuff to all the crumbs.
They've actually they've shoved stuff to the chicken as well,
like this when you when you're eating the chicken.
Speaker 6 (07:01):
The meat itself would have been a combination of chicken
meat and soy filler, then blended together along with various flavorings, preservatives,
and texture supplements so that all the sponginess is what
you love. I mean, food science is a huge thing.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
And I guess the thing is, but I just want
to finish ount go go.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
Just to make it worse, four hundred grams four hundred
and fifty grams was about fourteen dollars. Now we know
that only sixty percent of that was actually chicken, So
now we're really paying for the fourteen dollars. I don't
know what the math is, but two hundred and two
hundred grams t fifty grams? Serdadly, get a cooked chick
(07:44):
now in a supermarket is fourteen dollars?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (07:47):
A COOKEOK? Ready to go without nonsense?
Speaker 7 (07:50):
You know?
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah. Look, well we're about to continue this conversation and
a lot more detail, but we want to hear your
calls as well on this. I eight one hundred eighty
ten eighty do you actually read the labels?
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Be something? First? And what are you looking for when
you read the labels, do you.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Know what it is? Because the other side of that
would the question I was dying to jump in with
you there, Ganesh was. With all the amazing food technology
that there is, there will be options which may look well,
you might consider be unhealthy. But are there healthy ways
of things that they're doing with food to make food
go further?
Speaker 6 (08:25):
Yes, frozen frozen has been one of the greatest revelations
of our time. Snap freezing something means that. But people
can know buy vegetables perfectly snap frozen and use only
what you need and put the rest back into the freezer.
Waste will come down a ton frozen spinach, frozen bags. Also,
(08:47):
they're tremendous time savers because all the prep's been done
for you. So I promote frozen in a big way,
and that technology of snap freezing and making it safe
has provided all of us with.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Oh, I was meaning something a little different. I was thinking,
for instance, you can go to the supermarket and buy
dairy free ice cream because they have or there are
there's technology around manipulating fermentine proteins to make dairy products. So,
for instance, is there a version where they might do
that with chicken where they might have some of it. Okay,
(09:21):
some of it's real chicken, and the other is something
we have cleverly managed through science to create which is
not bad for you, absolutely, And how would you know, Well,
it'd be on the back, it would seem How would
you know if it was good for you or not?
Speaker 6 (09:34):
You would have to check it out yourself. And this
is how this whole game is played essentially. I think
if I was them, I would be striving for something
that tasted like chicken but didn't cost me a lot. Yeah,
because I'm giving you fifty nine percent chicken. Please enjoy that.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Did you taste those things? By the way, I have.
Speaker 6 (09:53):
Tasted them before, and I do need to taste them again. Okay,
I'm good, I'm good. I just encourage people not to
give it to their kids, yeah, or their families.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
What is actually what is the thing with soy?
Speaker 6 (10:04):
What do you mean?
Speaker 5 (10:05):
What's the you said it was a soy?
Speaker 6 (10:08):
What don't confuse soy filler and tofu and all of that.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
Okay, what a soy filler?
Speaker 6 (10:12):
Soy filler is essentially using so soy is a compound? Yeah, right,
tofu is a manifestation of soy, And there's so many
types of tofia of how you set this soy protein
compound and in its raw form, you know, it can
be a powder. It can they can add chemicals to
(10:32):
it to bulk it up, and that's what they use
it for. They use it as a bulking agent. A
lot of people do that. It's a it's a food
scientist dream.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
And when you are looking at a packet, does it
say is the clove fifty nine percent chicken? Because some
might say, well, the risk must be crumbs, The risk
must be crumbs and flour, or is the cloth another
ingredient they've named in there?
Speaker 5 (10:54):
It doesn't actually say soy filler.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
Well, let me ask you this. It's a piece of chicken.
Let's pretend we take off the crumbs underneath it is
this beige yellow.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
I've gotcha now, I just wanted to do they say soyfeller.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
No, they don't. So the first item on the back
is always chicken in brackets fifty nine to sixty whatever,
So they're upfront in terms of the first number. Then
there's about twenty four ingredients after that which I cannot
recognize and numbers. So I'm going to assume that you are,
(11:28):
you know, and so ifil I've seen on other other
companies have been more upfront about the word soyfiller. So
I have seen that with other brands. So this is
the thing, you know, just telling people to be aware
of that is the best we can do. And then
you make decisions. But I always point back to the
whole chicken that I just said, a fourteen dollars cook
choke in a SuperM Well that's all day. Just by
(11:51):
just by cook chook for fourteen you've spent the same
So anyway, you know, I'm just promoting people in that direction.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
Well, the other thing is if you're looking for, for instance,
you're looking for chicken tinder crumbed, I don't want to
be because you know, sometimes it's a dangerous these things
that sounds like not you but that people lecture people
about felt how easy it is to prepare things from scratch.
But seriously, crumbed chicken tenders are pretty easy to do.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
What do you do?
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Probably crack a bit of egg and a bowl, mix
it up and roll it, roll the chicken and that
and then and the bread crumbs and bengo, you're done.
Speaker 6 (12:28):
But you've gone too far. Now you've done the thing
that you said you wouldn't do. You've added an extra step.
Just no, let's not talk about crumb chicken. Let's just
go don't worry about it and just buy the chicken. Yeah,
like you went for convenience. Like convenience is the word
I've heard so much in the last two weeks from
very busy parents who've given up hope, unfortunately, and are
(12:50):
trying to bring it back by learning how to cook.
But you know that idea of convenience is still fulfilled
by buying a cooked chalk except it to real chicken
and all of it's there, and mix sandwiches and options
options go.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
What are the other What are some other food traps
where people think, oh, look, I'm just going to get
this tonight and it's it says it's this, and I'll
just bang up the frying panel.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
It'll be all done.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
One are the others? So we've got the fifty nine
percent chicken one. Have you got any other examples that
spring to mind? On on if he sort.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
Of if he's sort of well misconceptions definitely, like can goods,
for example, Yeah, can goods you've got to You've got
to separate it because there's things like tuna and chicken
in a can, which is no problem at all. Yeah,
you know, tuna and water. Now you know there's really
healthy versions of all of that stuff. Salmon, chicken, those
(13:41):
are fine. Fruit is the one that you've got to
watch out for. I always look for clear juice, never
in syrup.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
But if you are syrup, know that you're buying it
in syrup at least at least it's labeled as opposed
to it used to the good old days was just
like canned peatures.
Speaker 6 (13:57):
I hear you, I hear you, and and you know,
no one said the syrup wasn't delicious.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
I mean, I think that's the thing. Look, if you
are hardly ever eating that stuff, yeah, it's a true,
it's a true and it's a tree that Yeah.
Speaker 6 (14:10):
I completely buy that. It's when it becomes like a
habit and part of like an afternoon tea that two
children are having every day, or you know what I mean.
There's habits that parents fall into, because what I find
is when parents find things that work for them, they
just rinse and repeat because you know, life is stressful enough.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
You did it yesterday and your brain's a bit short
because you've been worrying about X, Y and Z and
you just think, oh, I just bug eyves in the panic.
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Yeah, you know. And the market loves it, the word
convenience food and the way they're you know, the these
boxes of mac and cheese that are frozen that when
you open it up deeply so specious of those, Yes,
but I know people that have bought, you know, packets
of them to last all five days of the week
(14:54):
as lunches and because it's convenient. It's so the word
convenience has just clouded what is kind of good for
you it's convenient, versus what is not good for you
that's convenient, you know what I mean, Like the good
for your stuff becomes like you said, preachy, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Well it does. And yet the shame is is that
when people actually do make the effort to follow up
on that advice, it does open up a whole new
world of just well, the process of cooking, for one,
I find and I think most I think most people,
if they get into the process of cooking, enjoy it.
It's quite fulfilling. It's almost like a meditation. And it
(15:35):
doesn't need to be something that's going to take five hours.
It can be something pretty simple, and I think that's
trying to get people from that habit of I mean,
the habit of just grabbing that thing off the shelf,
slapping on the pan and then adding, you know whatever
the rice or is that you go with it, to
actually doing something that just takes maybe a bit more thought.
(15:55):
But you know that's the thing. You don't want it
to be a whole lot more thought. Do you want
it to be fairly straightforward?
Speaker 6 (16:00):
And the convenience market knows every button to push, for example,
my weave little perfect contenas of race.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I'm very I can't stand that. Come on, just stick
some rice and lemon pie.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
I always say when someone when her phone Uncle when
her phone Uncle Ben's in somebody's shopping trolley. You know
what I do.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
Now, we're just turning around to look at my producer
because you up at the keyboard when I mentioned microwave packets,
and I thought, don't tell me you're guilty.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
But she's not.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
No, she's not very healthy.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
Yeap, definitely. Anyway, hey, look anyway, so anyway, just to finish,
but yeah, I always say Uncle Ben's has the largest
largest villa in the Bahamas thanks to you. Yes, well,
because he saw so much of that.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Actually, what is.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
Uncle Ben's rice?
Speaker 6 (16:45):
What is it?
Speaker 4 (16:45):
What makes it?
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Something that's I'm going to get into, but I'm just
going to say, like you said, just cook some rice.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Yeah, we love your calls on this though, the first
question is do you understand have you made an effort
to understand labels on food?
Speaker 5 (17:00):
If not, why not?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
I could say, which sounds like I'm sitting you down
for talking to But do you understand them? Because and
how much effort do you take to read the labels
of things? And if you are taking the effort to
read it, what are you actually looking for when it
comes to making your decisions? Because not everything that comes
in a packet or a can is bad news. Everything's
packaged to get our attention, whether it be the most
(17:21):
wholesome food. Okay, the fruit and vegas out on display anyway,
But not all food that is packaged for our attention
is necessarily bad. So what do you look for? Do
you know the difference between this is great and not
so good? Fifty nine percent chicken? That's the cats phrase.
It always sounds like a slogan, isn't it. Hey with
(17:41):
our product. We're fifty nine percent real chicken. What about
the rest? I eight hundred eight ten eight. I love
your calls on that. I eight hundred eight ten eight.
In My guest is Ganess Raj, who is in the
middle of filming eat Well for Less volume series five.
This is News Talks. He be twenty four past four.
(18:10):
A's welcome back to the health Harbor on the weekend
collective onton beverage. You'd love your calls one hundred and
eighty ten eighty Do you know how to read labels?
But also if you don't know how to read a label,
My guest is Ganesh Raj from eat Well for Less,
and you want to pick a pick brains on something
you've got in your cupboard right now that you thought
I thought this was good. I just need to run
this past Ganesh. We might be able to give you
(18:30):
a bit of her heads up on that. I do
have to correct the record with She hasn't asked for
an apology because she's got a sense of humor. My
producer and I jokingly said that the ganessh and I
looked at Tyra to see when we talked about microwave
rice whether that was one of her evil confessions she
needed to make. And I realized how wrong it was
(18:52):
to throw any aspersions around raw and wild foods at Tyra,
because this is a young woman who even kills her
own chickens. Ah And I think, as she had a
story about having to kill a particularly bothersome rooster at
one stage, and so she literally has her food pretty
and it's in its sort of natural state, would be
(19:13):
the default suggestion, I think, Ganesh, you don't know if
meet many people who say, do I slaughter my own chickens?
Speaker 6 (19:20):
I mean, I don't believe a word of it. Personally,
everything about her says, oh my nay, just kidding, just kidding,
just winder, come on, okay, I got some homeworking leader.
I respect and appreciate.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Her right now.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
On the rice thing, we were talking just in the
break about how many many ways to make rice there
is in my journey.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
It wasn't it journey.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
I was never really into using the Uncle Ben's the
sachets and the packets and ready mix. But to me,
it's the one thing. It's got to be the most
easy thing in the world to do. Some people might go,
I don't know what to do do I do the
rapid boiler method, Do I do the absorption method?
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Do I do the rice cooker method?
Speaker 6 (20:02):
In the twenty six dollars rice cooker method is the
perfect method twenty six dollars for a rice cooker from
your favorite large scale department store.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
The reason I don't.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
Gives five cups which will make about ten portions. It
will last you for two days for a family of four.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
The reason I don't use a rice cooker is that
we've got on our bench. We have a coffee machine
and grinder, and we've got a one of those. It's
the mixing bowl thing, you know, with the whisk and
all that sort of thing.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
It sits on the.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Bench as well, and we just don't have a room
for a white rice cooker. So all I do is
I have a pot, I rinse the rice, put the
right amount of water, and bring it to a simmer
stick the lid on, set the timer, and forget about it.
And it's absorption method. Boom far done.
Speaker 6 (20:47):
Well, you know absolutely, that's you know, people have done
that for millennia.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
It's funny.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
That's the one thing I've always thought. You don't want
to generalize, but I'm still head anyway. Oh no, but
it's the one appliants that I'm often surprised to see
behind the scenes at sushi and other Asian restaurants, because
I'm thinking, I'm thinking it because it looks like an appliance,
looks like a sort of an appliance which was is
(21:14):
not necessary.
Speaker 6 (21:15):
You know, everyone uses it. Oh my goodness, what are
you saying?
Speaker 4 (21:21):
I just assume because everything else seems to be made
so organically that a rice cooker just seems like one
of those unnecessary appliances.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
It was literally invented by Asian people because it cooks
perfect race. You don't understand. Oh, maybe you're caught up
in the romance of cooking the race. We're far more focused.
We're far more focused on consistent daily end results.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
I'm going to try that line with my wife. When
she gets home, she'll say, what's for dinner.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
I'll go, I'm cooking rice.
Speaker 6 (21:53):
Romantic romantic, romantic race.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
So how how can a rice cooker be on the
seventeen bucks or twenty twenty six bucks.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
It's this little it's this little.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
Ones, and how much what's the proportion of water to rice?
Just use the cup really does.
Speaker 6 (22:12):
Three cups of rice gives me approximately five and a
half cups of cooked to rice. Three cups of rice,
and then you just put the water at three. It's
so simple. And then I just hit the button and
then they off. I go and cook something else and
then the race just heats and you fluff it once
it's done, so that.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Oh you always got to fluff it.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
You gotta fluff it.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
Everyone's probably with the absorption method.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
That's the one time when sometimes I'm like, oh, it's
a little bit heavy maybe, and I imagine a rice
cooker would have done it better.
Speaker 6 (22:41):
Anyway. I mean, look, I didn't say it, you said it, okay, Actually.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Just not that this is the topic of conversation, but
it almost ties into water. Is the cooking appliance that
you bought. That's just the no brainer. And most people
do say it's rice cocker, don't they?
Speaker 6 (22:56):
Good? Good? It saves you so much hassle and also
like time saving wise, always think about the mother or
the father or the older child that comes home and
is to put the race on as part one of
the chores. You know, it's like pop, you're done.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Yeah, I've got some texts coming on that. Although we've
got lots of texts, we'd love your cause. By the way,
you welcome to join the conversation if you've got anything
you'd like to ask in Schrazer as well about healthy
eating and reading the labels and the ingredients on the back.
But I'd just love to know if you read the labels.
What proportion of people do you think read the labels?
Kinesh Do we know anything about that?
Speaker 6 (23:29):
Well, I can tell you based on my experience, I'd
say ninety five percent do not.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
That does surprise me. I would have thought there'd be
something where you'd bound to be you'd have to be curious.
I mean, you're buying cereal, for instance, surely you want
to know how much sugar.
Speaker 6 (23:44):
For example, to the level that you may you describe
that you do it. Yeah, where you're looking for sugars
and you're looking for sodium. But here's the thing, not
to disrespect you, almost to give you a benchmark. How
much sugar for you is too much sugar?
Speaker 5 (23:59):
And what what substance?
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Any substance. So when you're reading the label, it always
tells you how many grams per hundred g, how much
sugar is too much for you for one hundred grams.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Umm. Oh, that is a difficult one because, for instance,
if I look at hot chocolate, I just want the
hot chocolate and I don't care about the sugar.
Speaker 6 (24:15):
Yes, so I just that's just one product.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Yeah, okay, so many look I think if it was
per serving, if I saw more than say, ten grams,
I would start to go, are we getting up there
a bit?
Speaker 5 (24:28):
And then you look at what is.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
The one I looked at recently, and it was it
was a maybe it was some seemingly innocent drink and
it was something like twelve or fifteen teaspoons of sugar.
It's probably a can of coke, wasn't it. Let's be honest.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
I mean, yeah, can of coke is pretty much like
a you know, one fifth to forty percent. Yeah, but
the idea is that anything once upon a time fifteen
percent was good. But because of how much sugar there
is now and so many different things, including sometimes you know,
dairy products and regular things that people eat, I say
(25:05):
twenty percent. If if it's less than twenty percent, go
ahead and purchase it. If it's more than twenty percent,
think twice, okay. And that's like a nice general twice.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (25:15):
Rule of thumb for everybody out there to take into
their mind when they go shopping tomorrow is to make
a decision on sugar. Just don't try and be too good.
Don't try to like fives and tens. If you can
get it under twenty, high five yourself and move on.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
Well, mind you as a percentage depending if you're having
a couple of hundred grams and it's twenty percent, that
is a truck lad of sugar.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
Also a decision. But I'm trying to make life easier
for you so you can be it's a mindset you
have to be in the mindset of going, I'm going
to try and live a low sugar lifestyle. How the
how is having a line that you don't cross? Yeah,
that's the only how that you know. All of this
stuff is just a line that you don't cross.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
What about Actually, just the other thing I wanted to
touch on was brown rice. I reckon a lot of
people look at brown rice and go, oh, I know
it sounds healthy and tasteless. But we're having a i'll
coompan Withether's what my wife calls the dishbat. We're having
a salad, which will be the base of which will
be a you know, with some brown rice.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
And brown rice is actually quite delicious.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Brown rice by itself, it does absorb flavor really well,
you know, simple thing like the way Japanese use it
with like rice wine vinegar, a little bit of mirror.
But if you didn't have that, you can do lemon juice.
You can put a little bit of white wine vinegar
from the shop, you know, the simple ways. Or you
can make something that's really quite juicy or curry ish,
(26:36):
something that will the rice will absorb. Because brown rice
is actually phenomenally good for you.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Isn't much better for you than white rice.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
It is. It's got a very steady glyceeming index. You know,
it doesn't spike, but it's a hard cell. I've always
found it difficult to convince people to have it at
least once a week. Even has been a challenge, even
though that would be perfect once a week, if you
could have brown rice, Yeah, it would change your diet.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Somebody's just about just quickly. This is just cooking instruction.
Is the same quantity of brown and white rice. I
think that must mean in terms of to make.
Speaker 6 (27:12):
I don't cook brown rise in the rice cooker. I
cook it in the pot and I overfill it. I
overfill it with water and I just let it cook
and then I use the finger pressing of the rice
method to figure out if it's cooked. And once it's done,
I literally streen it.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
What's finger pressing method?
Speaker 6 (27:32):
That means it's al dante for me. It's how I
like to eat it, Okay, and then I streen it
through a colander, get rid of the excess water, and
my rice is ready to go.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
It'll be hot, though when you're squeezing fingers.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Okay, look a few ticks here actually once how let
me just scroll down for that. Our Food Additive Code
Book item nine twenty is an amino acid made from
animal here, chicken feathers and china. It's also made from
human here, used in flour additive and making breads is null.
I just have to take noles.
Speaker 5 (28:03):
We're on that. That sounds disgusting.
Speaker 6 (28:05):
I mean, I don't think we I think we should
check that. But in my suspicious mind, it feels like
somebody has figured out a where to use some of
those almost waste materials and turn them into a product.
Is possible? Possible that possible in this.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
World, especially if you're into recycling.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
This mindset possible in this world.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Of our there the would be a limit to that.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Actually, I wanted to ask what is the difference what
defines a processed food versus what defines canned I mean,
because canned food in a thing that's been altered from
its natural state. So can of can tomatoes, that's a
processed food. But that's not we're not really thinking of
processed foods in terms of we.
Speaker 6 (28:47):
Do we No, we don't, because canned tomatoes, canned beans,
canned corn, asparagus, canned fish, canned coconut and milk. Asparagus
is a choice, but soft it's a different, different vegetable
in the can it is, Isn't it compared to itself much?
I'm just saying, yeah, you're right. It's a very different beast.
(29:08):
Whereas corn, you know, corn and its own juices goes
a long way. You can make excelsa with it in
the winter, you know, And it's affordable. Tomatoes are affordable,
A lot of beans are affordable. So that side of
it we've got to maintain.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
I've got a quick question here on vacuum packed food. Yes,
so he says, if I vacuum pack, mate, how long
can I keep it on the normal fridge and not
the freezer?
Speaker 6 (29:31):
For four days is what I would say, in the fridge,
and then I'd be that's that's on the kind of
conservative side. Cook it on the fourth.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Day, yeah mate, red mat and chicken, of course.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
But they just stick a going to the freezer. You can,
I mean, that's not even let me put it this way.
You're not asking if you if you're backpacking something, you've
got plans for it, and those plans exist only in
two spaces. One is in the next two to three days.
I'm going to use it. I'm going to freeze it
for the future. Yeah, so that's it. That's all you
got to do. Don't have to worry about it that way.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
What's the difference rules for chicken and red mate.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
I'm not sure, just chick.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
I would say, chicken. You want to use it within
a couple of days in the fridge.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
Well, yeah, the chicken, what do you mean raw chicken?
Speaker 8 (30:12):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (30:12):
Cook Yeah, no, raw chicken, but it hasn't been cooked yet.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Raw chicken. You know. There's always the dates on top
of the packaging. That's pretty clear. Your best buys and
your used buys are pretty obvious. People can make good
decisions just off that ye used by, used by and
best buy. So best buy is in my opinion, based
on best practice, based on the rules from Switzerland from
(30:36):
nineteen eighty six to the agreement we all signed.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
That's usually about stuff that's not going to kill you
as well. It might be like, look, if you eat this,
it'll have gone off. It'll taste a bit crappy, like you, well,
cereals or flour or something will have it best buy,
and then it will you know.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
And then the used by is the used by, use it,
and then you know there's a large there's a substantial,
substantial quantity of the planet that has continued to eat
the food two to three days after it's button is
still around.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
Indeed, we'll be back in just a moment. This is
News Talks that be. This is the Health AUB with
Ganess Raj. We're going to talk about a few good
ideas for cooking meals from canned foods as well for
those who are looking for some simple solutions to healthy eating.
It's eighteen and a half minutes to five is welcome
back to the Health hub on the Weekend Collector. My
(31:27):
guest is eat well for less. It's a it's ganess Raj. Actually,
a couple of texts before we go to our caller,
somebody said, I've just been listening to your discussion about
chicken and fillers and that you may not realize that
you're buying. And I've just checked some hokey philets, so
they've been in the freezer and only fifty percent fish.
Thank you, Janine. I didn't mention the brand there.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
Welcome Janine.
Speaker 5 (31:49):
I didn't mention the brand, Janine.
Speaker 4 (31:50):
But the reason is because I can't verify all these things.
But we wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 6 (31:55):
But there's no need to have mentioned the brand. Yeah,
because what you're asking people to do is just look
in the back of the box, regardless of the brand.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
Make you know it doesn't matter what the brand is.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
Right.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Let's take some calls. Richard.
Speaker 8 (32:06):
Hello, Oh, goody guys. Richard a first time caller. I've
often want to see it. Now I'm doing it.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
So well done.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
Congrass Well.
Speaker 8 (32:16):
Very interesting topic and I think we all are pretty
naive about these ingredient labels that we often look at
and think now what am I supposed to be looking at?
And my sister many years ago or recently said, Richard,
if you find just look at the sugar label, and
if you can find an ingredient that they'll the produce
that's less than ten percent per one hundred grands, that
(32:37):
that's a good one to go for us.
Speaker 7 (32:39):
Generally. That's all I know what to look for.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
I mean, that's fantastic. That's fantastic, Richard. Ten percent is great,
great about you know, if you can stick to that,
that's wonderful.
Speaker 8 (32:49):
Well, even twenty percent I is considered to be quite high,
so that's yes, it is high level. The other thing
that I've often thought about the ingredients label list is
that generic is that everything, every can, or package or
everything has to have an answer for.
Speaker 6 (33:06):
All those That's correct, that's correct. That's the law in
New Zealand, where on the back of the container you've
got to have an ingredients list with everything.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
They don't leave things off that I don't add other.
Speaker 6 (33:19):
Well, let's put it this way. Now you're asking is
everybody compliant? That's another question altogether, and I can't tell you, but.
Speaker 7 (33:28):
Well, we'd expect that.
Speaker 6 (33:29):
We would expect it to. But you know what human
nature is like, mate.
Speaker 7 (33:34):
Yeah, well we're all.
Speaker 6 (33:36):
We're all we've got to keep our eyes open. We've
got to keep our eyes open. That's the only thing
we can do.
Speaker 8 (33:43):
So if you went through a list, we let's talk
about this list of ingredients, which is generic to every product.
This list is the same and all the ingredients values
have to be correct. It's went through them all. I'm
not so how many out there on the how many
numbers of items on there?
Speaker 7 (33:58):
Twelve?
Speaker 6 (33:59):
There isn't a limit. I have seen some. It's just
I've seen all sorts of amounts of ingredients, so I
wouldn't know. Sometimes if it's you know, tomatoes ninety nine
point nine percent one percent water, that's all there is
in the can. Two things on the back. If it's complex,
if there's fourteen things or eleven things, then you are
dealing with what is considered a processed food item, something
(34:22):
that you should be careful of.
Speaker 8 (34:23):
So it's not generic's generous, that's correct.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
I think they do less things like sugars, don't they
wa Yeah, sugar.
Speaker 6 (34:29):
There are generic things on the one side of it,
which is basically like your sugar's your sodium, your carbohydrates,
those bits and pieces of the left one hundred grands
per serving. Then there's like a list of things inside it,
and you'll find that it is not generic as far
as the whole thing is concerned. Sorry, I now understand
what you're asking.
Speaker 8 (34:47):
Yeah, exactly, we're looking for other things out and sugar.
That's what I've been looking at. Can you give me
some idea what ratio two hundred grams so I should
be looking at the likes of salt.
Speaker 6 (34:56):
And other salt is so you are looking for, like
more than more than two point five percent salt by
weight is high?
Speaker 7 (35:06):
Right, Yeah, and that's that's on the label too.
Speaker 6 (35:09):
Yeah, that's that's what you're looking for. One hundred grams
by way by way hundred yeah, roughly, you know. And
so if if you know, sometimes you'll see the sodium
levels are in the thousands depending on the product, you know,
and so really keep an eye on that stuff.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Okay, good stuff, Thanks Richard. Gosh, we've talked so much
that I've promised these are some ideas for meals from cans,
and we've almost kind of have to save that to
the next time. But one we can throw out there
in terms of some useful canned combinations of foods where
you can come up with something quite easily with decent meal.
Speaker 6 (35:44):
Absolutely, we call it can tuna pasta with frozen vegetables.
Speaker 5 (35:48):
That does sound pretty good.
Speaker 6 (35:50):
It's so simple. And you use mixed herbs, use onions
and garlic, used can tuna, use smoke paprika. You can
put some chili boter if you want to, and then
you basically fry that all up, and then you throw
our beautiful frozen vegetables been chopped to the perfect size
for your pasta. Do you have to cook the frozen
vegetables before you fry the No, No, you just take
(36:11):
them straight out of the bag from the freezer and
throw them straight into the pan and cook them. Really. Yeah,
that's how easy it is.
Speaker 5 (36:18):
I guess how long does it take before they've lost
that frozen quality?
Speaker 6 (36:21):
You won't frozen quality. Well being frozen, it disappears, it
just gets goold. Of course they're all not nice, little
small chine, perfectly chopped. Everything's perfectly done for it is
your maison plus been done. Yeah, it's a lifesaver.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
I've got a question.
Speaker 6 (36:36):
I'm not sure the cream at the end maybe if
you wanted to gourkins, if you wanted to salt and pepper,
if you wanted to at the end and and deal.
If you want to finish on a seafood tip, that's
just the additives.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
If you wanted to go that way, that does sound
pretty good. I got one of just I'm not sure
about the if you've defrosted a chicken. Somebody said, can
you refreeze it again if you don't use it? And
I think the big answer is definitely not.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
No, no, don't. And defrosting a chicken should happen in
a fridge overnight. It should be you know, one of those.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
Don't defrost it on the bench.
Speaker 6 (37:08):
Well, well you can defrost it on the if it's
in if it's in those plastic sealed packs. Yeah, but
I mean, all I'm saying is, don't speed up that
process by using the microwave or any other kind of
you know, chicken has to defrost in its own time
and then just use it. Don't worry about trying to
(37:29):
always finish the whole chicken. You'll find ways of making
that go.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
Okay, we're going to be back and just a tick,
we'll take a break. I'm going to come back and
ask if there is any excuse for using a microwave,
because sometimes somehow I feel I don't know, it just
feels like the cardinal's sin of cooking a microwave. But
there must be good uses for it. Nine minutes to five,
This news talks gotch time flies when you're chatting with genes.
Do you find it's time flies for you when.
Speaker 6 (37:51):
You're yes, I'm having so much fun for who Hey.
Speaker 4 (37:57):
Before we go, though, because processed foods, one thing we
do want to touch on is artificial sweetness. Are there
some that are better or worse for you?
Speaker 6 (38:04):
Well, I'll let you decide, but anything that is sugar free,
no sugar, artificial sweetness. There have been studies that say
that the way that natural sugars kind of give our
food reward pathways activated up here, the way that we're
currently doing it with artificial sugars can still lead to
(38:25):
increased appetite. We're not satisfying ourselves in the way that
a natural sugar would tell your brain to satisfy, do
you know what I mean? Or real sugar or real
sugar would tell So that's one of the things. There
is a study about impact on gut health, it may
alter the gut microbio. So that's come out as well.
And it's shown that certain artificial sweetness have led to
(38:49):
an increase in type two heart disease and metabolics. And
so when something sugar free or no sugar, I would
ask you to ask the question, how badly do you
want to get something else?
Speaker 4 (39:01):
Well, so I think the other question is I think
the thing is about training yourself not to be craven
that sort of sweet flavor.
Speaker 6 (39:06):
It's hard, though, I feel. I feel it's the way
I tell people to deal with that is, listen, once
upon a time, you had this drink or that drink.
Now you're going to get a sparkling water bottle kind
of thing in the jiggy, get sparkling water, and you're
gonna do one fifth juice and four fifth sparkling water.
And that's how you start to lower your cravings.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
I'll tell you something fun. I'm not sure this is funny,
but when I went to I always noticed my mom
used to have what a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar,
which was very little. When you're young, when you drink tea,
you have we had a teaspoon or two of sugar,
and I decided that when you that sugar was not
for when you were grown up. You shouldn't eat, you
shouldn't consume sugar. So when I went to university, I
literally just stopped having sugar in my tea because I
(39:48):
thought that's what you did as a grown up. And
it only took me about three caps of tea before
I was used to it. Isn't it funny? But it
was just I decided, I'm grown up now, I should
not have sugar in my tea, so I stopped. Whatever
it takes.
Speaker 5 (40:00):
I guess, well, you.
Speaker 6 (40:01):
Told yourself the I am growing up now story.
Speaker 5 (40:03):
Yeah, isn't it funny that?
Speaker 4 (40:06):
I mean, whatever reason it is of it, we can
tell yourself.
Speaker 6 (40:09):
Anything is the lesson.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Right pretty much? You tell yourself that's the rules, then
the way you going. That's hey, good to see you, Ganesha,
and good luck for filming the rest of the series.
Speaker 6 (40:16):
You're so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
We'll afford to catch up next time. We'll be back
with smart money next. Mortain Horses is with US News
Talk s EDB.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
For more from the weekend collective, listen live to News
Talk SEDB weekends from three PM, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Take them when ms start.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
No, Yes, welcome back to the Weekend Collective.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
I'm Tim Beveraging Texture Feedback anytime on nine two, nine two,
and but of course we want your calls this hour
on our one hundred and eighty ten eighty because this
is the Health Hub. And we're got a little bit
of a chat about a couple of things, and I
think they sort of dovetail into each other. Oh, I've
got to stop using that word dovetail. But anyway, but
there's this endless choice of processed foods, and you know
(01:03):
that process foods question. When I think of process foods,
I think of the confirmation of RFK over in America.
But let's not talk about that. That's me distracting myself.
But he's against the processed foods. And we hear a
lot how bad processed foods are. And I guess it's
also harder if you don't realize, you know, how those
foods are processed. There might be a big difference between
(01:24):
certain meals that you can buy where that things are
highly processed and buying maybe I don't know of can
of Italian sort of pasta source which may be not
as bad, but I don't know. But of course one
of the things that's worth getting to know is what's
on those labels, the ingredient list, the back and the
(01:45):
the preseratives that, oh, I can't even is that the
preservatives that they use when it see as we use
this preservative numbers such and such.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
And various fillers.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
So is there a way of understanding the ingredients which
can help you make better choices? And along those lines
as well, we're also going to have a chat about
just making good meals from canned foods, which should almost
give you a clue as to who our guest is
going to be. But the clue, of course, was given
when I started the show at three o'clock and I
said it would be the co host of Eat Well
for Less, And it's ganesh Rash and he's with me now.
(02:15):
Good afternoon, Good afternoon, sir. How are you today?
Speaker 5 (02:17):
Excellent?
Speaker 4 (02:18):
Have you had some sort of break over the summer
or you.
Speaker 6 (02:20):
Yeah, absolutely, I am very good with my breaks.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Excellent. You've actually you're just in the middle of doing
another filming another season I beat wellfull ys?
Speaker 6 (02:27):
An't you absolutely? So we filmed a little bit of
it before before the New Year, before the Christmas break. Yeah,
and then we're filming another set now. And everything you're
saying is so spot on with what I'm experiencing right
this second.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
What a relief because what you did there was you paused,
you said. Everything you're saying is just I'm.
Speaker 6 (02:46):
Like, oh, but it isn't it's time, but it is.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
But it is one of those I do read ingredient lists,
but usually it's on a one example, Okay, I can
of tomatoes, just to see where they've stuck, whether they're
Sultan or something, or maybe a can of spaghetti or
some sort of sauce or.
Speaker 6 (03:09):
What are you looking for when you look at the back.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Usually I'm just curious to know how many basic ingredients
I recognize, and if most of the ingredients, if not
all of them, are simply look, it's just tomatoes. It's
a bit of chipotle sauce, it's a bit of this
than that, and sodium. But usually i'm sometimes oh, okay,
the last time I did it was on stock and
(03:33):
my wife buys was.
Speaker 6 (03:36):
This vacuum pack stock or the mass It's actually not
checker boxes.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
It's little cubes of stock.
Speaker 6 (03:43):
Oh understood.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
And I was thinking how much salt is in the
low assault version versus the salted version, Because I'll be
honest with you, I go, well, actually, the lower salted
Version'm probably going to have to add a little sprinkle
of salt just for my taste. And so I look
at it and go how much different is it? And
then I have a chat with my wife and say,
maybe just buy the normal version, but it's usually it's
(04:04):
still a cup. What the salt and sugar content is?
Speaker 6 (04:07):
I mean, the fact that you're actually doing that alone
sets you apart from a lot of people, because you
know basic, You're looking for basic things you can identify with,
and since preservatives.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Four five seven six five three four five nine, I'm like,
you're suspicious, don't like it? That's right, that's right.
Speaker 6 (04:23):
And I think that's a good instinct for everyone to
carry into their supermarket shop, that type of suspicion, especially
with anything that comes in cans, such as tomato sauces,
such as pasta sauces. None of those things, a lot
of those things have over a quarter of sugar twenty
five grams per hundred grams.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Actually narrows it down really mostly I'm looking for sugar
and salt immediately.
Speaker 6 (04:47):
Those are alarms.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Cereals is another one. Yes, I did it the other
day because I make my own granola sometimes and I
know how much sugar it is on because I make it,
and there's you know, it's tasty, it's sweet, it's lovely.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
But you did it to yourself.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Yes, for instance, neutral rain, historically I don't have. They've
changed it, but we're on holiday and my wife just said, oh, look,
let's just get you neutral grain because we normally they're
generally pretty healthy. And I thought, how much sugar does
that still have?
Speaker 6 (05:15):
And You're like, it's a lot, isn't it, isn't it?
And I'm so glad you brought this up so I
don't have to be that guy all the time.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Oh but it'll be the devil.
Speaker 6 (05:26):
I mean, it's not even it's the fact that it's
happening around us. So obviously. Another one is you raised
it just now and we just had this revelation for
a family just a few weeks ago. They bought these
fourteen dollars for four hundred and fifty grams of pre
made organic fried chicken tenders in a box.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Right, hang on, hold it, hold it described.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
By thirteen ninety nine for four hundred grams of organic
convenience for chicken tenders, call it convenience chicken tenders organic.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
What's the chicken tender?
Speaker 6 (06:01):
It's those long strips that come off, you know that
they cut the crumb and the very popular with kids,
very popular with And it was with deep regret that
I had to tell her that it was only fifty
nine percent chicken. And it's said it was the first
item on the back of the box. I wasn't making
(06:22):
it up. She just people don't was that.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Of course that have been because the way they crumbed it,
they crumbed.
Speaker 6 (06:28):
It's just things that sit in a box in a
freezer of proteins attached to them are going to have
fillers and preservatives. That's just the game it's in. It's
not a fault. It's that mechanism.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
But so, so, just to clarify, yes, sir, so it's
not that they have with the so I'm kissing that
where they crumbed or something. Yes, okay, So it's not
a case of that they've added stuff to all the crumbs.
They've actually they've shoved stuff to the chicken as well,
like this when you when you're eating the chicken.
Speaker 6 (07:01):
The meat itself would have been a combination of chicken
meat and soy filler, then blended together along with various flavorings, preservatives,
and texture supplements so that all the sponginess is what
you love. I mean, food science is a huge thing.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
And I guess the thing is, but I just want
to finish ount go go.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
Just to make it worse, four hundred grams four hundred
and fifty grams was about fourteen dollars. Now we know
that only sixty percent of that was actually chicken, So
now we're really paying for the fourteen dollars. I don't
know what the math is, but two hundred and two
hundred grams t fifty grams? Serdadly, get a cooked chick
(07:44):
now in a supermarket is fourteen dollars?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (07:47):
A COOKEOK? Ready to go without nonsense?
Speaker 7 (07:50):
You know?
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah. Look, well we're about to continue this conversation and
a lot more detail, but we want to hear your
calls as well on this. I eight one hundred eighty
ten eighty do you actually read the labels?
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Be something? First? And what are you looking for when
you read the labels, do you.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Know what it is? Because the other side of that
would the question I was dying to jump in with
you there, Ganesh was. With all the amazing food technology
that there is, there will be options which may look well,
you might consider be unhealthy. But are there healthy ways
of things that they're doing with food to make food
go further?
Speaker 6 (08:25):
Yes, frozen frozen has been one of the greatest revelations
of our time. Snap freezing something means that. But people
can know buy vegetables perfectly snap frozen and use only
what you need and put the rest back into the freezer.
Waste will come down a ton frozen spinach, frozen bags. Also,
(08:47):
they're tremendous time savers because all the prep's been done
for you. So I promote frozen in a big way,
and that technology of snap freezing and making it safe
has provided all of us with.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Oh, I was meaning something a little different. I was thinking,
for instance, you can go to the supermarket and buy
dairy free ice cream because they have or there are
there's technology around manipulating fermentine proteins to make dairy products. So,
for instance, is there a version where they might do
that with chicken where they might have some of it. Okay,
(09:21):
some of it's real chicken, and the other is something
we have cleverly managed through science to create which is
not bad for you, absolutely, And how would you know, Well,
it'd be on the back, it would seem How would
you know if it was good for you or not?
Speaker 6 (09:34):
You would have to check it out yourself. And this
is how this whole game is played essentially. I think
if I was them, I would be striving for something
that tasted like chicken but didn't cost me a lot. Yeah,
because I'm giving you fifty nine percent chicken. Please enjoy that.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Did you taste those things? By the way, I have.
Speaker 6 (09:53):
Tasted them before, and I do need to taste them again. Okay,
I'm good, I'm good. I just encourage people not to
give it to their kids, yeah, or their families.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
What is actually what is the thing with soy?
Speaker 6 (10:04):
What do you mean?
Speaker 5 (10:05):
What's the you said it was a soy?
Speaker 6 (10:08):
What don't confuse soy filler and tofu and all of that.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
Okay, what a soy filler?
Speaker 6 (10:12):
Soy filler is essentially using so soy is a compound? Yeah, right,
tofu is a manifestation of soy, And there's so many
types of tofia of how you set this soy protein
compound and in its raw form, you know, it can
be a powder. It can they can add chemicals to
(10:32):
it to bulk it up, and that's what they use
it for. They use it as a bulking agent. A
lot of people do that. It's a it's a food
scientist dream.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
And when you are looking at a packet, does it
say is the clove fifty nine percent chicken? Because some
might say, well, the risk must be crumbs, The risk
must be crumbs and flour, or is the cloth another
ingredient they've named in there?
Speaker 5 (10:54):
It doesn't actually say soy filler.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
Well, let me ask you this. It's a piece of chicken.
Let's pretend we take off the crumbs underneath it is
this beige yellow.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
I've gotcha now, I just wanted to do they say soyfeller.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
No, they don't. So the first item on the back
is always chicken in brackets fifty nine to sixty whatever,
So they're upfront in terms of the first number. Then
there's about twenty four ingredients after that which I cannot
recognize and numbers. So I'm going to assume that you are,
(11:28):
you know, and so ifil I've seen on other other
companies have been more upfront about the word soyfiller. So
I have seen that with other brands. So this is
the thing, you know, just telling people to be aware
of that is the best we can do. And then
you make decisions. But I always point back to the
whole chicken that I just said, a fourteen dollars cook
choke in a SuperM Well that's all day. Just by
(11:51):
just by cook chook for fourteen you've spent the same
So anyway, you know, I'm just promoting people in that direction.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
Well, the other thing is if you're looking for, for instance,
you're looking for chicken tinder crumbed, I don't want to
be because you know, sometimes it's a dangerous these things
that sounds like not you but that people lecture people
about felt how easy it is to prepare things from scratch.
But seriously, crumbed chicken tenders are pretty easy to do.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
What do you do?
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Probably crack a bit of egg and a bowl, mix
it up and roll it, roll the chicken and that
and then and the bread crumbs and bengo, you're done.
Speaker 6 (12:28):
But you've gone too far. Now you've done the thing
that you said you wouldn't do. You've added an extra step.
Just no, let's not talk about crumb chicken. Let's just
go don't worry about it and just buy the chicken. Yeah,
like you went for convenience. Like convenience is the word
I've heard so much in the last two weeks from
very busy parents who've given up hope, unfortunately, and are
(12:50):
trying to bring it back by learning how to cook.
But you know that idea of convenience is still fulfilled
by buying a cooked chalk except it to real chicken
and all of it's there, and mix sandwiches and options
options go.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
What are the other What are some other food traps
where people think, oh, look, I'm just going to get
this tonight and it's it says it's this, and I'll
just bang up the frying panel.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
It'll be all done.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
One are the others? So we've got the fifty nine
percent chicken one. Have you got any other examples that
spring to mind? On on if he sort.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
Of if he's sort of well misconceptions definitely, like can goods,
for example, Yeah, can goods you've got to You've got
to separate it because there's things like tuna and chicken
in a can, which is no problem at all. Yeah,
you know, tuna and water. Now you know there's really
healthy versions of all of that stuff. Salmon, chicken, those
(13:41):
are fine. Fruit is the one that you've got to
watch out for. I always look for clear juice, never
in syrup.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
But if you are syrup, know that you're buying it
in syrup at least at least it's labeled as opposed
to it used to the good old days was just
like canned peatures.
Speaker 6 (13:57):
I hear you, I hear you, and and you know,
no one said the syrup wasn't delicious.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
I mean, I think that's the thing. Look, if you
are hardly ever eating that stuff, yeah, it's a true,
it's a true and it's a tree that Yeah.
Speaker 6 (14:10):
I completely buy that. It's when it becomes like a
habit and part of like an afternoon tea that two
children are having every day, or you know what I mean.
There's habits that parents fall into, because what I find
is when parents find things that work for them, they
just rinse and repeat because you know, life is stressful enough.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
You did it yesterday and your brain's a bit short
because you've been worrying about X, Y and Z and
you just think, oh, I just bug eyves in the panic.
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Yeah, you know. And the market loves it, the word
convenience food and the way they're you know, the these
boxes of mac and cheese that are frozen that when
you open it up deeply so specious of those, Yes,
but I know people that have bought, you know, packets
of them to last all five days of the week
(14:54):
as lunches and because it's convenient. It's so the word
convenience has just clouded what is kind of good for
you it's convenient, versus what is not good for you
that's convenient, you know what I mean, Like the good
for your stuff becomes like you said, preachy, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Well it does. And yet the shame is is that
when people actually do make the effort to follow up
on that advice, it does open up a whole new
world of just well, the process of cooking, for one,
I find and I think most I think most people,
if they get into the process of cooking, enjoy it.
It's quite fulfilling. It's almost like a meditation. And it
(15:35):
doesn't need to be something that's going to take five hours.
It can be something pretty simple, and I think that's
trying to get people from that habit of I mean,
the habit of just grabbing that thing off the shelf,
slapping on the pan and then adding, you know whatever
the rice or is that you go with it, to
actually doing something that just takes maybe a bit more thought.
(15:55):
But you know that's the thing. You don't want it
to be a whole lot more thought. Do you want
it to be fairly straightforward?
Speaker 6 (16:00):
And the convenience market knows every button to push, for example,
my weave little perfect contenas of race.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I'm very I can't stand that. Come on, just stick
some rice and lemon pie.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
I always say when someone when her phone Uncle when
her phone Uncle Ben's in somebody's shopping trolley. You know
what I do.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
Now, we're just turning around to look at my producer
because you up at the keyboard when I mentioned microwave packets,
and I thought, don't tell me you're guilty.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
But she's not.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
No, she's not very healthy.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
Yeap, definitely. Anyway, hey, look anyway, so anyway, just to finish,
but yeah, I always say Uncle Ben's has the largest
largest villa in the Bahamas thanks to you. Yes, well,
because he saw so much of that.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Actually, what is.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
Uncle Ben's rice?
Speaker 6 (16:45):
What is it?
Speaker 4 (16:45):
What makes it?
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Something that's I'm going to get into, but I'm just
going to say, like you said, just cook some rice.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Yeah, we love your calls on this though, the first
question is do you understand have you made an effort
to understand labels on food?
Speaker 5 (17:00):
If not, why not?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
I could say, which sounds like I'm sitting you down
for talking to But do you understand them? Because and
how much effort do you take to read the labels
of things? And if you are taking the effort to
read it, what are you actually looking for when it
comes to making your decisions? Because not everything that comes
in a packet or a can is bad news. Everything's
packaged to get our attention, whether it be the most
(17:21):
wholesome food. Okay, the fruit and vegas out on display anyway,
But not all food that is packaged for our attention
is necessarily bad. So what do you look for? Do
you know the difference between this is great and not
so good? Fifty nine percent chicken? That's the cats phrase.
It always sounds like a slogan, isn't it. Hey with
(17:41):
our product. We're fifty nine percent real chicken. What about
the rest? I eight hundred eight ten eight. I love
your calls on that. I eight hundred eight ten eight.
In My guest is Ganess Raj, who is in the
middle of filming eat Well for Less volume series five.
This is News Talks. He be twenty four past four.
(18:10):
A's welcome back to the health Harbor on the weekend
collective onton beverage. You'd love your calls one hundred and
eighty ten eighty Do you know how to read labels?
But also if you don't know how to read a label,
My guest is Ganesh Raj from eat Well for Less,
and you want to pick a pick brains on something
you've got in your cupboard right now that you thought
I thought this was good. I just need to run
this past Ganesh. We might be able to give you
(18:30):
a bit of her heads up on that. I do
have to correct the record with She hasn't asked for
an apology because she's got a sense of humor. My
producer and I jokingly said that the ganessh and I
looked at Tyra to see when we talked about microwave
rice whether that was one of her evil confessions she
needed to make. And I realized how wrong it was
(18:52):
to throw any aspersions around raw and wild foods at Tyra,
because this is a young woman who even kills her
own chickens. Ah And I think, as she had a
story about having to kill a particularly bothersome rooster at
one stage, and so she literally has her food pretty
and it's in its sort of natural state, would be
(19:13):
the default suggestion, I think, Ganesh, you don't know if
meet many people who say, do I slaughter my own chickens?
Speaker 6 (19:20):
I mean, I don't believe a word of it. Personally,
everything about her says, oh my nay, just kidding, just kidding,
just winder, come on, okay, I got some homeworking leader.
I respect and appreciate.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Her right now.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
On the rice thing, we were talking just in the
break about how many many ways to make rice there
is in my journey.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
It wasn't it journey.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
I was never really into using the Uncle Ben's the
sachets and the packets and ready mix. But to me,
it's the one thing. It's got to be the most
easy thing in the world to do. Some people might go,
I don't know what to do do I do the
rapid boiler method, Do I do the absorption method?
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Do I do the rice cooker method?
Speaker 6 (20:02):
In the twenty six dollars rice cooker method is the
perfect method twenty six dollars for a rice cooker from
your favorite large scale department store.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
The reason I don't.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
Gives five cups which will make about ten portions. It
will last you for two days for a family of four.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
The reason I don't use a rice cooker is that
we've got on our bench. We have a coffee machine
and grinder, and we've got a one of those. It's
the mixing bowl thing, you know, with the whisk and
all that sort of thing.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
It sits on the.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Bench as well, and we just don't have a room
for a white rice cooker. So all I do is
I have a pot, I rinse the rice, put the
right amount of water, and bring it to a simmer
stick the lid on, set the timer, and forget about it.
And it's absorption method. Boom far done.
Speaker 6 (20:47):
Well, you know absolutely, that's you know, people have done
that for millennia.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
It's funny.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
That's the one thing I've always thought. You don't want
to generalize, but I'm still head anyway. Oh no, but
it's the one appliants that I'm often surprised to see
behind the scenes at sushi and other Asian restaurants, because
I'm thinking, I'm thinking it because it looks like an appliance,
looks like a sort of an appliance which was is
(21:14):
not necessary.
Speaker 6 (21:15):
You know, everyone uses it. Oh my goodness, what are
you saying?
Speaker 4 (21:21):
I just assume because everything else seems to be made
so organically that a rice cooker just seems like one
of those unnecessary appliances.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
It was literally invented by Asian people because it cooks
perfect race. You don't understand. Oh, maybe you're caught up
in the romance of cooking the race. We're far more focused.
We're far more focused on consistent daily end results.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
I'm going to try that line with my wife. When
she gets home, she'll say, what's for dinner.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
I'll go, I'm cooking rice.
Speaker 6 (21:53):
Romantic romantic, romantic race.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
So how how can a rice cooker be on the
seventeen bucks or twenty twenty six bucks.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
It's this little it's this little.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
Ones, and how much what's the proportion of water to rice?
Just use the cup really does.
Speaker 6 (22:12):
Three cups of rice gives me approximately five and a
half cups of cooked to rice. Three cups of rice,
and then you just put the water at three. It's
so simple. And then I just hit the button and
then they off. I go and cook something else and
then the race just heats and you fluff it once
it's done, so that.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Oh you always got to fluff it.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
You gotta fluff it.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
Everyone's probably with the absorption method.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
That's the one time when sometimes I'm like, oh, it's
a little bit heavy maybe, and I imagine a rice
cooker would have done it better.
Speaker 6 (22:41):
Anyway. I mean, look, I didn't say it, you said it, okay, Actually.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Just not that this is the topic of conversation, but
it almost ties into water. Is the cooking appliance that
you bought. That's just the no brainer. And most people
do say it's rice cocker, don't they?
Speaker 6 (22:56):
Good? Good? It saves you so much hassle and also
like time saving wise, always think about the mother or
the father or the older child that comes home and
is to put the race on as part one of
the chores. You know, it's like pop, you're done.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Yeah, I've got some texts coming on that. Although we've
got lots of texts, we'd love your cause. By the way,
you welcome to join the conversation if you've got anything
you'd like to ask in Schrazer as well about healthy
eating and reading the labels and the ingredients on the back.
But I'd just love to know if you read the labels.
What proportion of people do you think read the labels?
Kinesh Do we know anything about that?
Speaker 6 (23:29):
Well, I can tell you based on my experience, I'd
say ninety five percent do not.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
That does surprise me. I would have thought there'd be
something where you'd bound to be you'd have to be curious.
I mean, you're buying cereal, for instance, surely you want
to know how much sugar.
Speaker 6 (23:44):
For example, to the level that you may you describe
that you do it. Yeah, where you're looking for sugars
and you're looking for sodium. But here's the thing, not
to disrespect you, almost to give you a benchmark. How
much sugar for you is too much sugar?
Speaker 5 (23:59):
And what what substance?
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Any substance. So when you're reading the label, it always
tells you how many grams per hundred g, how much
sugar is too much for you for one hundred grams.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Umm. Oh, that is a difficult one because, for instance,
if I look at hot chocolate, I just want the
hot chocolate and I don't care about the sugar.
Speaker 6 (24:15):
Yes, so I just that's just one product.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Yeah, okay, so many look I think if it was
per serving, if I saw more than say, ten grams,
I would start to go, are we getting up there
a bit?
Speaker 5 (24:28):
And then you look at what is.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
The one I looked at recently, and it was it
was a maybe it was some seemingly innocent drink and
it was something like twelve or fifteen teaspoons of sugar.
It's probably a can of coke, wasn't it. Let's be honest.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
I mean, yeah, can of coke is pretty much like
a you know, one fifth to forty percent. Yeah, but
the idea is that anything once upon a time fifteen
percent was good. But because of how much sugar there
is now and so many different things, including sometimes you know,
dairy products and regular things that people eat, I say
(25:05):
twenty percent. If if it's less than twenty percent, go
ahead and purchase it. If it's more than twenty percent,
think twice, okay. And that's like a nice general twice.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (25:15):
Rule of thumb for everybody out there to take into
their mind when they go shopping tomorrow is to make
a decision on sugar. Just don't try and be too good.
Don't try to like fives and tens. If you can
get it under twenty, high five yourself and move on.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
Well, mind you as a percentage depending if you're having
a couple of hundred grams and it's twenty percent, that
is a truck lad of sugar.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
Also a decision. But I'm trying to make life easier
for you so you can be it's a mindset you
have to be in the mindset of going, I'm going
to try and live a low sugar lifestyle. How the
how is having a line that you don't cross? Yeah,
that's the only how that you know. All of this
stuff is just a line that you don't cross.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
What about Actually, just the other thing I wanted to
touch on was brown rice. I reckon a lot of
people look at brown rice and go, oh, I know
it sounds healthy and tasteless. But we're having a i'll
coompan Withether's what my wife calls the dishbat. We're having
a salad, which will be the base of which will
be a you know, with some brown rice.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
And brown rice is actually quite delicious.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Brown rice by itself, it does absorb flavor really well,
you know, simple thing like the way Japanese use it
with like rice wine vinegar, a little bit of mirror.
But if you didn't have that, you can do lemon juice.
You can put a little bit of white wine vinegar
from the shop, you know, the simple ways. Or you
can make something that's really quite juicy or curry ish,
(26:36):
something that will the rice will absorb. Because brown rice
is actually phenomenally good for you.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Isn't much better for you than white rice.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
It is. It's got a very steady glyceeming index. You know,
it doesn't spike, but it's a hard cell. I've always
found it difficult to convince people to have it at
least once a week. Even has been a challenge, even
though that would be perfect once a week, if you
could have brown rice, Yeah, it would change your diet.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Somebody's just about just quickly. This is just cooking instruction.
Is the same quantity of brown and white rice. I
think that must mean in terms of to make.
Speaker 6 (27:12):
I don't cook brown rise in the rice cooker. I
cook it in the pot and I overfill it. I
overfill it with water and I just let it cook
and then I use the finger pressing of the rice
method to figure out if it's cooked. And once it's done,
I literally streen it.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
What's finger pressing method?
Speaker 6 (27:32):
That means it's al dante for me. It's how I
like to eat it, Okay, and then I streen it
through a colander, get rid of the excess water, and
my rice is ready to go.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
It'll be hot, though when you're squeezing fingers.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Okay, look a few ticks here actually once how let
me just scroll down for that. Our Food Additive Code
Book item nine twenty is an amino acid made from
animal here, chicken feathers and china. It's also made from
human here, used in flour additive and making breads is null.
I just have to take noles.
Speaker 5 (28:03):
We're on that. That sounds disgusting.
Speaker 6 (28:05):
I mean, I don't think we I think we should
check that. But in my suspicious mind, it feels like
somebody has figured out a where to use some of
those almost waste materials and turn them into a product.
Is possible? Possible that possible in this.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
World, especially if you're into recycling.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
This mindset possible in this world.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Of our there the would be a limit to that.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Actually, I wanted to ask what is the difference what
defines a processed food versus what defines canned I mean,
because canned food in a thing that's been altered from
its natural state. So can of can tomatoes, that's a
processed food. But that's not we're not really thinking of
processed foods in terms of we.
Speaker 6 (28:47):
Do we No, we don't, because canned tomatoes, canned beans,
canned corn, asparagus, canned fish, canned coconut and milk. Asparagus
is a choice, but soft it's a different, different vegetable
in the can it is, Isn't it compared to itself much?
I'm just saying, yeah, you're right. It's a very different beast.
(29:08):
Whereas corn, you know, corn and its own juices goes
a long way. You can make excelsa with it in
the winter, you know, And it's affordable. Tomatoes are affordable,
A lot of beans are affordable. So that side of
it we've got to maintain.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
I've got a quick question here on vacuum packed food. Yes,
so he says, if I vacuum pack, mate, how long
can I keep it on the normal fridge and not
the freezer?
Speaker 6 (29:31):
For four days is what I would say, in the fridge,
and then I'd be that's that's on the kind of
conservative side. Cook it on the fourth.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Day, yeah mate, red mat and chicken, of course.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
But they just stick a going to the freezer. You can,
I mean, that's not even let me put it this way.
You're not asking if you if you're backpacking something, you've
got plans for it, and those plans exist only in
two spaces. One is in the next two to three days.
I'm going to use it. I'm going to freeze it
for the future. Yeah, so that's it. That's all you
got to do. Don't have to worry about it that way.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
What's the difference rules for chicken and red mate.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
I'm not sure, just chick.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
I would say, chicken. You want to use it within
a couple of days in the fridge.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
Well, yeah, the chicken, what do you mean raw chicken?
Speaker 8 (30:12):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (30:12):
Cook Yeah, no, raw chicken, but it hasn't been cooked yet.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Raw chicken. You know. There's always the dates on top
of the packaging. That's pretty clear. Your best buys and
your used buys are pretty obvious. People can make good
decisions just off that ye used by, used by and
best buy. So best buy is in my opinion, based
on best practice, based on the rules from Switzerland from
(30:36):
nineteen eighty six to the agreement we all signed.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
That's usually about stuff that's not going to kill you
as well. It might be like, look, if you eat this,
it'll have gone off. It'll taste a bit crappy, like you, well,
cereals or flour or something will have it best buy,
and then it will you know.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
And then the used by is the used by, use it,
and then you know there's a large there's a substantial,
substantial quantity of the planet that has continued to eat
the food two to three days after it's button is
still around.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
Indeed, we'll be back in just a moment. This is
News Talks that be. This is the Health AUB with
Ganess Raj. We're going to talk about a few good
ideas for cooking meals from canned foods as well for
those who are looking for some simple solutions to healthy eating.
It's eighteen and a half minutes to five is welcome
back to the Health hub on the Weekend Collector. My
(31:27):
guest is eat well for less. It's a it's ganess Raj. Actually,
a couple of texts before we go to our caller,
somebody said, I've just been listening to your discussion about
chicken and fillers and that you may not realize that
you're buying. And I've just checked some hokey philets, so
they've been in the freezer and only fifty percent fish.
Thank you, Janine. I didn't mention the brand there.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
Welcome Janine.
Speaker 5 (31:49):
I didn't mention the brand, Janine.
Speaker 4 (31:50):
But the reason is because I can't verify all these things.
But we wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 6 (31:55):
But there's no need to have mentioned the brand. Yeah,
because what you're asking people to do is just look
in the back of the box, regardless of the brand.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
Make you know it doesn't matter what the brand is.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
Right.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Let's take some calls. Richard.
Speaker 8 (32:06):
Hello, Oh, goody guys. Richard a first time caller. I've
often want to see it. Now I'm doing it.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
So well done.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
Congrass Well.
Speaker 8 (32:16):
Very interesting topic and I think we all are pretty
naive about these ingredient labels that we often look at
and think now what am I supposed to be looking at?
And my sister many years ago or recently said, Richard,
if you find just look at the sugar label, and
if you can find an ingredient that they'll the produce
that's less than ten percent per one hundred grands, that
(32:37):
that's a good one to go for us.
Speaker 7 (32:39):
Generally. That's all I know what to look for.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
I mean, that's fantastic. That's fantastic, Richard. Ten percent is great,
great about you know, if you can stick to that,
that's wonderful.
Speaker 8 (32:49):
Well, even twenty percent I is considered to be quite high,
so that's yes, it is high level. The other thing
that I've often thought about the ingredients label list is
that generic is that everything, every can, or package or
everything has to have an answer for.
Speaker 6 (33:06):
All those That's correct, that's correct. That's the law in
New Zealand, where on the back of the container you've
got to have an ingredients list with everything.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
They don't leave things off that I don't add other.
Speaker 6 (33:19):
Well, let's put it this way. Now you're asking is
everybody compliant? That's another question altogether, and I can't tell you, but.
Speaker 7 (33:28):
Well, we'd expect that.
Speaker 6 (33:29):
We would expect it to. But you know what human
nature is like, mate.
Speaker 7 (33:34):
Yeah, well we're all.
Speaker 6 (33:36):
We're all we've got to keep our eyes open. We've
got to keep our eyes open. That's the only thing
we can do.
Speaker 8 (33:43):
So if you went through a list, we let's talk
about this list of ingredients, which is generic to every product.
This list is the same and all the ingredients values
have to be correct. It's went through them all. I'm
not so how many out there on the how many
numbers of items on there?
Speaker 7 (33:58):
Twelve?
Speaker 6 (33:59):
There isn't a limit. I have seen some. It's just
I've seen all sorts of amounts of ingredients, so I
wouldn't know. Sometimes if it's you know, tomatoes ninety nine
point nine percent one percent water, that's all there is
in the can. Two things on the back. If it's complex,
if there's fourteen things or eleven things, then you are
dealing with what is considered a processed food item, something
(34:22):
that you should be careful of.
Speaker 8 (34:23):
So it's not generic's generous, that's correct.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
I think they do less things like sugars, don't they
wa Yeah, sugar.
Speaker 6 (34:29):
There are generic things on the one side of it,
which is basically like your sugar's your sodium, your carbohydrates,
those bits and pieces of the left one hundred grands
per serving. Then there's like a list of things inside it,
and you'll find that it is not generic as far
as the whole thing is concerned. Sorry, I now understand
what you're asking.
Speaker 8 (34:47):
Yeah, exactly, we're looking for other things out and sugar.
That's what I've been looking at. Can you give me
some idea what ratio two hundred grams so I should
be looking at the likes of salt.
Speaker 6 (34:56):
And other salt is so you are looking for, like
more than more than two point five percent salt by
weight is high?
Speaker 7 (35:06):
Right, Yeah, and that's that's on the label too.
Speaker 6 (35:09):
Yeah, that's that's what you're looking for. One hundred grams
by way by way hundred yeah, roughly, you know. And
so if if you know, sometimes you'll see the sodium
levels are in the thousands depending on the product, you know,
and so really keep an eye on that stuff.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Okay, good stuff, Thanks Richard. Gosh, we've talked so much
that I've promised these are some ideas for meals from cans,
and we've almost kind of have to save that to
the next time. But one we can throw out there
in terms of some useful canned combinations of foods where
you can come up with something quite easily with decent meal.
Speaker 6 (35:44):
Absolutely, we call it can tuna pasta with frozen vegetables.
Speaker 5 (35:48):
That does sound pretty good.
Speaker 6 (35:50):
It's so simple. And you use mixed herbs, use onions
and garlic, used can tuna, use smoke paprika. You can
put some chili boter if you want to, and then
you basically fry that all up, and then you throw
our beautiful frozen vegetables been chopped to the perfect size
for your pasta. Do you have to cook the frozen
vegetables before you fry the No, No, you just take
(36:11):
them straight out of the bag from the freezer and
throw them straight into the pan and cook them. Really. Yeah,
that's how easy it is.
Speaker 5 (36:18):
I guess how long does it take before they've lost
that frozen quality?
Speaker 6 (36:21):
You won't frozen quality. Well being frozen, it disappears, it
just gets goold. Of course they're all not nice, little
small chine, perfectly chopped. Everything's perfectly done for it is
your maison plus been done. Yeah, it's a lifesaver.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
I've got a question.
Speaker 6 (36:36):
I'm not sure the cream at the end maybe if
you wanted to gourkins, if you wanted to salt and pepper,
if you wanted to at the end and and deal.
If you want to finish on a seafood tip, that's
just the additives.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
If you wanted to go that way, that does sound
pretty good. I got one of just I'm not sure
about the if you've defrosted a chicken. Somebody said, can
you refreeze it again if you don't use it? And
I think the big answer is definitely not.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
No, no, don't. And defrosting a chicken should happen in
a fridge overnight. It should be you know, one of those.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
Don't defrost it on the bench.
Speaker 6 (37:08):
Well, well you can defrost it on the if it's
in if it's in those plastic sealed packs. Yeah, but
I mean, all I'm saying is, don't speed up that
process by using the microwave or any other kind of
you know, chicken has to defrost in its own time
and then just use it. Don't worry about trying to
(37:29):
always finish the whole chicken. You'll find ways of making
that go.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
Okay, we're going to be back and just a tick,
we'll take a break. I'm going to come back and
ask if there is any excuse for using a microwave,
because sometimes somehow I feel I don't know, it just
feels like the cardinal's sin of cooking a microwave. But
there must be good uses for it. Nine minutes to five,
This news talks gotch time flies when you're chatting with genes.
Do you find it's time flies for you when.
Speaker 6 (37:51):
You're yes, I'm having so much fun for who Hey.
Speaker 4 (37:57):
Before we go, though, because processed foods, one thing we
do want to touch on is artificial sweetness. Are there
some that are better or worse for you?
Speaker 6 (38:04):
Well, I'll let you decide, but anything that is sugar free,
no sugar, artificial sweetness. There have been studies that say
that the way that natural sugars kind of give our
food reward pathways activated up here, the way that we're
currently doing it with artificial sugars can still lead to
(38:25):
increased appetite. We're not satisfying ourselves in the way that
a natural sugar would tell your brain to satisfy, do
you know what I mean? Or real sugar or real
sugar would tell So that's one of the things. There
is a study about impact on gut health, it may
alter the gut microbio. So that's come out as well.
And it's shown that certain artificial sweetness have led to
(38:49):
an increase in type two heart disease and metabolics. And
so when something sugar free or no sugar, I would
ask you to ask the question, how badly do you
want to get something else?
Speaker 4 (39:01):
Well, so I think the other question is I think
the thing is about training yourself not to be craven
that sort of sweet flavor.
Speaker 6 (39:06):
It's hard, though, I feel. I feel it's the way
I tell people to deal with that is, listen, once
upon a time, you had this drink or that drink.
Now you're going to get a sparkling water bottle kind
of thing in the jiggy, get sparkling water, and you're
gonna do one fifth juice and four fifth sparkling water.
And that's how you start to lower your cravings.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
I'll tell you something fun. I'm not sure this is funny,
but when I went to I always noticed my mom
used to have what a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar,
which was very little. When you're young, when you drink tea,
you have we had a teaspoon or two of sugar,
and I decided that when you that sugar was not
for when you were grown up. You shouldn't eat, you
shouldn't consume sugar. So when I went to university, I
literally just stopped having sugar in my tea because I
(39:48):
thought that's what you did as a grown up. And
it only took me about three caps of tea before
I was used to it. Isn't it funny? But it
was just I decided, I'm grown up now, I should
not have sugar in my tea, so I stopped. Whatever
it takes.
Speaker 5 (40:00):
I guess, well, you.
Speaker 6 (40:01):
Told yourself the I am growing up now story.
Speaker 5 (40:03):
Yeah, isn't it funny that?
Speaker 4 (40:06):
I mean, whatever reason it is of it, we can
tell yourself.
Speaker 6 (40:09):
Anything is the lesson.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Right pretty much? You tell yourself that's the rules, then
the way you going. That's hey, good to see you, Ganesha,
and good luck for filming the rest of the series.
Speaker 6 (40:16):
You're so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
We'll afford to catch up next time. We'll be back
with smart money next. Mortain Horses is with US News
Talk s EDB.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
For more from the weekend collective, listen live to News
Talk SEDB weekends from three PM, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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