Processed Foods to Avoid and Healthier Swaps

Processed foods are those that have been altered from their original form or are all together created in a lab or manufacturing plant. Not all methods of processing a food are bad. Freezing, canning and baking are considered methods of processing but issues arise when a food is heavily processed to include preservatives and additives to enhance shelf life, flavor, or texture. Processed foods to avoid are items like chips, sugary cereals, freezer meals, bagged cheese, etc. While convenient, many processed foods are often high in unhealthy fats, processed sugars, and artificial ingredients, which can contribute to various health issues, including weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, and digestive problems. There are healthier swaps at the grocery store. Choosing quality brands and more basic options can help you and your family to avoid unnecessary chemicals.

After many years of research I have compiled a list of processed foods to avoid and healthier swaps. With time and a little education choosing healthier options for your family can be easy and rewarding. Choosing these healthier swaps improved my immune system, eliminated my migraines, reduced sugar cravings and improved my overall wellbeing.

Processed Foods to Avoid

Sugary cereals and breakfast items: Breakfast items are among the top processed foods to avoid if you’re aiming to boost your energy, stabilize your blood sugar, and improve your overall health. Many sugary cereals, especially those marketed to kids, are loaded with processed sugars, artificial food colors and flavors, seed oils, synthetic vitamins, and preservatives. These processed sugars lack any real nutritional value and can actually deplete your body of essential nutrients. Additionally, artificial food dyes have been linked to hyperactivity and allergies. Some popular cereals pack in up to 12 grams of added sugar per serving, and many breakfast pastries contain as much as 15 grams of sugar per piece. When consumed in this quantity, without the balance of protein and healthy fats, these foods can cause blood sugar spikes, leading to mood swings, energy crashes throughout the day, and even attention issues. For a healthier start to your day, opt for breakfast choices that keep you full longer, provide steady energy, and support your well-being. Below are a few healthier alternatives.

• Try whole fat yogurt topped with fruit and homemade granola instead of sugary cereals
• Try an egg muffin and sourdough toast with real fruit jam instead of processed breakfast pastry’s
• Swap breakfast bars for bacon and egg breakfast casserole with a side of fruit

Processed Meat: Lunch meats, deli meats, hot dogs, sausages and processed plant meats are important processed foods to avoid if you want to maintain a healthy diet. Some specific brands are often high in preservatives, and unhealthy fats (learn more below) and are typically treated with nitrates and nitrites. Nitrates and nitrites are preservatives that are commonly found in processed meats, unless neutralized, once ingested they have been linked to an increase risk of cancer. Regular consumption of these processed meats can also contribute to weight gain and other health issues due to their low nutritional value. I also put plant based meats into the category of processed foods to avoid because they are highly processed and include unhealthy oils, fillers, synthetic vitamins and often times GMO soy. Fortunately there are better options available, even some that are still packaged and more convenient. As a holistic nutritionist I would not recommend eating the better packaged, processed options all of the time but for special occasions these brands are much better options.

• Swap conventional hot dogs for Teton 100% grass-fed hot dogs or polish sausages
• Swap conventional deli meats for Applegate lunch meats or find Applegate options behind the deli counter
• Swap lunch meats for a homemade burger patty or meatballs
• Swap lunch meats for homemade sliced ham
• Swap conventional grocery store sausage for local pasture raised sausage, find this at a local farmers market or behind the meat counter
• Swap processed plant meats for homemade mushroom burgers

Frozen Meals: Avoiding processed frozen meals is another smart choice for better health, as these convenience foods are often loaded with unhealthy ingredients like processed added sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial preservatives and fillers. While they may seem like a quick and easy option, frozen meals are typically low in essential nutrients and can contribute to weight gain, high blood pressure, and increased risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. The main take away from all of these processed foods to avoid is that artificial ingredients and preservatives do not go hand in hand with a healthy lifestyle. Instead of relying on frozen meals, consider preparing simple, homemade dishes using fresh, whole ingredients. Instead of buying a frozen pizza make one yourself. Make a big patch of pizza dough and freeze it so that you don’t have to worry about it on the day of. This not only ensures better control over what you’re eating but also provides your body with the vitamins, minerals, and fiber it needs for optimal health.

Packaged Snack Foods: Packaged snacks, like all of the other processed foods to avoid, are full of unhealthy oils, preservatives, fillers, processed sugars and more. For a family, avoiding packaged snacks is an easy and important way to stay healthy. Feeding our children the most nutrient dense foods instead of the most convenient foods can be so beneficial for their health and growth. One very popular cracker snack brand includes enriched flour, this is flour that has been stripped of all of it nutrients leaving no nutritional value. Then synthetic vitamins are added back in to compensate but these vitamins are not recognized by our bodies, so this can cause a whole lot of other health issues. The flour is also conventional meaning it is sprayed heavily with herbicides that are known carcinogens. Next the brand includes highly processed oils that are link to obesity and many other health conditions (learn more below). There are so many easy, healthy snack swaps that I’ve listed below and if you would like to learn more in detail about why not to buy this specific brand of crackers, read this great article by the Food Babe.

• Swap Goldfish and Cheez Its for Simple Mills Crackers
• Swap conventional chips for Siete avocado oil chips or Boulder Canyon avocado oil chips
• Swap Oreos for Simple Mills sandwich cookies or homemade chocolate chip cookies
• Instead of crackers try apples and cheese or peanut butter
• Instead of ice cream try yogurt and fruit
• Instead of chips try carrot sticks

Processed Oils to Avoid

Vegetable Oils: Vegetable oils, also known as seed oils, such as grapeseed, cottonseed, canola, soybean, rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, corn, and palm kernel oil, are highly processed foods to avoid. These oils undergo extraction processes that involve heating them to extremely high temperatures, which can cause them to become rancid. Afterward, they are deodorized and bleached to make them look more appealing and suitable for consumption. These processed oils are inflammatory and have been linked to various health issues, including cancer, obesity, and even sunburn. Seed oils were only introduced around 100 years ago and were initially not even intended for food use. Before their arrival, fats like butter, lard, and tallow were the primary cooking fats. These traditional fats are still excellent options for cooking, and you can also use avocado oil or olive oil as a dressing. Healthy saturated fats like avocado oil, coconut oil, and butter are more stable, making them suitable for high-heat cooking without becoming rancid. Additionally, high-quality saturated fats are nutrient-dense, making them a healthier choice overall. Below, I’ve listed a few ways to swap vegetable oils for healthier fats.

• When baking swap any vegetable oil 1:1 with melted butter, melted coconut oil or avocado oil, this even includes pre-packaged cakes
• When frying potatoes, chicken or fish, swap any vegetable oil for avocado oil or tallow
• When roasting vegetables swap vegetable oil for melted butter or avocado oil

Other Processed Foods to Avoid and Simple Swaps

Below are a few other processed foods that are easy to swap out for healthier options. These options help to eliminate unnecessary fillers, additives and chemicals from your diet. Removing these can make a huge difference in your health and the health of your family and these swaps are so simple.

• Conventional white sugar for organic coconut sugar, organic raw sugar, organic maple syrup or raw honey
• Brown sugar for organic cane sugar and molasses
• Bagged shredded cheese for a block and shred at home
• Conventional produce for organic produce
• Packaged chicken nuggets for pasture raised chicken
• Pre-made hamburger patties for grass-fed ground beef
• Butter spread for grass-fed butter
• Fruit yogurt for plain and add fruit at home
• Make salad dressings at home with vinegar, olive oil and spices
• Packaged cookie dough for homemade cookies
• Canned whip cream for homemade whipped cream (just whip organic heavy cream and add maple syrup)

How to Read Food Labels for Healthier Eating

If you’re aiming to buy healthier processed foods, it’s essential to know how to read the ingredient label. Skip the front of the package and turn it over to find the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in order of quantity, meaning the first ingredient is the most abundant in the product. For example, with Siete potato chips, the first ingredient is potatoes, so you know that potatoes make up the majority of what’s in the bag. As you move down the list, keep an eye out for unfamiliar words, as these are often additives, fillers, preservatives, or processed sugars. Processed sugars, for instance, can go by many names like high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, or rice syrup. A helpful tip is to look for ingredients you wouldn’t typically use or find in your own kitchen—if you don’t know where to buy it, or wouldn’t have it at home, it’s a red flag. Opt for products with recognizable, quality ingredients. For more tips, check out my free downloadable Clean Eating Grocery List or Clean Eating Guide.

*None of the above information is medical advice. Nothing in this post is meant to take the place of medical advice from a doctor or health professional. I am not a doctor, I am only sharing my personal experience, personal research I have done and information I have inferred. Please see my disclaimer for more information.*