You never know... About those oranges...

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/ucm074540.htm

Its

I'm the really?? PP.

If you serve not-processed food, it's VERY easy to avoid dyes and soy and flavorings. An apple has none of the above. A steak. An egg. A carrot. A chicken that you cooked. Salad with oil and vinegar. Almonds. Pineapple. A hamburger.

Moving along, next tier is easy "food you make yourself" -- a sugar cookie, marinara sauce, and soup (vs. Keebler, Ragu and Campbell's )

Last, when the processed item basically can't be avoided, buy the item with the absolute fewest ingredients listed on the label. Fage plain Greek yogurt with your own strawberries VS Danimals tutti frutti squirtable rainbow yogurt tubes. Whole foods 365 brand cornflakes vs Reese's chocolate peanut butter puffs.

Quit eating out of packages.

That's "tough" for many people who have become accustomed to a diet of processed food -- ie, it's "tough" to give up the highly flavored cheap convenience foods.

But it's not "tough" as in "confusing." Everyone old enough to procreate should know that an orange doesn't get it's orange color from artificial dyes.

You bake your own treats and no candy if you are going to this extreme. Kids don't "need" candy.

I have to agree with OP that it is difficult to go dye free. I shop at costco for price and package size (large family) and I find it somewhat annoying that food manufacturers do not eliminate the unnecessary dyes from their products.

You certainly don't have to avoid packaged foods. Many, many packaged foods these days don't have artificial dyes any more, even at stores like Giant.

You do need to read labels, though.

Making food from scratch will make sure you don't have dyes you don't want, but it isn't easier than reading labels for a lot of us!

Just serve your kids whole foods (not the store- meaning real food). I try to avoid packaged foods (except for crackers obviously). But like pp mentioned instead of little yogurt packs put fresh fruit in plain yogurt. Snacks are fruit or nuts or charcuterie. Smoothies also. We don't do juice unless we are eating out and it's a treat. Btw someone served hi-c at a Christmas party my kids attended and my kids went bonkers after drinking half a glass. Really confirmed my belief in no dyes.

Whole Foods, Trader Joes, My Organic Market and Roots are your best sources.

Anonymous wrote:Really? This is difficult?

Actually yes. This is a departure from our current scenario and I have never spent so much time looking at the labels in a store.

Echo the shopping at Whole Foods and cooking yourself. If he likes yogurt, get a tub of plain yogurt and add fruit or jam. If you want to give him juice, buy real juice. Bake from scratch, etc.

Really? This is difficult?

You have to do whole foods and organic pre-packaged foods. It is not hard really. Just buy all-natural stuff. Plus, I tell my kids - the fake food is just that - fake. It is filled with chemicals and preservatives. It isn't truly food. I always read labels.

Skip as much candy as possible.

If you need it:

http://www.yummyearth.com/ingredients.html

You probably also want to avoid artificial flavor

whole foods has an assortment

Very recently began eliminating foods with dye as much as possible. It is surprising how much food contains dye. For those that are dye free, can you recommend candy and treats that you can easily findable. I found some gummies at trader joes...what else is out there? With a four year old child, I don't want him to miss out.