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Food Swaps for Improved Quality



The Importance of Food Quality: Choosing What Nourishes You
The Importance of Food Quality: Choosing What Nourishes You

If you’re looking for where to start on improving your diet, focusing on food quality should be at the top of your list. The same category of meals—a sandwich, for example—can have vastly different nutritional impacts depending on the quality of the ingredients. Understanding the tiers of food processing and how to make informed choices is the key to building a nourishing diet that supports your overall health.


Understanding Food Processing Tiers

Not all processed foods are created equal. Here’s a breakdown of the three main categories of food processing:


1. Ultra-Processed Foods

Ultra-processed foods are highly manipulated with additives, preservatives, artificial flavors, and industrial ingredients, and they no longer resemble their original form as whole foods. These are often ready-to-eat or heat-and-serve products designed for convenience but lack nutritional value.


Examples Include:

  • Packaged cookies and chips like Lays, Doritos, Oreos, Chips ahoy, etc.

  • Frozen dinners

  • Sugary breakfast cereals like cheerios, frosted flakes, fruit loops

  • Soda and energy drinks

  • Fast food like chick-fil-A, McDonalds, Taco Bell


2. Processed Foods

Processed foods are minimally altered to preserve shelf life or improve taste but may still contain some additives.


These include:

  • Canned soups

  • Prepackaged bread

  • Siete tortilla chips

  • Miss Jones gluten free cookies

  • Primal Kitchen Salad dressings

  • Cheese and yogurt with added sugars or flavorings


3. Minimally Processed Foods

Minimally processed foods are closer to their natural state, with simple methods like freezing, fermenting, or pasteurizing used to enhance safety or longevity. Examples include:

  • Frozen fruits and vegetables

  • Plain yogurt

  • Plain peanut butter

  • Whole-grain or sourdough breads with minimal ingredients

  • Bone Broth


Food Quality: It’s All in the Ingredients

Even within the same meal category, the quality of ingredients makes all the difference. Let’s take a burger as an example:

  • Ultra-Processed Burger: Contains grain fed beef with fillers, sugary ketchup, processed cheese, and a refined white bun.

  • Minimally Processed Burger: Features 100% grass-fed beef, homemade tomato sauce, raw cheddar, and a whole-grain or sourdough bun.


By prioritizing higher-quality ingredients, you can elevate your meals to better nourish your body withouth having to say goodbye to the meals you love .


Healthy Food Swaps: What to Look For

Making healthier food choices starts with understanding what to avoid and what to seek out. Here are some specific tips for common food categories:


1. Meat

  • What to Look For: 100% Grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic meats or wild-caught fish.

  • Avoid: Conventional meats with added hormones, antibiotics, nitrates or fillers.


2. Dairy

  • What to Look For: Organic, 100% grass-fed, A2, non-homogenized or raw dairy with minimal ingredients.

  • Avoid: Dairy products with added sugars, artificial flavorings, or gums.


3. Snacks

  • What to Look For: Snacks made with whole ingredients like nuts, seeds, or whole-grain flours.

  • Avoid: Items with artificial dyes, high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, or seed/vegetable oils.


4. Sweets

  • What to Look For: Desserts sweetened with natural options like honey, maple syrup, or dates.

  • Avoid: Sweets with refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives.


5. Breads

  • What to Look For: Sourdough, sprouted grain, or 100% whole-grain breads with simple ingredient lists.

  • Avoid: Breads made with enriched wheat flour, added sugars, or artificial additives.


6. Nut Butters

  • What to Look For: Products with just nuts and a pinch of salt.

  • Avoid: Nut butters with hydrogenated oils, added sugars, or artificial flavors.


Ingredients to Avoid

To make informed decisions, here are some common red-flag ingredients to steer clear of:

  • Artificial sweeteners (e.g., aspartame, sucralose)

  • High-fructose corn syrup

  • Inflammatory oils (canola, vegetable, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, peanut)

  • Artificial dyes (e.g., Red 40, Yellow 5)

  • Preservatives (e.g., BHT, BHA, sodium benzoate)

  • Flavor enhancers (e.g., American MSG)

  • Added sugars (e.g., glucose syrup, maltodextrin)

  • Enriched or bleached flour

  • Gums and thickeners


Brands I Love

Here are some of my favorite high-quality brands to help you make better choices:

  • Tortillas: Masienda, Vista Hermosa

  • Meat: Force of Nature

  • Dairy Milk: Family Farmstead

  • Almond Milk: MALK Organics

  • Snacks: Siete Chips, Chomps Meat Sticks, Lesser Evil Popcorn, Jackson’s Chips

  • Bone Broth: Roli Roti

  • Peanut Butter: Santa Cruz Organic

  • Dairy-Free Yogurt: Cocoyo

  • Energy Drink: Focus Aid

  • Coconut Water: Harmless Harvest

  • Bottled Lattes: Pop and Bottle

  • Oats: Farmers We Know Sprouted Oats

  • Dressings/Sauces: Primal Kitchen

  • Pasta: La Pasta


The Bottom Line

Food quality is a cornerstone of optimal health. By prioritizing minimally processed options and steering clear of harmful additives, you can create meals that fuel your body and mind. Even small changes—like swapping ultra-processed snacks for whole-food alternatives—can have a big impact over time.



 
 
 

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