Food: Bad, Better, Best

Bad

Better

Best

Why

Bag of crunchy deep fried potato chips

Bag of crunchy nuts that were oiled and salted in a food factory

Raw nuts

Nuts are a nutritious whole food especially when there are no unhealthy additives like oil and salt.

Orange macaroni and cheese sold in a blue box

Organic (but still refined) boxed macaroni and cheese

Homemade whole-wheat macaroni and cheese

The organic boxed macaroni and cheese is of course organic, and it also doesn’t have any artificial ingredients or food dyes. However, it is still highly processed especially since the noodles are made with refined grains (that are high in calories and low in nutrients). The homemade version is actually fairly simple to make and incorporates 100% whole-grain noodles. Even if the boxed version says “whole-grain” on the front it is most likely not even close to 100% whole-grain.

Colorful boxed cereal that changes the color of milk

Artificially flavored and/or colored ice cream

Organic “all natural” vanilla boxed ice cream made with a few simple ingredients including sugar

Ice cream made at home with a fraction of the sweetener used in the store-bought stuff

Boxed “all natural” ice cream is far superior to store-bought ice cream made with artificial additives and colors. But, even if you buy ice cream made with only a few simple ingredients it would still contain far more sugar than is necessary. Making it yourself is easy (with a modern ice cream maker), and the only way to regulate how much sweetener is being added.

Orange colored fish crackers

Organic (but still refined) cheddar-flavored bunny crackers

Homemade whole-wheat cheese crackers

The biggest problem with the store-bought crackers is that – organic or not – they are both made with highly refined white flour (that is high in calories and low in nutrients). Even if the package says “whole-grain” on the front chances are they are not 100% whole-grain. The homemade version is surprisingly simple and made with 100% whole-wheat flour. They can be frozen for later use.

Store-bought white sandwich bread

100% whole-wheat bread from a bakery or made at home

Whole-wheat bread that was made in a factory might contain some whole grain flour, but it also contains a bunch of other stuff (on the list of 40+ ingredients). Whole-wheat bread made in supermarket “bakeries” use dough sent in from central locations that also contain a lot of unnecessary additives. It is certainly a step up from “white” bread or “white wheat” bread, which is only made with refined grains (that are high in calories and low in nutrients). Buying your bread from a bakery or making it yourself is the only way to get fresh bread made with only a handful of the intended ingredients.

Bag of crunchy pretzels

Air popped or plain popcorn tossed with a small amount of salt and/or oil

The majority of the factory-made pretzels are made with refined grains (high in calories and low in nutrients). Popcorn is a 100% whole grain snack, but it is best with only a small amount of oil/salt (if any at all!).

Coffee with artificial sweetener

Coffee with a small amount of natural (and unrefined) sweetener like honey or maple syrup

All sweeteners are high in calories and low in nutrients, but at least honey and maple syrup have slightly more nutrients than the refined alternatives. No matter what kind of sweetener you use it is always best to go with a naturally made product like sugar (whether it is refined or not) over an artificially made imitation like Splenda. And all sweeteners should be used sparingly.

Store-bought conventional meat

Local grass-fed meat

The only way to truly know if the animals were humanely raised and fed a proper diet is to ask the farmer yourself.

Jelly sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup

Jelly “all-fruit” spreads that are sweetened naturally with fruit juice concentrate are far superior to varieties that list sugar or high-fructose corn syrup as the first (and most used) ingredient. It is also fairly easy to mash up some fresh fruit with a fork, which of course would be the best choice since there’s  no added sweetener at all.