How can you have a healthier holiday with your family this year? Check out the nutrition content of these five convenience holiday foods and see how you can make simple swaps for better health!

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5 Of The Worst Convenience Holiday Foods And How To Avoid
Them
by Bo nnie | Pro venNutritio nFo rKids edit
T he holiday season is upon us, and all the grocery stores are lined with their special displays of the most
popular holiday f oods. You’ve probably already been by the holiday baking display or the dress-your-turkey
shelves of canned goods and boxed potatoes.
Upon a closer look, though, many of these “convenience” f oods turn out to be not-so-convenient f or our
f amily’s health. In f act, we end up paying a very high price f or the convenience of certain holiday f oods.
So, while we were out shopping the other day, I decided to investigate several of these popular holiday picks.
(My kids were a bit embarrassed by my f ood photography, but hey, it’s worth it if I can help our readers be more
nutrition-savvy!)
I came up with my top f ive most nutrient-def icient unnatural holiday f oods and how you can avoid them this
holiday season.
Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
I originally didn’t think this one would make my list of f ive, but
when I noticed the sugars, I knew it needed to be here. A mere
1/4 cup of this yields 24 grams of sugar in the f orms of high
f ructose corn syrup and corn syrup. In f act, over 87% of the
calories in this sauce come f rom sugars alone! Just one
serving of this meets your child’s daily limit f or added
sugars. Ugh.
Indeed, cranberries themselves are packed with antioxidants,
vitamins, f iber, and phytochemicals, but unf ortunately, this
can has very little in there. It’s better f or your f amily to make a
f resh cranberry sauce f rom scratch, where you can control
the type and amount of sugar you add. T his way you’re also
guaranteed to retain all of the cranberry’s nutritious health
benef its.
The Swap —> Mart ha St ewart ’s Basic Cranberry Sauce
(Be sure to read the reviews on this too if you’re still on the f ence.)
Pillsbury Moist Supreme Yellow Cake Mix

2. Ever since I’ve started cooking things f rom scratch, I have
of ten wondered why I ever used to buy the boxed cake mixes.
T hey really represent f ood marketing at its best because
they provide the illusion that you are actually saving a ton of
time. In reality, the boxed mix saves you maybe 10 minutes of
time and you get the added deliciousness of 18 extra
ingredients that your body (and your cake) doesn’t need.
It’s true that our homemade version will give you more sugar
per serving…but then you have the f reedom to change this
amount–something you can’t do with the box.
The Swap —> Bet t er Homes & Gardens Basic
Yellow Cake Mix
Heinz Homestyle Roasted Turkey Gravy
T his holiday f ood is super convenient, especially if you’re not
planning to roast your own turkey. However, when you look at
the ingredients, you might think twice about how you prepare
your T hanksgiving meal. T he Heinz version is comprised
mostly of turkey broth, modif ied corn starch, and chicken f at.
T he other 26 ingredients are listed in the “less than 2%”
category.
When I was growing up, my mom always made her own pan
gravy f rom the drippings of the roasted turkey. I used to think
it was a really involved process, until I tried it on my own the
f irst time. I remember getting the how-to over the phone with
my mom, and asking, “Is that it?” It seemed too easy to taste
so good. It was indeed that easy, and your body won’t miss
the modif ied corn starch either.
The Swap —> Bet t er Homes & Gardens Pan Gravy
Pillsbury Ref rigerated Pie Crusts
Compared to its homemade counterpart, it has 300% more ingredients
and is loaded with extra stuf f that your body does not need, nor can it
use. T hese extra ingredients include chemical preservatives and
artif icial colors…Why does a pie crust need added coloring anyway?
Our homemade crust that uses real butter may have more f at per
serving; however, it is a much better f orm of f at than the trans f at in
this one. (And yes, though the trans f at on the box says “0 g”, you
have to look closer at the ingredients f or the “partially hydrogenated.”
Food manuf acturers are not required to list the trans f at if it comes to
less than 1 g per serving. Even that small amount is still NOT benef icial
nor recommended.)

3. Are these boxed pie crusts convenient? You bet. But when it only takes
about 20 minutes longer to put together a much healthier one f rom
scratch (not to mention, a much tastier one too), you have to ask
yourself if the time you’re saving is really worth it. Serve your kids the
real deal this holiday with our Butter Flaky Pie Crust Recipe, and leave
the partially hydrogenated lard of f the table.
The Swap —> Our But t er Flaky Pie Crust
Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting
Compared to our homemade butter cream icing, the
Betty Crocker version has 5 times as many ingredients
and more than 87% of them are totally unnecessary.
Why do we do this to our bodies?
Just two tablespoons of this stuf f delivers more than
two day’s worth of the upper limit of dangerous trans
f ats, according to the American Heart Association.
“The American Heart Association recommends
limiting the amount of trans fats you eat to less
than 1 percent of your total daily calories. That
means if you need 2,000 calories a day, no more
than 20 of those calories should come from trans
fats. That’s less than 2 grams of trans fats a day.
Given the amount of naturally occurring trans
fats you probably eat every day, this leaves
virtually no room at all for industrially
manufactured trans fats.” – American Heart
Association
And how many of us really consume only two
tablespoons on a single piece of cake?
Be tty Cro c ke r Ric h & Cre amy Vanilla Fro s ting Nutritio n Fac ts
and Ing re d ie nts
The Swap —> Homemade But t er Cream Icing
So, there’s my top 5 holiday f oods to avoid this season. Which one will you swap out this year?
Is t here anyt hing t hat you would add t o t his list ?
Leave your thoughts and ideas below!

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