Hello! I hope you had a great week! As usual, I have another simple and DELISH #SweetTreatFriday recipe! I'm trying a new brand of cookie mix called Eat Gangster and couldn't be happier! For this #recipe I followed the directions on the back and voila! You get a yummy treat in no time! t requires coconut oil ,honey or maple syrup, water, the cookie mix and I added some walnuts!
All this year I've been looking for products that have simple and nourishing ingredients. As it's fun to cook meals from scratch, because I enjoy the process, especially when I have more time, sometimes we're rushing and can't focus on preparing your meal from scratch!
I know it hasn't been easy to spend as much time at the grocery store like I would do before the pandemic started. I can still browse online and get my favorite products and discover new ones.
Today's blog post will be all about my favorite products and some tips on what to look out for when you want to try a new product!
These are my go-to tips:
One of the most important things to look in a product are the ingredients! Mainly because you can verify what it is made of! If you have any allergy concerns, this is a very important aspect to notice. Typically you can notice any ingredient that you know you can't tolerate but also, you can identify if there is any cross contamination with an ingredient that causes you any discomfort. I reiterate in this since many products contain a lot of additives that may be harmful to your health like: high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, aluminum (as a leavening agent, which a frequent consumption of this can cause aluminum toxicity) and other preservatives.
The nutrition label is another great tool to notice.
If you're trying to increase your fiber consumption you can notice if it has a good amount or not. I've mentioned this method before, but in case you're not familiarized with it, the 10:1 tool can guide you so you can choose the product with a desired amount of fiber. To figure this out, you need to divide the total amount carbs in 10. Then, you compare the result with the grams of fiber. If your total is higher than the grams of fiber it means it is high in fiber.
Another important aspect to notice is the grams of added sugars. The newest version of the Nutrition Facts label can help you determine this so you can make a more informed decision regarding your products. As sugar itself, can be included in your diet, an excessive amount is not recommended since it can have harmful effects in your health.
This also applies to sodium. Many products have really high amounts of sodium, especially deli meats, sauces, prepped meals, etc.
Typically, the front label or product description can be deceiving. In this case my recommendation is to read further. This way you can really know what your eating. We spend years buying a product and when we end up reading just the ingredient list we find out that it might not have high quality ingredients. Our health should be our priority and just taking a few minutes to figure this out, can help you on the long run!
Now I will list my fave products by sections:
Freezer section: Many food items you find in this section are so convenient, especially if you're not into dicing, washing and not wanting to pay more for the freshly diced ones. Also, they are convenient since many of these foods are ready to cook and long lasting. I have several products that I love from this section:
Frozen Fruit: I typically buy the mixed berry blend at Costco so it lasts a few weeks (mainly because I eat it frequently). Strongly recommend this (or any other frozen fruit that you like) in case you want to make a quick smoothie or smoothie bowl for a quick breakfast.
Turkey Burgers: Typically they contain dextrose, or high fructose corn syrup. I reiterate in this because if you typically cook your burgers from scratch, you don't add them, so you don't want them in the store-bought brands! There are many brands that are not as pricey that have simple ingredients. My favorite brand is Applegate. The turkey burgers are great in flavor and ingredients.
Toaster Waffles: This is such a GREAT freezer staple, especially for busy mornings. I love preparing my own pancakes and waffles but if I'm rushing I will probably won't have the time to make them. My fave brand is Birch Benders, they have different varieties and I have to say, the flavor is great!
Treats: Who doesn't like a good treat as a snack but without the effort? ME! I've had those days were I'm very tired to bake or cook a yummy treat, so Soozy's treats are so good! Who would've known that a yummy treat would be in the freezer section? With treats I would strongly recommend to check certain artificial sweeteners like: sugar alcohols: erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, since they can cause some GI discomfort if we eat them frequently.
Pantry Staples: Here I will focus on sauces, dips, pancake/waffle mixes, cookie mixes.
Pancake/waffle mix: the simpler the ingredients, the better! Like I mentioned before, you wouldn't add these ingredients to your waffles, right? My typical brands are Birch Benders Paleo Mix and Quinoa Way. They're great and with very simple ingredients. Simplifies the process of making waffles or pancakes!
Sauce: I see many people focusing on the amount of calories that any kind of sauce will provide. I have to say, as quantity might be important, quality plays a huge role. My favorite sauces (including mayo) are: The New Primal (their buffalo sauce is the BEST, as well as the BBQ sauce), Primal Kitchen (ranch and cilantro lime dressing are my fave!), Chosen Foods (mayo and oils are my fave!) and Siete Foods (hot sauces and taco seasoning are THE BEST).
Cookie mix: I recently got a cookie mix brand called Eat Gangster and thought the flavor of the Caro'Bout Fudge was incredible! FYI this cookie mix is the one I used for my #SweetTreatFriday post! Loved the ingredients and the story behind these cookie mixes. Simple Mills also have great options for cookie mixes, so you can look into them. They both have very simple ingredients.
Pasta: typically I like to buy chickpea or lentil pastas due to their increased amount of protein versus regular pasta. Don't take me wrong, regular pasta is not "bad", but I focus on the nutrition profile and in this case I like to add a little bit more of protein. My go-to brands: Explore Cuisine or Banza. If you're buying regular pasta I like Barilla.
Flours: You might think that I don't eat grains, but I do! I love baking and making waffles/pancakes from scratch so, I have to include flours in my pantry. One of the flours I used a lot when I first started cooking is oat flour. The majority of the times I just processed the oats I had at home but Bob's Red Mill has a ready to use oat flour! Then I started to branch out with flours and discovered nut flours. Nature's Eats is one of my favorite brands! I have to say that their cashew and almond are my top favorite nut flours! The texture of all your baked goods turn out amazing. As I had to be flexible in Guatemala with nut flours, I found Bob's Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour that includes almond flour. I have found that Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour is a great way to thicken sauces!
Nut Butters: I recently discovered the peanut butter brand Wild Friends which I strongly recommend, the flavor is not comparable to any other brand! Simple ingredients and very accesible.
Milk Alternatives: I don't drink milk since I typically get GI discomfort after drinking it and to be honest I'm not fan of the flavor. Which is why I prepare a lot of #dairyfree recipes. I don't consider milk to be "bad" since it provides us with calcium and vitamin D, but in my case milk doesn't agree with me. So, if this is your case, I recommend Unsweetened or Original Silk Almond Milk. To cook savory dishes I love the creaminess I get from using Thai Coconut Milk.
Chips: We all know that chips are needed when you're having friends over or just as part of a yummy snack! I have to say that I haven't tried better chips than the Siete Chips. My fave flavors are Fuego, Nacho and Lime. They have amazing and simple ingredients. Every time I need to take snacks over to a friend's house, this brand has the best options!
Fridge:
Yogurt: this can be a tricky product, since many people associate this product with "health" but many have a ton of added sugar and no real fruit in the flavored options. I recommend you focus on this aspect. My fave brands are Chobani for the plain greek yogurt and for flavored options I loved the brand called Pillars. They sweeten their yogurts with stevia and add fiber so you can have a both pre and probiotics!
I really hope this information has been helpful to you! If you have the chance try Eat Gangster Cookie Mixes because I loved them, strongly recommend them!
Enjoy this #SweetTreatFriday recipe!
If you have questions, reach out via DM or email: andreamarro75@gmail.com.
Happy Friday!
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