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One activity I really enjoy is browsing the aisles of healthfood or specialty food stores, checking labels and searching for quality products. I especially like to do this when I’m out of town to compare brands that are on the shelves in my community.
It’s almost like a treasure hunt … most items get a thumbs down, but it is always exciting to find that one off, awesome item with a list of carefully considered, quality ingredients that you can feel good serving your family and will save you some time in the kitchen too!
I’ve found several really good products in recent weeks, and I thought I’d share them with you in case they aren’t on your radar yet.
Please note that the price of these items will likely be a lot cheaper in the store than they are listed online. Better yet, try to get them through a bulk food club in your community and you will save even more.
The great thing about seeing the product online first, though, is that it makes finding it in the store much easier as you know exactly what the product packaging looks like.
If your healthfood store doesn’t carry some of these items, simply note the brand information and maybe print off a picture and take it to the manager. In my experience, most healthfood store managers will gladly order whatever item you want because chances are, there are a lot of other people who would like it too.
Have you tried any of these products yet? If so, what do you like (or don’t like) about them?
No Grain Pasta
Yes, it’s true. You’re not dreaming.
Even those on a grain free or low carb diet can now enjoy a bowl of pasta and experience the satisfying pasta-like texture too (unlike sweet potato pasta or zoodles). I was totally thrilled to find this no grain penne pasta made out of red lentils recently. Lentils are ok on the GAPS Diet, so even those on a strict regimen to heal the gut can enjoy pasta on occasion (just don’t overdo as these lentils are not sprouted or soaked). This red lentil pasta is delicious and easy to cook. Best of all, one ingredient: organic red lentils. Click here to check it out.
Cheese Crackers
Don’t you get frustrated with the ingredients of most organic cheese crackers on the market? They are full of additives and MSG (usually disguised with the alias “yeast extract”) and have a list of ingredients a mile long.
You can imagine my relief and excitement to finally find a quality brand of cheese crackers to pack in my kids’ lunches. They taste amazing and are even gluten free. Check out the quality ingredients: rice flour, sharp cheddar cheese, potato starch, tapioca starch, annatto seed (for natural color), cultured buttermilk, sea salt, guar gum, cream of tartar, baking soda.
That’s it! Can you believe it? These are, far and away, the best cheese crackers I’ve ever seen in a store. The only thing I don’t like about them is that my healthfood store stocks them in little individual snack pack boxes, which to me is a wasteful way of packaging. I would prefer just a big box or better yet, a recyclable, resealable bag. The company now offers a bag, so I am going to ask the store manager to stock this instead of the snack pouches. Click here to check out the packaging so you know what you are looking for.
Sprouted Grain Cookies
Love, love, LOVE these cookies. I’ve been buying the sprouted lentils and sprouted quinoa from Tru-Roots for awhile, but now they’ve come out with a line of sprouted cookies too!
Check out this list of ingredients for the orange ginger flavor: organic flour (made of amaranth, brown rice, sprouted adzuki, and sprouted quinoa), palm fruit oil (yay, a healthy fat!), organic apple puree, organic coconut sugar, organic brown sugar, organic ginger, organic tapioca flour, organic orange peel, vanilla extract, sea salt, organic cinnamon, organic ginger powder, xanthan gum, organic nutmeg, organic allspice.
Other sprouted cookie flavors include classic vanilla and chocolate chip. Click here to check out the whole line.
Dairy Free Shortening
Need a dairy free, neutral flavored shortening for baking cookies, biscuits, pie crusts etc?
This healthy shortening made from a budget friendly blend of coconut oil and red palm oil is perfect for all your baking needs as well as a stir fry dish when your vegan friends come to dinner.
I keep a tub in my fridge for just such a purpose. I’ve actually started using it for baking cookies for parties and bake sales too, as this blend of healthy fats works for just about anyone regardless of allergy status. Check out the packaging here so you know what you’re looking for at the store.
Healthy Sunflower Oil
Sunflower oil has a bad rap these days as most brands on the market are high in omega 6 fats. While essential, the Western diet contains far too much omega 6 fat which contributes greatly to inflammation issues.
If you love the very mild taste of sunflower oil like I do (making it the perfect oil for homemade mayo, in my opinion), click here to check out this high oleic sunflower oil made from a special variety of sunflower seed made by a 130 year old family farm in Wisconsin. I just discovered this oil at the recent Wise Traditions Conference, and I love it!
High oleic oils mean that the predominant fat is omega 9 or monounsaturated fat (like olive oil). This sunflower oil gives you the mild flavor without the excessive omega 6 fats.
Wholesome Pie Crusts
I actually did not make my own pie crusts this Thanksgiving for the first time ever! This is because my husband found this amazing quality traditional pie crust at the healthfood store with fantastic ingredients: organic wheat flour, organic palm oil, water, organic cane sugar, sea salt.
It really is such a relief to have companies coming out with quality products so we stressed out Moms can buy a few things here and there instead of having to make everything all the time which, after many years doing this (speaking from experience here), gets really exhausting!
Do you have some awesome healthfood store finds to share? Please let us know what they are in the comments section!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
More Information
Sarah,
How do you feel about Ezekiel sprouted bread products? I recently went no grain but started picking up this bread for my kids lunches because going no grain for them 24/7 was getting too hard. I looked at Udi’s gluten free bread but was disappointed in the ingredients (like canola oil!)
I don’t care for the Ezekiel breads as I’ve noticed they contain sprouted soy. I buy my sourdough bread from a local Middle Eastern bakery. So fortunate to have this company locally!
Ezekiel 7 Sprouted Grain bread does not contain soy. They also have a 7 Sprouted Grain Cinnamon Raisin with no soy.
One thing to note though is that in the last year or so Ezekiel brand bread has begun to add vital wheat gluten to all products except, that I’ve noticed, their sprouted bagels.
Sarah, I saw the Nutiva shortening, last week, at the health food store I frequently shop at. I got it and used it for my apple pie crust. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about it as no one in my husband’s family eats the way we do. I thought they would be able to tell it was not the typical shortening and wouldn’t eat the pie. But, the crust was great! There was not a hint of coconut flavor. The manager of that section of the store told me that customers had said that just a pinch of salt helps to hide the coconut flavor. Most recipes do call for some amount of salt. I cannot wait to try it in other products with my Christmas baking, such as the sesame cookies!
Not sure why this product would be needed as most of us have coconut oil in the house and probably red palm oil as well. And if not, I would think it would be less expensive to just purchase the two ingredients and make this ourselves. I actually hadn’t thought of doing that prior to reading this article. We do have both ingredients and since we are dairy free, I regularly use coconut oil in place of butter/ghee. Next time I bake, I think I’ll do a mix to add in the palm oil.
Recently, my husband went to Costco and he came back with a box of black bean spaghetti. I’m sure it’s not soaked/sprouted, but it is exciting to see some healthier options pop up. The ingredients are just black beans and water. The brand name is Explore Asian Authentic Cuisine. I also like Shea Moisture’s Baby Healing Lotion. I found it at my local Kroger and all the ingredients are things that I would know (which is saying a lot 🙂 )
Thank you for sharing!
This is such a fun post, I love reading ingredients on labels, and that feeling when you see something that has simple and healthy ingredients, “Wow, real food in a package, I can’t believe it!”
It really is so exciting to read a label and realize the ingredients are just as good as what you would select yourself if you were CEO of that company 🙂
I love the gluten free organic lentil pasta! They are delicious and I have made them a couple times with sauteed organic spinach, tomato sauce and Manchego sheep cheese on top. I agree that it is exciting to find products that are actually healthy and easy to use to give us a break in the kitchen at times!
Love your blog and thanks for all your great posts.
Thanks for the suggestions, Sarah. What are your thoughts on avocado oil? I have seen the big bottles of it at Costco and have even tried it in my homemade avocado. It has a nice mild flavor also. I’ve tried to do some research on it, but haven’t seen anything definitive.
Avocado oil is wonderful, but I would not buy big bottles of it at Costco .. I would be very concerned about the avocado oil being blended with cheaper vegetable oils. Avocado oil is expensive and anything cheap and sold at Costco raises my suspicions!
Hi, the exact same bottle of avocado oil that is ‘cheap’ at costco costs just under twice as much at a specialty stores for the same size bottle. I invested in a bottle and don’t regret it. Coconut oil and avocado oil are the only non animal fats I use for my family. Avocado oil is also great for hair and body just like coconut oil!
Yes, and the stuff at Costco is probably old or a batch that had some sort of problem at the manufacturer. You get what you pay for. I don’t buy my healthy fats at Costco, Walmart or any other big box retailer. They are part of the problem with food in this country, in no way a part of the solution.
Hi Sarah,
I love the price of Kerrygold butter at Costco, what do you think about this???
Kel
I guess that’s ok since it’s refrigerated. I never shop at Costco (or Sams or any of the other big box retailers). I don’t believe in supporting them with my food dollars.
And most oils at Costco are in plastic. Oil will leach components of plastic (which is made from oil) out of the plastic. Also many of the bottles have improper tops and are always leaking oil all over everything. Glass is recycled here in America. Even Costco’s highly rated olive oil is in plastic. BTW the olive crop from Italy and Spain will be small for next year due to weather and insects. Do not waste it by using it for cooking where the oil is compromised by the high heat and the flavor is covered up with spice, onion, garlic. Use olive oil on salad or on cooked vege after cooking.
Good point.
I would suggest asking Costco about their sourcing. I do get what Sara is saying – but I do know that sometimes Costco surprises you & it’d be a shame to not buy something that could be a good deal w/o more research.
I don’t trust Costco’s answer about their sourcing anymore than I would trust Walmart. The truth is, they have *no idea*.
However, they do sell Nutiva coconut oil, Nutiva coconut flour, Honeyville almond flour, many organic frozen fruits and veggies, TruRoots sprouted bean trio, etc. For many large families this can be quite a savings with all the great products they have brought in.
That penne looks awesome, and I’ve been a fan of the brand making those cookies for a while now, I get sprouted quinoa and germinated rice produced by them, often at our local health food store. I also love that shortening, even though we don’t usually eat dairy free. I’m interested to check out the crackers! And I recently got those pie crusts on a fantastic sale at Kroger, of all places, and while I love that there are options like that available for quick and easy, we all found it pretty tasteless compared to my homemade pie crust made with freshly ground Einkorn, lard, and butter! 😀
my co-op carries “paleo sticks” that have 35% organ meats. you can’t taste the offal at all. a great on-the-go snack!
Jessica, can you share the brand name or producer?
if only money grew on trees….
If you stop eating all wheat you will not need so much food and will be able to afford better quality. If you happen to lose weight when you stop eating wheat, as an added bonus you will need less food because you are smaller.
I noticed in the ingredients you listed for the cheese crackers and cookies that they contain guar gum and xanthan gum. From the research you’ve done would you really recommend consuming these gums? I thought they were not good for our gut. Almost all packaged cream cheese has one of these gums in it. I’ve been avoiding them, so am trying to make my own! I have been able to make some really good homemade raw cream cheese from my grassfed guernsey cow which is really exciting!
Also I wanted to buy some sweet pickle relish to make Thousand Island dressing, and all the brands at the health food store had one or the other gums in it, too.
I would appreciate your insight here.
Thank you, Sarah:-)
Gums do bother some folks but not everyone and I would venture to suggest most people tolerate them quite well. They don’t bother me at all and I don’t have a problem consuming them from time to time. Xanthan gum in particular is frequently used in gluten free products as it helps hold the product together in the absence of gluten which performs this task for wheat containing products.
I make homemade Thousand Island dress using the Bubbies brand of pickle relish. It isn’t sweet but is instead a dill type which makes a delicious dressing, plus Bubbies has natural probiotics because it is naturally fermented.
I cannot look in my bible of cook books, The Joy of Cooking as I am on the road. However, if I remember correctly the sweetness in Thousand Island dressing comes from the chili sauce or catsup. It uses chopped onion, green or sweet red pepper, and green olives. If tomato paste or sauce is used, then the sweet can be from sweet pickles. Don’t make it too sweet which is the fad of so many processed foods these days.