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Today I am once again posting a “roundup” of the misleading food products I frequently share on Facebook…just in case you missed some of these or need a friendly reminder (or simply don’t use Facebook). Please don’t let the food industry fool you with these products!

First though, if you are trying to make the switch to real food then you’ll definitely want to know about our sponsor, Tribe Wellness. They provide virtual one-on-one “real food” consultations that can be customized to your family’s specific needs (budget, food allergies, etc.). And they are currently offering all new email subscribers a FREE “Shop Healthy Guide” that’s 9 pages full of tips on how to make healthy choices at the grocery store. Their motto at Tribe Wellness is “Eating Healthy Shouldn’t Be So Hard”, and they are so right! So if you need some extra help in figuring out how to painlessly switch your family to real food then visit their website.

GoGurt

Yogurt seems like a pretty innocent snack, right? Well, take a closer look (at the ingredient list) and you’ll see that these “Strawberry Milkshake” and “Banana Split” flavored yogurt tubes don’t actually contain any strawberries or bananas at all! The flavors come from refined sugar and artificial flavors/dyes. Did you know that artificial dyes are derived from petroleum and require a warning label in some countries stating they “have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children?”

Real Food Alternative: Why not make your own yogurt tubes by filling reusable silicone molds with homemade smoothies, plain organic yogurt (that you flavor yourself), or even applesauce? My kids love the homemade versions!

Hot Cocoa

When we picked out our Christmas tree last year they had hot chocolate available for the kids. I contemplated not even reading the packet (because my daughters were of course already drinking some!), but I couldn’t help myself and this is what I saw: corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil (i.e. trans fat), artificial flavor, and a bunch of other ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce. I understand this was a convenient and cheap way for them to offer refreshments to customers, but please know making “homemade” hot chocolate is super easy as well.



Real Food Alternative: Just combine 1/2 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa (we prefer Just combine 1/2 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa (we prefer “special dark” 100% cacao ) with 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup and stir in 3/4 cup warm milk. If you own a milk frother use that to heat the milk for an extra special treat. This tastes so much better than those packets…and it’s better for you! :)

Ritz “Whole Wheat” Crackers This is yet another reason to always read the ingredient label instead of just relying on the claims on the front of the package. These Ritz Crackers boast they contain “Whole Wheat” when in reality they contain more white flour (i.e. unbleached enriched wheat flour) than they do WHOLE wheat flour . They also offer a nice dose of sugar, partially hydrogenated oil (i.e. trans fat), and high fructose corn syrup as well. Real Food Alternative: Eating some whole grains is certainly better than none, but as an alternative why not consider some 100% whole-wheat organic crackers like the ones by ak-mak instead (one of our favorites). They are available at Trader Joe’s, Earth Fare, and Amazon.

Trader Joe’s Pretzels

Please know if a product simply says “Honey Wheat” or “Wheat” that does not automatically translate into “ Whole Wheat .” Refined white flour is made from the “wheat” plant so unless you see the word “whole” listed in front it’s likely not a whole grain product. For some reason our society has nicknamed “whole wheat” products as “wheat,” but they are usually not the same thing. These Trader Joe’s pretzels look incredibly similar, but the “Honey Wheat” ones on the left contain more honey than they do whole wheat flour and the ones on the right are 100% whole-wheat. In summary, “When highly processed (a.k.a. refined) white flour is made the nutritious bran and germ are removed and only the endosperm is left, which is basically high in calories and low in nutrients.”

Real Food Alternative: The whole grain version on the right are 100% whole wheat and therefore the better choice. Would your kids even notice the difference? Now this version does also contain a small amount of corn syrup, which I agree is less than ideal, but good-quality whole-wheat pretzels are unfortunately hard to come by!

Applesauce

We celebrated one of our daughter’s birthdays at Great Wolf Lodge (indoor waterpark) this year. The water slides were awesome, but I must say…the one meal we ate at their restaurant left a lot to be desired. Once or twice a year we’ll let our daughters order off the kids menu (the rest of the time they usually split an adult entree or a plate of side items), and this was one of those rare occasions. I honestly don’t expect much from any kids menu these days, but my husband and I were both perplexed with the little applesauce container that came on the side. Since when does something as simple as applesauce need both high-fructose corn syrup and artificial red dye added for it to be appealing to kids??

Real Food Alternative: It’s actually pretty easy to find simple, suitable applesauce at the grocery store (or you can of course make it yourself). Just look for applesauce that is both organic and unsweetened with only “organic apples” – and nothing else – listed on the ingredient label.

Log Cabin All Natural Table Syrup

The syrup jug looks identical to the pure maple syrup containers and in big letters it boasts “no high fructose corn syrup” on the front. But when you turn it around you see that it’s made from brown rice syrup (yet another form of refined sugar) and not REAL maple syrup. These companies know many of us are busy and in a hurry and making decisions based on the front of the package (and in this case the shape) so you have to be very careful when making purchases! In the end “sugar is sugar,” but we do like to avoid the refined (and artificial) stuff

Real Food Alternative: Pure organic maple syrup (we usually buy grade B), but even then…use it in moderation!

Ken’s Steakhouse Honey Mustard Dressing

Leave it to the food industry to muck up something as simple as honey mustard. In this version by Ken’s they put in more refined oil (that’s likely GMO ) and high fructose corn syrup than they did honey or mustard! It also contains quite a few other questionable ingredients I wouldn’t think about putting in my salad dressing at home including calcium disodium edta, xantham gum, and artificial dye (yellow #5). Why am I even surprised?

Real Food Alternative: You can easily make honey mustard at home by combining equal parts honey and mustard (and optional olive oil).

Real Mint Jelly

I can’t say I’ve ever had mint jelly on anything myself, but this jar caught my eye because in big letters on the front it says “Real” Mint Jelly. So I of course wondered…what’s “real” about it? And as it turns out this product is basically a bunch of sugar (in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and sugar) that contains more “Citric Acid” and “Potassium Citrate” than it does actual “Oil of Spearmint.” Plus what makes the jelly so green is of course artificial dye.

Real Food Alternative: How about just some fresh mint leaves? Or if you prefer the jelly search for homemade recipes online.

Bac-Os Bits

I recently learned that Betty Crocker’s “Bac-Os” Bits are vegan (meaning no animal products or by-products). What?!?! So I of course had to look up the ingredients and this is what I found: Defatted Soy Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Water, Salt, Sugar, Artificial and Natural Flavor, Red 40 and Other Color Added, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Corn, Soy, Wheat). I didn’t exactly think this product would be “real” bacon, but I would have guessed it would at least contain some sort of meat product. But no this imitation food is made with artificial ingredients, trans fat, and a some other stuff I would never cook with at home!

Real Food Alternative: Organic (and/or locally raised) bacon. Yum.