As someone who semi-regularly cooks, all the prepared food choices looked really unappetizing to me.<p>It's easy to avoid added sugar if you make your own food: just don't dump sugar in while you cook.<p>I think the bigger story here is that for most of human history, every single household cooked because it was the only economical way to feed yourself (restaurants have always been a luxury good). In the US, we've recently had this weird economic inversion where it's become cheaper to feed yourself off of junk food, so now cooking has become some sort of luxury good.<p>Come to think of it, exercise has followed the same path. In the past, only the rich could avoid physical activity. Nowadays, it's rich people who can afford pricey gym passes and personal trainers while their poorer compatriots also work in a call center or some other sedentary setting.
Disgusting choices. I'm American (born and raised) and found almost nothing edible on any of the pages. As others have pointed out, this seems like a thinly-veiled fluff piece marketing prepared/packaged foods. I do indulge in a Snickers bar myself once in a while, but come on - can't we do better than salami on Wonder bread washed down with Coke for lunch?
The article says "Challenge: Construct a day’s worth of eating, from items at a typical supermarket we visited, that meets the guidelines for added sugars." ... then proceeds to let the reader build meals entirely composed of brand name packaged foods.<p>This article is a pointless straw man, unless the point is a covert attempt at making the reader realize they should skip the food with the brand names on it and eat real food instead... but that seems way too nuanced for the NY Times.
The dinner choices were the worst. Where's steak or grilled chicken? Basically, the only meat options were a hamburger (with bun) or kosher hot dogs.
Is this seriously the kind of food that Americans eat? If this is at all realistic, then I don't see why anyone is surprised at the obesity epidemic.
Pretty awful choices on everything but breakfast. Where are the whole foods. The only fresh fruit was blueberries with low fat yogurt and an apple listed twice.
What was really surprising is that there's sugar in every single deli meat. Even beef has sugar in it.<p>It's still cheaper than an equivalent amount of beef jerky though. Speaking of jerky, I've noticed that cheaper brands are actually pork jerky.
What's important to remember is that everything is okay in moderation.<p>If you're looking to improve your health/diet then don't buy in to "good food", "bad food", "sugar is evil", etc mumbo-jumbo. Count your calories. Health articles usually make me really angry, and this one is no exception. I totally agree with what it says, though "that still lets you make good decisions".