Tuesday, February 10, 2009

When the boxes lie...

Healthy buzzwords are swarming around supermarkets everywhere! Words like: low sugar, whole-grain, and calcium infused are now covering the boxes of what we used to consider our guilty pleasures. But don’t let the wording fool you. After all, is a Whole-Grain Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Pop-Tart a healthy pop-tart?! I think not! A pop-tart is a pop-tart. The whole grains do not cancel out the loads of vegetable oil and the seven types of sugar stuffed in the insides of that tasty little pastry. Dang it! But there are some healthy foods that claim to be healthy and actually follow through! Halleluiah! Check out this list of the best and worst “healthy” foods. Since figuring out what’s healthy and what’s not is more confusing than ever, be sure to read the nutrition panel on the side of each box next time you visit the nutritional battlefield we call the supermarket. Good luck and happy shopping!

Worst "Healthy" Pastry

Pop-Tarts Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon (2 pastries)
400 calories, 14 g fat (4 g saturated), 5 g fiber, 28 g sugars

Eat This Instead!
Sun-Maid Raisin English Muffins with Cinnamon

170 calories, 0.5 g fat (0 g saturated), 2 g fiber, 13 g sugars

Worst Frozen "Healthy" Entree
Healthy Choice Complete Selections Sweet & Sour Chicken (340 g)
430 calories, 9 g fat (1 g saturated), 600 mg sodium, 29 g sugars

Eat This Instead!
Kashi Southwest Style Chicken
240 calories, 5 g fat (0 g saturated), 680 mg sodium

Worst "Healthy" Yogurt
Yoplait 99% Fat Free Cherry Orchard
170 calories, 1.5 g fat (1 g saturated), 27 g sugars, 5 g protein
**There’s as much sugar in here as you’ll find in two scoops of Breyer’s All Natural Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.

Go Greek instead:
Oikos Organic Vanilla Greek Yogurt
110 calories, 0 g fat, 11 g sugars, 15 g protein

Worst "Healthy" Bread
Arnold Whole Grains Health Nut (2 slices, 86 g)
240 calories, g fat (0 g saturated), 4 g fiber

Eat This Instead!

Martin’s 100% Whole Wheat Potato Bread
(2 slices, 70 g), 140 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated), 8 g fiber

Worst "Healthy" Cereal

Quaker 100% Natural Granola, Oats, Honey & Raisins
420 calories, 12 g fat (7 g saturated), 6 g fiber, 30 g sugars
**For the record, granola, for all its reputation as a beacon of breakfast virtue, is one of the worst ways to start your day. Swap the Granola for Kashi GoLean every day this year and you’ll save 29 pounds!

Eat This Instead!

Kashi GOLEAN
(1 cup): 140 calories, 1 g fat (0 g saturated), 10 g fiber, 6 g sugar

1 comment:

  1. I am never steered wrong with Kashi! Love every one of their products. You are cleraly saavy to the media "health" tricks. There is no substitute for reading the label!

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