In our modern lives, sometimes it's not practical to cook, because let’s be honest, who always has time for that? When time is a constraint, we can often be drawn to prepared foods, yet feel concerned about what we’re eating. There’s a lot of buzz in the health world about not eating packaged foods - and for good reason! So many of the processed and packaged foods in the stores are laden with chemicals disguised as food (and some are not-so-disguised…).
Thankfully, there are some companies out there who are helping health-conscious eaters marry healthy with convenience. And contrary to popular belief, with these brands, healthy is not tasteless nor completely restrictive and unenjoyable. So get ready for some great suggestions to help you maintain your health-focus and enjoy delicious on-the-go foods!
Quick Snacks:
Go Raw – @go_raw
Salad Toppers flavors: Italian Herb, Garlic Thyme, Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper;
Sprouted Seeds & Nuts*
Crackers:
Simple Mills – @simplemills
Almond flour flavors: Rosemary & Sea Salt, Fine Ground Sea Salt; Veggie pita flavors: Himalayan Sea Salt, Mediterranean Herb, Roasted Red Pepper
Hu – Get back to human - @hukitchen
Grain Free flavors: Everything, Sea Salt, Pizza*
Chips & Tortillas:
Siete – @sietefoods
Grain Free chip flavors: Lime, Sea Salt, Other Flavors*
Grain Free tortillas: Almond Flour, Cassava Flour*
Broths & Soups:
Kettle & Fire – @kettleandfire
Bone Broth flavors: Classic Beef Bone Broth, Classic Chicken Bone Broth
Smart Chicken - @smartchicken_official
Bone Broth flavors: Organic Classic Chicken Bone Broth
Pacific Foods – @pacificfoods
Organic Soups: Chicken & Wild Rice, Thai Sweet Potato, Hearty Italian Vegetable Soup
Pasta & Rice:
Jovial – brown rice pasta - @jovialfoods
Bionaturae – rice & lentil pasta - @bionaturae_organics
Seeds of Change – 90 second organic brown rice & quinoa (contains sunflower oil)
Tasty Bite – 90 second organic brown basmati rice (contains sunflower oil)
Pizza Crust:
Cappello’s – Naked Almond Flour Crust - @cappellos
Sauces:
Primal Kitchen - @primalkitchenfoods
Dressing flavors: Italian vinaigrette & marinade, Greek vinaigrette & marinade
Sauce flavors: No Dairy Vodka Sauce, No Soy Island Teriyaki Sauce, many other selections*
Sir Kensingtons – Olive oil mayonnaise - @sirkensingtons
Maya Kaimal – Vegan Tikka Masala, Everyday Dal sauce packs - @mayakaimalfoods
Rao’s Homemade – Marinara - @raoshomemade
Lucini – No sugar added organic Rustic tomato basil sauce – www.lucini.com
Yai’s Thai - Yellow thai coconut curry sauce - @yaisthai
Sweet snacks (oh yeah!):
Hu – Get back to human - @hukitchen
Grain Free cookie flavors: Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter
Siete – Juntos es mejor - @sietefoods
Grain Free cookie flavors: Mexican Chocolate, Mexican Shortbread, Mexican Wedding*
That’s It – @thatsit
Fruit bar flavors: All flavors are based with apple, plus complimenting fruit - they’re all good!
LaraBar – original fruit & nut bar – @larabar
Fruit & nut bar flavors: All flavors are based with dates & cashews, plus whole ingredients
These are brands I have personally used and can endorse. Many of these brands have additional flavors or product lines which I have not yet tried – these are marked with *. If these brands aren’t available in your local store, you can check out Thrive Market, a direct-ship company supporting healthy living brands, with completely sustainable packaging and shipping supplies.
You're also likely to find other great products out there! Please share your favorites here so that I can check them out!! All the products I suggest are gluten free and dairy free (my personal dietary needs) and represent my biggest rule of thumb if you're buying packaged foods: look for the fewest ingredients (8 or less is GREAT), and ingredients you can find in nature. Organic and non-GMO are also good things to look for, but finding products with simple ingredients is the best place to start!!