Decoding labels with Thrive Market
What to look for in a nutrition label and how to identify healthy foods.
Today's Btwn Meals newsletter is proudly sponsored by Thrive Market. If you’ve been a regular reader of this Substack, you know that I am a huge fan of Thrive—they have an excellent curation of pantry and household products at great prices, and I love that it saves me a trip to the store.
If you’re curious about joining, they are generously offering Btwn Meal readers 30% off your first order and a FREE gift up to $60.
“Hey Mia, what do you think of (insert packaged food product here)?”
This is without a doubt the number 1 nutrition question that I get asked. Whether it’s a protein bar, pasta, or kids snack, it can be confusing to know exactly what to look for on a label when evaluating a food product. So, I’m here to spill the tea.
There are two things I’m looking at when evaluating a food product.
Macronutrient balance — This is amount and ratio of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Macronutrients are most likely to effect your blood sugar, energy, weight, stress levels, and mood. Here I am looking at the amount of these macros, including the fiber and added sugars.
Ingredients — Is this food micronutrient-rich (i.e. contains vitamins, minerals, or phytonutrients)? What is the quality of the ingredients? Is it organic or non GMO? Does it have unnecessary additives or toxins?
A few considerations before we get into it:
✔️ Consider what this food will be eaten with. Single ingredient foods, like rice for example, might not have a great macronutrient balance (lots of carbs), but aren’t generally eaten on their own. Similarly, you can have a quinoa bowl with sweet potato, chickpeas and greens that might have a lot of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but is also high in carbohydrates and lacks protein. What we’re looking for is the magic blending of the two.
✔️ When evaluating carbohydrates make sure to look at fiber and sugar, not just total carbs. Generally I look for a carbohydrate to fiber ratio of 5:1 or less—meaning for every 5 grams of carb there is at least 1 gram of fiber. This won’t work for all foods (like rice), but if I see this ratio in a packaged food, I am happy. To calculate the net carbohydrates, subtract the fiber from the total carbs. So, if there are 20 grams of carbs and 5 grams of fiber, we have 15 grams of net carbs and a carb to fiber ratio of 5:1.
✔️ Pay attention to serving size. These can often be manipulated by food companies to get the nutrition facts to fit within a certain profile.
Okay, with this in mind, let’s compare some products.
CEREAL
I have three cereals to compare here: Thrive Market’s Coconut Cereal, Lovebird Cinnamon Cereal, and Honey Nut Cheerios.
Macros: This cereal has 11 grams of fat. Far more than the other options, but it also has only 9 grams of net carbs and a whopping 5 grams of fiber. Considering our goal is 35+ grams for the day this is good.
Ingredients: You can’ really beat these ingredients—organic, simple, no sugar.
Verdict: I love this on top of a high protein yogurt with some micronutrient-rich berries. Since it has a high fat content, I opt for a nonfat yogurt.
Macros: A 3/4 cup serving has 26 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, and 6 grams of added sugar.
Ingredients: All organic, recognizable ingredients. Love it!
Verdict: While this cereal has great ingredients, it’s is a high carb, low fiber food that should be paired with protein, fiber, and healthy fats to offset any blood sugar spikes.
Honey Nut Cheerios
Macros: A 1 cup serving has 30 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of added sugar. For reference, it’s advised that children over the age of two should have no more that 25 grams of added sugar a day.
Ingredients: This is not an organic product and likely has some pesticide residue. It also has a lot of fortified vitamins and minerals, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is not a replacement for eating whole foods with a strong micronutrient content.
Verdict: It’s advised that children over 2 should consume less than 25 grams of added sugar per day (and no more than 30 for adults). 1 serving of Cheerios is about half that. Given that fact alone, I would pass on this, especially as a breakfast food.
Also of note: The serving size of Lovebird is smaller than Cheerios. If we made them the same size, Lovebird would actually have more carbs (34 grams), but still less sugar (8 grams). I would still choose Lovebird for the ingredients and lower sugar content.
PASTA
Are these high protein pastas really high protein? Let’s find out.
Macros: Pasta is going to be hard to find that 5:1 carb to fiber ratio, but this pasta has 36 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber (net carbs: 31 grams), which is better than most. It also has 12 grams of protein per serving.
Ingredients: This pasta is not organic, but it is non GMO and imported from Italy where they have more stringent pesticide regulations. In the US, glyphosate is often used as a drying agent right before harvest (even in non GMO foods). This is banned in Italy. Also, this is not gluten free, so some people may want to avoid.
Verdict: Good macros and ingredients for a pasta, but too many carbs and not enough protein to be considered a meal on its own. Prepare with protein and vegetables to improve macros and micros. This is also a good product for people who don’t like the “chickpea” taste of legume pastas.
Thrive Market Organic Chickpea Pasta
Macros: This has a very similar profile to the Brami pasta with 31 grams of net carbs (less fiber though, 2 grams versus 5) and a whopping 14 grams of protein.
Ingredients: This is organic and gluten free.
Verdict: I think this is a better option than Banza, another popular chickpea pasta, which is not organic and made in the USA. Still needs more protein and fiber, so consider what you will eat with it, but 14 grams of protein is a great foundation!
Barilla Pasta
Macros: This example is meant to represent regular old pasta. It has 42 grams of carbs per serving and 3 grams of fiber (net carbs: 39). There are also 7 grams of protein, which is not nothing.
Ingredients: Non organic wheat and fortified vitamins and minerals. You will see these fortified nutrients in many mass produced foods—it’s a public health initiative to decrease risk of deficiencies for the general population.
Verdict: I am always surprised how much protein is in plain pasta, but it’s still half of the chickpea pasta. This would not be my first choice mainly because it’s not organic.
PROTEIN BARS
I chose three organic options here, so what we’re really comparing are the macros. Protein bars are generally pretty processed no matter what you choose. I like a protein bar for when you’re in a pinch, but keep in mind that it’s not a whole food.
Macros: This bar has 16 grams of net carbs and 10 grams of fiber, 10 grams of fat, and 14 grams of protein. I wouldn’t call it low carb, but it’s certainly lower than the other two and has the most protein.
Ingredients: Organic, high quality and minimally processed for an ultra-processed food (yes, this is an ultra-processed food that can be a part of a healthy diet).
Verdict: These have a good macronutrient balance for a snack, but not a full meal replacement.
GoMacro Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar
Macros: With 37 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, and 15 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar which was left off this label), I would consider this a high carb food. 11 grams of protein is great, but doesn’t really stand up to the carb count.
Ingredients: The first ingredient (which is always the most prominent) is brown rice syrup, which is a sweetener. Brown rice syrup is primarily glucose, and can be broken down for quick energy. I love the organic ingredients, but there is a lot of sugar in here.
Verdict: Because of the high sugar and carb count, I would probably only recommend this to people doing a high endurance activity, like running, where they need more carbohydrates.
Cliff Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar
Macros: Similar to the GoMacro, this has 35 grams of net carbs (40 grams total, with 5 grams of fiber) and 11 grams of protein.
Ingredients: The increase in total carbs comes from oats (first ingredient). The sweetener is also brown rice syrup.
Verdict: Like GoMacro, I would use this bar for athletic performance over an on-the-go snack.
CRACKERS
Here is a comparison of some popular “healthy” crackers. Since crackers are normally a vehicle for something else, cheese, hummus, avocado, etc., it’s also important to keep in mind how you will eat them.
Macros: One serving of these crackers (12 crackers total) has 7 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Love the all organic and recognizable ingredients. The higher carb count is likely from the brown rice (first ingredient).
Verdict: If you can keep to a serving, I think these are really excellent crackers. Keeping to a serving is the harder part!
Macros: With 10 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fiber, these crackers have only 1 gram of net carbs (!). They also are higher in fat, with 12 grams, and have a decent amount of protein (6 grams).
Ingredients: Simple and organic. The fat is from flax seeds, which are an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids, so this is good fat!
Verdict: I love these. They don’t taste quite as moorish as the other examples, which is likely because they don’t have as many carbs. But they are a great vehicle for hummus or broken up for some crunch on a salad or soup.
Macros: With 18 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fat, these have the weakest macronutrient profile of the three. A serving size is 17 crackers.
Ingredients: Some, not all, ingredients are organic, but they all are non GMO. They are cooked with sunflower oil, a controversial seed oil. However, it’s organic expeller pressed. I’m okay with this—my main concern are conventional seed oils that are not organic and might undergo high heat processing or have chemicals, like hexane, used in the extraction process. Consuming too many seed oils, which are an omega 6 fatty acid, and not enough omega 3 fatty acids can cause inflammation. Be mindful of how many processed or restaurant foods you might be eating that can disrupt this balance.
Verdict: These are delicious, but be mindful of how many you’re eating as they are a high carb food.
I hope this post gives you more confidence and a framework to lookout for when evaluating products based on your nutrition needs and lifestyle.
When it comes to ingredients, Thrive Market does a lot of the work for you. When you become a member, you get access to thousands of healthy and organic foods, household items, beauty products, and more. You can also use their in-app barcode scanner to scan items in your house to find better-for-you choices (I love this!).
Hi! So I’m on a journey to try to part ways with Amazon (multiple reasons) and that means no more Whole Foods (owned by Amazon) 😩 It has been my place for the past 14 years bc it’s so convenient. But with this change comes some intentional local opportunities that I’m excited about. We’ve got an incredible farmers market so I’m going to try to buy most of my produce, dairy and meat from there and I’ve also signed up for a CSA box that I can pick up at the farmers market weekly. We have a locally owned grocery store that I’ll supplement the rest. And for pantry staples I’m going to try Thrive! - I’m so interested in how often you place an order? Do you do once a month or twice a month? Meal plan for a couple weeks and then farmers market and thrive order accordingly? I’d love some tips! I have 3 kids so the more streamlined the system the better! Thank you!!!