The Fact: Your “healthy” foods are making you fat.
The grocery store is full of them; rows upon rows of packaged food telling you how healthy, low fat, natural, etc. they are. They try to entice you with pretty graphics and claims, when really what you should be do is run screaming. (Please don’t do that, it will probably get you kicked out of the store). Here are 5 foods that claim to be healthy but which you should probably avoid:
1) Total Cereal
It claims to be better than Kashi GoLean Crunch because it has 100% of your daily vitamins.
Upside: Total does have all the A-Zinc you need and is only 75 calories per serving.
Downside: It contains corn syrup and sugar. Also, it only has 3 grams of dietary fiber, and 3 grams of protein, compared to Kashi’s cereal which has 8 grams of dietary fiber and 9 grams of protein.
Conclusion: Go with Kashi’s GoLean and take a multi-vitamin. While it is more calories (190 per serving), its fiber and protein will keep you fuller longer. With Total cereal, all the refined sugars will make you crash and you’ll be starving by lunchtime.
2) Wish-Bone Light Salad Dressings
Upside: Wish-Bone’s Light salad dressings have 1/3 less fat and calories than their regular dressings. They contain anywhere from 35-80 calories and about 2-5 grams of fat.
Downside: Light salad dressings are full of sugar and corn syrup, which means empty calories. Not to mention preservatives and dyes. You’re trying to eat something healthy when you make a salad, right? Why would you put all of that on top?
Conclusion: Try Annie’s Natural Organic Dressings. My favorite is the Goddess Dressing, which has 120 calories per serving. Even though it is made with Canola Oil, and is therefore higher in fat, it contains no Trans Fat, which is the bad kind of fat. A little oil isn’t going to kill you, and has a lot of health benefits in addition to keeping you fuller longer. If nothing else, use a couple tablespoons of olive oil with vinegar and mix in your favorite spices.
3) Yoplait Yogurts
Upside: Yogurt is good for you and contains “live and active cultures”, which may prevent “preventing gastrointestinal infections, boosting the body’s immune system, fighting certain types of cancer and preventing osteoporosis.” (NYA) Yoplait’s yogurts are low in fat as well as high in protein and calcium.
Downside: Yoplait Yogurt is also high in sugar, corn syrup, preservatives, and dyes. This is a snack which will translate into hunger after an hour.
Conclusion: Try buying Nancy’s Plain Nonfat Yogurt. It has all of the same benefits as the Yoplait yogurt, with out all of the bad stuff. Not to mention, you get a whole lot of bang for your buck. Yoplaits little containers have 170 calories per serving (6 oz) and 5 grams of protein, while Nancy’s has 120 calories per serving (8 oz) with a whopping 12 grams of protein. I like to eat my Nancy’s yogurt with a banana or berries.
4)Lean Cuisine
Upside: They’re quick, easy and convenient. Also, they’re low in fat and lower in calories. The Chicken Fettuccini has 270 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 22 grams of protein.
Downside: Lean Cuisine is full of hidden ingredients, such as sugar, corn syrup, bleached wheat flower and sodium. The same fettuccini also contains 690 mg of sodium, and 0 grams of dietary fiber. At the end of the day, it’s just another processed meal that contains very little nutritional value.
Conclusion: Nothing beats a homemade meal. If you want pasta, make whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and fresh veggies. Sometimes you just want a quick meal, and in that instance I choose Amy’s Kitchen frozen meals. They use all organic, natural ingredients. The Garden Vegetable Lasagna contains 290 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4 grams of dietary fiber, and 13 grams of protein. None of their products contain corn syrup, refined sugar (only evaporated sugar cane or organic sugar), and uses organic whole wheat, never bleached.
5) Ocean Spray Light/Diet Juice Drinks
Upside: Has less sugar and calories than their regular juices. The Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail has 40 Calories and 10 grams of sugar. Also, it contains 100% of your vitamin C.
Downside: The watered down cranberry juice is sweetened with Splenda (i.e. sucralose), an artificial sweetener that can cause various side effects. Plus, the drink only contains 27% juice. It’s the flavor of cranberry with out the benefits.
Conclusion: Drink Ocean Spray’s 100% Juice. There’s no sugar, preservatives, or artificial flavoring. Plus, you get lots of antioxidants and vitamin C.
Nutritional Information:
