Food Showdown: Nacho Chips
Many of us grew up with Doritos… but they are quite literally one of the worst snack foods you could put into your body, see why below:
Doritos
Ingredient Score: Avoid
Flavor: Nacho Cheese
Ingredients:
Corn, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/or Sunflower Oil), Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Salt, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Monosodium Glutamate, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese (Part-skim Cow’s Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Onion Powder, Corn Flour, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Dextrose, Tomato Powder, Lactose, Spices, Artificial Color (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, And Red 40), Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Skim Milk, Red And Green Bell Pepper Powder, Disodium Inosinate, And Disodium Guanylate.
Healthier alternatives…
Siete Chips
Ingredient Score: Good
Flavor: Nacho
Ingredients:
Cassava Blend (Cassava Flour, Cassava Starch), Avocado Oil, Coconut Flour, Nutritional Yeast, Tomato Powder, Chia Seed, Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Garlic Powder, Jalapeño Powder, Onion Powder, Serrano Powder.
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Ingredient of the week: TAPIOCA STARCH/FLOUR
What is it?
Tapioca starch/flour is extracted from the cassava root through a process of washing, pulping, and squeezing out the starch, which is then ground into a fine powder. It has minimal nutritional value aside from being a rich source of carbohydrates and is commonly used as a gluten-free and grain-free alternative to wheat and other grains. It’s also used as a binding agent and thickener in foods like soups, puddings, and dough, among other items. Although tapioca is the starch from cassava, they have very different nutrition profiles and effects on the body.
Clean Rating:
While it is often considered an empty calorie because it has minimal nutritional value, it is a naturally occurring food that undergoes minimal processing and doesn’t seem to have adverse effects on the body. Additionally, tapioca starch acts as a prebiotic that may have beneficial effects on the gut microbiome. Raw cassava contains a toxic compound called cyanide, which can be harmful if consumed in large quantities or prepared improperly. Improperly processed tapioca could contribute to cyanide poisoning.
Clean Consuming:
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food
The documentary unwraps the stomach-churning flaws in America’s food industry.
As you stroll the aisles of your local grocery store, you might contemplate buying romaine, pre-cut cantaloupe, that “safe-to-eat” tub of cookie dough, Lucky Charms, some chicken breast. Yet all of these foods — and, disturbingly, many more — can carry contaminates that make us sick. Unfortunately, things like E. coli, salmonella, and toxic waste simply aren’t listed on the label of ground beef chuck. While the US suffers through these outbreaks each week (up to 36 every seven days, affecting 48 million people a year), are the food and agricultural industries taking accountability for their mistakes?
In the documentary film Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food, filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig (The Devil We Know) examines the food industry in the United States and investigates how its systemic fractures lead to outbreaks of foodborne pathogens –– and deadly consequences.
Available on Netflix and on Youtube for free. Checkout the trailer here.
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Big love from Ally, Christian, and the IsItClean Team