Excessive calories in my "Healthy" choices

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Eeek70
Eeek70 Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
This week has been a bit of a bumpy ride diet-wise. This site has been brilliant at helping me to understand where I've gone wrong in the past when I think I have made a brilliant healthy choice.... only to find that choice has sabotaged my efforts.

The other morning I stopped at one of my favourite places to get breakfast. I really wanted the Superfood scramble (which contains 377 calories - with eggs, spinach, chillies, hemp seed, feta cheese and toast) However in the spirit of being mindful of my calorie intake, I saw a smoothie option that contained soy milk, banana, spirulina, agave nectar, etc. I thought that was by far the better option. There was no nutrition info immediately available and there was quite a queue so I decided to look up the details later. To my sorrow, "later" translates to "after I drank the thing". Turns out that this choice was a whopping 576 calories!

Similarly this morning I stopped at the Sainsbury's and picked up some grapes and a Muesli muffins. Having learned my lesson from earlier this week, I did not eat the muffin until I determined what the calore/fat content was. I searched the internet and could not find anything that looked like it was the muffin that sat on my desk. So I actually rang the Sainsbury's customer Helpline to enquire. Turns out it was 448 calories with 25.7 grams of fat!! So glad I had not eaten it as I would have been in tears otherwise! A slim and somewhat hungover colleague happiliy took it off my hands...

So now I am curious about other people's experiences of these "healthy" saboteurs?!

Replies

  • stuwlam
    stuwlam Posts: 1
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    Sorry to say but "muffins" = NOT healthy in any shape or form in my experience - avoid at all costs! I was also a muffin-o-holic but now try to find ceral bars below 100 calories when I want a snack. For a nice healthy low cal breakfast try a scambled egg made with semi-skimmed milk and 100g of smoked salmon (trimmings are very cheap at Tesco or Sainsburys). This is only about 160 calories with one egg or 240 calories with two. Weetabix Chocolate Oaty bars are a tasty snack and are only 67 calories. Special K chocolate chip cereal bars are an alternative. You can also try www.graze.com for a range of home delivered tasty and healthy snack foods. For £3.49 they will deliver a selction of 4 different snacks of your choice on your chosen day.
  • Eeek70
    Eeek70 Posts: 3
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    I just recently signed up with Graze and they are wonderful!

    I must find the discipline to make (and eat) my breakfast before I leave the house. The irony in this is that every morning, I get up and ensure my daughter has a good, healthy breakfast before she goes to school. I just never get round to the same for me... (this is not me being selfless btw - this is me preferring to spend the time doing my hair/make up)

    I think I will keep the Weetabix in my bag for the train journey though and I will NEVER touch a muffin again...!
  • jessieinblue
    jessieinblue Posts: 287 Member
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    The other morning I stopped at one of my favourite places to get breakfast. I really wanted the Superfood scramble (which contains 377 calories - with eggs, spinach, chillies, hemp seed, feta cheese and toast) However in the spirit of being mindful of my calorie intake, I saw a smoothie option that contained soy milk, banana, spirulina, agave nectar, etc. I thought that was by far the better option. There was no nutrition info immediately available and there was quite a queue so I decided to look up the details later. To my sorrow, "later" translates to "after I drank the thing". Turns out that this choice was a whopping 576 calories!

    Just an observation: less calories does not always equal better for you, but that "Superfood Scramble" sounds like a much better choice either way. All of the ingredients you listed (excepting the toast) are whole foods and very healthy. On the other hand, soy milk and agave nectar generally are not good choices. Always consider which option contains foods closer to their natural, unprocessed state.
  • poptastic
    poptastic Posts: 151 Member
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    The superfood scramble sounds healthy in that it's full of 'real' unprocessed foods, and even though it's 377 calories I bet it keeps you full all morning! I have granola with yoghurt and berries for breakfast which is around 320 calories but it's super filling, I'd rather do that than be snacking on all kinds of processed 'sugar free'/low fat options for the rest of the day.

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