The words "Health foods" are responsible some of the biggest tricks used in advertising in our current age. Now that we are a society more conscious of health and what we put in our bodies, food companies are changing their advertisements and the packaging of their food to seem more appealing.
Every company wants to come out with a new wholesome "healthy" food so that people will buy it and believe they are consuming better-for-you foods. Companies do this pretty easily; they will use keywords like "sugar-free" or "whole grain" or "high in protein", put green & blue stickers, claim Non-GMO, "Organic" to fool people into thinking that what they are eating is good for them.
Every company wants to come out with a new wholesome "healthy" food so that people will buy it and believe they are consuming better-for-you foods. Companies do this pretty easily; they will use keywords like "sugar-free" or "whole grain" or "high in protein", put green & blue stickers, claim Non-GMO, "Organic" to fool people into thinking that what they are eating is good for them.
I used to be the guilty type of consumer who would be easily fooled by such claims; I have now made it a priority to be much more aware of what I am eating and read labels a bit more carefully. Bottom line, always read the nutrition information!
Here is a list of seemingly "healthy" foods that have a hidden unhealthy side.
1. Muffins- mainly store bought
Muffins are usually a popular breakfast or snack item that seem pretty harmless. Normally they have bran or some sort of fruit in them and maybe even a "bit" of chocolate. I admit I love these things! A Fruit Explosion Muffin from Tim Hortons is one of my guiltiest pleasures, but there are some issues with them.
First of all, these guys pack a pretty hefty calorie punch. A 100g blueberry muffin packs a whopping 385 calories. For comparison, you would have to eat over 500g of Oatmeal to get the same amount of calories.
Secondly, the amount of sugar in a muffin is quite high. The same 100g blueberry muffin has 24g of sugar in it.
Alternative: Muffins can be a great and easy on the go snack or breakfast. Making them at home (see recipe here) and use more natural sweeteners like bananas, or apples and make them with oats or whole wheat flour can make them a lot more nutritious.
2. Frozen Dinners- yes, even the "healthy" kind
In today's convenience age, it's nice to be able to take a meal out of the freezer, pop it in the microwave and its ready! When I started living on my own, frozen dinners were easy and cheap; but now the thought of them turns me off. I always remember that they smell way better than they taste. Companies jazz up the frozen dinners by saying "a full serving of vegetables" and "high protein", but they are covering up the rest of it. Some of the more health-conscious ones are lower in calories and fat, which is also an attractive feature so more healthy minded people will buy it.
One main issue with these guys I have is the questionable quality of the food. I find that it just never quite tasted right to me. The meals always tasted kind of, well, preserved and cheap.
Another issue is the overall lack of real nutritional value. Most of them are high in sodium, many of them reaching over 1000mg per meal. They are usually high in carbs which isn't always that bad but low in fibre. If you look at the nutritional information, you'll find there isn't a lot for added value compared to making fresh food. There are more frozen meal varieties as of late that are getting better with increasing protein and moderating calories more, but if you can, fresh is best. When in doubt and you're unsure of the nutrition value of the frozen meal, look at the nutritional information of them.
Alternative: Make and freeze your own meals with fresh vegetables and a good source of protein. You can get much more value out of chicken breast, veggies and brown rice stir-fry at home, compared to a chicken and vegetable stir-fry from Lean Cuisine.
3. Granola Bars
Gotta love granola bars! I used to eat 1-2 granola "protein" bars every day. Who doesn't love an easy, convenient granola bar that their kids love and you can love too? The ones containing chocolate, covered in chocolate or are special "diet" ones (looking at you Special K).
Next time you go to buy a granola bar, look at the nutritional information. Then go to the chocolate bar section and compare. Why? First of all, these guys have a lot of sugar in them. In fact, if you look at the ingredient list, you will find sugar, (or its counterparts fructose, corn syrup, etc,) within the top three ingredients. For example, a Vector Chocolate Chip Protein Bar has 230 calories, 7g of fat, 19g of sugar and 3g of fibre in one bar. For comparison, a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar has 210 calories, 13g of fat, 24g of sugar and 1g of fibre in a single bar. They aren't that far off from each other. Companies that make these are wising up and starting "add protein" but really they don't remove anything else. When you think about it, you're really not getting any nutritional gains from it, and to be honest a chocolate bar tastes better for the same amount of calories!
Alternative: You can make your own at home. There are tons of recipes for homemade protein bars online that use sugar alternatives like bananas, stevia, etc. Be careful of the ones that use a lot of honey because then you're adding a lot of sugar still. Another option that is great is oatmeal, you can eat oatmeal, add some protein powder and get the same amount of calories as a single Vector Granola bar with way more fibre and just as much protein AND be way more full!
4. Rice Noodles
This one may surprise you. Regular rice noodles taste great in stir fries and soups. They are easy to make and sound healthy. Rice always is a popular health food so rice noodles can't be that bad. However, be cautious. One downfall of them is that they are pretty high in calories. Per 100g, rice noodles can have up to 350 calories. Not only that, a lot of rice noodles have 1000mg of sodium per 100g! They are also lacking in nutrients, protein and fiber.
Alternative: They do have brown rice noodles which have a bit more fibre and protein in them, but they still have about the same amount of calories as the regular noodles. Instead, save the noodles for a treat and stick to lower calorie options of rice or cauliflower rice for stir-fries.
5. Fruit Juices and Vitamin Drinks
What breakfast commercial does not include a healthy glass of orange juice? In theory, it sounds so great. "Freshly squeezed, real fruit, etc." However, this is not really the case. Sure with juice they can add things like calcium and other vitamins and minerals to the drinks which makes it look appealing so it's tempting to drink daily. In an 8oz glass of orange juice, there is up to 115 calories and 20g of sugar! In a Vitamin Water, there is 125 calories and 32.5g of sugar in each drink. You may argue that a lot of athletes use these types of drinks to replenish themselves after hard training, but for the average person, it is really not needed.
Alternatives: You can eat fruit and veggies and get a great source of vitamins and minerals from there. Eating your calories leads to better satiety. If the flavour of water turns you off, then adding lemon, cucumber, or berries to it can add some flavour and make it easier to drink.
6. "Organic" versions of regular junk foods
Let's say this together: Just because it says Organic does not mean it's healthier. The same goes Non-GMO, etc.
for gluten-free,
The word organic gets thrown around so much its almost lost its meaning. There are so many blurred lines of what classifies as organic and there is the popular misconception that organic means not processed or zero pesticides. Both of which are false.
Next time you find yourself reaching for organic Cheetos or fruit snack packs, I urge you to look at the nutrition information, then go and look at the nutrition information of an equivalent, conventional snack. You will find hardly any difference!
This list is just a little one. There are many marketing ploys used by food companies to make their foods more appealing towards people who are concerned about eating healthy. In reality, there is no such thing as perfect, but hopefully, this information will make you much more aware as a consumer. When grocery shopping always read the nutritional information and compare to others, look at the serving sizes as well. 50 calories for Oreos doesn't sound bad, but when that's per cookie and you know you're goign to have 6, that's a lot! I feel like if we inform ourselves, we can make smarter and better decisions towards eating better and healthier!
Here is a list of seemingly "healthy" foods that have a hidden unhealthy side.
1. Muffins- mainly store bought
Muffins are usually a popular breakfast or snack item that seem pretty harmless. Normally they have bran or some sort of fruit in them and maybe even a "bit" of chocolate. I admit I love these things! A Fruit Explosion Muffin from Tim Hortons is one of my guiltiest pleasures, but there are some issues with them.First of all, these guys pack a pretty hefty calorie punch. A 100g blueberry muffin packs a whopping 385 calories. For comparison, you would have to eat over 500g of Oatmeal to get the same amount of calories.
Secondly, the amount of sugar in a muffin is quite high. The same 100g blueberry muffin has 24g of sugar in it.
Alternative: Muffins can be a great and easy on the go snack or breakfast. Making them at home (see recipe here) and use more natural sweeteners like bananas, or apples and make them with oats or whole wheat flour can make them a lot more nutritious.
2. Frozen Dinners- yes, even the "healthy" kind
In today's convenience age, it's nice to be able to take a meal out of the freezer, pop it in the microwave and its ready! When I started living on my own, frozen dinners were easy and cheap; but now the thought of them turns me off. I always remember that they smell way better than they taste. Companies jazz up the frozen dinners by saying "a full serving of vegetables" and "high protein", but they are covering up the rest of it. Some of the more health-conscious ones are lower in calories and fat, which is also an attractive feature so more healthy minded people will buy it.One main issue with these guys I have is the questionable quality of the food. I find that it just never quite tasted right to me. The meals always tasted kind of, well, preserved and cheap.
Another issue is the overall lack of real nutritional value. Most of them are high in sodium, many of them reaching over 1000mg per meal. They are usually high in carbs which isn't always that bad but low in fibre. If you look at the nutritional information, you'll find there isn't a lot for added value compared to making fresh food. There are more frozen meal varieties as of late that are getting better with increasing protein and moderating calories more, but if you can, fresh is best. When in doubt and you're unsure of the nutrition value of the frozen meal, look at the nutritional information of them.
Alternative: Make and freeze your own meals with fresh vegetables and a good source of protein. You can get much more value out of chicken breast, veggies and brown rice stir-fry at home, compared to a chicken and vegetable stir-fry from Lean Cuisine.
3. Granola Bars
Gotta love granola bars! I used to eat 1-2 granola "protein" bars every day. Who doesn't love an easy, convenient granola bar that their kids love and you can love too? The ones containing chocolate, covered in chocolate or are special "diet" ones (looking at you Special K).Next time you go to buy a granola bar, look at the nutritional information. Then go to the chocolate bar section and compare. Why? First of all, these guys have a lot of sugar in them. In fact, if you look at the ingredient list, you will find sugar, (or its counterparts fructose, corn syrup, etc,) within the top three ingredients. For example, a Vector Chocolate Chip Protein Bar has 230 calories, 7g of fat, 19g of sugar and 3g of fibre in one bar. For comparison, a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar has 210 calories, 13g of fat, 24g of sugar and 1g of fibre in a single bar. They aren't that far off from each other. Companies that make these are wising up and starting "add protein" but really they don't remove anything else. When you think about it, you're really not getting any nutritional gains from it, and to be honest a chocolate bar tastes better for the same amount of calories!
Alternative: You can make your own at home. There are tons of recipes for homemade protein bars online that use sugar alternatives like bananas, stevia, etc. Be careful of the ones that use a lot of honey because then you're adding a lot of sugar still. Another option that is great is oatmeal, you can eat oatmeal, add some protein powder and get the same amount of calories as a single Vector Granola bar with way more fibre and just as much protein AND be way more full!
4. Rice Noodles
This one may surprise you. Regular rice noodles taste great in stir fries and soups. They are easy to make and sound healthy. Rice always is a popular health food so rice noodles can't be that bad. However, be cautious. One downfall of them is that they are pretty high in calories. Per 100g, rice noodles can have up to 350 calories. Not only that, a lot of rice noodles have 1000mg of sodium per 100g! They are also lacking in nutrients, protein and fiber.Alternative: They do have brown rice noodles which have a bit more fibre and protein in them, but they still have about the same amount of calories as the regular noodles. Instead, save the noodles for a treat and stick to lower calorie options of rice or cauliflower rice for stir-fries.
5. Fruit Juices and Vitamin Drinks
What breakfast commercial does not include a healthy glass of orange juice? In theory, it sounds so great. "Freshly squeezed, real fruit, etc." However, this is not really the case. Sure with juice they can add things like calcium and other vitamins and minerals to the drinks which makes it look appealing so it's tempting to drink daily. In an 8oz glass of orange juice, there is up to 115 calories and 20g of sugar! In a Vitamin Water, there is 125 calories and 32.5g of sugar in each drink. You may argue that a lot of athletes use these types of drinks to replenish themselves after hard training, but for the average person, it is really not needed.Alternatives: You can eat fruit and veggies and get a great source of vitamins and minerals from there. Eating your calories leads to better satiety. If the flavour of water turns you off, then adding lemon, cucumber, or berries to it can add some flavour and make it easier to drink.
6. "Organic" versions of regular junk foods
Let's say this together: Just because it says Organic does not mean it's healthier. The same goes Non-GMO, etc.for gluten-free,
The word organic gets thrown around so much its almost lost its meaning. There are so many blurred lines of what classifies as organic and there is the popular misconception that organic means not processed or zero pesticides. Both of which are false.
Next time you find yourself reaching for organic Cheetos or fruit snack packs, I urge you to look at the nutrition information, then go and look at the nutrition information of an equivalent, conventional snack. You will find hardly any difference!
This list is just a little one. There are many marketing ploys used by food companies to make their foods more appealing towards people who are concerned about eating healthy. In reality, there is no such thing as perfect, but hopefully, this information will make you much more aware as a consumer. When grocery shopping always read the nutritional information and compare to others, look at the serving sizes as well. 50 calories for Oreos doesn't sound bad, but when that's per cookie and you know you're goign to have 6, that's a lot! I feel like if we inform ourselves, we can make smarter and better decisions towards eating better and healthier!
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