The Best Foods for Men

We sampled and reviewed thousands of products to separate the dietary duds from the nutritional heroes

EDITED BY PAUL KITANovember 13, 2015

Every summer, food companies converge in New York City for the Fancy Food Show. Attendees walking the floor this year heard vendors shouting “gluten-free!” “dairy-free!” and “no GMO!” But when PR flacks tout what isn’t in food instead of what is, watch out for excess sugar, pathetic proteins, and flat flavor.

This year, after rigorous taste testing and nutritional analysis, we found that the best foods aren’t impostors. Our best potato chip comes from potatoes, not soy-dusted lentils. The best bread has (gasp!) gluten. Most of our winners are organic, and many boast a solid protein-to-calorie ratio.

They taste great, and they’re great for you.

We'll start with the Best Kitchen Staples. Think of these items as weapons in your culinary arsenal. If you keep them well stocked, you’ll thwart gut bombs, snack attacks, and pizza guy infiltrations.

Looking for a particular food group? Find it now!

Best Kitchen Staples
Best Dairy and Eggs
Best Meat, Poultry, and Fish
Best Breads and Grains
Best Drinks
Best Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs
Best Ready-Made Meals

Best Pickle

Woodstock Organic Kosher Baby Dill
These snappy, crispy cukes are an awesome snack.

Best Popcorn Kernels

Arrowhead Mills
The sky-high fiber content of this treat won’t have you craving any more noshes once you polish off these grains.

Best Pretzel

Utz Organic Seven Whole Grains Pretzel Sticks
They’re flavorful enough to take on guacamole, hummus, or peanutbutter.

Best Potato Chip

Zapp’s New Orleans Kettle Style Salt & Vinegar
This won out over an avalanche of new “veggie” chips.

Best Popcorn

KettlePop Organic Kettle Corn
Sugar-laden carny corn this is not. A full 2 1/4 cups has 150 calories.

Best Jerky

Oberto Applewood Smoked Bacon Jerky
Eat it out of the bag, or scatter it over vanilla ice cream. No, seriously!

Best Nuts

Planters Nut-rition Men’s Health Recommended Mix
We consulted on the mix; you reap the heart benefits.

Best Snack Bar

Zing Nutrition Bar Almond Blueberry
Turn to this whey-based bar for 11 grams of protein for 220 calories.

Best Chocolate

Amadei Toscano Black Chocolate Bar, 70%
Slightly bitter and earthy, this is a real man’s chocolate.

Best Tortilla Chip

Food Should Taste Good Cantina
Thick corn chips with an incredible crunch. Nine chips have 140 calories.

Best Peanut Butter

Smucker’s Organic Natural
MH taste testers voted it the best match for jelly. Or for a spoon.

Best Dried Fruit

Eden Foods Wild Blueberries
Think of ‘em as buckshot loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants.

Best World Food Snack

Gimme Organic Roasted Seaweed Snacks, Wasabi
Add brown rice, leftover salmon, and a wedge of avocado. Dip in soy sauce.

Best Recovery Protein Powder

Myoplex
This brand outmuscled its competitors in flavor and overall nutrients.

Best Vanilla Protein Powder

Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla
It’s like downing a milkshake—without all the carbohydrates.

Nonvanilla Protein Powder

Muscletech Phase 8 Cookies and Cream
This stuff tastes so good you’ll never suffer from protein powder flavor fatigue.

Best Broth

Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Chicken
After you pan-sear chicken, dump a glug of this stuff into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon. Wham-o! An instant sauce!

Best Beans