We’ve all been there – time to start a new diet or eating routine and we’ve got all the best intentions. We did our research and talked to friends, even read some magazines and listened to various TV shows…but sometimes you just can’t trust the media and advertising you see. When big companies have big budgets they can make lots of things look “healthy” that are really terrible for you. What bothers me the most is that the people who are buying these items really are trying hard to lose weight, eat healthier, make better choices…but sadly they’ve been led down a road of fluff. I wanted to create this post to showcase some items that are constantly being promoted as “healthy” but that you should make sure to really read labels and choose better options. I hope this helps you navigate the super market or when out and about and grabbing for a quick snack. As I become more and more aware of what is in the food in our country, I feel it is important to share this with anyone that I can. I encourage everyone to read their labels, and if a product has dozens and dozens of ingredients, put it down. If you see words that you don’t understand, put it back on the shelf. If nothing else, when you go to the grocery store the best rules of advice that I can give is:

A) Shop the perimeter; fruits, vegetables, sea foods, meats, dairy. “Anything that can go back is good!” Real food goes bad, fake food can sit on shelves for years.  While this means you will have to food shop more often, at least you are eating real food.

B) If the option is possible for you financially, go with organic. Or go to a local food market for your produce. I have swapped to all organic fruits and vegetables when the option is there and I find that Trader Joe’s has amazing prices to go this route.

C) Avoid anything, I mean anything that says “Diet” “Low Fat” or “Low Calories” which translates to “We’ve filled this box/packet/bag with lots of other crap to hide the bad taste which was taken out when we removed the fat and calories”

Here is my ongoing list of snacks and foods to avoid

Sugary Yogurt – not all yogurt is created the same and typically the ones that look “diet” or “healthy” are secretly hiding tons of sugars and processed ingredients. While some will throw words like “probiotics” and “healthy bacteria” your way, these yogurts are far from healthy. Some pack as much as 25 grams of sugar in one innocent looking cup. I always recommend to just go with an organic, plain greek yogurt which is high in protein and low in sugars.

A yogurt high in sugar is usually one with artificial flavors and “fruits” though most are fake fruits and filled with other not-so-healthy processed ingredients. For me, I always go with either Fage Plain Fat Free Yogurt or Trader Joe’s Organic Plain Fat Free yogurt. If you still want some flavor add some fresh berries or a drop of flavored stevia liquid.

Trail Mix – we’ve all been told that nuts are a “healthy fat” which is true, but the serving size of most trail mix bags you find in the airport or at the convenience store is astronomical. If you were to eat half of the bag you would be loading up on almost 800 calories in a sitting. Most trail mix also throws in things like M&Ms, yogurt covered raisin and other sweet treats that seem “healthy” but are just loaded sugars. If you are going to go with some nuts, get a single serve pack of raw unsalted almonds. Many people do not understand the serving size of nuts and trail mix, which is when you consume hundreds and hundreds of calories and tons of sugars and processed ingredients.

Instant Oatmeal Packets – oatmeal is not an unhealthy food option, in fact oatmeal is a great option to start the day with a carbohydrate packed meal to give you energy for the busy day ahead. However, most quick oatmeal packets are loaded with sugars, processed ingredients and will give you a sugar spike and then crash. Most oatmeals are flavored to appeal to the public, with words like “brown sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup” but oatmeal is only a healthy option when you get the plain, organic rolled oats. Most packets of instant oatmeal are GMO and loaded with nasty artificial flavors and colors. Since these are overly processed they are broken down faster than organic, plain oatmeal and therefore give you a quick glycemic spike and do not give you the “full feeling” like the healthier version. When I go for oatmeal I buy the canister of organic rolled oats, no flavor, no frills, no fancy stuff! If you need flavor add a few slices of organic apple and cinnamon powder or you can just do cinnamon and a scoop of natural almond butter.

Skim Milk or Low Fat Milk – I personally prefer to always use almond milk (unsweetened) for my protein shakes, but if I ever have to buy “cow milk” I always go with organic skim milk. The skim milk craze came years ago when everyone thought that milk fat was the devil. Skim milk came along and was seen as a “diet” option, the problem is that once the fat is removed from the milk, it tastes pretty bad, so then sugars are added to give it a nice flavor. If you look at the back of a Skim Plus carton there is around 12 grams of sugar per serving. Since a lot of the vitamins and minerals are lost when the fat is removed, the skim milk is fortified with lots of synthetic vitamins. If you want to make a healthy swap go with almond milk, or coconut milk, but skip the skim and the low fat.

“Diet” anything – this includes foods, drinks, meals, bars, snacks, ice pops – anything that includes the words “Diet”, “Low Fat” or “Low Calories” and is in a box or bag – avoid at all costs. These products were created when the diet crazes began, and companies thought putting these labels on things made them more sell-able. The problem is, these “food” items are loaded with sugars and salt to keep the tastes appealing and are all GMO.

Nothing about them is healthy and this is the big reason many diets fail – the product has very little nutritional value and is loaded with synthetics and preservatives. Even though the fat is removed it is replaced by sugar…and sugar, once in the bloodstream will just turn to fat. When fat is removed it has to be replaced by something to make it taste good. Some diet meals from Weight Watchers and Smart Ones have over 100 ingredients.

Microwavable Popcorn – popcorn, when made naturally, is a great snack – but when you buy the microwavable bags you are just loading yourself with trans fats. Most of the time the serving size per bag is a few, but who ever stops grabbing for more when watching a really good movie?! Soon enough you’ve just eaten over 5 grams of trans fats, more than your daily allowance. Let’s all remember that trans fat is extremely dangerous and leads to tens of thousands of heart attacks each year. Popcorn bags are lined with chemicals and when heated make for an even worse cocktail of nastiness. Popcorn made in these bags is loaded with artificial colors and flavors, including “artificial butter flavoring”. Next time you reach for a bag of these little kernels remember this:
“It’s not known at this time whether eating diacetyl-containing foods (it’s used not only in microwave popcorn but also in other snack foods, baked goods, pet foods, some fast foods and other food products) increases your risk of Alzheimer’s, but the finding that it may contribute to brain plaques linked to Alzheimer’s at very low concentrations is concerning, to say the least.” 

Instead just buy a bag of organic popcorn kernels, use 2 table spoons of organic extra virgin coconut oil in a large pot, pop away and then for a topping you can add some Bragg’s Yeast Seasoning which is a natural buttery flavor.

Splenda, Equal, Sweet & Low – please, if nothing else, stop grabbing these packets and carry some stevia in your purse. We’ve been marketed to over the years that these little “diet sweeteners” are better for you than sugar and the trust is, both are just as bad. It took me awhile to break my husband from the habit of using Equal in his coffee everyday, but after watching countless documentaries about how terrible aspartame is for you he quit and we swapped any packets of those for stevia. The hard part is no one carries Stevia (not Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts or any other coffee chains) so it’s up to you to buy it and then store it in your purse at all times. When you ingest these fake sugars your body thinks it is getting food, but when no food follows you crave more and then wind up eating more. Dr. Mercola even calls aspartame one of the most dangerous substances on earth. These artificial sweeteners cause your body to store fat and spike your insulin levels – there is nothing “diet” or healthy about any of these aspartame products.

“High Fiber” Cereals – we’ve been marketed to our entire lives by the big box cereal industry. As a child I watched countless commercials using cartoon characters to tell me “They’re GRRRREAT!” and that they “snap, crackle and pop!” but all these boxes are is fake food, loaded with GMOs and sugar. They advertise to children and now they advertise to us adults with works like “High Fiber” or “Whole Grain Goodness” when in fact most of them are filled with processed ingredients and sugars. Companies like Kelloggs and General Mills have spent over 5 million dollars to fight against GMO labeling on their boxes. These “healthy” cereals have so many ingredients on their list that are fillers, synthetic and chemical they are far from good for you to start your day. Even some Non-GMO cereals include some ingredients that are very questionable. Overall I like to avoid cereal and just go with plain, organic oatmeal.

Peanut Butters & Spreads – just like many of the snacks and foods above, not all peanut butter spreads are “good, healthy fat sources”. Peanut butter should include two ingredients: peanuts and salt. There is no need to ever buy “reduced fat” peanut butter since removing the fat just means they are going to throw in a ton of other synthetics instead. The fat that would be in the reduced-fat peanut butter spread is replaced with ingredients like corn syrup solids, sugar and molasses, plus starchy fillers. In all honesty I like to go with almond butter instead and the two favorites that I use are D’s Naturals Fluffbutter Spreads and Buff Bake spreads. Some peanut butter companies like Jif and Skippy include words like “Natural” or “Reduced Fat” but avoid these brands at all costs.

“Low Sugar” Fruit Juices – I personally avoid orange juice, cranberry juice and lemonades that are packaged by big companies like Tropicana. It’s interesting how they promote their new “lower calorie” drinks but when you look at the labels it is not even half fruit ingredients and a ton of additives. If you want fruit juice, buy a Breville juicer and make your own juices. Fruit juice in the dairy aisle is the farthest thing from real fruit juice. And anything with high fructose corn syrup is the devil!

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