We pride ourselves on being real at Get Healthy U which means that we know you’re busy and frankly don’t have time to spend even a half hour on dinner every single night. And while we always advocate for making homemade meals in which you get to control all the ingredients, occasionally that just isn’t possible. Luckily for those times, there are some great brands out there that compliment your clean eating standards. So when convenience becomes the number one priority, you won’t have to sacrifice your health. Here are our 14 favorite packaged foods we can’t stop putting in our grocery cart every week!
Amy’s Kitchen Soups and Burritos: While many soups and frozen entrees contain MSG and ingredients we can’t pronounce, Amy’s Kitchen only puts real ingredients in, just like you’d make at home! All Amy’s products are non-GMO and vegetarian. They also have several gluten free options—oh, and they taste delicious!
Angie’s Boomchickapop: Everyone loves to snack—us included! So when we get a hankering for something crunchy at the office, we whip out a bag of non-GMO Boomchickapop! Seriously, it’s a daily occurrence and we all have our favorites—namely the Sea Salt made with only three ingredients: popcorn, sunflower oil, sea salt. But hey, that doesn’t mean you won’t ever find a bag of White Chocolate Peppermint in the office cupboard around the holidays…
Related: 55 Healthy and Easy Snacks
Bob’s Red Mill Grains, Beans, Lentils and Flours: Flour and grain are typically a pantry staple, but not always a healthy one. However, Bob’s Red Mill really has it all when it comes to healthier options: lentils, dried beans, quinoa, oatmeal, almond meal, spelt, chia seeds, farro, hemp seed, amaranth… you’ll never be without a healthier substitute again!
Eden Organic Canned Beans: Canned goods are a staple in every home. But who knew that many canned foods have extra ingredients that just don’t need to be there! We count on Eden Organic to give us just what we want, nothing more.
Explore Asian Alternative Noodles: Who doesn’t love pasta? It’s shelf-stable, easy to make and one of the most comforting foods. However, white pasta is seriously lacking on the nutritional front. Luckily, Explore Asian has organic bean pastas that we love having on hand. We’re fans of the black bean and edamame spaghetti made from organic beans and water. That’s it!
Related: Should You Go Gluten-Free?
Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread: Bread is oftentimes loaded with added sugar and hard-to-pronounce ingredients. Plus, white flour never did anyone any favors. But Ezekiel 4:9 bread is different. It’s made with sprouted barley, millet, lentils and more and it’s our go-to when we need to fill our bread craving (find it in the frozen aisle).
KIND Snacks: Whether it’s the fruit and nut bars, savory STRONG bars or the popped healthy grains bars, we love all of them. This is also a popular choice at our office.
Larabar: Another great snack option, Larabars are made with only real food including fruit and nuts. These decadent bars are perfect for a mid-morning snack.
Love Grown Foods Oats and Cereal: With a mission of making delicious and nutritious foods available to everyone, we are big fans of Love Grown Foods products made with beans, not grains. We know… cereal made with beans?! But trust us, it’s delicious.
RX Bars: Our team of Get Healthy U trainers swears by these whole food bars. They’re made with super simple ingredients all listed on the front of the package, have 12 grams of protein per bar and have a ton of yummy flavor varieties!
Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice: This quinoa and brown rice microwavable packet takes just 90 seconds to heat and is a perfect side for chicken and veggies.
Related: 12 Healthy Grocery List Must Haves
Simply Balanced Peanut Butter: If you’ve been following us for a while, you know our love of nut butters is strong. But we try to steer clear of the ones with trans fat and other unnecessary ingredients. Simply Balanced seems to have perfected the creamy texture without the added junk.
Tasty Bite 1-Minute Madras Lentils: These are great to keep in the pantry for those times when you haven’t planned anything for dinner. Lentils are high in fiber and protein and the tomato sauce the lentils are covered in is delicious! It takes only a minute in the microwave and we like to use it as a sauce over the Seeds of Change quinoa and brown rice.
Trader Joe’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi (and so many other favorites!): Trader’s Joe’s has so many amazing options from snacks to entrees to desserts, but their sweet potato gnocchi with sage is on another level. Plus, it’s ready in just minutes!
Way Better Snacks: Way Better Snacks tortilla chips are made with sprouted grains, beans and seeds that boast a whole slew of nutritional benefits: increased digestibility and nutrient absorption along with increased vitamins, mineral and antioxidants! And yes, all this from a delicious chip. We love pairing them with our homemade guacamole or hummus—our favorites are the sweet potato and sweet chili.
*Get Healthy U is in no way compensated for promoting these products. They truly are just our favorites!
