Since I’ve begun my journey toward a healthier me, I’ve been trying to research food up the wazoo.

Not surprising that many of the foods I love(d) are loaded with artificial crap. Super disappointing in many ways, but thankfully there are tons of websites out there to help me learn, and in many instances, come up with healthier alternatives that taste *almost* as good.

My goal has not been losing a ton of weight, although that’s always a nice side effect. It’s simply knowing my foods and understanding their labels. Here have been a few of my favorite resources so far:

1. FoodFacts.com. This is the mother website for learning about what REALLY is in all the foods you love. Most of the time I am super shocked to learn foods I would think would be given in A, are actually loaded with controversial ingredients. This site has been mega helpful at helping me learn about the breakdown of ingredients. It has also helped me to be super aware of kid-specific foods…Even the organic options aren’t always that great, sadly.

2. Hungry Girl. This is a great website for finding fab recipes that are less fattening without sacrificing taste. My favorite feature of hers is the printable Fall 2012 Supermarket List. It’s so helpful in letting you know which lower-cal foods are worth the money. {Note: Many of the foods she discusses are processed. I don’t love that, but there are certain things that are just too hard to give up! Hopefully one day I will be able to say I can eat 100% “clean.”}

3. 100 Foods Dr. Oz Wants in Your Shopping Cart. OK, not gonna lie — Dr. Oz drives me crazy at times. But I absolutely love this list because it has helped me to rethink the way I shop. Now I typically spend 90% of my time at the store in the produce section, which I know is best for me and my babies. So I suppose I need to give him some cred.

4. SugarStacks.com. Sugar is my weakness and unfortunately has made me popular with my dentist since I have a lot of work headed my way in 2013. This website has helped me to visually SEE how much sugar is in things because it shows how many sugar cubes are in foods. Before, I really had no idea what it meant to have 36 grams of sugar in my yogurt. Now that I’ve seen that the yogurt I was eating contained as much sugar as a can of Coke, I’ve started buying better, lower-sugar yogurt. If you’re a visual learner, check it out.

5. Pinterest. I’ve found gobs of horrible-for-you recipes and pinned them all. But, there are also tons of healthy recipes and tips for healthy snacking, work-out inspiration and more. Makes me wonder how I ever found anything cool on the internet before Pinterest.

What are your go-to resources for a healthy lifestyle?