Be Careful With These Packaged Foods

When you start on a vegetarian path, you may get into a rut with your cooking. This may lead you to a grocery store that has more to offer for their vegetarian guests. One of the available options may be packaged foods. Though these sound like a great idea, they may not be as ideal as you first imagine them to be. Here are a few reasons you need to be careful with packaged foods, specifically the ones noted here.

Tofu

Yes, tofu is a staple in most vegetarian diets. The problem with some of the tofu options out there is how they are developed. Though you can find organic options, general or traditional tofu may have been a product of genetically modified creation. If you are on a vegetarian path that stays away from GMO foods, then this may be a huge issue for you. Just make sure you are going with a certified organic option that has a label for no GMO as well.

Organic Mac and Cheese

If you have children that love mac and cheese, or you love it, then you may think buying it off the shelf is best. The problem is, even with an organic label it may not be as good for you as you think. Lacto-ovo vegetarians can find a variety of organic mac and cheese options, for example. The issue is with the other ingredients. For example, the cheese may have been created using a beef broth. The pasta may have been created using GMO technology. Make sure that if you are buying a packaged mac and cheese option that is labeled as vegan. This will avoid all the other issues and insure no meat or meat product was used, including broth. 

Any Canned Soup

Canned soup is something that many new vegetarians reach for first. They see a label that says vegetarian or vegetable and go with that as the sign that it is vegan. The truth is, these soups can contain a lot of sodium that can cause health issues. They may also be labeled vegetable, but the broth base is either beef stock or has been made with beef bones. Make sure you avoid this issue by going with a vegan canned soup. Just like with mac and cheese, the vegan label can help you avoid any meat product. You can cut the sodium by going with a no salt or low salt option. 

These are just a few of the packaged foods to be careful of when you think of purchasing them. The most important point to keep in mind is to stick to your beliefs on vegetarianism and make sure that nothing in the packaged foods goes against those beliefs. 
