When you walk down the snack food aisle in a typical market are you ever overwhelmed by the vast array of products? Making a choice can be an even more daunting task if you are trying to make healthier choices and avoid GMOs. So where do you begin?
Many people print out various guides available on the internet – and they can be helpful. However, it can also make shopping an even more laborious chore if you have to look up every product you want to buy. The mission of this blog is to simplify food and give you the tools you need to make informed decisions on your own.
In this post I’ll review a few things you need to know before you head down the snack food aisle. If you’re looking for non-GE snack foods the best method is to pay attention to these five (5) things.
1. Read the ingredients label. I can’t emphasize this enough. You can’t trust the claims on the front of the box. As I discussed in Don’t Be Fooled by These 7 Common Food Labeling Tricks those marketing phrases are misleading at best and sometimes downright deceptive. Look for the top GMO ingredients.
2. Avoid anything you’ve seen advertised on TV. They are all highly processed which means lots of chemicals, additives, and GMO tainted ingredients like soy based ingredients (over 94% of the soy in the U.S. is GMO), cottonseed oil, corn products like high fructose corn syrup (over 88% of U.S. corn is GMO), etc.
3. Added anything is a red flag for me, unless it’s love and yes I have seen that on package labels. Look carefully at added ingredients and be sure they are not hidden GMO ingredients.
4. Look for hidden GMO ingredients like Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Flavorings (“natural” and “artificial”), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast Products.
5. Look for certification labels like the Non GMO project or the FDAs certified organic label. Of course once you find a few brands that are safe and you and your family enjoy them you can just look for your “new favorite brands.”
Some Personal Recommendations I don’t eat many snack foods but when I do these are my choices, my “new favorites.” I can personally vouch for their quality and flavor.
Kettle Brand Organic Potato Chips with Sea Salt These are the only potato chips I’ve found in my area that aren’t somehow tainted by GE ingredients. Their only ingredients are: Organic potatoes, organic vegetable oil (safflower and/or sunflower oil), sea salt.
Trader Joe’s Organic Popcorn with Olive Oil
I will admit I’m a little addicted to this popcorn. This is part of the description from T.J.’s website. I completely agree with the added dimension of flavor. (No they are not paying me. I just really love their pop corn.) “We start with organic corn grown in the Midwest – mostly Nebraska, but some from neighboring states as well. It’s air popped, then seasoned with organic extra virgin olive oil and a dusting of natural sea salt. The olive oil and sea salt add a dimension of flavor we haven’t found in other pre-popped corns. ”
Ak Mak Whole Wheat Crackers ak-mak Bakeries is Certified Organic by International Certification Services, Inc.Their only ingredients are organically grown “Whole of the Wheat” flour stone ground , clover honey, sesame oil (naturally cold pressed — not solvent extracted), dairy butter, sesame seeds, yeast and salt. I don’t remember when I started eating these, it’s been a long time though. The sesame adds a subtle dimension of flavor.
Now you know the basic guidelines and have three recommendations. You’re ready to navigate the snack food aisle without worrying about hidden GMOs.What would you add to the recommended list of snack foods? I’d love to hear about your Non GMO favorites?
myfoodfriend.wordpress.com 
[…] AVOID PROCESSED FOODS […]
LikeLike