5 Foods to Remove From Your Pantry

Looking for an easy way to begin choosing clean foods? It all starts with your pantry! Here are five things to remove today!

Remember, there is always room for a mindful indulgence or a food that may be richer in calories, but when a food has harmful effects, it’s best just to get rid of it!

1. Artificial Sweeteners (and Stevia, too!)

These have been shown in research to interfere with our healthy gut bacteria which can lead to more fat storage. They can also lead to insulin resistance, causing more susceptibility for blood sugar spikes. There is a psycho-somatic reaction with the taste of sweet, where our pancreas releases insulin in response to the sweet taste and this can further the insulin resistance response.

2. Breakfast Cereals

Really, no matter what it says on the box, it is almost impossible to make this a healthy food! Many options have more grams or sugar than a typical candy bar! Also, they’re loaded with preservatives and genetically modified ingredients.

3. Store Bought Salad Dressings

These can really throw your healthy intentions to the wayside! Bottled dressings lead with industrialized oils that do not support your healthy, even if they say “with olive oil”, they often also include soybean, cottonseed, canola or other fillers that do not have favorable healthy effects. Also, they tend to have preservatives and sugar! Make your own dressing with vinegars, herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper – super simple! And see our yummy Balsamic Dressing recipe below!

Best Balsamic Dressing Recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 clove Garlic, chopped
1 tsp Mustard
1 Tbsp Maple syrup
2 tsp Thyme, chopped
½ cup virgin Texas Hill Country Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:
Shake all ingredients in jar, store at room temperature for up to 14 days.

4. Reduced-fat Peanut Butter

You want those healthy fats. Plus when they remove the fat, they add sugar and chemical preservatives. The only ingredients n peanut butter should be peanuts and salt. Try other nut butters such as hazlenut, pecan, and almond butter to get more nutritional variety! Make your own in a food processor, fitted with an “S” blade or in a blender with 2-3 cups nuts, 1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil, and a couple pinches of salt. Then you can create more complex flavor combinations by adding things like cacao and cayenne or vanilla and cinnamon!

5. 100 Calorie Snack Packs

Remember not to focus on what something isn’t – focus on what it IS! 100 calories of chemicals and low-nutrient fillers will leave you hungry for more and won’t provide your body with nourishment. Quality is key. You are much better doing a snack of a piece of fruit with nuts for an extra 30-60 calories but you’ll be getting antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and more fiber!

Are you looking for everyday applications for improve your health and use food-as-medicine? Learn about the foundations of Optimal Eating and more in our REVIVE, 12-week wellness program!