Snacks Without Gums or Emulsifiers

Start with naturally gum-free basics: fresh fruit, roasted nuts and seeds, hard cheese sticks, and stovetop popcorn. For packaged picks, scan the first five ingredients—if you spot xanthan, guar, gellan, carrageenan, cellulose gum/CMC, lecithin (soy/sunflower), mono- and diglycerides, polysorbate 80, or sodium stearoyl lactylate, that’s your cue to keep browsing. Chocolate is a big one: many bars use soy or sunflower lecithin. Look for brands that skip emulsifiers entirely, like Hu and some single-origin bars that list only cacao, sugar, and maybe cocoa butter. Snack brands to try: Siete (chips, tortillas—no gums), LesserEvil (popcorn with coconut oil, simple salts), Jackson’s (sweet potato chips), Mary’s Gone Crackers (seed crackers), RXBAR and Larabar (fruit-and-nut bars without emulsifiers), and meat sticks from Chomps or Epic (check for clean, short lists). For dairy, plain Greek yogurts like Fage or some Siggi’s cups avoid stabilizers; check the label. Nut butters from 365, Trader Joe’s, or Simple Truth often stick to just nuts and salt—stir the oil and store upside down to reduce separation. On price: specialty “no-anything” items can add $1–$2 per bag or bar. Stretch your budget by buying nuts and dried fruit at Costco or Aldi, popping your own kernels (pennies per serving), and mixing your own trail mix. Online, Thrive Market and brand sites run bundles that drop the unit price. Pro tip: smaller regional grocers and Trader Joe’s often have short-ingredient-list gems hiding on the bottom shelves.