Organic Well Being: Big Food is doing this to parents again...

The other day I was walking through the grocery store and saw this huge back-to-school display.

But it wasn’t backpacks and school supplies.

It was filled with junk food marketed for kids’ lunchboxes. Little packs of Cheez-Its, Goldfish, fruit snacks, pudding cups... all packaged up to make parents feel like this is what we’re supposed to buy when our kids go back to school.

And it makes me so mad because Big Food is preying on busy parents.

They know parents are looking for quick and easy things to throw into a lunchbox, so they package up ultra-processed junk in cute little individual bags and market it as “back-to-school” food.

Here’s the truth about some of these products lining the shelves right now...

LUNCHABLES

These are filled with ultra-processed ingredients like sodium nitrite, sodium phosphates, highly processed seed oils, corn syrup, natural flavors, and soy lecithin.

Sodium nitrite is strongly linked to cancer and heart disease, and highly processed seed oils are linked to chronic inflammation in the body.

CHEEZ-ITS

Cheez-Its contain TBHQ, a controversial preservative that may harm the immune system and increase the risk of food allergies.

And some varieties, like Cheddar Jack, are spiked with MSG and other flavor enhancers (like disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate)....which when mixed with MSG can amplify the flavor of food up to 8 times!

GOLDFISH

If you look at the ingredients in Goldfish, they might seem pretty simple at first.

But they’re made with refined white flour, highly processed seed oils, and autolyzed yeast extract, a form of hidden MSG designed to hijack your child's taste buds and get them addicted to the product.

Independent tests have also found glyphosate (Roundup) residues in Goldfish crackers. This weed killer is linked to cancer and numerous other health issues.

WELCH’S FRUIT SNACKS

Fruit snacks are the perfect example of how Big Food takes something healthy like fruit and turns it into a science experiment.

Welch’s says “Whole Fruit is our main ingredient" right on the front of the package, but they’re still chock full of juice concentrate, GMO corn syrup, artificial flavors, and synthetic vitamins.

JELL-O PUDDING CUPS

These are filled with refined sugar, artificial flavors, and highly processed hydrogenated oils. You'll still find artificial dyes Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 in their vanilla and swirl puddings.

And that milk they contain is conventional milk, which was likely raised with herbicide-laden GMO feed, hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs.

Thankfully, you don’t have to buy this junk just because it comes in a convenient little package for your child's lunch.

Here are some packaged snacks I actually buy for my kids:

Simple Mills crackers and Pop Mmms
Solely fruit snacks and fruit leather
Truvani bars
Epic wild smoked salmon strips
Peaceful Fruits
Sun-Maid Organic Raisins
Truvani electrolyte drink mix (instead of juice boxes)

But packaged snacks are only a small part of what goes into my kids’ lunches.

I always make sure they have a good source of organic protein, fresh fruit, vegetables, and real food. And leftovers from dinner are great for lunches too!

Big Food wants us to believe kids need special “lunchbox foods.”

They don’t.

Xo,
Vani