Ever since I began my journey towards a healthier life, I’ve struggled with the sheer plethora of information available on what to eat and what to avoid. It can be EXTREMELY confusing! I agree with the idea that my body thrives with REAL food but with my busy schedule, processed food is not always practical to avoid. What I CAN do, is read labels and do everything I can to make sure that the processed foods I keep on hand for the crazy days and nights are made with REAL FOOD!

Think it’s impossible? Check out my top 5 Favorite Grocery Store Finds ( that also help make my life easier ) and the ingredients that make it ok in my book!

#5

Larabar – These are so wonderful especially when I need something sweet – Ingredients (for my fav PB&J bar): Dates, Peanuts, Unsweetened Cherries, Salt

#4

Ragu Pasta Sauce – Would I prefer to make my own Pasta Sauce? YES – do I always have time for that?  NO!  So sometimes I need something from a jar and this is my pick.  Ingredients: TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, SUGAR, DEHYDRATED ONIONS, EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, SPICES, ROMANO CHEESE (PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), NATURAL FLAVOR.

#3

And what do I put this pasta sauce on?  I was OVERJOYED with this find from my local grocery store. Glycemic Health Rotini Pasta! Hubby doesn’t really know how healthy it is, so I don’t tell him 🙂 can I just say 11g of FIBER per serving?!?! Ingredients: 100% Whole Wheat, CornFiber, Whole Grain Rye, Whole Grain Buckwheat, Whole Grain Kamut, Whole Grain Spelt, Whole Grain Millet, Whle Grain Barley, & Whole Grain Brown Rice.

#2

I love the IDEA of making foods with beans.  They are a great source of fiber, protein, etc and are quite tasty.  From a frugal standpoint, they can also stretch a meal needing less meat which is always good in my book!  Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time (or remember) to soak and make beans ahead of time.  That means that Canned Beans are still a staple in my home BUT not the regular salt & sodium laden ones I used to get, I now have switched over to Eden Organic Beans and LOVE THEM! Ingredients (for the Aduki Beans here): Aduki beans, Water, Kombu Seaweed Added bonus – they use BPA Free Cans!

#1

Sometimes Breakfast is the hardest meal to get to… and yet it is also the MOST important meal of the day, right? That’s why my number 1 pick is a breakfast item I recently found.  Now, let me preface this with a disclaimer that there is more sugar than I would like to see so this is NOT an everyday breakfast – more like a couple times a week.  I love Steel cut oats but don’t always have the time to make them from scratch so you can imagine my JOY when I saw a company called Good Food Made Simple in my grocer’s freezer.In 3 Minutes of Micro time and I have a YUMMY bowl of Steel cut oats with Berries.  And they are so proud of their ingredients, they don’t even hide them in fine print on the back – they are front and center in bold Red – although they are repeated on the nutritional info section as well.  Ingredients : Filtered Water, 100% Whole Grain Steel Cut Oats, Dried Fruit & Berries (Currents, cherries, cranberries), Vermont Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar & SeaSalt.

So, I’m curious – What wonderful find have you discovered in your local grocery store?  If you haven’t, ask your store about some of these items.  If there is any demand, most grocers will gladly stock their shelves!