'Healthy' foods that arent

SuperVegan8

I just thought i'd start a thread about foods that you thought were healthy - but arent and foods that are better than you first thought.

I dont really have any specific examples but Subway surprised me - if you look at the nutritional content within their menus it is not particually comforting to know that this 'health' food bar is feeding up fat, salt and high calorie subs passing them off as healthy.

(Note - It does depend what you have on your sub but generally theyre not as good as you first think).

newking

Oh man Subway is a big one for me! It drives me insane when people say they are eating healthy and get a huge sloppy sandwich.
Anything low fat, if you read the label a they replaced the fat with goodness knows what fillers to make up for it.
Diet soda


Better than I thought, I'll have to think on this one, lol

s1lence

Some protein bars. Some aren't much better than candy; when the first three ingredients are different forms of sugar kind of makes me think it would just be better to have a hard boiled egg for protein.

umachanxo

Starbucks Frapps DX

Manakonda

Bacon

NicoleMarie0409

Store bought trail mix, ya know the kind with banana chips. Whoa, never knew.

kfitzpa

GRANOLA!

Most of my life I thought that stuff was healthy, biiiiig surprise lol.

jenj1313

I think Subway is pretty clear on which sandwiches and condiments are healthy and not, but people tend to want to think ALL the choices are healthy. There aren't many fast food places that post their nutrition info upfront. Now... if you're worried about sodium, it's not a great choice, but not everyone is, and one of the 6 low-cal sandwiches a day at Subway won't kill most folks (and it's still better than a Big Mac and fries).

I'm always amazed at how many "healthy" foods have a TON of added sugar... protein bars, peanut butter, protein powders, "whole wheat" bread / tortillas / bagels, marinara sauce, fruit flavored greek yogurt. It's crazy. You can almost always find a version that doesn't have a lot of added sugar, but you have to read labels pretty carefully to figure out what's natural and what's added.

MissMaryMac33

Cottage Cheese (or any cheese in general - especially little laughing cow wedges) -- I had no idea how much sodium was in these until I started watching sodium... holy cow!

Erindipitous

A good rule that I follow: If the packaging advertises that it's healthy.. It probably isn't. :P

0lightasair

GRANOLA!

Most of my life I thought that stuff was healthy, biiiiig surprise lol.

Granola is unhealthy!?!

katemme

Salads. Especially from restuarants/fast food places. They can have as much fat and calories as a cheeseburger. I've heard coworkers say they are eating "healthy" by eating salads fromt fast food places. Wrong. If you aren't dieting and enjoys salads, then by all means eat one, but don't fool yourself into thinking they are healthy.

The salad I get at Mcdonalds (like a once a month, if that) is only 190 calories. Thats with grilled chicken. Not too bad. Its the dressing that kills it.


Cottage cheese is good, relatively low in fat, and you get a great amount of protein.

Who said Starbucks frapps were healthy? Are you like that lady trying to sue Nutella because on their packaging it says its 'part of a healthy breakfast'?

Mine would probably be granola. It always surprises me.

juicyfruitkk

An italian sandwhich (amato's rings in at almost 700 calories and it's veggies/ham/cheese) (not that it's overly healthy just calorie shock I guess)

dried fruit

many protein bars

Nuts! I know some are still good for you nutrient wise but I can't get over the calories in just 1/4 cup!

bisland

The other day I was at McDonalds with my Mom, we both love the Southwest salad, but I thought I would make a healthier choice and get (2) grilled chicken wraps. Boy was I surprised to see her salad had about 100 calories less then my measly chicken wraps.

kfitzpa

GRANOLA!

Most of my life I thought that stuff was healthy, biiiiig surprise lol.

Granola is unhealthy!?!

Well sure, it's got oats and nuts and seeds and all that good stuff. But most granolas are packed with sugar and fat. Not to mention its around 500 calories a cup, yikes.

MoreBean13

Splenda. 3.8 cals/packet.....It's 25% of the calories of a sugar packet- a significant reduction, but not calorie free! :explode:

crimznrose

Granola bars, nuts, peanut butter, most cereals, Wendy's grilled chicken, most fast food salads, and even milk. I thought I was doing my family a favor by buying 1% instead of 2%, but it's still a ton of calories the way they go through milk. Switched them to skim and they didn't even notice for the first couple months - until they finally saw the label was a different color.

Healthy surprise: Fiber One (the 90 cal brownies and chewy bars are my go-to sweet tooth snack), homemade meals. I was surprised how much lower the calories were in my homemade recipes (due largely to the fact I use fat free, reduced fat, low fat, whole grain, etc.), but it makes it worthwhile to skip the convenience of pre-packaged food (even "health" food) and just make a home-cooked meal.

aspen_matthews

Smoothies! They CAN be healthy but often aren't, and lots of people suck down a 500 calorie smoothie as a snack!

jamiem1102

Dried Fruit. Craisins. Horrified at the sugar when I found out. So sad... they're so tasty.

sthrnchick

Subway was gonna be my choice...but I see thats been beaten to death! Still shocks me!!

Umeboshi

Everything can be healthy in moderation. A huge plate of nothing but bacon and lard isn't going to be healthy, but one slice of bacon along with a balanced meal certainly can be.