We all want to feel our best, but sometimes the choices we make at the grocery store are filled with hidden ingredients that don’t exactly support a healthy Lifestyle. The good news? A healthier routine doesn’t have to mean a total Diet overhaul—it can start with simple swaps!
Quote of the day: “There is no arrival. Only the journey.” Jalen Hurts
Whether it’s your morning coffee, favorite snack, or go-to pantry staple, switching to options without unnecessary chemicals and additives is an easy way to nourish your body while still enjoying the flavors you love.
This idea was inspired by my stepmom, Nancy. When Nancy was out visiting at Thanksgiving she was asking for ways to make sure she was eating as healthy as possible.
And with Rob’s functional nutritionist and history with a nutrition coach in the past, as well as all of the research that I have done over the past 10 years, I have some great ideas to share as simple swaps to make it easy for you.
Insider tip: Yuka is a free app for rating food and beauty products. It can be downloaded for both Android and Apple phones.
The free app only works if there is a UPC code on the product. It gives a rating as well as why they rate it and alternative products.
They say the app is 100% independent.
I would say that condiments are one of the biggest sources of hidden added ingredients. Who realized that most pickles have food dyes in them to make them look prettier?
Insider tip: Even if you don’t opt for the brands I showcase, the important part with your simple swaps is to find ones without chemicals and additives. I would love to hear your favorites too.
If you use syrup either on pancakes, waffles, or even as a sweetener in your baking, you want to make sure you are using 100% pure maple syrup.
Stay away from “pancake syrup” whose first ingredient is usually corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup.
Many popular ketchup brands include high fructose corn syrup/corn syrup. The reason we don’t want corn syrups in our bodies is that they cause inflammation and that’s the last thing we need. We don’t need added chemicals in our food.
For instance, we buy this brand shown and the ingredients are Tomato Concentrate, apple puree, vinegar, carrot puree, butternut squash, salt, onion powder, and allspice.
No added sugar or chemicals…that’s the way to go.
Insider tip: Be careful of No Sugar Added claims. Many companies call sugar by other names like dextrose, sucrose, maltose, and rice syrup. Don’t fall for it…make sure to read the ingredients and google what you don’t recognize.
Most popular brands of nut butter include some sweetener…it’s not needed.
Our Almond butter from Trader Joe’s has 1 ingredient: Almonds.
Insider tips: Don’t Stress over if there is also salt in your nut butter. If you are eating healthy foods, this will not work against you. But if you worry, there are ones without salt.
-Keep natural nut butter in the fridge so the oil doesn’t separate…then you don’t have to mix it every time you use it.
We eat nut butter and apples as a common snack. Our nutrition coach suggested it instead of just a piece of fruit which is sugar (natural sugar, but sugar nonetheless). The addition of a nut butter with the fruit lowers the glucose spike.
While I only make my own now, this brand is the clean one I would suggest.
Need some ideas for homemade salad dressing recipes? This article will help. BTW, one of the reasons to get rid of the other brands is the seed oil. One thing I learned from my Sensible Medicine email is “Calorie dense processed foods are designed to be irresistible, and their excessive consumption contributes to weight gain and poor health. So, while seed oils are a convenient and cost-effective ingredient, it’s their role in the creation of unhealthy, processed foods that’s likely the real problem”
Seed oils are canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, etc…Look for olive oil or avocado oil instead.
These are the ingredients for Primal Kitchen’s mayo: Avocado Oil, Organic Eggs, Organic Egg Yolks, Organic Vinegar, Sea Salt, and Organic Rosemary Extract.
It’s good to stay away from soybean oil and most popular brands have sugar or some chemicals in them.
It is slightly more expensive than the popular brands which is one reason I tend to make my own (here is one recipe I use). Another simple swap would be to use yogurt instead of mayo, so you don’t need 2 different condiments in your fridge.
Look to make sure there isn’t Polysorbate 80 (would you put that in your homemade pickles? I think not) or artificial colors. Many pickles contain Yellow or Red food coloring.
Even this brand isn’t perfectly clean as it has calcium chloride.
These tortilla chips have 4 ingredients: corn, avocado oil, salt, and lime. The big ingredients to stay away from are modified oils like palm oil, canola oil, grapeseed, etc
This brand only has the 3 ingredients listed on the front…these are from Trader Joe’s.
One of our tricks to make these as healthy as possible is to dip them in guac or eat them with our homemade soup.
We don’t just eat them by themselves…
–Snack Bars
We don’t eat snack bars daily, but they are nice to have for when we are on the run and need something.
Usually, we will have a snack bar and some jerky at those times.
LaraBars are some of the cleanest bars out there. No chemicals or stuff.
In fact, I used to make my own by blending nuts and dates with spices in my food processor.
This has been our favorite yogurt of late from Trader Joe’s. It’s clean, with no added ingredients and 15g of protein.
Luckily we don’t have lactose issues because if you get Coconut yogurt, there’s no or very little protein in it.
If we aren’t shopping at Trader Joe’s, then Nancy’s yogurt is also a great option.
But no matter which brand you get, you’re better off with plain…not flavored. Even the vanilla-flavored ones are full of extra stuff.
Insider tip: Need it flavored? Add your own fruit and smush it up.
I hope no one is buying flavored creamer for their coffee anymore.
If you are, here is the list from Coffeemate’s label: WATER, SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (HIGH OLEIC SOYBEAN AND/OR HIGH OLEIC CANOLA), AND LESS THAN 2% OF MICELLAR CASEIN (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CELLULOSE GEL, CELLULOSE GUM, CARRAGEENAN.
I use whipping cream instead but I was just as surprised to find some unexpected ingredients in the store-brand whipping cream I was using recently.
Again, who knew?
Luckily I found this whipping cream that ONLY has cream in it.
Insider tip: Check your half and half too. I’ve found extra ingredients in that option also.
WHY would you check cottage cheese? Isn’t it just milk??AND more surprising to me was the fact that Daisy Brand is as clean as they come. (I often find the popular big-name brands to be less clean).
INSIDER TIP: Notice there is 13g of protein. This is especially helpful to make sure you’re getting enough protein.
We add it to our scrambled eggs every morning. It’s delicious.
One of my health-conscious friends (thanks Sarah) suggested Manuka honey to me last year. I bought some at the grocery store but just discovered this brand after Christmas. In a blind taste test with Rob, this one was creamier and tasted smoother.
If you believe what they say, Manuka honey has more antibacterial properties than regular honey.
Insider tip: If you are going to get regular honey, at least try to buy local honey instead of the big brand versions because it’s usually fresher, more sustainable, and contains pollens that are native to your area.
Of course, we could all make our own pasta/marinara sauce. But for convenience’s sake, I’m sure I’m not the only one that buys it already made.
This brand (found at Sam’s no less) is fabulous.
We also get a couple from Trader Joe’s that are also clean without added sugars and chemicals.
Many of the blends have sugar or natural flavors in them. While this one from Trader Joe’s is clean, not all of theirs are.
Insider tip: Sometimes it’s better to just make your own blend with the individual spices.
Rob’s functional nutritionist suggested we incorporate bone broth into our diet more.
First off, I was surprised at how many of the store brands had added cane sugar…CRAZY.
We find this brand at Trader Joe’s but you can find it on Vitacost also (it’s less expensive at TJ’s).
HOW TO USE IT: My new favorite way is to substitute the water in my rice or quinoa with the bone broth. It makes it taste SO SO Much better as well as we get the nutritional benefits.
Insider tip: To save Money, do half and half. Half bone broth, and half plain water for your rice or quinoa liquid.
WHY: For Rob, it is to help his digestion. But bone broth is also a great source of collagen and nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus It’s healthy, just like when my grandma made soup from bones she got from the butcher.
Collagen is another great way to add protein to our diet.
There is a lot of controversy about whether eating collagen helps with our skin, nails, etc…but I’ve decided to keep it in my diet purely as extra protein.
1 scoop gives me 9 g of protein. I add it to my coffee but it also works in tea or smoothies, etc.
There are a TON of brands making collagen powder and we’ve tried at least a dozen. Right now we found this brand on iHerb as it seemed clean and was less expensive than many of the others.
This is another brand that we have in our cupboard that is very clean.
Insider tip: If you don’t eat red meat, there is marine collagen (although I notice that there are natural flavors in this brand’s marine collagen).
Dried cranberries have added sugar.
BUT make sure to check the ingredients on your raisins too. The golden raisins I almost bought had citric acid added. These are clean-just dried grapes.
Any nutritionist will tell you to limit any dried fruit though. Even though it’s natural, it still spikes your glucose levels.
Insider tip: A great book about tricks to keep your glucose levels from spiking is the Glucose Goddess.
All of the research I’ve done shares that diet pop is worse for you than normal pop as studies have linked it to cardiovascular problems, gut issues, and increased cravings for sweets due to the artificial sweeteners.
That’s why I wanted to share what I recently read from the editor of Reader’s Digest from July/Aug 2024 (yes, I’m behind on my reading).
She said “First I did some research about breaking the Diet Coke habit (which seems to have an inordinate number of Gen X women in its clutches).
I read that the best way forward is to replace both the caffeine and the bubbles.
So I stocked up on green tea and flavored seltzer and gave those a try.
Ten or so years later, I drink the occasional soda, but almost never Diet Coke. The spell is broken.”
If you’re a coffee drinker, then it might be time to switch to non-toxic coffees.
There are 3 that we alternate with:
1-Purity Coffee
2-Bulletproof (also found at Sprouts)
3-Seven Weeks (pictured)
This was suggested by Rob’s nutrition coach and is important if you drink coffee daily because the toxins can disrupt your gut.
Important tip: Think about the cumulative effect of these toxins. One cup of coffee a month is not going to hurt you, but if you drink it every morning…then it could be an issue.
The popular brand’s 1st 2 ingredients are sugar and corn syrup. EEK.
That’s why this is part of my simple swaps. The only ingredients in the Ryze hot chocolate are:
Coconut Milk Powder, Coconut Water Powder, Organic Cacao Powder, RYZE Sleep blend (Glycine, Organic Reishi extract, L-theanine, Zinc (Zinc Citrate), Melatonin), Chicory Root.
Rob and I started drinking this nightly to get our dosage of mushrooms and have a sweet treat without the sugar.
Granted it’s much more expensive, which is why we split a mug at dinner.
The only thing I don’t like is the company has an automatic subscription service. But they are good about emailing you a couple of days before so you can cancel or reschedule it if you don’t need more.
I am an affiliate with the company since we use both it and the mushroom coffee daily and really love them. So if you go through my link, I will get a small commission. That’s not why I share this, because I’m sure there are other mushroom hot chocolates available. Let me go check…
This one is on Amazon and is even less expensive and the ingredients look good too if you want another option.
Costa Rica has been in the news with loads of troubles with pesticides in their soil. While I read about this last year, it doesn’t seem to have gotten better yet (truthfully, I’m sure it will take years).
If you don’t believe me, then Google it and you make the decision.
Right now we try to only buy pineapples that aren’t grown in Costa Rico (we recently found some at Sprouts).
Rob’s nutritional coach suggested this years ago.
Cook your potatoes and then allow them to cool, and then refrigerate them before eating.
This makes them starch resistant and thus increases the fiber content…and we all probably could use more fiber in our diet.
Insider tip: I’ve heard this is true for rice and pasta too. Or freezing bread before you toast it.
Healthy habits don’t have to be complicated. By making simple swaps at the grocery store, you’re creating a foundation for a healthier body and a lifestyle that feels good inside and out. Whether you start with cleaner coffee, a better-for-you creamer, or a pantry staple that’s free from artificial additives, every little change adds up.
One way to think about the simple swaps:
-If you use it more than once a week, throw it out and buy the cleaner version.
-If you use it much less than that, finish it off, but purchase a version of simple swaps next time.
Insider tip: You can find interesting information in the book Ultra Processed People written by a doctor.
The best part? These swaps don’t just benefit your health—they often taste even better than the originals! So, why not challenge yourself to make one change today? Your body will thank you!
Insider tip: You can get obsessive about trying to only eat clean. Remember, life is short which is why I tried to make these simple swaps functional but as easy as possible.
As much as I love my site, Jodie’s Touch of Style, I really enjoy putting together my daily emails. I consider my emails an extension of my blog that is chocked full of positive inspiration that one friend calls a “Variety Show.”
I include articles, videos, and posts that strike my fancy and since I have no siblings to share with, I share with you.
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