This vs That

Ever since I began eating organic and vegan, I stopped buying “Big Brand” food products; you know the well known brands we all love in the center isles of the grocery store. Once you step away from it all, it’s insane to see how most of us count on these products and continually fork over all of our consumer dollars to these big corporations that are feeding us foods filled with anything that keeps a products shelf life, you name it they’ll use it; preservatives, dyes, trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, BHT etc. Because I don’t agree with their practices I stay away from these products and resort to less well known chemical-free choices.

I always make an attempt to tell people that there are other options out there without chemicals, preservatives, trans fats, dyes, etc. Why does a chip need Red dye 40 in it anyway? Just because a snack is organic or chemical-free, it doesn’t mean they taste any different. I’m not telling you to eat chips and cookies everyday of your life, or that you will loose weight by eating  the “organic” version, but what I am trying to say is you always have a choice; there are plenty of products out there without chemicals.

I wanted to show you examples of a few name brand snacks vs. preservative free choices that will get you thinking about what you put into your body… Just some thought provoking information…

Cheez-Its  (Ingredients)

Enriched flour, (Wheat flour,Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1]Riboflavin [Vitamin B2]Folic Acid)Vegetable Oil (Canola, Cottonseed, Palm, Sunflower and/or Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oilwith TBHQ For Freshness)Skim Milk, Cheese [Skim Milk, Whey Protein, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto Extract for Color]Two Percent or less of Milk, Salt, Paprika, Yeast, Paprika Oleoresin for Color, Cheese Cultures, Soy Lecithin).

 365 Organic Cheddar Crackers

Organic wheat four, organic oils (safflower and sunflower), natural cheddar cheese flavor, sea salt, organic cheddar cheese, organic nonfat milk, organic whey, salt, organic paprika, cream of tartar, yeast, organic malt extract, baking soda, natural flavor, natural annatto, organic red pepper, natural vitamin.

Chips Ahoy Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1), Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, Folic Acid), Semisweet Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Dextrose, Soy Lecithin – an Emulsifier), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Leavening (Baking Soda, Ammonium Phosphate), Salt, Whey, (from Milk), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color.

365 Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Organic Wheat flour, Organic dehydrated cane juice, organic modified palm oil, organic chocolate chips (organic sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic soy lechtin) organic invert sugar, sea salt, baking soda, organic vanilla extract, natural flavors, bicarbonate.

Tostitos Hint of Lime

White Corn, Vegetable Oil (contains One or More of the Following: Corn, Sunflower, or Soybean Oil)Less than 2% of the Following: Salt, Maltodextrin, Lime Juice, Lime Oil, Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Dextrose, Sour Cream (Cultured Cream, Nonfat Milk)Dry Buttermilk, Citric Acid, Sodium Diacetate, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Corn Starch, Gum Arabic, Glycerol, and Artificial Colors (including Blue 1, Red 40).

365 Organic Yellow Corn Chips

Organic stone ground yellow corn, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, water, trace of lime.

Remember we all have choices. Your best bet is to make sure you look at the ingredients before you eat anything. If you cannot pronounce it , or if the ingredient list is a paragraph long, you probably shouldn’t eat it. If it says diet, low fat, or fat free, it’s probably not good for you and in fact most likely worse (and doesn’t make you skinny). And for all you buying into the “trans-fat free” craze, it’s best if you read the ingredients, rather then just the front of the box, because partially hydrogenated oil is the same thing spelled differently. I’m not asking everyone to go completely organic, but I do think we should all be aware of what we are putting into our bodies. Your body deserves to be treated well and so do you :)