8 Processed Food Brands That I Trust
The biggest question I always get in my practice is… “What brands of packaged foods are considered healthy?”
Most nutritionists would say to only eat whole foods and barely allow processed foods, but I personally believe there is enough room for the both of them!
Between protein bars, salad dressings, chips, candy, and to-go snacks, there are actually a lot of clean options. But be aware, there are also companies that “green wash” customers, making the packaging appear healthier than the product actually is.
Here are some of my fan favorites:
Go Macro: Protein bars
Primal Kitchen (No Refined Oils): Dressings + Sauces
Siete Foods (Grain-Free): Tortillas, chips + dips
Simple Mills (Grain-Free): Crackers, cookies + bread
Banana Organic (Grain-Free): Plantain chips
Lesser Evil (No Refined Oils): Organic popcorn
Vital Farms (Pasture-Raised): Butter, ghee, eggs + to-go snacks
Hu Brand (Paleo): Chocolate bars
Go Macro bars are the only bars I could find that fit all the healthy criteria of a “protein bar”. Most conventional to-go bars contain way too much refined sugar, inflammatory oils, or just plain taste like garbage. Every product Go Macro makes is organic, gluten free, soy free, dairy free, and completely raw – no bar containing less than 10g of protein (that I have seen). If you ever get these, you have to try the Maple Sea Salt flavor, it’s my newest breakfast addiction.
Primal Kitchen literally makes everything: dressings, sauces, marinades, mayo, pasta sauce, oils, ketchup, and many other condiments. What’s the best part of all of these? They’re all clean! This means no added sugars, fillers, or artificial ingredients you can’t pronounce. So whenever you are in need of something saucey, you can always rely on this brand to bring you real food ingredients.
The story of Siete Foods always bring tears to my eyes, as it’s a story rooted in family helping heal one of the Garza’s autoimmune conditions by eliminating refined grains! This brand substitutes all grains for cassava flour, whole vegetables, and eliminates toxic oils by using avocado oil. Although I love their chips, their cashew queso is to die for.
Simple Mills is just that… simple! Their products are usually under ten ingredients total, all real organic ingredients, grain-free, and just down-right delicious. You can find their crackers and bread mixes at pretty much any health food store.
Barnana Organic plantain chips are the best low-glycemic snacks I have ever tasted. They are composed of coconut oil baked plantains and salt… that’s it. Lesser Evil is the same deal, but with popcorn! No added fillers and without the harmful oils.
Vital Farms is the gold standard of grass-fed, grass-finished animal products like eggs, butter, and ghee. And if you’ve never tried Hu Chocolate… run to the store RIGHT NOW. This paleo chocolate has zero refined sugar and is certified organic.
There is a much bigger list out there of healthy, amazing brands that make processed foods. So do your research and read your labels, don’t just look at the front.
Preferably, choose foods that are:
~ limited ingredients
~ properly prepared
~ from a good source
~ free of any toxic oils like canola, corn, or soy
~ organic when possible
However, I do suggest focusing more on whole foods and meals made at home. I personally like to follow an 80/20 rule, as 80% of my meals are whole, single ingredient foods, while the rest can be processed or packaged foods.
Happy Eating!
