Inside Scoop: These 15 healthy brands are taking over the nutrition world.

We were initially under the impression that as nutritionists we needed to cook everything from scratch… plant-based, and as whole-food based as we possibly can.

Which presents so many obstacles.

Because ultra processed foods may contribute to cancer, so we should avoid them at all costs, right?

But, whole food cooking can often be quite complicated and time consuming.

Let’s just say the food guilt has been very real, for a very long time.

It wasn’t until we started to let go of the strict health notions we were carrying with us, and realized that whole-food based cooking can definitely come with a combination of processed foods, and healthy living doesn’t have to be an all or nothing notion.

PSSSST – If you want to take a peek in Jenni’s fridge, you’re going to find Heinz ketchup, HP BBQ sauce, and Bicks pickles – there’s gotta be a compromise somewhere right?

You don’t have to give up processed foods in order to be healthy, the trick is to learn what kind of artificial ingredients to look out for (and minimize them), how to read food labels to find healthier brands, and how to make more informed purchase decisions.

And we want to make it easier on you, by listing some healthy brands that we think are taking over the nutrition world right now. These healthy food brands:

• Meet all of our Nutritionists Approved Healthy Brand Standards
• Are as whole-food based as possible
• Use GMO where it matters (corn, potato, soy, beet etc.)
• Use organic where it matters
• And care about the quality of their product

Doing our due diligence with healthy brands definitely makes living a healthier lifestyle a lot easier, but if you’re still struggling with your nutrition, check out this article Struggling With Nutrition? Take These Easy Steps To Simplify Your Health.

15 HEALTHY BRANDS TAKING OVER THE NUTRITION WORLD

SNACKING

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Bites

Did you know that Manitoba Harvest has delicious little bite-sized snacks? We just love snacking on these when we are busy and on-the-go, or when our snack tooth is kicking in and we need something small.

Loaded with simple ingredients, healthy fats and protein, these little bites are the perfect healthy treat to keep your energy levels up, and they also make a great little topper for oats, yogurt or fruit bowls.

Prana Organic Nut Mix

Prana Organic has perfect little bite sized trail mix snack packs, another delicious and nutritious treat. You can go all nuts, sweet, salty, fruity or get trail mix that has a bit of dark chocolate in it – if you’re looking for an after lunch sweet treat.

This is a perfect grab-and-go snack option, and great for munching on while sitting at a desk or if you’re driving, travelling, hiking, beaching… or anything that requires snacking really.

Zazubean Dark Chocolate

We would not do a healthy packaged food round up without a healthy dark chocolate brand, naturally! Zazubean is a local, fair-trade and organic dark chocolate company that incorporates superfoods into their flavours. For example, their lunatic flavour has maca, mint and cacao, which makes it loaded with antioxidants.

Neal Brothers Salsa & Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

We love Neal Brothers salsa and chips to snack on because if you look at their ingredient list, they like to keep it simple, and keep it organic.

While some salsa and chip brands contain sugar, MSG, additives and preservatives, Neal Brothers packaged foods are a great healthy brand option if you’re looking to avoid all of that. Neal Brothers also have other snacking and meal options like BBQ sauce, pasta sauce, pretzels, chips, mayo and popcorn.

Beanitos Bean Chips

We like the simplicity of Beanitos high protein snacking chips. They contain cooked Black Beans, Sunflower Oil, Long Grain Rice Flour, Sea Salt.

Another healthy brand snack option that you can dip in hummus, or guacamole, or as a side to salad or soup – we even like to go a bit wild and put them on salads. These bean chips are one of our favourite ways to get texture, crunch and protein in.

Plain Hummus

Sunflower Kitchen has some pretty neat little packaged meals, snacks and foods that we can get behind, because most of their products are made with whole food based ingredients and contain little or no preservatives or additives.

Their plain organic (no added oil) hummus is one of our favourite hummus brands and it’s usually the brand we reach for when we buy packaged hummus. They also have some delicious soups, salsas and organic chilis. If you can’t find Sunflower Kitchen, look for hummus that is free from preservatives, artificial flavours and colours.

MEALS

GoGo Quinoa Pasta Noodles

GoGo Quinoa is a healthy brand that has so many delicious products ranging from cookies, grain packs and crunchy toppers. But our favourite GoGo product is definitely the pasta noodles.

The pasta ingredients contain rice and other pseudograins, such as amaranth or quinoa, which makes them naturally gluten-free and loaded with protein. GoGo quinoa is also our favourite packaged noodle brand because it tastes just like white noodles. A great replacement if you’re transitioning from traditional wheat pasta to gluten-free pasta.

Amy’s Organic Canned Soup

Simple, affordable and loaded with veggies and plant-based protein, Amy’s organic soup is one of our favoruite healthy brands that we resort to when we are swamped, or totally drained.

We know that eating Amy’s soup is going to be delicious with a piece of sprouted grain bread, filling (because it usually contains lentils or legumes) and really, quite delicious. We have these stocked by the dozen in our cupboards for a quick lunch or dinner option.

Luvo

One of our new healthy brands that doubles as a freezer meal – we love keeping Luvo stocked for a quick, healthy dinner that is really, quite simple.

These meals are definitely better for you than their heavily processed counterparts. You can get bowls such as cauliflower mac and cheese, made with gluten-free noodles and cauliflower, Thai Style Green Chicken Curry, made with veggies, gluten-free noodles and a delicious, plant-based coconut curry dressing. Busy life? These will rule your freezer.

Amy’s Organic Burritos

Talking about healthy brands and freezer meals? Amys has a MASSIVE selection, and our favourite? These delicious, high protein burritos.

You can buy vegan, most are vegetarian and gluten-free, and all contain veggies, beans or legumes, whole food based ingredients and are loaded with your macros so after a burrito you feel full and satisfied. Side with salad and this meal is so simple and so delicious.

Ezekiel Bread/ Wraps

Did you know that you can freeze bread?

Most store bought large brands of bread contain shelf stabilizers, emulsifiers and artificial ingredients that keep up with the fluff, flavour and longevity, but buying bread that contains none of these things is WAY better for you.

Look for sprouted, whole grain or whole grain, gluten-free breads and wraps as a healthy alternative. You can even keep them stored nicely in your freezer. Just toast or microwave when you’re ready to eat and you have yourself a simple sandwich or wrap that you can feel great about.

CONDIMENTS/ BEVERAGES

Beekeeper’s Raw Honey

Raw honey is one of our favorite natural sweeteners (and healthy brand options) we always have stocked. It’s wonderful drizzled on peanut butter toast, on yogurt bowls, to make granola with, and even to fight bacteria and viruses when you feel a cold coming on.

We love to sweeten our teas with raw honey and drizzle on fried bananas for a healthy sweet treat that’s also loaded with nutrients, immune boosting power and enzymes. Beekeeper’s is an amazing brand that focuses on raw, unpasteurized honey and bee products.

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

DIY your own healthy snacks and sweet treats usually requires ingredients like chocolate chips or cacao powder. We go through chocolate chips like it’s our job (oh wait, it is!)

But we know, love and trust that Enjoy Life is going to be providing us with a healthy product that contains no dairy, soy, sulfites and most top allergens.

GTS Multi-Greens Kombucha

We always have kombucha stocked in the back of our fridge, and since we’re not skilled in making our own, GTS is one healthy brand we can rely on when it comes to raw kombucha.

We also love the multi-greens flavour, because it’s lower in sugar, and contains blue-green algae, spirulina and chlorella, which also give us a little energy kick.

Primal Kitchen Condiments

Primal Kitchen is where it’s at for finding healthy condiments that fit into your diet.

With condiments that fit the Whole30, Keto, vegan and Paleo approach, and delicious dressings like ranch, mayo, ketchup, mustard, and even oils and snacks, keeping some products stashed from this company is a great idea to ease you into a healthier diet.

Cutting out heavily refined and processed condiments that are laced with sugar and artificial ingredients, and getting into condiments that are more whole food based and much better for you, is less taxing on your system, and something you can feel great about.

While we only decided to run with 15 healthy brands, there’s definitely a huge database out there, and a lot of them are usually found in the health food section of your local supermarket.

Knowing where to look for healthy brands can simplify your life, simplify your healthy eating habits, and in our opinion take a bit of stress load off.

But, if you’re looking for some fun recipes that are just as simple as these healthy brands are, make sure you pop into our 5 Day, 5 Ingredient Challenge here:

You’ll be getting a free Healthy 5 Ingredient Cookbook filled with amazing recipes like these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies, a DIY challenge calendar and access to our private Facebook Community where you can join in on the daily recipe challenge.

Do you have a favourite healthy packaged food brand that’s not listed here? We’d love to hear it in the comments below.