The other day I was doing some investigating at a local grocery store and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a large display of holiday baking ingredients.
It was stocked full of…
- Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour
- Clabber Girl Baking Powder
- Crisco “Vegetable Oil” and Shortening
- C&H Cane Sugar
- Karo Corn Syrup
- McCormick Artificial Food Colors
- Domino Brown Sugar
And all kinds of unhealthy ingredients for everyone to load up on for the upcoming holidays.
I knew I needed to write about this immediately!
If you have any of these items lurking in your cupboards, now is the perfect time to ditch those toxic ingredients and replace them with better options. That way you'll be all stocked up with healthier options before the holiday rush.
To help you, here are 4 swaps that will have the most impact…
COOKING OIL:
Stay far, far away from anything that says “Vegetable Oil” on the label - this includes canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and soybean oil. These oils come from GMO seeds that are heavily treated with cancer-causing pesticides. They're processed to DEATH, with chemical solvents, steamers, neutralizers, de-waxers, bleach and deodorizers before they end up in the bottle. They are also horrible for the body - known to increase the risk of obesity, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease.
Instead, stick with organic unrefined oils: Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Avocado Oil. And use real butter or coconut oil in your baking instead of shortening!
FLOUR:
Flour can be treated with up to 60 different chemicals before it ends up on store shelves – including chemical bleach. The industrial processing destroys nutrients, such as Vitamin E and fiber. It has no nutritional value and is essentially dead food, so they “enrich” it with synthetic vitamins that are not from nature. When wheat is not organic, it is often sprayed with Roundup weedkiller and residues can remain in the flour. The active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is linked to cancer and other diseases.
Instead, choose an organic flour: whole white wheat (not bleached, this is a variety of wheat), sprouted flour, oat flour, or spelt flour.
SUGAR:
White sugar, brown sugar, and powdered sugar are all processed forms of sugar, often made from GMO crops heavily treated with pesticides. They have no nutritional value and have an acidic effect on the body. Unless a sugar says it is “cane sugar” it is probably made from GMO sugar beets. Any sugar (including Cane Sugar) that is NOT organic could have been sprayed with Roundup, Atrazine, and other harmful pesticides.
Instead, you can replaced sugar with organic coconut sugar in almost any recipe. It’s completely unrefined, helping to preserve all of its vitamins and minerals. If you do use white sugar, make sure it’s organic to avoid GMOs and synthetic pesticides. Even better, try coconut sugar which has more minerals and lower glycemic load.
FOOD COLORS:
Those food colors by McCormick and Betty Crocker are made with artificial food dyes from petroleum (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1). These are linked to several health issues, including allergies, cancer, and hyperactivity in children. Dyes are suspended in a solution, often made with propylene glycol and preserved with parabens – which are endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems.
Instead, there are natural coloring kits available made from real food like beets, spirulina, and turmeric. This goes for holiday sprinkles too!
Thankfully - You don’t need to sacrifice your health to enjoy holiday meals and treats. It’s all about making better choices, and this same philosophy applies any time of the year.
How we choose to spend our dollars is very powerful and changes the marketplace. If everyone made these healthier swaps, our stores would stop carrying all those toxic products and give us more good options!
