A Few of My Favorite Food Products

Currently there is a big push to EAT basic HEALTHY foods and buy locally.  I definitely agree with that mantra but lets face it, sometimes convenience foods come to the rescue when you just can't manage it all.  My main objective is to find prepackaged foods that are not full of sugar, salt, and chemicals that you can't pronounce.  The least number of ingredients and natural ingredients.  If it says Yogurt, then milk better be the first ingredient and I avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup.  The most heavily used ingredients are listed in the first several slots in the ingredient list on the package.

Here are a few of my very favorite convenience foods that you might want to try.  I would love to know what you can't live without that doesn't contain a bunch of horrible ingredients ... leave a comment!

To reduce my dairy consumption (for pro-humane animal treatment - I don't have my own cow named Daisy) I switched to Almond Milk years ago.  I have found it can be swapped in baking without a taste or texture alteration.  If you like to chug milk in a glass with your Oreo's then I would recommend sticking to dairy milk.  The taste is just not the same, BUT a good substitute for that purpose is Silk Dark Chocolate PureAlmond Milk.  It is different but pretty darn good.  Coconut Milk is all the rage now and is basically equivalent in baking, but check the fat % before buying, sometimes it can be higher than Almond Milk.

I still have a weakness for dairy based Yogurt.  I have tried many different yogurts over the years and have found The Greek Gods Honey Flavored to be the absolute most delicious yogurt on the market.  It does have a higher fat % than some other comparable yogurts but this is my daily indulgence.  I pile it on my Oatmeal each morning and it is like butter on a cake.  It is my last dairy based item because I have yet to find anything non-dairy comparable.

I discovered several frozen faux meat products that even my husband loves!  My favorite veggie burger is Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lovers.  I've tried it seems every brand of frozen faux burger on the market but this is the only one that holds up on the grill and tastes BETTER than a grocery store meat burger.  If you like a big huge pile of meat, this will not satisfy you, but if you like a thin burger loaded with condiments, then this is the ticket.  The other Morningstar varieties are not as tasty.

Gardenin Crispy Tenders and Quorn Grounds, and Quorn Chikin Cheese Cutlets are abfab.  When you are enjoying your dinner, you can be relieved that this was never a factory farmed chicken or cow in a prior life.

I often match my faux meat with a side of homemade beans, salad, or to save time, grill some colorful veggies right in the pan with the frozen meat.

Making wise shopping decisions is your first step to improving your health and our planet.  Some faux meat products contain way too many weird ingredients so look at the label before purchasing.

May be eating meat free is new to you, so start with "Meatless Monday" and give some of my suggestions a try and comment on my blog as to what you thought!

-Rebecca