Ice Cream

 

“You scream, I scream,” this birthday party needs ice cream!

 

 

Eat This

 

Alden’s Organic® Ice Cream Sammies²³

• Certified organic? For love of the planet!
• Antibiotic-free milk? It’s the organic way.
• No high-fructose corn syrup? Not a chance!
• Tastiest sammie you’ll ever meet? No doubt.

 

Not That

 

The ice cream sandos we can do without²⁴

• Hormone and antibiotic free? There’s no guarantee.
• Petroleum derivatives, too? Propylene glycol often is.²⁵
• Possible hint of trans fats? Mono- and diglycerides!²⁶
• Plus, glyphosate-dependent corn and soy? Don’t crave it.²⁷

 

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Cado™ non-dairy ice cream²⁸

• Dairy-free and vegan? Non-GMO Project Verified, too!
• The creamiest texture? From fresh avocados!
• So, mono-unsaturated fat? The heart-healthy kind!
• Plus, it’s gluten free? Yes and oh, so crave-able.

 

Not That

 

Non-dairy but kinda scary²⁹

• High-risk GMO ingredients? Corn syrup!
• Mono- and diglycerides? Yup—may contain trans fats.             
• And chemicals from processing, too? It’s possible. ³⁰
• Worth it? Not at our birthday party!

 

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Good Pop® ^{31 32}

• Bursting with fruity flavor? From real fruit and juice!
• Lightly sweetened with Fair-Trade Organic cane sugar? Always!
• Short ingredient list and Non-GMO Project Verified? You betcha.
• B-Corp company? It’s a triple-bottom-line commitment!

 

Not That

 

The ‘sicles you don’t want to pop in your mouth ^{33 34}

• High-fructose corn syrup? Sure, it’s nothing new.
• Plus, regular corn syrup AND sugar? Not our kind of sweet.
• No whole fruit and barely any juice? Makes no sense.
• Must be why it’s artificially flavored, too? Good guess.

 

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Strauss Family Creamery™: Organic Ice Cream

• No thickeners or stabilizers? Don’t need them.
• Milk from cows that graze on organic grass? Oh yeah!
• Hormone and antibiotic free? Never less!
• Certified organic and exquisitely delicious? Taste and see.

 

Not That

 

The ice cream that makes us blue³⁵

• Artificial flavors? Seems unnecessary, but true.
• High-fructose corn syrup again? Can’t get away from it.
• Hormones and antibiotics? It’s quite likely.
• Dye tainted with carcinogens? Like Red 40? We’ve seen it.³⁶

 

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Let’s Do Organic® Cones, Organic Sugar Cones³⁷

• Certified organic AND non-GMO? Definitely!
• Vegan and Kosher, you say? Positively true.
• Is bleached flour allowed? No way, not ever!
• Crispy, sweet sugar cone style? A classic!

 

Not That

 

Cones that won’t get our birthday scoop!³⁸

• Bleached flour? It’s unhealthy and unappetizing.
• Why? Bleaching includes nutrient depletion and toxic residue!³⁹
• GMOs involved? Soy and canola often are.
• Is it worth it? We’ll celebrate a healthier way.

 

Ice Cream Toppers

 

Are your toppers top of the line?

 

 

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Let’s Do Organic® Confetti Sprinklez⁴⁰

• How do these fun colors happen? Naturally!
• Which means? They come from veggies and herbs!⁴¹
• Certified organic too? It’s the best way!
• Plus vegan and gluten free? Yup, time to party!

 

Not That

 

The sprinkles we run from⁴²

• Synthetic food coloring? So many kinds.
• Traces of cancer-causing compounds? FDA tests say so.
• Hyper-activity in kids? More than one study suggests.
• And Red 3? It’s a known carcinogen—not as fun as they look!⁴³

 

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Dandies® Vegan Marshmallows⁴⁴

• They’re really vegan? No gelatin involved!
• Made in a dedicated vegan facility? Absolutely.
• No artificial colors, flavors, or GMOs? Nope, not ever.
• Corn syrup? Don’t need it to make these sweet and melty.

 

Not That

 

The mallows we don’t marsh⁴⁵

• Is that corn syrup non-GMO? Likely not.
• Why artificial flavor? Umm, we don’t know.
• Blue 1, too? Yup, and it may be carcinogenic.⁴⁶
• Worth the meltdown? Not even a little bit.

 

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Natural Grocers® Bittersweet Chocolate Chips⁴⁷

• Ethically sourced? Certified 100% Fair Trade!
• It’s organic? Nothing less for us and the planet!
• Minimal ingredients? Four is a pretty short list.
• Vegan and soy free? The ultimate dark chocolate chip!

 

Not That

 

The dark side of chocolate chips^{48 49}

• Responsibly sourced cocoa? Can’t know if it’s not verified.⁵⁰
• Grown with toxic, synthetic pesticides? Quite likely.⁵¹
• Unspecified flavor and traces of dairy? It’s true.
• Soy lecithin, too? Don’t need it in our chocolate chips.

 

Eat This   

                                                        

Ah!Laska® Chocolate Syrup⁵²

• Organic and non-dairy ? Deliciously true!
• Only one sweetener, not three? Yes, yum, you betcha!
• Real organic vanilla? Not a drop of artificial nonsense!
• Rich, chocolatey flavor? It’s a better4u birthday sundae!

 

Not That

 

Chocolatey syrups that aren’t sweet on your health⁵³

• Potassium sorbate? Yeah—we’ll pass.
• What’s bad about that? It could cause DNA damage!^{54 55}
• High-fructose corn syrup? Toxic contaminants included.⁵⁶
• Artificial flavor, too? Not our kind of birthday sundae!

 

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Little Secrets® Chocolate Candies^{57 58}

• Fair Trade Certified Ingredients? As many as possible!
• Sustainably sourced palm oil? It’s NO secret.
• Veggie-based colors? Naturally plant-derived.
• NO artificial “enhancements”? Just clean, candy crunch!

 

Not That

 

Those pieces we don’t want^{59 60}

• Have we hydrogenated vegetable oil? Yeah, no thanks.
• What’s the big deal? It converts to trans-fatty acids.⁶¹
• Synthetic colors? With links to carcinogens.⁶²
• Artificial flavors? Guess they never heard—real food tastes better!

 

Birthday Cakes

 

Have your cake and make sure it’s better for you too!

 

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Simple Mills® Cake Mix¹

• What magic mix is this? The Non-GMO Project Verified kind!
• Grain free? Yep and gluten, soy, and dairy, too!
• Sweetened with organic coconut sugar? Nothing else!
• Only seven ingredients? Deliciously true—Happy Birthday to you!

 

Not That

 

Cake mixes we’ll pass on²

• Bleached flour? Umm yes, which could include:
• Chlorinated hydrocarbon residue? Toxic for us and the planet!³
• Sneaky trans fats? Monoglycerides may include trans-fatty acids.4
• Artificial flavor? Count on it, plus more junk than we have time for.

 

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Pamela’s® Gluten-free cake mix⁵

• Certified Gluten Free? Yes, and delightfully moist!
• Non-dairy and nutritiously whole grain? Absolutely!
• Non-GMO, you say? It has the Project Verified seal.
• Makes you want your birthday every day? Precisely!

 

Not That

 

The gluten-free cake we don’t mix⁶

• So how about those GMOs? Let us count the ways:
• 99.9% of sugar beets and 95% of canola crops are GM?
• It’s official—straight from the FDA! ⁷
• A dash of aluminum, too? Sodium aluminum sulfate will do.⁸

 

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FLAX4LIFE® Brownie Muffins⁹

• Dairy free, gluten free, and nut free, you say? Yes, way!
• No preservatives or trans fats? That’s right and a bonus—
• Every brownie has 689 mg of Omega 3s!
• Just add icing and candles? It’s a good4u Happy Birthday!

 

Not That

 

Brownies we won’t bite¹⁰

• Chlorine dioxide? Where there’s bleached flour—could be.¹¹
• Propylene glycol esters of fatty acids? Hmm, no thanks.
• Mono- and diglycerides? May be a sneaky way of saying trans fats.¹²
• Artificial flavor, too? What an unappetizing mouthful.

 

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Organic carved watermelon with berries

• A “cake” made of fruit? Looks incredible—tastes heavenly!
• And DNA-protective lycopene, too? Watermelon is tops! ^{13 14}
• Add strawberries for vitamin C? Please do and for deliciousness, too.¹⁵
• Does organic have more phytonutrients? Yes, and planet-loving power!¹⁶

 

Not That

 

Fruit “cake” that isn’t organic

• Metam-potassium, you say? A fungicide we’ll avoid.
• Why so? It’s carcinogenic, and a developmental/reproductive toxin! ¹⁷
• How much is used to grow melons? 75,954 pounds in California. (2016) ¹⁸
• And strawberries? They’re #1 on the Dirty Dozen™ list for five years in a row! ^{19 20} 

 

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Simple Mills® frosting²¹

• Creamy, whipped frosting that’s certified organic? Delish!
• Fair-Trade cocoa and sustainable palm shortening? Absolutely!
• No dairy, gluten, corn, or artificial additives? Not their style.
• All that and non-GMO, too? Happy Birthday to you!

 

Not That

 

Frostings we won’t spread²²

• Is that palm oil sustainably sourced? No way to tell.
• Corn syrup and corn starch mean GMOs? Probably.
• Polysorbate 60 and artificial flavor? Umm pass.
• And monoglycerides, too? Not our kind of creamy.

 

Snacks

 

Make sure your snack bowls are healthful

 

 

 

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Lesser Evil® Paleo Puffs⁶¹

• Grain free and Organic? Plus, Certified Paleo-Friendly!
• Vegan, too? That’s right—even the No Cheese “Cheesiness.”
• What creates this perfect crunch? Extra Virgin Coconut Oil!⁶²
• Nothing artificial making the magic happen? No way, not ever.

 

Not That

 

The cheesy puffs that don’t make us smile ^{63 64}

• Did you say MSG? Yup, and unfortunately that’s not all.
• Yellow 6? May include benzidine (a carcinogen), it’s no party pal! ⁶⁵
• Low-quality vegetable oils, too? An inflammation-inducing mouthful.
• Is all that corn and canola non-GMO? Sure don’t think so!

 

Eat This

 

Rhythm™ Superfoods Kale Chips ⁶⁶

• Crunches like our favorite chip but not fried? It's legit!
• Zesty Nacho and Kool Ranch are dairy free? Delectably true.
• It's Certified Organic, non-GMO, and gluten free? Believe it!
• All this and a superfood, too? Kale yeah—tell other chips to beat it!

 

Not That

 

The chips that ruffle our kale feathers ⁶⁷

• Loads of GMOs? Sure, yeah, most likely.
• How do you know? 92% of corn and 94% of canola are GM! ⁶⁸
• MSG again? Junk food needs flavor enhancers.
• Antibiotic residue in milk ingredients? Industrialized dairy is scary.⁶⁹

 

Eat This

 

Natural Grocers® Organic Tierra Trail Mix ⁷⁰

• Small-batch roasted nuts and seeds? Divinely fresh!
• Premium dried fruit and dark chocolate chips? The best!
• No artificial colors, or flavors? Not a drop.
• Certified Organic and non-GMO? Facts. Delicious facts.

 

Not That

 

The kind of mix that won’t be at our mixer ⁷¹

• What’s not to love? Hmm, where to start.
• Yellow 6, Red 40, and Blue 1 and 2? Plus a few more, too.
• Synthetic food dyes are petroleum-derived? That’s an unappetizing yes.⁷²
• Artificial flavors and corn syrup, too? Need we say more.

 

Eat This

 

From the Ground Up® Butternut Squash Pretzels

• Grain free you say? Cassava and squash make it possible!
• Flavored with veggies, for real? Mmm and so savory delish.
• Certified Gluten Free and Non-GMO Project Verified? Precisely.
• Pretzel cravings fulfilled? Don’t start the party without a bowl of this!

 

Not That

 

The pretzels that don’t twist our taste buds⁷³

• Is enriched flour better? Ironically, it means nutrients are taken out.⁷⁴
• Corn syrup in pretzels, seriously? Who needs it!
• “Partially produced with genetic engineering”? You may find it.
• Any nutritional snacking value? Not worth their salt.

 

Eat This

 

Mary’s Gone Crackers® Original Crackers ⁷⁵

• Certified Gluten Free? And, made in a dedicated bakery! ⁷⁶
• No sugar added? This crispy goodness doesn’t need it.
• Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified? 100 percent!
• Pairs with any party dip? Meet the cracker that never quits.

 

Not That

 

The (cracker) rounds we don’t want around ⁷⁷

• Partially hydrogenated oil? Hard to tell and may include trans fats.⁷⁸
• High-fructose corn syrup—but why? Can’t think of one good reason.
• Glyphosate residue, too? It’s been found to be true.⁷⁹
• The opposite of good4u? Not our way of saying Happy Birthday!

 

References Available Upon Request