Ingredients You Won't Find in Simply Delish

Being conscious of the products you buy and the ingredients that you are consuming, is something that everyone is becoming more aware of. Understanding what exactly you’re putting into your body and your family’s bodies are important for your health and overall wellness. Unlike other competitive Jel and Pudding brands, Simply Delish takes pride in making sure what you’re putting in your body won’t have any long term, harmful effects. Being mindful of what your family and children eat is an important factor in your everyday life. We’ve compiled a list of ingredients that you may find in other products, but you WON’T find in Simply Delish Jels and Puddings.

Artificial Colors

Those eye-catching colors you see in some of the food products make for a pretty display, but just because they catch your eye, doesn’t mean they are exactly beneficial for you [1]. The most common artificial food dyes are red #40, yellow #5 and yellow #6. In low doses, the Food and Drug Administration deems them as safe, however, they are known to promote cancer [2] and behavioral changes in young children [3]. With the harmful effects of these dyes, you’re wondering what they are made of. These dyes are derived from petroleum, a natural chemical used to make gasoline, and a carcinogen called benzidine, both of which have harmful effects on the body. These dyes promote cancer, yet help cut the cost of the overall product. Why pay less for a product that will harm you more?

Unlike those competitive brands, Simply Delish takes a natural approach in how it dyes its Jels. In fact, our dyes are derived from plants and vegetables. For example, our Strawberry Jel is not dyed with red #40, but rather beet and beta carotene. Beet is the root vegetable you often find in salads and roasted root vegetable mixes and beta carotene, a red/yellow pigment found in vegetables like carrots. These ingredients aren’t harmful, in fact, they are beneficial for you since beta carotene provides consumers with vitamin A.

Artificial Flavors

Similar to artificial colorings, artificial flavors are found in competitive brands. These artificial flavorings are often complied to render the natural flavor. These mixtures mimic the taste of foods such as strawberries, without actually using the berry. The downfall to labeling and artificial flavorings is that the FDA does not require to label the chemicals used in artificial flavorings and labels. If you’re thinking somethings not adding up because it’s not! Why gamble with artificial flavorings with unknown chemicals that can potentially have long term, harmful effects.

When you dive into a big bowl of Simply Delish Jel or Pudding, you can rest easy knowing that what you put into your body, won’t have any harmful effects. Just like the natural colors in our range of desserts, we take pride in only using natural flavors. For example, take our chocolate pudding flavor: it’s flavored with two things, natural vanilla flavoring, and cocoa. Both of those ingredients you can find in your own pantry. Cocoa powder and vanilla flavoring are derived from beans! Have you ever seen a vanilla bean? The long, brown stick, when cut open, provides you will tiny, vanilla seeds! You can’t get more natural than that!

Gelatin

You’re probably familiar with gelatin and how it changes and thickens the consistency of foods. Gelatin is a protein typically derived from cows and pigs. Different animal parts are then boiled with water to create that thick consistency. Outside of food products, gelatin can be found in some beauty products, such as face masks and shampoo. For obvious reason, gelatin is not vegan-friendly, making it difficult for vegan consumers to enjoy certain desserts and products.

However, Simply Delish has found a way to create your favorite desserts like Jel or Pudding and make them vegan and plant-based. Instead of using animal products to thicken our formulas, we use a plant-based ingredient that is derived from seaweed called carrageenan. If you’d like more information on carrageenan, we invite you to read our in-depth blog on carrageenan and its functions.

>> Simply Delish: Carrageenan: facts, safety, and benefits

Artificial Sweeteners

In today’s market, there are plenty of artificial sweeteners that you may find listed on the back of your favorite food products. Each sweetener is different from the other and understanding how they taste and affect you is important! Giving in to that sweet tooth craving is never a crime, but don’t you agree that some artificial sweeteners differ from one another? Especially when it comes to their functions, some are sugar-free, some are low-calorie and some are supposed to be helpful for weight loss.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
A common sweetener, the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup can lead to obesity and weight gain. Linked to diabetes and heart disease, high levels of high-fructose corn syrup can negatively affect your overall health and well-being. Research [4] has shown a link to HFCS and fatty liver disease. For example, a study proved a link between consuming HFCS products such as sweetened drinks and food products and an increase in the fat around the liver tissue. Unlike other carbs, HFCS is metabolized in your body differently which leads to fatty liver disease. Unfortunately, many products that are targeted towards children that contain HFCS. Read the ingredient lists on these products and really complete whether the taste is worth the long-term effects.

Aspartame
A popular sugar-substitute, aspartame is the closest replication to sugar out of all the substitutes. The formula has a similar taste to sugar and is used in various food products in today’s market. Aspartame helps amplify the taste in some foods. For example, in some fruit flavor products, the taste of cherry or orange is intensified with aspartame, without actually having to use sugar. Safer than HFCS, when consumed at moderate levels, aspartame does not have a massive, negative effect on your health.

Other Sweeteners
Aside from the two sweeteners mentioned above, there’s an array of other sweeteners on the market. Instead of going into a deep dive on every single one of them, visit this in-depth research article on each sweetener and how they may affect you.

>> Sugar substitutes: Health controversy over perceived benefits

An ingredient we do use – Stevia Extract

If you look at the ingredient list on Simply Delish desserts, you’ll find we use Stevia extract. In order to sweeten our desserts while keeping them vegan, we use this safe, plant-based sweetener. Derived from the South African plant Stevia rebaudiana, it has been used for centuries to sweetened products such as beverages like tea. We’ve actually written a blog strictly on Stevia and the facts around the vegan sweetener.

>> Simply Delish: What is Stevia: benefits, facts, and uses

Nuts

Today, in the United States, there are at least 1.8 million children with a nut-allergy [6]. That’s larger than the population of Philadelphia! There are plenty of snacks and desserts on the market that either includes nuts or are made in a facility where other nut products are being manufactured. However, unlike those snack or dessert companies, Simply Delish range of desserts are completely nut-free. Aside from our desserts being nut-free, the facility the creates our desserts, is also completely nut-free.

Did you know the major food auditors approve of our food facility? We have the following cleaning, sanitation & allergen measures in place to prevent cross-contamination:

Our facility uses dedicated utensils and sieves for allergen lines.
We have cleaning and sanitation methods in place to ensure all areas are properly cleaned.
After cleaning and sanitation, we swab machinery and surfaces to check for any trace of allergens.
We run sample allergen tests to ensure that products are allergen-free.
No Cross-contamination.

You can ensure that your little one can enjoy these desserts without the worry and what-ifs of there being any traces of nuts!

In conclusion, reading and understanding the ingredients on your food labels is important to you and your family. There are so many different ingredients on the market that pose harmful effects on your body. We’ve taken great care in the creation of our range of desserts so you don’t have to stress or worry about what you’re eating and how it may be harmful. When you dig into a bowl of pudding or jel, and scoop a big spoonful, you’re eating a spoonful of clean, all-natural, plant-based ingredients. We stay clear of those artificial ingredients so you and your family can comfortably enjoy our desserts, guilt-free and worry-free! For more information on the ingredients in our desserts, or any questions you may have, check out the links below.