Brightland
Claim: Brightland markets itself as making handcrafted, flavorful, healthy oils.
What the experts say: Axelrod gives this one two thumbs up for its nutritional label. "What we know now based on research is that extra virgin olive oils contain compounds called polyphenols, which are responsible for many of its health benefits. The fresher the olive oil, the higher the polyphenol content."
Verdict: Healthy!
Lesser Evil
Claim: Lesser Evil says it's dedicated to creating clean, healthy snacks that are as tasty as they are guilt-free.
What the experts say: "All of their products are organic and their popcorn gives you options to choose from made with avocado oil, coconut oil or grass-fed ghee and since it's air-popped, it keeps the calories low," say The Nutrition Twins, Lyssie Lakatos, RDN, CDN, CFT and Tammy Lakatos Shames, RDN, CDN, CFT. "Unlike other popcorns that have a long list of ingredients, this brand keeps it simple without extra additives or preservatives."
Verdict: Healthy!
Ark Foods
Claim: Ark Foods markets itself as a modern-day farming company that creates simple and fresh food options.
What the experts say: "These vegan dishes are made with healthy vegetables, spices, extra virgin olive oil and, depending on the product, even use cashews to make cheese-flavored ingredients," say the Nutrition Twins. "They make a healthy, low-calorie pasta replacement or a healthy cauliflower mac and cheese."
Verdict: Healthy!
Bubba's Fine Foods Ungranola
Claim: Bubba's Fine Foods Ungranola markets itself as a gluten, grain, dairy, soy and refined sugar-free alternative to traditional granola.
What the experts say: "This grain-free, no-refined sugar granola has only three grams of added sugar, which is far less than many granolas which contain upwards of 16 grams, and definitely fits in recommendations to stay below eight grams of sugar per serving of cereal," say The Nutrition Twins. "Green saba bananas provide a boost of prebiotic fiber." That said, they warn that like most granolas, the granolas here are still fairly high in calories and that these in particular are also high in saturated fat because of the coconut oil.
Verdict: Healthy! (Albeit somewhat caloric.)
Pirro's Sauce
Claim: Pirro's Sauce is a line of sauces made using simple ingredients, bright flavors with no additives for lighter cooking.
What the experts say: First off it's worth pointing out that this line of sauces can rival most made-from scratch options as far as taste. That said, the Nutrition Twins point out that although it's great that the sauces source fresh produce for all their ingredients, including their basil, carrots, garlic, fennel, etc., and don't use additives, they still include added sweetener (honey) and a source of saturated fat (butter), in a marinara sauce. "Their Bolognese sauce is nitrate and nitrite-free, but still contains saturated fat from the uncured bacon and the veal. Each one-half cup serving of the Bolognese sauce has more calories than the same one-half cup serving of pasta and also has 3.5 grams of saturated fat per serving."
Verdict: Fresh and tasty, but rather high-cal!
Image via @pirrossauce
