Mama's Crunchy Favorites

So, lately in the bloggy world around here lots of people have been talking food. All kinds of food. Recipes, stores, types, etc. I have thought about typing out a list of our favorites for a long time and figured why not now? Shopping is my thing. More than that, saving is my thing. I don't think  I have ever paid full price for anything in my entire life. I owe that to my mother.


Here is the trick though... I am weird about food. Especially food for my kids. There is a list of "rules" for food in my house. For example, I don't buy things with high fructose corn syrup (why?) or artificial food coloring (why?) unless there is absolutely nothing else available and let me tell you, that is almost never. Those are the big two. Doesn't sound like it would be hard to avoid? Trust me, HFCS is in everything nowadays. There are also things I prefer like organic fruits and such but I have to be realistic about those too. Some things aren't worth buying organic, some things you can't find, and some things it doesn't matter that much. I most try to stick to the dirty dozen and snacks. I also do my best to avoid soy (why?). Too much GMO and estrogen weirdness for my comfort there people. Told you I was funny. The thing is, most convenience foods are out. We eat mostly whole foods and meats.  Grass fed beef and free range chicken, all that jazz. My favorite guilt pleasure is the raw milk though. Sooo creamy.


That said, sometimes you have to have a grab and go snack or meal. That is where my list comes in. These are the things that I buy for the snackies and the inbetweens or the out 'n' abouts.  I also feel like I should say that these rules are nearly impossible to enforce when we are out of the house and you didn't bring something. You do what you can I guess. The occasional no- no is the spice of life, right? So, here is my healthy foods (on a budget) list for you. If you have anything to add, let me know! I love finding new things! (Of course you should always read the ingredient labels because guess what I discovered on vacation? Sometimes, the ingredients vary by manufacturing facility, aka state. Nice, right?)


Meat

• Tyson Chicken Fun Nuggets. Frozen chicken nuggets here. These just so happen to be in the shape of dinosaurs. Double win. 
• Hebrew National Beef dogs. Still not the best thing for kids but better than Ball Park.

Jellies, Jam, Etc. (These are absurdly easy to make yourself but finding the time is hard sometimes.)

• Hero Jams & Jellies
• Smuckers Organic Strawberry Preserves
• Trader Joe’s Reduced Sugar Organic Preserves. There are several flavors.
• Karo Dark (with Blue label)
• Jif Peanut Butter
• Pretty much any actual maple syrup is HFCS free.

Snacks 

• Whole Grain Goldfish crackers. They recently made the switch to natural colors too! Yay! 
• Mediterranean Snack Co Veggie straws. I have tried a ton of veggie straws and these are by far the best.
• Kix cereal. 
• Trader Joe's Cereal Bars. They are cheap. Cheaper than the nasty Nutrigrain bars even! 
• Michael Seasons Baked Cheese Curls. 
• Archer Farms Fruit Leathers. From Target.
• Plum Organics Pouches. They make an awesome, healthy snack. Super easy way to get your toddler to eat their veggies. 
• Snikiddy brand snacks. They are all healthy options and they have a ton of flavors but the classic ketchup fries flavor is to die for. Oh, and the mac and cheese puffs too!
• Motts Natural applesauce. There is usually a store brand of this too.

Yogurt (There are lots of these. They needed their own catagory.)

• Yoplait Simply GoGurt. This is squeezy yougurt! Perfect for travel. 
  
• Yoplait Kids Yogurt. 
• Stoneyfield YoBaby Organic Drinkable Yogurt. I will say though if you are going to put it in a sippy cup, dilute it with some milk first. They are still a tad too thick for that.
• Dannon Activa Yogurt
• Great Value Light Nonfat Yogurt (most varieties, if not all)
• Horizon Organic Fat Free Yogurt 
• Stoneyfield Farm Yogurts. Kids, toddler, baby and adults versions.

 Sweets

• Trader Joes Joe Joes. Natural version of Oreos and are so much better. 
• Trader Joes Animal crackers. Organic, low fat and super tasty so I don't feel guilty giving them to them either. They are also vegan, which is kind of ironic... 
• Trader Joes Organic Lollipops.
• Natures Path Toaster Pastries.  Tasty and organic. The strawberry ones are best. 
• Envirokids Peanut Butter Panda Puffs. Like tiny, crunchy peanut butter cookies. 
• Snack Pack Pudding Cups. Made with real milk and no yucks. 
• Earths Best Sesame Street Snacks. They have different kinds of cookies and crackers but the Letter of the Day Oatmeal Cinnamon cookies are the best. K loves the banana Smiley Snacks too though.  
• Archway’s Molasses Cookies. 
• Keebler Pecan Sandies Cookies.
• Keebler Simply Sandies Cookies.
• Pepperidge Farms Butter Chessman Cookies.
• Cadbury chocolate. Most of their chocolate is HFCS free but always check the label.
• Ben & Jerry’s. Most varieties (watch out for the kinds that add bits of candy bars and cookies that may contain HFCS)
• Breyer’s All Natural Ice Cream
• Breyers Pure Fruit Strawberry Fruit Bars. These are sooo good.
• Lindt Lindor Truffles. My favorite.
• Dove - Most varieties.

Drinks

• Sam's Choice Fair Trade/ Organic coffee. 
• Jones Naturals. These are kind of expensive and hard to find though so they are a treat. 
• Meyenberg Goats Milk. This is what we use between raw milk because it is so much easier to find. If you have never looked into goats milk and the benefits, you really should. Its not cheap but definitely worth it. 
• Unsweetend Iced Tea. 
• Capri Sun ALL NATURAL 100% Juice. Be sure to look for the "100% juice" on the box!
• Horizon Flavored Milks (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) These come in the individual serving boxes too and are great to keep in the diaper bag because they don't require refrigeration.
• Ovaltine (dry chocolate drink mix)
• Tropicana orange juice.
• Simply Lemonade.
• Bolthouse Farms C-Boost Smoothie.
• Archer Farms brand Natural Italian soda.
• Accellerate Sports Drink.
• Hansens Natural Soda

That is all I can think of for now. I will try to come back and add more as I think of/ find more so keep this page bookmarked. Don't forget to add your favorites to the comments too for everyone to see!