I am always on the hunt for natural products. I routinely check the shelves of all grocery stores to see what I can dig up. Finding natural-made products requires a bit of sleuthing on my part, because they are generally produced by small, independent companies. Because these companies don't have the buying power than the big corporations do, their products are often placed with the lowest priority on grocery store shelves. I could tell you stories about hunting down natural breakfast cereals that were conveniently placed way out of view of the popular Post and Kelloggs brands, as in, found in the baking isle, but that's a whole other blog post to look forward to in the future. For now, I will simply say you need to keep your eyes, peeled!
I found this brownie mix, No Pudge, produced by Reily Foods out of New Orleans. It contains the following ingredients: Pure cane sugar, unbleached wheat flour, dutch coca, dark coffee, egg whites, cornstarch, wheat gluten, salt, and baking soda. Hey! I didn't lose my place typing that list! Quite a big difference from the laundry list of additives in the grocery store baked doughnuts! It calls for the addition of one container of plain or vanilla yogurt. 120 calories per serving. Even if you increase that to a double serving- not bad!I also found a product by Nestle, a lemon bread kit, with a bigger ingredient list. I was still pleased to see that it was a long way off from what was appearing in the store-bought snack cakes. At least it contains all-natural flavorings, no artificial colors, no hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup, and no preservatives. Not perfect, but a much healthier choice than the death doughnuts! I was happy to see this one coming from a bigger company. One serving has 230 calories.
I came across this soft pretzel baking kit from Auntie Anne's. I was a bit puzzled when I read the ingredient list, because I could swear it is healthier than the nutrition facts I recall looking up on the pretzels served through their retail chain. The kit comes with dough mix/yeast/baking soda and cinnamon sugar for making ten plain or cinnamon pretzels. All you need is butter, which is optional.
The DR. OETKER organic baking products are a great choice for muffins, cakes, and other dessert mixes. My box of Lemon Poppy Seed muffin mix contains only seven ingredients. Big difference from fifty-three!
Most of these creations take ten minutes or less outside of baking time. If you can't wait forty minutes to have a wholesome dessert, you probably don't really need one. Still, for those who can't find the time or patience to bake we have one more alternative.
In the freezer section a very small selection of natural made desserts can usually be found. The easiest among these is ice cream, with Haagen Daz being my favorite for taste. They boast of five ingredients or less and their ice cream has a much creamier, less icier texture, than say Breyers. A little pricier and a bit more fattening, but definitely good quality. Remember less is more, so just help yourself to a smaller serving of a higher quality dessert.
My favorite pre-made frozen desserts are found at Target. The Archer Farms brand has a dizzying array of natural foods from frozen creme brulee to trail mix. BUT, be sure to read all labels before popping an item in your cart. While I've been able to find a great selection of minimally processed goods from this brand, not all of their offerings are natural. Pick and choose accordingly.
Of course the best alternative is still baking your own creation from scratch, but few of us have the time to devote to that these days. I absolutely love homemade cooking and baking. But on days when that is not an option, I've found the above products to be good alternatives.
“I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon.” -Ellen DeGeneres
I LOVE No Pudge brownies :) You're making me hungry!
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