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Are you still hanging onto those pesky, extra ten to fifteen pounds despite eating healthy and working out? Do you catch a cold or two every year even though you hear from others how they eat right and so never get sick anymore? How come they manage to avoid getting sick while you still catch every bug that goes around the office? It could be that the healthy diet you eat is not as healthy as you have been lead to believe. You may think you are doing everything right, eating a balanced diet and exercising but many foods that we have been told are healthy are actually full of fat and calories. Here are ten common foods that we think are healthy but are not.
1. Smoothies- full of fruit and often added protein powder, smoothies must be healthy right? Often the smoothies you get from restaurants use full fat milk or ice cream. They use fruit syrup and put in a little bit of real fruit so they are loaded with sugar which metabolizes into fat on your body.
2. Caesar Salad- it’s a salad so it must be healthy. Caesar salad is really just romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese and croutons. The croutons are made from white bread- so they are just added calories with zero nutrition and fiber. The salads you get from restaurants are loaded with dressing full of fat and calories. You do get some vitamins from the romaine lettuce but the amount of calories from the dressing makes this a high-fat food. I will include a homemade Caesar salad dressing recipe at the end of the article for you that is nutritious and much better for you than the creamy, high calorie ones served at restaurants and salad bars.
3. Energy Bars- most of the energy bars available are just jazzed up candy bars. They often have more than 200 calories and are full of sugar. They are small and not satisfying so while you are supposed to use them as a meal replacement, you end up eating it on top of a meal or as a snack and adding the calories to your diet. Most of them taste terrible as well. You would be better off eating a 180 calorie snickers bar and really enjoying it.
4. Chicken Burritos- have you seen the size of the burritos offered at most Mexican restaurants? They are the size of your forearm and twice as thick. They are topped with cheese, sour cream and filled with white rice. Some burritos can be 1,000 calories just on their own. If you skip the cheese and sour cream, add brown rice and only eat half (have them cut if for you and bag up half before you even eat) then a chicken burrito can be a healthy choice.
5. Breakfast Muffins- many of the muffins sold at places like Panera Bread and Starbucks are about 3 times the size of what we should be consuming. They rack up at over 500 calories. They may have blueberries but the rest is sugar, flour and butter. If you want a muffin, have a smaller sized muffin (3 x smaller) and strive for bran. (umm where’s the fun in that?)
6. Low Fat Yogurt- They may contain less fat from using low fat milk but they have tons of sugar. If you get the kind with aspartame you are dealing with chemicals and the fake sweetness that makes you hungrier later. The fruit on the bottom kinds of yogurts use fruit syrups, not real fruit which also contain tons of sugar (as much as 30 grams) and metabolize into fat on your body. Have plain Greek yogurt and add your own real fruit or a small amount of honey.
7. Multigrain- just because it has several types of grain does not mean it is healthy. Those grains could be refined grains and white flour which have had all the nutrients, vitamins, and fiber sifted out. They can say it is multigrain because technically it is but those grains are not necessarily whole wheat or full of nutritious fiber and minerals.
8. Light Olive Oil- a label of light makes you think it would be less fat but light olive oil just means it is lighter in color and taste.
9. Microwave Popcorn- many brands have added “butter” which can be full of bad fat and is made up of chemicals. Check the nutrition label for fat grams in a serving size or switch to air popped popcorn and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese or your own spices. It cooks as fast as microwave popcorn and you avoid any chemicals from the bag leaching into your popcorn.
10. Ice Burg Lettuce- it may be a vegetable but has no vitamins and a very bland taste making people want to dress it up with cheese, bacon bits or added dressing. Go for the darker lettuces like romaine, green leaf or red leaf which have more vitamins, minerals and flavor.
Caesar Salad Dressing
½ Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
½ Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves grated garlic
Yolk of an egg that has been blanched in boiling water for one minute
Mix all the ingredients together. I mix it all in a measuring cup with a pour spout and just pour it from there onto the salad. It is delicious!
can you think of any other food frauds? Please comment below and share the information.
My juicer and I have been together three weeks now and I’m still in the infatuation stage. The first week I dreamed about green drinks, thought about what ingredients to use and visited with my juicer several times a day. I learned that if I wanted to partake of green juice every morning I’d have to get up 10 minutes earlier so I’d have time to clean it out before leaving for work. I was so besotted it was worth a little less sleep. I introduced my children to the juicer. In the afternoons we’d make fresh apple juice, watermelon / raspberry / mint drinks and tangerine splashes.
