Shopping for real food can be tricky! Use the posts below to get some grounding on what to look for, plus some of the best places to find great deals on food.
Artificial food dye, synthetic food dye, food coloring, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Blue No. 1, or Tartrazine (a.k.a. Yellow No. 5)… whatever name it’s listed under, it is all pretty much the same stuff. And as I’ve said on this site before I have no problem occasionally digging into yummy homemade baked goods made …
Real Food Tips: 7 Reasons I Hate Artificial Food DyesContinue Reading →
Do you ever wonder how long certain fruits might last sitting out on your kitchen counter? Or wonder if maybe you should refrigerate them instead? To help solve some of those kitchen mysteries, I am excited to share this handy dandy produce storage guide with you today!
Produce Storage Cheat Sheet (+ Announcement!)Continue Reading →
I get a lot of questions about this from readers and have also wondered myself…how do you rehydrate your sick child without succumbing to the artificial ingredients found in Pedialyte? Just ask any pediatrician across the country and they'll likely say this is the beverage of choice when it comes to children recovering from the stomach bug… I am not saying this drink won't…
Rehydrating Your Child Naturally: Homemade PedialyteContinue Reading →
Today I am sharing a “roundup” of the misleading products I’ve been sharing on Facebook lately. Just in case you missed some or need a friendly reminder…please don’t let the food industry fool you with these products! Taco Seasoning I couldn’t believe it when I looked at the back of this taco seasoning packet and …
Misleading Product Roundup: Don’t be FooledContinue Reading →
Today I'm going to share Part I of a two part series on my go-to Costco shopping list for real food, which will include produce, pantry staples, frozen organic veggies and fruit, organic meat options, and a few other tidbits. But first I am going to give you my short primer on shopping at Costco.
I'll never forget my first hunt to find "real" eggs back when we initially made our switch to real food. I'd read in Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food, that "pastured" was the optimal egg label to look for yet when I visited three different grocery stores in our area - including health food stores - everyone basically looked at me like I…
here are a lot of these “foods to avoid” lists floating around the internet I so was inspired to make a list of my own. Highly Processed Foods and Ingredients to Avoid: Artificial ingredients This includes both synthetic dyes (like FD&C Red No. 40, Tartrazine, or Blue No. 1) and artificial sweeteners (like saccharin, aspartame, or sucralose). When you look at the history of…
Real Food Tips: 10 Highly Processed Foods to AvoidContinue Reading →
Who would have guessed that one of the most “viral” things I’ve ever posted on Facebook would be about organic baby carrots? Clearly people want to understand and discuss baby carrots! As a result I decided to do some additional research on the topic and also restate what I learned (and shared) in my original …
2 Baby Carrot Myths and Facts: How are Baby Carrots Made and What about Chlorine?Continue Reading →
So when Lisa asked me to pull together a similar list using Costco's organic products, I gladly agreed! While our family doesn't personally eat 100% organically, I do squeeze as many organic ingredients into my grocery cart as my budget allows.
9 Organic Meals from Costco for under $100Continue Reading →
Well, here it is as promised—Part II of my Costco real food love fest. This time I am going to be dishing on my favorite items from Costco's freezers, along with meat, dairy, seafood, and poultry, as well a few real food rule benders.
When a packaged food is touted as "Sugar Free," that oftentimes means real sugar has been left behind and replaced with an artificial sweetener. This is yet another reason why it is so important to always read ingredient labels. Did you know that artificial sweeteners were literally invented in a lab by food scientists and that some of those sweeteners only entered our food…
Readers have been asking more and more what real food products to buy at Trader Joe’s, so I thought I’d just turn the discussion into a blog post! First of all, I don’t do all my shopping at Trader Joe’s (I get produce, dairy, and other items at Earth Fare and the farmers’ market), but I …
I don't believe that in recreational sports there needs to be a snack given. But on the occasion that they are, there are so many other great ideas for real food snacks that can feed the teams and classes!
5 Inexpensive Real Food Snacks for Sports and SchoolContinue Reading →
I'm often asked how in the world one can shop at Whole Foods Market without paying an arm and a leg (have you heard the term "whole paycheck?"). So I'm happy to share some of my tips for saving money while shopping the store.
Only in an ideal world could every single food purchase you make be organic, which is why the below lists can really come in handy. These reflect two important factors to consider - high levels of pesticide residue and genetically modified crops - both of which can be avoided when buying organic. And be sure to put these lists into practice beyond the produce…
One thing we expected to gain from our family’s strict “100 Days of Real Food” pledge was a new perspective. And a new perspective we got. I am convinced that before cutting out all highly processed food – including white flour and sugar – I was going through life completely oblivious to what I was …
Kids eat processed food because parents give it to them (for the most part)Continue Reading →
Even though I know refined sugar has been added to an exorbitant amount of food products, I was still a little taken aback by this statistic: "There are 600,000 food items in America. 80% of them have added sugar." - Fed Up Movie
8 (More) Products With More Sugar Than You Think!Continue Reading →
I am super excited to share this video with you today. Reading ingredient labels is one of the most important steps you can take when it comes to cutting out highly processed foods. And that's because reading the ingredients is the number one way to know what's in your food. Honestly, food marketers make it no easy task though. They distract us with misleading…
It's that time again for a misleading product roundup to recap misleading food items I've been sharing on Facebook. I know we're all currently caught up with the holiday craziness, but please don't let the busyness cause you to be fooled by some of these highly processed products!
Misleading Product Roundup III: Don’t Be FooledContinue Reading →
I have recently learned that writing out your grocery list on a "template" can make food shopping so much easier. I realize this is not a new idea...just something I am only now figuring out for some reason! Surely everyone has a running grocery list of some sort - a list where you write down "peanut butter" when you realize you are getting low…
Now before anyone starts jumping to conclusions about juicing or thinks “Geez, there is something wrong with everything” (I hate that feeling) - I want to make one thing clear: There is certainly nothing wrong with drinking vegetable juices. But there are a few reasons why I haven’t personally jumped on the juicing bandwagon myself - even after borrowing a friend's juicer and actually…
It’s time for another “Misleading Product Roundup” recapping the food items I’ve shared with you on Facebook. I can't stress enough how important it is to read the ingredients before buying any packaged food.
Misleading Product Roundup IV: Don’t Be FooledContinue Reading →
After getting better acclimated to Lisa's real food rules, I did decide to start making some changes. This didn't happen overnight, however. Now, jump back to today, two years after not only being a solid follower but a member of the team.
Kiran’s (Realistic) Quest to Cut Out Processed FoodsContinue Reading →
Our recent petition asking Kraft to remove artificial dyes from their line of macaroni and cheese has stirred up a lot of discussion about food dyes in general. It's no secret that mac and cheese is not the only product on the market harboring petroleum-based synthetic food dyes...they are unfortunately in quite a lot of processed foods. I've already shared all the reasons I…
Finding (and Avoiding) Artificial Food DyesContinue Reading →
Surely we all know by now that the Food Industry has only one thing top of mind - and that's to make money. So they do a great job of making factory-made items appear that they're good for us when in fact they're highly processed. Here are just a few items that are touted as "healthy foods" that, when you take a look at…
Video: 7 “Healthy” Foods – That Really Aren’tContinue Reading →
If “camping” is on your Labor Day agenda and you’d like to do it without straying too far from real food then you are in luck. Car camping is a lot of work (blow up beds, fluffy mattress covers and all!), but at the same time it’s SO much fun. We go once or twice …
Providing real food meals is totally worth the extra preparation time, but that doesn't mean every. single. item. has to be completely 100% homemade (thank goodness)! There are some decent store bought options out there, many of which only have one ingredient, and there are also plenty of food-like substances I'd recommend steering away from no matter what. So here's a little guide to…
Finding "real food" boxed cereal is not the easiest thing to do! I'm going to give you the low down on some of the bad, better and best options that are out there.
I used to think we were fairly adventurous eaters and cooks. And even though I didn’t actually learn to cook until after college, once I did I quickly dabbled in everything from homemade egg rolls to pasta from scratch to my grandmother’s crepes. Nothing could have prepared me though for all the “new foods” that …
Real Food Tips: 10 Items I Never Purchased Before Cutting Processed FoodContinue Reading →
We’ve been getting all sorts of questions about dairy lately, especially around the many different types of milk options out there. So hopefully this post will clear some things up. Later this month we’ll be sharing our thoughts on cheese, sour cream, yogurt, and other dairy products as well so be sure to stay tuned! …
Milk 101: Whole, Raw, Organic, Low-Fat, Etc.Continue Reading →
So, since label reading (unfortunately) isn't always as straight forward as it should be, today I'm sharing a little cheat sheet that tells you what some of the more commonly found ingredients really are.
Sunday is my food prep day for the week. And the benefits are huge, I tell you. There's no turning back once you try it.
As promised, here is Part II of the FAQs from when I recently asked our Facebook followers, “If you are new to cutting out processed food what are you most confused about at the moment?” If you missed Part I be sure to check it out for the details and also the first 9 questions/answers. Back to our FAQ list …
Real Food FAQs: You Asked, We Answered (Part II)Continue Reading →
I was pleasantly surprised with all the real food at Walmart, including organic options, that I found during a recent visit. Save money with my favorites!
I am excited to be partnering with Stonyfield on today's post! They are a great organic company that not only does their best to treat both farmers and the planet well, but also is passionate about helping in the fight to label GMOs. And today we are going to be discussing Stonyfield's signature product--organic yogurt!! I think it's safe to say that most of…
Yogurt Substitution Chart from Stonyfield (+ Recipes!)Continue Reading →
Walk through any grocery store and you'll notice the increasingly larger shelf space committed to snack bars. We took a closer look at six of them.
Snack Bars: Real Food or Really Unhealthy?Continue Reading →
