Weeks Five and Six
If you missed the launch of our New Year’s Organic Swap Challenge, it’s not too late to join in on the fun. This week we are guiding your swap journey with three snack items to trade for healthier organic options. Did you know that Americans with the healthiest diets consume 36 percent more snack meals a year than the average consumer, according to the study “Snacking in America“? So get ready to fuel up with organic snacks that are high in protein and fiber, and are nutrient dense to help you stay full and satisfied until dinner. Learn more about the challenge and organic breakfast and lunch swaps here:
Top 3 Organic Snack Swaps:
- Chips and Crunchy Snacks
- Why you should swap:
Most of us love a crunchy snack such as chips, but conventional chips are usually made with GMO corn and fried in GMO canola, cottonseed or soy oil. Tortilla chips may also have fewer nutrients than some other snacks, but if you pair them with an organic fresh or roasted tomato salsa like one from Amy’s, you boost the nutrients without adding a lot of empty calories.
Our top picks for organic chips are from Lundberg Family Farms.
Popcorn is a great snack for those looking for a crunch. While popcorn is not genetically engineered, the oils that popcorn is cooked in usually is. Choosing certified organic popcorn prepared or whole kernels is a much better choice than conventional. Annie’s Homegrown has a couple of delicious popcorn flavors that are certified organic.
Another crunchy snack that is delicious and nutritious is dried seaweed. This is a perfect swap for conventional crunchy snacks and is preferred for those on a grain-free diet. Seaweed is a nutrient-rich snack made from the finest ingredients on Earth. It’s vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and has numerous health benefits. Our top pick for dried seaweed is SeaSnax. The organic seaweed that goes into SeaSnax is called porphyra, red algae or deep purple laver also referred to as nori in Japan and kim in Korea.
Since it’s the New Year, chips might not be on your menu. One of the healthiest snacks you could reach for is trail mix with a healthy dose of organic nuts and berries. Get some inspiration from our friend’s at Annie’s Homegrown.
- Bars
- Why you should swap:
The number one reason to choose organic snack and protein bars is to avoid GMOs – fillers and synthetic ingredients that have been linked to human health problems. The top ingredient in these bars is typically some type of grain. The whole-grain myth we read so much about in previous decades doesn’t hold up in today’s well-informed marketplace. We now know that conventional grains carry some of the most toxic residues because of how these crops are grown. Wheat and oats, for example, are doused in glyphosate just before harvest as a drying agent on conventional farms. In 2017, glyphosate was also listed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer. Organic farmers are not permitted to use glyphosate or toxic drying agents for their grain crops. Our top picks for organic bars are from Annie’s Homegrown.
- Crackers
- Why you should swap:
Snack foods like crackers often hide unhealthy ingredients behind words like “natural,” “whole wheat” and “fiber-rich.” Many crackers in the marketplace contain hidden genetically engineered ingredients aside from the common ones such as corn. Some of these ingredients include soybean oil, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, high fructose corn syrup, modified cornstarch, canola oil, sugar, and maltodextrin.
But when you swap crackers made with conventional grains for organic alternatives, you can be sure you’re avoiding toxic and synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, genetic engineering, artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, and irradiation. Our top picks for organic crackers come from Annie’s Homegrown.
Organic Snack Swap Menu:
Autumn Spiced Popcorn Snack Mix
Loaded Chile Relleno Casserole Nachos
Where to buy:
- Enter our swap giveaway and be one of 9 lucky winners to win a prize pack worth $50 from one of our participating organic swap partner brands. Learn more here.
