Organics at Aldi- Yes!

I was just checking out Money Saving Mom and saw this announcement that Aldi stores will be selling more organic products. Check out the link for prices- they are definitely comparable and sometimes even less than Whole Foods!

There is an Aldi right near the Whole Foods I go to so I'll have to check them out again to see if they have any organics (the last imd I went there were zero).

Anyway I can save some money on wholesome food is great!

Ingredient Comparison- Tortillas

The other day I made a huge batch of refried beans so that I could make freezer burritos. I picked up two packages of Whole Foods organic tortillas (6 tortillas come in each pack for $2.19- great deal!) to make them but forgot that I also needed tortillas for the taco dinner I was making on Halloween.

I ended up picking up a package of Mission Flour Soft Tacos (20 tacos for $2.25 but are way smaller than the tortillas) because there was no way I was going to drive 20 minutes to Whole Foods for some tortillas. I hated buying the Mission ones and here is why...

These are the Whole Foods ones- the ingredients list is pretty okay and there aren't any artificial ingredients or ingredients I can't pronounce. Plus they are organic which is a plus! They do have whole wheat tortillas also but I do not like the flavor- some things are not good in whole wheat version!

These are the Mission ones- holy ingredient list! Please tell me why it is necessary to have this many ingredients in tortillas? Hydrogenated oil, genetically modified ingredients and ingredients I can't pronounce... not wholesome by any means.

I realize that the best thing to do if I want wholesome foods is to make my own tortillas but while I would love to, I have to make choices everyday on what I can fit into the time I have to get stuff done. I strive to make everything I can from scratch but the things I can't I do my best to buy the best I can.

I challenge you to read the ingredient list on the foods you buy- you may be surprised at what not so great ingredients are hiding in the things you buy everyday!

Just Peanuts...

photo credit

My four year old daughter is obsessed with peanut butter, as was my 6 year old son when he was younger (he is going through an I hate peanut butter stage right now and I think he's crazy). My almost two year old hates peanut butter and I sometimes wonder if she was switched at birth because I think it's darn tasty.

When my son was born and I had to go on a dairy free diet due to him being allergic to milk (I was breastfeeding) I started to really look at the ingredients in the food I was buying. It really opened my eyes to the kind of junk that I was putting into my body that I thought was healthy but really wasn't.

One of those things was peanut butter. I thought I was being healthy by eating it but the stuff I was buying was not actually peanut butter- the jars always said "peanut butter spread" on them. If you look at the ingredient list on your favorite brand of mainstream peanut butter you will see that there are lots more things than just peanuts in it. Do you really need added oil, sugar or salt? The answer is no. Even the "natural" versions the mainstream brands put out are no better which goes to show you cannot trust the claims on the front of the package and need to look at the ingredients.

I only buy peanut butter that is made of peanuts- nothing else. You know what? It tastes awesome! Peanuts are tasty on their own and don't need any help to be yummy. Whenever you buy the stuff that has added ingredients you are putting unnecessary processed ingredients into your body and really for no good reason at all.

If you are interested in switching to a better diet, with less processed foods and more wholesome foods, then switching the peanut butter you buy is such a simple step. You'll be eating a far superior product and can feel good about feeding it to your kids (and yourself- I like to eat it off a spoon).