I recently saw a statement that caught my attention and has really stuck with me: “If your food can go bad, it’s good for you. If your food cannot go bad, it’s not good for you.”

I have been giving it some thought, and it makes sense. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, meats and real dairy products contain no preservatives because they are fresh, which means they will spoil. Processed foods — things that come in a package from a factory, with many ingredients that you can’t understand or pronounce — are loaded with additives that make them shelf stable, but not health friendly.

I have noticed this with baked goods as well. Packaged sweets from the bakery department of the grocery store, or even a loaf of bread, can sit out on the counter for many days. But if I bake muffins or breads, they will start to get moldy quickly when left out of the refrigerator.

Reading the label proves there are additional preservatives in the bakery version. The guideline for ingredient labels is that you should try to choose products with five ingredients or less that are recognizable as food or spices.

Speaking of unrecognizable ingredients, there recently has been news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that synthetic dyes are being phased out of our food supply, and natural color additives will be authorized instead. There is a whole rainbow of food dyes that are to be eliminated by the end of next year.

There is some belief that the increase in childhood obesity, depression and ADHD may be a result of food dyes and additives. The FDA is also partnering with the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on how additives impact children’s health and development.

Choosing fresh, healthy foods is challenging for many people, since our society makes it easy to open and heat what’s in the can, or “just add water” and cook what’s in the box. Commercials and jingles that we can sing lead us right to fast food and convenient packaging, which we tend to grab at the gas station or checkout line without a thought about the contents.

Not far from Whitehall is the snack capital of the country! Hanover in York County is the home of Snyder’s and Utz brands, major producers of chips and pretzels. Sturgis pretzels come from Lancaster County, along with Auntie Anne and Herr’s foods. If we’re talking snacks, we can also include Hershey Foods as well. Snacks are practically part of our DNA.

It takes just a little bit of self-control, planning and preparation, but in the interest of better health, we can enjoy our chips and pretzels less often and focus more on simple snacks with natural ingredients instead of the overprocessed varieties.

Buy and prepare fruits and veggies to snack on while watching TV or to take on the go, instead of the convenience of what is manufactured and prepackaged.

For something sweet, berries, grapes, apple slices, raisins or dates can hit the spot. For salty or savory and crunchy, choose roasted nuts and seeds, popcorn without too much butter and salt or try roasted and seasoned chickpeas — they are good! Crunchy vegetables like carrots, celery, cucumbers and peppers can be dipped in hummus or dips made with plain yogurt and spices to reduce the fat, instead of sour cream and mayonnaise.

Our taste buds will adapt to fresh flavors and become sensitive to natural tastes and sweetness.

Work on eating the foods that “can go bad” instead of the ones that are well-preserved. These foods with a short shelf-life are the kinds of snacks we can rely on to be good to our bodies. Let Mother Nature do the packaging, and we cannot go wrong.

Editor’s note: This column was written by Jenn Dietz, Healthy Pantry Initiative chair and pantry comanager.