Recipes Prepackaged Food

Meal: A meal is any food and/or beverage that has been prepared for immediate human consumption and provided by a restaurant or restaurant part of a store. A meal includes food or beverages sold as "take out" or "to go," regardless of whether they're packaged or wrapped, and whether they're taken from the premises of the restaurant.

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Effective for the tax period beginning January 1, 2022, you must report the amount of cash and credit sales for meals (food and beverages, including alcoholic beverages) separately on the appropriate lines of your meals tax return (Line 1a for cash sales of meals; Line 1b for credit sales of meals).

Generally, a restaurant, or any part of a store that is considered to be a restaurant, imposes the meals tax on the sale of any food or beverage (including alcohol) that is prepared for human consumption in a way that it doesn't need any significant additional preparation or cooking to make it edible.

Any store not ordinarily considered a restaurant must also charge a sales tax on certain food items if those items are sold in a way that they can be considered a meal. A meal includes food or beverages that don't need further significant preparation, whether or not they are packaged or wrapped and whether or not they are taken from the place where they were bought. The following stores have to charge a sales tax on the taxable meals they provide:

Bakeries: When a bakery sells food items commonly sold at snack bars, coffee shops or luncheon counters, such as taxable beverages or sandwiches, the entire bakery is considered a restaurant, and its baked goods sales are taxable except when sold in units of 6 or more for takeout. However, if the bakery in some way separates the restaurant part of the store from the rest of the store, the bakery part remains a store, and its sales generally are not taxable. In that case, only the restaurant part is considered a restaurant for tax purposes. A separate restaurant part cannot be established if taxable beverages or other meals must or may be purchased from the area, section or counter from which baked goods are sold. Some separation of space and function is necessary.

Grocery stores, markets, supermarkets: Sales from a bakery, delicatessen, or restaurant part of a grocery store, market or supermarket are taxed as previously described; sales of food products (groceries) are not taxable. However, a supermarket salad bar where shoppers buy salads and pay by weight is a restaurant for the purpose of the meals tax. Therefore, the salad is subject to tax.

Honor snack trays and vending machines: Honor snack trays and vending machines that sell food generally are considered restaurants for purposes of the meals tax. An exception is made when the honor tray or vending machine is used to sell only snacks (food or beverage) or candy with a sales price of less than $3.50. If the sales price of any single item sold through an honor tray or vending machine is $3.50 or more, then all sales are taxable.

Service charges included in the sales price of the meal: Generally, separately stated amounts labeled as service charges added to the price of a meal are included in the sales price when such amounts are part of the consideration for food and beverages. However, separately stated amounts labeled as gratuities, service charges or tips aren't included in the sales price of the meal if they are distributed by the vendor to the service employees, wait staff employees or service bartenders. If the service charges are paid in part to the waiters or other service personnel, then the charges are included in the sales price of the meal and subject to the sales tax.

Admission charges for entertainment or recreation: The sales tax is imposed on admission charges collected by a place of entertainment where food and/or alcoholic beverages are sold, unless all the following requirements are met:

While processed and prepackaged foods can be fast and convenient options for meals and snacks, they aren't always the healthiest choices. Making your meals from whole foods or using minimally processed ingredients, such as frozen fruits or vegetables, is usually a better option due to the high levels of unhealthy ingredients commonly found in highly-processed foods.

Healthy people should limit consumption of sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams per day, and those who are African-American, elderly or who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease should limit their sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams. Most of the sodium in the American diet comes from processed and packaged foods, including pizza, snacks, soups, breads, meat dishes, pasta dishes, sandwiches, processed meats and cheese.

Sugary drinks, sweets and baked goods contribute high levels of added sugars to your diet. Many processed foods also contain added sugars, including high fructose corn syrup. Consuming high amounts of added sugars increases your risk for diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity and tooth decay. Women should consume no more than 100 calories from added sugars per day, and men should consume no more than 155 calories. Each gram of sugar in your food equals 4 calories.

Prepacked food often contains fat, including trans fat. Trans fat helps give prepackaged foods a longer shelf life. Any food that lists hydrogenated oil contains at least a small amount of trans fats, which increase your risk for high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and heart attack and should be avoided as much as possible. Packaged foods also often contain unhealthy saturated fats, which should account for no more than 7 percent of your daily calories.

Additives are often used to improve the flavor, shelf life, safety or nutritional quality of prepackaged food or make it look more appealing. Although only additives generally regarded as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can be used in foods, some people may have adverse reactions to certain additives. These include olestra, aspartame, artificial colors and flavors, monosodium glutamate, saccharin, sodium nitrate, sulfites, cyclamate, caffeine, BHA, BHT and acesulfame-potassium. Foods that contain a shorter list of ingredients including only those you are likely to have in your own kitchen are healthier than those that contain a lot of additives.

Prepackaged produce, such as bags of apples, carrots or salad mix, can be nutritious and convenient, but they are often treated to delay the signs of aging. Check the use-by dates to make sure your food is fresh. The older the produce, the fewer the nutrients it contains. Consumer Reports found that even those salads that were labeled "prewashed" still had some contamination, so wash your produce before consuming it to limit your risk of food-borne illness. Avoid any bulging cans, open packages and frozen vegetables that are frozen into a single lump, as these are all signs of potential contamination or lower nutritional quality.

Based in Massachusetts, Jessica Bruso has been writing since 2008. She holds a master of science degree in food policy and applied nutrition and a bachelor of arts degree in international relations, both from Tufts University.

The momentum behind the movement to eat more whole foods and fewer processed foods is stronger than ever. That's a good thing in most ways, but sometimes you need something quick and convenient. Enter: packaged foods.

Of course, the majority of your diet should still be made up of real, whole foods-think vegetables, fruits, whole grains, proteins. Packaged foods get a bad rap for their long ingredient lists, trans fats and sodium, but not all packaged foods are created equal. More healthful options are available today than just a few years ago, thanks in large part to health-minded consumers who value quality but also need convenience.

Making your own veggie burger is great, but sometimes you need something quick. When you're shopping for frozen veggie burgers, it's really important to look for an option that's made with real food ingredients because some are loaded with fillers to make them less expensive. Start with these options:

It seems as if there's a new bar on the market every week. No wonder there is so much confusion around which are best. In general, the better-for-you bars are found in the "health-food" aisle, not the breakfast or snack aisles.

Like most foods on this list, the fewer the ingredients the better. Aim to keep fiber and protein high (at least 3 to 5 grams per serving) and sugar and saturated fat low. Be sure to check where the sugar is coming from: While some bars have 15 to 20 grams of sugar, the sugar might be coming from dried fruit so there's also vitamins and fiber. On the other hand, a bar that is very low in sugar could have artificial sweeteners to compensate. Think about making your own bars at home, or choosing a store-bought one made with ingredients you would use at home.

Canned beans are one of the most affordable, good-for-you packaged foods. Beans are known for their blood pressure- and cholesterol-lowering effects. And they're an excellent source of fiber (around 9 grams in a 1/2-cup serving) and protein. But only 8% of Americans eat them daily.

Whether it's packaged in a box or a bag makes no difference, but make sure the fruit or vegetables aren't frozen into a lump. That's a sign that it may have thawed and refrozen, and the food may have lost some vital nutrients during that process.

Ingredients list: The shorter, the better. Look for ingredients that are real food (e.g., dates, cashews or black beans) and fewer processed ingredients (cane syrup, dehydrated potato flakes and partially defatted peanuts).

Sodium: This one is often hidden in seemingly healthy packaged foods. Look at the percent daily value on the nutrition label. Less than 5 percent is considered low. Greater than 20 percent is considered high. Try to stay under 2,300 milligrams of sodium for the whole day. 2ff7e9595c