Planning to make a New Year’s Resolution?  Here’s an easy one: start looking at the ingredient list on every food item that you buy.  Draw a line in the sand and refuse to use your money to buy substandard, inflammatory, and toxic products.

Now more than ever you must be very mindful of the ingredients in the food you are eating.  In my honest opinion, the healthiest food option is homemade food made from scratch using whole foods.  There’s simply no replacement.

But in reality, most of us will purchase some processed foods as well.  My suggestion, and what I hold to for my family, is to make these purchases with great discernment, armed with knowledge.   I have gotten into the habit of reading every single label – even for products that I regularly purchase.  You will notice a trend.  The majority of the foods lining the shelves of the supermarket can hardly be categorized as food.  They are laden with toxic ingredients, preservatives, “natural” flavors, and cheap inflammatory oils.  Don’t be fooled by the organic labeling or the claims of ‘natural’.

The Bad News

Sunflower is the new soy.  Sunflower oil is in everything. Why is it a big deal?  It’s inflammatory and just no good for you.  Sunflower oil is high in omega 6  while containing no omega 3. Most people eat more than their fair share of omega 6s, and too much omega 6 in the way of refined and processed foods, is simply not healthy.  It’s in some of the most popular brands out there.  And be careful, even though sunflower oil may not be listed as an ingredient, it may be used as a processing agent (see the ingredient list on the cranberries below).

 

                         

            

The next culprit is natural flavors.  Everywhere – it’s everywhere and hiding in some interesting places.  Many will argue that natural flavors are perfectly acceptable, but for me lab created flavors are a big no.  Natural flavors, even organic, are highly processed using solvents and other undesirable substances.  I bet you’ve seen the brands below, and maybe you even use them.  Each of them contains natural flavor or organic natural flavor.

     

The Good News

There are brands that are free of these additives; you just need to look for them.  I’ve listed some of the brands below that my family likes and where I choose to invest my money.  Yes, these products are expensive; there is no way around it.  However, these products feature real ingredients without fillers and other unsavory substances.  And while I am sure some of the items below are not perfect, they are leaps and bounds better than the majority of what you are buying. I’ll list some of the positives and negatives that I see with each of these products. And in full disclosure: there are no affiliate links below and no company paid me anything for my opinion or even provided product to me.

The owner of Lovebird is passionate, and I mean passionate, about the quality of Lovebird cereals.  He has placed the ingredient list on the front of each box in nice big letters because there’s nothing to hide.  But it goes beyond that.  Each ingredient is sourced carefully and mindfully.  My family likes the taste of the cereal, but if you are used to sugar-laden commercial cereals, the taste of this will be different – as it should!  There are 5 varieties: Honey, Cocoa, Cinnamon, Unsweetened, and Strawberry.  Each box is on the pricey side from $7.99 – 9.99.  But again, I look at my purchase as an investment into the health of my family and into a company that cares to craft the best product. Take a listen and learn a bit about cassava from the owner.  I would follow along on Instagram, too.

When I am looking for a sweet fix, this is what I grab.  I love the fruit jerky from Solely.  My favorite, mango, has one ingredient: mango.  That’s it.  There are other varieties, but I love the mango so much that I never have tried the others.   I can find these in my local food store, but they are priced at around $2.29 each.  It is cheaper to buy them directly from the company.  This is the perfect carry along snack when I go hiking!

I am a big fan of That’s It.  Small ingredient lists.  No added sugar.  A bunch of different flavors.  Real stuff inside.  My favorite is the Blueberry Probiotic Fruit Bar.  The taste is amazing, and it has prebiotics and probiotics as well.   The bars are pricey, but again, I choose to invest my money in items that will not be harmful and in companies that work to make good-for-me food.  Various products from That’s It are cropping up at different places such as Food Lion, Whole Foods, Costco, Target.  You can also pick them up online at Vitacost.  Everyone in my family got a box of their favorite That’s It bars in their Christmas stocking this year.  We love them.

Clearly I like dried fruit!  Rind makes several different products.  This Chewy Straw-Peary Skin-On Dried Fruit is my favorite.  I love that there is fruit and that’s it.  Nothing else.  The only criticism I have with this product is that the strawberries are very tough to bite through some times. But aside from that, the taste is so good.  I’ve tried the Orchard variety which features dried persimmon.  So good.  I love to grab a package to pop in my backpack while hiking.  I find that the best place to purchase these are from a grocer, like Kroger, or Vitacost, both of which are cheaper than buying direct.

EPIC makes some seriously good meat sticks. If you are looking for a protein-packed snack, you have it right here.  For example, the Bison Bacon Cranberry Bar has 7 grams of protein and features 100% grass-fed bison meat.  Their Bison Beef Sea Salt and Pepper bar has 10 grams of protein.  And their Chicken BBQ bar has 11 grams of protein.  When we are traveling, especially when traveling by air, we always take these along. The only downside to these bars is the price; they average $2.75 – $3.00 per bar, and unfortunately, the bars have gotten smaller over the past few years (isn’t this true with just about everything?). My sons would easily eat two at one sitting if I didn’t give them the mom-eye.

I am Italian.  My grandparents are from Italy.  We make our own tomato sauce.  However, when I am pressed for time, I use jarred sauce (sorry, Nana). Over the past year I have tested more than a dozen different tomato sauces in search of the perfect one.  I found it in Rao’s.  I literally hear this question from my sons on a daily basis: “Do we have any more Rao’s?” They want to mix it in their chicken, beef, top it on their eggs, or just grab a tablespoon for a taste.  It’s just that awesome. Where other brands use tomato puree or tomato paste, the first ingredient in every jar of Rao’s is Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes.  The real deal. Here’s the ingredient list for my favorite Tomato Basil variety: Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Onions, Basil, Salt, Garlic, Black Pepper, Oregano.  No added sugar.  No watered down, overprocessed tomato-product, no added flavors.  Just simple ingredients cooked to perfection.  Yes, it’s expensive (there’s a theme going on here), but again, I feel that it is worth it.  I have found that the best price can be found at Walmart.

I am not a coffee or tea drinker, but come the cold winter months, I enjoy a nice hot mug of hot chocolate.  Most companies fill those little envelopes of hot chocolate with things like corn syrup, dipottasium phosphate, and mono and diglycerides. Enter Bare Life.  Bare Life contains five simple and real ingredients.  It’s also dairy free.  This quickly became a family favorite.  I choose to mix one envelope with some coconut milk (refrigerated); it’s delicious.  This has to be one of my favorite finds and one that I can recommend to you whole-heartedly.

Once the cooler fall temperatures come, I make homemade chicken stock every week.  There is simply no substitute.  But when the weather gets warm, the last thing I want to do is cook stock for hours at a time.  I always have boxed chicken stock on hand.  Over the past year, every single brand of broth that I once used has reformulated their recipe to include sugar, chicken flavor, and rosemary extract (another ingredient that is showing up in everything).  Even organic and once trusted brands have changed their ingredient lists.  Bonafide Provisions has not.  Their broth includes things like water, chicken bones, onions, carrots, garlic, apple cider vinegar, celery, and parsley.  I highly recommend their vegetable broth as well.  The only downside is the price.  Do not buy directly from the company’s site.  The cost is exorbitant at nearly $10 per 32 oz. box.   Buying from Vitacost will save you 50%, and it’s the cheapest price that I have found (and there is currently a sale going on).  Yes, other brands are cheaper, but they are watered down junk.

Closing Thoughts

It seems that smaller brands continue to give in and succumb to big buy-outs from bigger conglomerates.  When this happens once clean products are typically transformed in favor of cheaper ingredients in order to yield higher profits.  With every dollar that you spend you choose to support this problem or reject it.  Imagine if each of us realized the power that our dollars have?  If you want good companies who are passionate about providing quality products to thrive, you must support them.  Yes, you will spend more, but consider it as an investment in your health and the health of good businesses.  I have eliminated the purchase of a lot of extraneous and unneeded food items from my weekly shopping list; this has freed me to use my money to purchase some of the products shown in this post.

This year be mindful as you shop online and in stores.  Read labels. Refuse to consume cheap ingredients, additives, inflammatory oils, and ‘natural’ flavors.  Choose real food.  Cook from scratch as much as you can, but when you can’t make wise choices.

What brands and products do you support?