unhealthy health foods

Hi Everyone!

As an avid CEC reader I’m so excited for this opportunity to contribute today.

I just completed my Master of Public Health in nutrition at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and am currently working towards becoming a Registered Dietitian. In addition to school, I work for an amazing clean eating nutrition expert, Stacy Goldberg, Stacy has both a nutrition consulting company called What’s In Your Cart? as well as a recently launched company called “savorfull”, which delivers nutrient dense, allergy free foods to your doorstep! I’m lucky enough to be a part of both! When not studying / working you can find me either running, cooking, baking or blogging for a great ‘know-all” blog called “the loud and clear.” Come check us out!! - Kim McDevitt, MPH

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Everyday, each one of us wakes up and is faced with the same exact task: to fuel our bodies. How we choose to do this, however, is an entirely different story.

Some of us make calculated choices, studying food labels for calories, fat content, carbohydrates, added sugars, and more before even placing the morsel in our mouth. Others of us reach for what our body is craving, never even thinking to turn the package around. Most of us fall somewhere in between. And, while many of us like to build our meals from foods that don’t come in a package, others of us don’t always have that luxury and can be faced with a day when packaged foods are the only option out there.

Regardless of whether you woke up this week choosing to follow a low carb diet, the Paleo diet, a gluten and/or dairy free diet, vegan, vegetarian, or an “I’ll eat what I want, when I want!” diet we’re all in the same boat. We’re all making choices.

Too often, these choices evolve into a far more daunting tasks than they seemingly should. Thanks to every magazine on the shelves, virtually every news station (every single night!), local food stores, and more, we are constantly reminded to choose the “smarter” & “healthier” choice. But how many of you are confused about what the heck that choice is? In a fat free, low carb, low cal, sugar free, all natural, no added sugar, reduced fat, full fat, agave, no agave world, choosing your next breakfast cereal can be a real feat. (Today, you can find out more about those choices here!)

Unfortunately, I don’t have time to decode every ‘healthy food’ phrase or sort through every product on the shelves (heck, just the cereal aisle would take days). What I can do, however, is give you my top 5 foods that I often see people reaching for assuming they are healthy – when in fact they are just the opposite. From these 5 choices I’ll let you digest the information and piece together other foods that might fall into the same general categories, thus helping you make overall better, smarter choices!

Top 5 Unhealthy “Healthy” Foods

Reduced Fat Peanut Butter

Many people think that choosing a ‘low-fat’ option is always the smarter choice. However, the fat that is delivered to our bodies from foods like nuts is not equal to the fat that comes from french fries. Peanuts contain monounsaturated “good fat.” When you swap for the reduced fat, you’re not actually cutting calories (which many assume happens when you take fat out) due to the fact that reduced fat peanut butters add sugar in order to keep the consistency and taste palatable - And added sugar is far worse for our waste line than that natural fat.

Choose: All Natural nut butters with ingredients that = peanuts (and sometimes salt). Check out Trader Joes!! Peanut and Almond butters that both taste amazing and are affordable.

Bran Muffins

Bran is typically touted as a “nutritional powerhouse” thanks to its high levels of dietary fiber as well as rich source of omegas, starch, protein, vitamins and dietary minerals. Because most bran muffins are indeed made with healthful ingredients the problem often lies in portion size. Today, the muffins sold at our favorite local coffee shops are usually twice the size as a ‘normal’ portion, therefore loaded with grossly high levels of sugar, sodium and delivering upwards of 600 calories (before any butter, jam or other toping gets added).

Choose: Next time you reach for that muffin plan to split it with a friend, or better yet try making your own. You can stash a batch in your freezer pulling one out and reheating on a day-to-day basis.

Granola Cereal

While delicious, granola can be a dangerous way to start your day. Most mass produced granolas are loaded with fat and sugar and very little fiber. A healthy breakfast cereal should provide you with the exact opposite. Search for a granola with less than 10g of sugar per serving and mix with a high fiber cereal.

Choose: Try combining Love Grown Foods Simply Oats + Kashi Go Lean or Fiber One.

Vitamin Water

Sure you’re getting a jolt of vitamins and minerals, however the trade in vitamins for 33g of sugar and 130 calories (equivalent to a coke) as well as added flavoring and coloring isn’t worth it. And while the ‘zero’ version is a better option limiting artificial sweetened intake isn’t a terrible idea either (we don’t yet know the long term health effects).

Choose: a vitamin + fresh water with a squeeze of lemon or orange for flavor

Chicken Cesar Salad

Salads have been touted forever as a diet-friendly food choice, however today it’s not uncommon to see prepared restaurant salads to tip the calorie scale at 1,000calories per serving. You could have had the burger and fries for that!! The culprit, fried toppings such as fried chicken, cheese, nuts, and very rich, creamy dressings (which can add up to 400+ calories to that innocent romaine!!)

Choose: Be salad savvy by ordering a basic salad of field greens with extra variety of veggies. Any protein should ideally be grilled (or void of excess mayo – think tuna versus tuna salad). Adding cheese, nuts, croutons, etc? Ask for them on the side so you can control the amount you add. And always ask for a side of dressing. If you’re a ‘creamy’ fanatic try and “dip” rather than using the entire amount and sub with some fresh lemon or vinegar and a drizzle of heart healthy olive oil.