Eating healthy food should and is the top priority for everyone right now and while we have more options for nutritiously dense food than ever, this doesn’t mean that every trendy food that gets dubbed ‘healthy” actually fits the criteria.
Some of the most popular healthy foods are one of the worst things you can eat but thanks to ingenious marketing, the public has been made to believe that these foods are good for you. Well, not anymore. Read on and get ready to gasp and do a big pantry clean out!
YOGURT FLAVORED RAISINS
Starting the list is the complicated raisins. Many people think of Raisins are a healthy way to satisfy your sweet craving and while it is true, not all raisins are the same. These popular yoghurt flavoured raisins which are targeted toward children are incredibly bad for you.
While delicious, they are full of sugar, sugar and nothing else but sugar. All to achieve the “yoghurt flavour”. If you or your kid loves these, take normal raisins, toss them in Greek yoghurt and freeze. A perfect healthy snack.
VEGGIE CHIPS
Vegetables are great for you, so of course, chips made out of vegetables seem like the healthiest way of getting your fix of nutrients while still getting to enjoy your favourite snacks.
Or at least, it would have been that way if Veggie Sticks actually had any vegetables in them. Don’t expect fibre or any good stuff and get prepared for a whole ton of sodium and an awful lot of starch and oil.
MUFFINS
Always front and centre at the healthy grocery aisle are muffins and they are always described as whole wheat, reduced-fat, or gluten-free which all might be true but that doesn’t make them good for you.
What makes them so bad? Sugar! Reduced fat or whole wheat means nothing if the muffins are overflowing with sugar and 99% of the time they are. Gluten-free is great for those who actually have an allergy to it and doesn’t do anything for the rest of us.
TRAIL MIX
The name says it all, most trail mixes elude to the idea that the snack is made for health-conscious and active individuals and while the original trail mix made with simple nuts and raisins is actually healthy.
Most store-bought versions are not. They are full of hidden sugars, with even the nuts and fruits added coated with artificial colour, preservatives and chemicals. The best option is to just make trail mix at home with unsalted nuts and dried fruits.
FRUIT SMOOTHIES
In recent years, fruit smoothies seem to be the go-to drink for health fiends around the world and the tasty treat boasts to give its drinkers a multitude of great nutrients but a closer look at the label will reveal the reality.
These fruity mixes are typically loaded with sugar, to the tune of over 50 grams per serving. So, the next time you grab a few of these fruit smoothies and believe you are making the “smart” decision, think again!
DRIED FRUIT
You might be wondering how can we add fruit to our list? Well, here is how. The idea that dried food is a great snack is true but only the ones which have been dried in the good old way, without sugar and additives.
And you won’t find such a thing amongst your go-to grocery store options. Nearly all dried fruits are full of preservatives and pack over 40 grams per serving. The better option would be to just eat an apple!
FAT-FREE COOKIES & SNACKS
There was a time when fat became the number one enemy around the world and brands started creating all sorts of foods without fat. And while they gave us these new healthier options, they sneakily added something far more worst.
Sugar! All of these fat-free snacks which somehow still taste great to us are because they are added full of sugar! Turns out, fat-free cookies are worst for you and have about 13grams more sugar than just normal cookies with the fat!
APPLESAUCE
This one is especially alarming since Apple Sauce has been considered to be a healthy snack for decades! Especially for kids. And again, traditional apple sauce is a great purchase but the ones we find in our local grocery stores are very different.
Many packaged applesauce brands are full of added sugars like high fructose corn syrup and many other chemicals to make the item have a long shelf life. If you really love Apple Sauce, look for one which doesn’t have any added sugars.
ENERGY BARS
When energy bars first came on the scene, they were marketed as an easy way for active individuals to get, you know energy, while out and about. A quick look at the ingredient list reveals what these bars use to give said “energy”.
And yes, it is sugar. Most Energy bars are full of them and they are hidden with different names like processed brown rice syrup or cane syrup but at the end of the day, all they are is an unhealthy amount of sugar and carbs mixed.
PEANUT BUTTER
Peanut butter, and all nut kinds of butter actually, are great pantry items to have. This has been a known fact for decades. That is why so many companies exploit this fact to sell you the worst quality of peanut butter that isn’t good for you.
Not all nut kinds of butter are made the same and your standard and well-loved brands are full of ingredients like palm oil, sugar, or molasses. We recommend you choose a local brand that focuses on producing pure peanut butter without any sugar. It might not taste the same but will actually have all the benefits you are looking for.
INSTANT OATMEAL
There are so many ways to enjoy oatmeal, you can eat it as it is, add lots of fruits to it or even bake them into muffins and cookies. And yes, oatmeal is very good for you only if it doesn’t have sugar in it.
And how do you get that? By buying simple raw oats! Add in honey and other natural flavours to enhance the experience and actually get all the health benefits you want and need from this great breakfast option.
FRUIT SNACKS
Whoever marketed these fruit snacks to the masses was an evil genius. Somehow they managed to sell sugar in the shape and colours of fruit and made millions of people believe they were eating something that healthy and nutritious!
We don’t blame you for being fooled since most fruit snacks claim to have only fruits but hidden in the fine print of this candy, yes that is what it is is corn syrup and sugar. Also, the serving sizes are a complete joke! Just give yourself a normal candy bar and enjoy it for what it is.
SALAD DRESSING
We aren’t going to come here and attack salads for being unhealthy but oh wait, we are! It’s not salads we have a problem with it is what they are usually topped with that takes the brunt of our anger.
Salad dressings, yes even the healthy kids are full of sugar and chemicals we can’t even pronounce and they end up counteracting any of the health benefits you might have gotten from your other salad toppings like veggies and fruits. Skip all the premade dressings, and stick to good old olive oil and vinegar!
SPORTS DRINKS
The name seems straightforward and to the point. Sports drinks are made for athletes and if they are drinking them, clearly they should and will be healthy? Wrong. Very very wrong.
But brands have exploited this train of thought and made billions by selling people sports drinks and making them believe that they are the healthier option. But with high levels of sugar, sodium, carbs, and artificial dyes, they are not.
FLAVORED YOGURT
Yoghurt is great for gut health and an ingredient that is loved by health aficionados around the world. But that doesn’t mean that all kinds of yoghurts are great for you, some that are commonplace at grocery stores are actually anything but.
Flavoured yoghurts in particular are the worst with high amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners far outweighing the benefits of protein that yoghurt provides. Plus, all those fat-free or fat-reduced plain yoghurts are full of sugar!
COUSCOUS
Comprised of semolina flour or durum wheat, couscous is easy to make and quickly prepared. Apart from selenium and some plant protein, there aren’t any other nutrients found in the dish.
While it has plenty lot of carbs and those delicious pre-packaged ones with flavours added in? They are even worst with added sodium. A healthier and cheaper option is brown rice which is readily available as well.
FRUIT JUICE
There was once a time when fruit juice was the go-to drink for children and adults gladly handled glass after glass. Why? Because they assumed that fruit juice has all the nutrients of fruits with a delectable taste.
And well, they are wrong. Doesn’t matter what the label says, all fruit juices only have one thing in abundance and that is sugar. Also, to put it all into perspective, you would have to drink 8 cups of apple juice to get the same amount of fibre found in one whole apple.
DIET SOFT DRINKS
After sodas started getting exposed for their high sugar levels and general ill-health effects, most major brands came up with their “diet” versions. These new and improved soft drinks promised to have the same flavour without the harmful ingredients.
And while they did cut back on sugar, these brands ended up filling their products with artificial sweeteners like saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame which are worst than sugar and far more addictive!
Farmed salmon
Click on any healthy food blog and you will find 60 recipes all asking you to eat salmon and there is a very specific reason why. It is a great source of omega-3 and healthy fats which help you keep stay full for longer.
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But not any Salmon will fill this requirement. Most salmon found in your grocery stores are farmed and contain a lot of pesticides that are not only damaging to human health but negatively affect the ecosystem. Always opt for Wild Salmon which is expensive but worth every penny.
Whole grain bread
Cutting out bread probably is the hardest thing for anyone and brands know it. That is why many have created “whole grain bread” which they claim to be a healthier version while still enjoying this treat.
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But a quick look at the nutrition label reveals that whole-wheat bread has more sugar than your basic sliced white bread! Why? Sugar is added to mask the bitter taste of whole wheat. Our recommendation is to skip the packaged bread in general and head to your local bakery to source sugar-free bread which tastes 100 times better.