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Understanding Food Labels: Smart Shopping with Sift Food Labels
Understanding Food Labels: Smart Shopping with Sift Food Labels
Understanding Food Labels: Smart Shopping with Sift Food Labels
These days, when you go to the store, flip over the package and read through an ingredient list, its easy to quickly become overwhelmed!At Bobs Red Mill, were big believers in honest nutrition, as we think it paves the way to health and happiness. Learning about what ingredients youre putting into your body should be invigorating, not frustrating.Increasing awareness when you shop is a big stepping stone to achieving health goals, which is why were excited to introduce you to Sift Food Labels, an innovative mobile app thats making smart shopping much easier!
What Is Sift Food Labels?
Sift Food Labels is on a mission to bring transparency to the U.S. food industry. Like the Bobs Red Mill team, they believe that everyone should have access to honest information about whats in the food they eat. Sift brings their vision to life through a mobile app thats available for download on mobile devices in the U.S.As we all know, ingredients can often be confusing when were reading them from a food label in the grocery store. With Sift, you can simply snap the barcode of any food product and Sift translates the ingredients into easy-to-understand terms. Confusing ingredientslike carrageenan, bht and more are quickly deciphered into terms we can understand. Any ingredients that pose health risks or are banned in other countries are immediately flagged, so we can make more informed decisions in the grocery aisle.If youre following an elimination dietDairy Free, Gluten Free, No Added Sugar, Paleo, Vegan, 30 Whole Days, Soy Free and FODMAPSift offers diet filters as an upgrade. When you scan an item, the app will tell you whether or not it fits within your specific dietary needs.
How Was Sift Started?
Sift started when Carrie Roberts was expecting her first child. After a diagnosis of gestational diabetes, she became hyper-aware of the food she was putting into her body. Not wanting to use medication, she decided to completely remove sugar from her diet. What she thought would be an easy lifestyle change, quickly evolved into extremely time-consuming trips to the grocery store.Grocery shopping, which used to be a simple task, now was clouded with lists of unfamiliar ingredients that might look like a foreign language to the average shopper. Upon googling these mysterious ingredients, Carrie quickly learned they were all essentially sugar. She later found out there are more than 60 different words to describe sugar on U.S. food labels. As she dove deeper in her quest to better understand food ingredients, she learned that over 3,000 additives are approved for use in our foods in the U.S. and that 80% of the foods in the average American pantry are likely to contain ingredients banned in other countries.She was determined to make healthy eating and ingredient transparency more readily available to consumersand Sift Food Labels was born!
Why Does Bobs Red Mill Love Sift?
For more than four decades, Bob has been committed to high-quality foods. With a passion for health and a strong belief in taking care of one another, he approaches his business with an honest-to-goodness approach.Here, we have a passion for providing the very best nutritional whole grains. Were honest about what goes into our food and want you to be aware of what youre putting into your body. Its this passion for providing wholesome whole grains and nutritious products that have given us our name.With this idea, were advocates that quality food should be fresh and wholesome, just as nature intended.Sift shares this philosophy with the Bobs Red Mill team and we admire their dedication to ingredient transparency.
A Deeper Dive into Bobs Red Mill Ingredients
When youre trying to shop smart, learning how to read the ingredients list might at first seem like a daunting task.Luckily, apps like Sift make it easy to learn about what youre putting into your body and companies like ours share a common dedication to ingredient transparency.At Bobs Red Mill, we believe in honest nutrition and trust. We promise to take the complexity out of wholesome eating and always help you along on your journey through nutrition, health and happiness!When you shop our products, youll find that we pride ourselves on being transparent with whats in our bags and on our product packaging.Take ourBobs Bars, for example: theres a short, simple, clean ingredients list and a declaration that the bars are free from gluten, soy, dairy and egg.Flip over the package of our Coconut Spiced Pan-Baked Granola and youll find a list of whole grain oats, coconut, maple syrup, coconut oil, brown sugar, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, spices, salt, natural flavor and mixed tocopherols (which we mention are antioxidants).One of the most common questions we get asked about our products is, What's the difference between whole and processed grains?A processed grain is missing some of its most nutritious parts, whereas a whole grain contains all of its nutritional health benefits.The kernel, which is the edible part of the whole grain, consists of three major parts: bran, germ and endosperm. Processed grains lack both the bran and the germ, which means theyre void of dietary iron and B vitamins.Whole grains, on the other hand, include all three parts, which gives your body nutrients like fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and antioxidants. When these nutrients combine, you get a wide variety of health benefits that are greater together than they are on their own.Think of it as a sort of magical grain potion for your body.Weve chosen to preserve nutrition through tradition, which calls for quartz millstones to ensure that the most nutritious parts of the whole grain remain before we pack it right into your bag. The slow speed that the millstones grind, allows the nutrients and flavors of the grain to be preserved.Like Sift Food Labels, weve built our business on three principles: Trust, Honesty and Integrity. We make sure that our packaging is a reflection of these values. Bob is committed to helping people through better nutrition and part of that promise is to produce the very best whole grains he can. We offer one of the largest lines of organic and whole grain foods in the country. All of our products are certified Kosher and made with ingredients that are grown from non-GMO seeds.We maintain close relationships with our farmers and are proud of each product we produce!
Bobs Red Mill Products
From Flours & Meals to Nutritional Boosters, Bobs Red Mill creates a variety of products that make healthy eating both easy and delicious.
Flours & Nut Meals
Our Flours & Nut Meals offer a bountiful selection of stone-ground, whole grain, organic, gluten free and paleo-friendly flours. Whether youre using them to whip up a pizza crust or for a batch of birthday cupcakes, these Flours & Nut meals are fit for kitchens of all sorts. If youve never used alternative flours, its easy to go for the simple all-purpose flour when youre at the grocery store. Once you take a closer look and see how many vast and varied options there are, you might be inclined to get a little more creative!
Breakfast Cereal
When we take a closer look at the ingredients in breakfast cereals, we find that they tend to be chock full of unnecessary additives and sugar. Our Breakfast Cereal is simple, satisfying and made from wholesome grains and seeds. Whether youre pairing it with classic dairy milk or going for a milk alternativelike almond milk or rice milkour breakfast cereal is a wholesome way to start the day.
Granola
At Bobs Red Mill, its safe to say were obsessed with granola. Our line of Granola is made from scrumptious whole grains and is perfect for breakfast time, or any time! Whether youre in the mood for Lemon Blueberry or Cinnamon Raisin, weve made sure to create a granola for everyone! Enjoy it with milk, yogurt or simply on its own.
Mixes
Our Mixes make baking easier and help you celebrate special occasions and everyday indulgences with wholesome goodness. From Protein Pancake & Waffle Mix in the morning to Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix in the evening, were delighted to bring you versatile and delicious mixes. You can also take a look at our Baking Essentials products. Youll find all the essential baking ingredients you need to prepare your recipes, like baking soda, baking powder, gums, sugars and yeast.
Grains, Beans, Seeds
Stock your pantry with our nutritious Grains, Beans and Seeds! Theyll nourish your body, delight your taste buds and make mealtime versatile and fun. Throw some Chia Seeds in your smoothie, add some Farro to your salad and relish in the flavors of real, honest ingredients.
Oats
Our whole grain Oats are fresh and flavorful, perfect for everything from porridge to baked goods. Go for our Oatmeal Cups when youre on the go or settle into a slow weekend morning with a warm bowl of our wholesome Steel Cut Oats. We love our line of oats and are constantly finding new ways to eat and enjoy them!
Bars
Our Bars have finally arrived! Our customers asked and we delivered. We make our Bobs Bars from simple ingredients like whole grain oats, peanut butter and honeyso they can offer easy nourishment when you need it most! With five flavors, it might be a bit too hard to choose your favorite, but well leave that up to you.
Nutritional Boosters
Our line of Nutritional Boosters is filled with proteins, fiber, probiotics and other ingredients meant to fuel your day. Our powders are clean and ,without the addition of chemical junk you might find in other powders. Theyre convenient for on-the-go mornings when youre looking for something vegan, gluten free and packed with fiber and iron.