At this point, it’s no secret processed food is inferior to whole, fresh foods.
As convenient as they are, a diet made up of processed foods is linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, joint pain and heart disease.
But we know not everyone can eat clean and meal prep 100 percent of the time – so it doesn’t mean you can’t work in some pre-packaged snacks into your diet.
When it comes to processed food, we recommend looking for items with protein and fiber to help keep you full, and minimal added sugar.
The Nutrition Twins – Tammy and Lyssie – give their recommendations for healthy processed food choices
Processed and ultra-processed foods are created using industrial methods that instill ingredients you wouldn’t normally see on a grocery store shelf, including artificial sweetener, colors, and preservatives.
But not all are created equal, and some options have a better nutritional payoff than others.
So, next time you find yourself in the snack or frozen meals section, follow our recommendations to make the best choices when it comes to navigating grocery store aisles.
Protein powders
Let’s start with a controversial one – protein powders. They can be expensive but often make a great snack in a smoothie, milkshake, yogurt or flavored oatmeal.
Protein is considered the most filling macronutrient, helping you stay fuller for longer when you eat or drink it and tamping down cravings for less healthy foods.
Recommendations for the optimal amount of protein are controversial but we advise most get around 100 grams or more per day – and protein powders make that easier.
It’s best to find a powder that packs 20 to 25 grams of protein in a single scoop. And the less sugar added the better.
A healthy calorie range for protein powders is about 120 to 180 calories, but aim for 160 or less.
Most brands are fine but some people’s guts are sensitive to them. For these folks, we recommend going with an organic or plant-based protein powder or one with stevia or monk fruit as its main sweetener.
Thanks to the powder options on the market you can find a tasty dessert flavor that squashes sugar cravings without driving up your own blood sugar levels.
Protein is an especially crucial part of a senior person’s diet. The body loses muscle mass and strength, as well as bone density as it ages.
Eating a protein-rich diet can help compensate for those losses, keeping seniors safe and helping to prevent falls.
One of the better protein powder options is from Clean Simple Eats. This company makes ‘clean’ protein powders and green mixes that never include artificial sweeteners, added flavorings, or sugars. Their products have 20 grams of grass-fed whey protein and zero artificial ingredients.
You can even turn any protein drink into a decadent milkshake with the help of some ice cubes, a blender, and a frozen banana, for sweetness, fiber, and potassium.
Clean Simple Eats makes a healthier protein powder with no added sugar or preservatives and have dessert-inspired flavors
Popcorn and other snacks
Smart snacking is easier said than done, especially when you’re presented with a bevy of delicious but not nutritious options.
It can be particularly difficult to find a healthy option that will appeal to young children.
Popcorn is a typical crowd-pleaser.
Healthy options have few ingredients and never include hydrogenated oils or other bad fats.
Many brands make lightly salted options or kettle corn favor packed with fiber, which will quell additional cravings.
The winning snack packs a combination of protein, whole grains, and proteins.
Try LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt Popcorn. With just 3 ingredients, organic popcorn, coconut oil, and Himalayan pink salt, it’s a winner in the sea of popcorns.
There are now healthier soda options that have been enriched with prebiotics
We recommend getting their individual bags because each bag only contains around 100 calories. Similar low calorie products include Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop.
Avoid brands like Cracker Jack, which list sugar and corn sugar as the first two ingredients. Cracker Jack has 14 grams of sugar in a small half-cup serving, which is more than half of the maximum 25 grams of sugar women and children should get in an entire day.
And it is nearly half of the maximum 35 grams of sugar men should get in a day.
Whatever fiber and protein-rich snack you reach for, keep it under 200 calories and make sure to eat it before you get too hungry or else it won’t fill you up.
We (and our daughters) also like snacks from Made Good. The company’s Granola Minis, for example, include vegetable powder made from broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, and shiitake mushrooms, and the product keeps the added sugar low.
Made Good snacks are considered processed foods, but unlike other processed snacks packed with hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, Made Good combines wholesome ingredients like oats, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, and beets.
Several bars and snacks from this brand also contain inulin, a powerhouse prebiotic fiber found in chicory.
Soda
The beverage industry is dominated by products packed with added sugars and devoid of any nutrients.
But telling someone to cut out sodas and sweetened drinks is not realistic – we all get cravings for a Diet Coke or Root Beer now and again.
The occasional diet soda won’t hurt anyone.
And fortunately for soda drinkers, there are now also multiple options on the market that allow people to indulge in their cravings in a way that won’t jeopardize their health.
The options include sodas infused with pre-and pro-biotics, minimal sugar or sweetened naturally, without artificial additives, and some with added nutrients and vitamins.
It remains up for debate whether the amount of prebiotic fiber in some of the sodas is enough to have an effect, but it appears the benefits of these products outweigh the health risks that other traditional sodas pack.
We like Poppi and OliPop brand sodas for this reason. OliPop knocks it out of the park when it comes to fiber, with nine grams – more than three times the amount of prebiotic fiber compared to other brands, which is nearly the same amount that most Americans get in an entire day.
Americans fall short in fiber, getting only 12 of the recommended at least 25 grams per day, so these functional beverages can help.
Frozen foods
Frozen foods typically contain enormous amounts of sodium, preservatives, and added flavors. Amy’s, however, is a more wholesome alternative with all organic ingredients
Frozen foods are rarely healthy, as the majority of brands use mountains of sodium to preserve the products and add taste.
But too much sodium is a known leading factor behind high blood pressure and heart issues.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams per day, with an even lower limit of 1,500 milligrams for individuals with high blood pressure, which is nearly half of American adults.
More than 70 percent of the sodium Americans consume comes from processed foods, including frozen meals.
Many of the frozen meals lining grocery store shelves can contain upwards of 1,000 milligrams of sodium, contributing to more than half of the recommended daily intake for 50 percent of adults in the US.
Some frozen foods also contain saturated or trans fats, artificial colors and flavors, and other sketchy ingredients.
Even so-called ‘healthy’ options can contain some of the worst health offenders.
They can sometimes be extremely high in calories, too, making them a poor fit for our clients who want to lose weight.
Freezing is itself a method of preserving food so that it doesn’t go bad quickly, but manufacturers often add other chemicals to prolong shelf life. One of the most popular additives is butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which is found in everything from frozen burgers to burritos.
BHA is known to disrupt the body’s endocrine system, a network of glands and organs that produce and store hormones that influence a wide range of bodily processes from metabolism to reproduction.
It’s also believed to be a possible carcinogen.
This is not to say that all frozen meals and TV dinners are always unhealthy.
There are plenty of nutrient-rich options out there, but it takes looking at the ingredients list to discern which ones.
Amy’s frozen foods, for instance, are all organic and vegetarian. Saffron Road uses chicken that isn’t raised with antibiotics and contains wholesome ingredients like expeller pressed sunflower oil, ginger, garlic, turmeric, nonfat yogurt, chicken broth, and tomato puree.
Look for versions that are low in calories, low in saturated fat and sugar and not too high in sodium.
Breakfast bars
Look for options that are made with organic ingredients and plant-based proteins like oats and nuts and with a natural sweetener like honey.
Many bars on the market use super sweet corn syrup to make them palatable.
Some research suggests a diet rich in corn syrup can increase the risk of fatty liver disease, obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses.
Strong options are also made with vegetable powder from ground up broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, and mushrooms.
Other good ingredients to look for on labels are chicory root, which contains prebiotic fiber, and oligofructose, which also contains prebiotic fiber, as well as some sweetness that can enhance taste.
All of these prebiotic fibers help promote good bacteria growth in the colon, improving and maintaining a healthy GI tract, maintaining blood sugar levels, and keeping you feeling full for longer.
We like the brands Kate’s Real Food and Made Good.
They’ve been able to create appealing products without loading them up with undesirable ingredients. Instead, the companies use organic wholesome ingredients like oats, nuts and honey.
Kate’s Real Food launched a new organic plant-based protein bar line that’s rich in fiber, healthy fats and antioxidants and uses honey rather than processed sweeteners, while Made Good adds organic ground veggies.
