What's in a diet?

While I'm thinking about resolutions ... a big one for me every Jan is usually watching what I eat after the gluttony of Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year is a little different...I don't drink soda, I recently gave up coffee, and I'm down to just one little caffeine cup a' tea per day ... and last summer I experienced something with my son that made me really look at the daily foods that I was buying and putting into my body and my children's bodies. I've, as best as I can, removed artificial dyes/coloring, artificial flavors and preservatives from our diet. Most of these synthetic substances are products derived from petroleum. Sounds delish doesn't it? Many of the packaged foods you buy at the super market shelf for your kids (ice cream, cookies, popular chocolate bars, etc) have a synthetic vanilla extract flavor called vanillin which is derived from the waste products of paper mills. Um, yuck! Even the oils and shortening you use may be loaded with preservatives and petroleum.

So each Friday, when possible, I'd love to share a healthy food tip or food find with you. Today's Friday Food Find is geared toward Valentine's Day. (I'm sharing it with you now, that way if you are interested, you can order online and have it arrive in time for the holiday.)

If you're looking for some healthier sweet treats made from real, natural food for Valentine's Day checkout these two stores:

Natural Candy Store

They even break things down depending on your dietary needs: ie if you have peanut or other allergies, are vegan, looking for organic or Fair Trade products. Sweet!



The Squirrel's Nest

They list the ingredients in each of the products right there on the website. There are lots of natural chocolate confections for Valentine's Day. And if you're inclined to make your own sweet treats ... they have food coloring options that are natural...or pick up some sprinkles (without the artificial dyes) for your next batch of homemade cupcakes. Yum!