No, as long as you choose raw products, in other words the least cooked possible. So, it is always better to buy a preserves (or a frozen sachet) of green beans and pan-fry them yourself with a drizzle of olive oil, rather than opting for a ready-made version such as frozen “pan-fried regional” or “southern beans” sous vide, which already includes an addition of fat, thickeners, sometimes sugar. Therefore, prefer natural canned foods (vegetables, tuna, etc.), sachets of frozen vegetables, frozen or brick soups (provided that the proportion of fat does not exceed 5 g of lipids / 100 g of product), uncooked meats, poultry and fish (such as salmon fillet, turkey cutlet, etc.).
Watch out for ready-to-eat meals!
Whether low-fat or not, some cooked dishes are still too fatty. This is why one should always examine their nutritional composition.
Starches: pasta in sauce, seasoned rice, dauphine potatoes … The fat content must not exceed 5% of the product.
Meat and fish: meatballs, Bordeaux-style fish … Make sure that the product contains more than protein than lipids.
Very elaborate dishes: pizza, chili con carne, paella … The amount of fat must not exceed 15-18 g and the product must contain at least 20 g of protein for a portion of 300-400 g.
Why avoid them?
Because they aren’t always of good quality, but also because you don’t necessarily know what’s in them. Not even in branded products elsewhere, if we are to believe the recent case of the horse meat. Especially since some have the bad points: palm oil and other fats to avoid, various additives, lack of fiber and protective nutrients and slimming, proteins of poor quality and often low in quantity … It is almost impossible to lose weight without cooking yourself. The more we move away from simple, natural food, the more complicated it is to control what we swallow. On the other hand, no one is preventing you from using frozen vegetables, meats and other fish, as long as they are plain.
Health claims are not that reliable
Water richer in calcium to “strengthen your bones”, yogurts rich in probiotics to “improve your transit”, cereals with an iron content “which makes you stronger” … These enriched products now replace water source or simple yogurt at the head of the gondola. The food industry has found a mission of choice: to fill our deficiencies with a lot of vitamins, omega 3 or magnesium. And yet … “It is proven, insists the nutritionist Jean-Michel Cohen *, a woman or a man who have a varied diet and respectively absorb 1,200 and 1,400 cal per day do not suffer from any deficiency. Most of the products from super food are therefore irrelevant. With half a teaspoon of rapeseed oil a day, we meet all our omega 3 needs. This is to say to what extent gorging on omega 3 eggs is a mistake. Health claims only confuse the minds of consumers. “
