It’s just one more lesson that we can’t trust the marketing on the front of packages: So many of those ‘whole grain’ and ‘whole wheat’ snack foods really aren’t much better than their white counterparts. Here are the sneaky ways that food companies make their product look healthier, plus the top strategies to ensure that you’re truly getting a real dose of whole grains:
- Read the ingredient list, looking for a ‘whole’ grain to top the ingredient list
- Look for added sugars in ingredient list
- One serving of whole grains provides 16 grams of whole grains (compare this to the grams of whole grains stated on the front of many product labels).
Ritz Whole Wheat
- 1st ingredient: unbleached enriched flour, followed by whole wheat flour
- “With 5 grams of whole grain per serving” means it provides only 1/3 a serving of whole grains
Cheez-Its ‘made with’ Whole Grain
- 1st ingredient: enriched flour, followed by soybean and palm oil, then whole wheat flour
- “With 5 grams of whole grain per serving” means it provides only 1/3 a serving of whole grains
Special K Multigrain Crackers
- 1st ingredient is whole wheat flour, followed by wheat flour (white four) and sugar
- Not 100% whole grain, and also has added sugar, but still better than most types of crackers
Wheat Thins 100% Whole Grain
- It’s true that they’re 100% whole grain – there’s no white flours in these crackers.
- But they do have 3 different types of added sugar, with more sugar than fiber per serving.
Goldfish ‘made with’ Whole Grain
- 1st ingredient: whole wheat flour, followed by white flour, but still low in sugar (2 grams fiber and less than one gram sugar per serving)
Triscuits & Triscuit Thin Crisps
- Truly a whole grain cracker: Ingredients are simply whole grain wheat, soybean oil, and salt
Mary’s Gone Crackers
- One of the only whole grain, gluten-free crackers on the market.
- First ingredient is brown rice, followed by whole quinoa, flaxseeds, sesame seeds.
