What are some 'sneaky' foods?

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  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
    oatmeal & nuts....I don't get enough enjoyment out of them to want to sacrifice all those calories. I prefer a nice salad instead....

    A whole cup of cooked oatmeal has only 150 calories! That doesn't seem like a lot to me, but I guess things start to add up when you add milk, sugar, fruit, granola, nuts, or other toppings...

    I eat oatmeal almost every day~ I love it :) So I gotta stick up for it! haha
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Olives are NOT a whole food. Raw olives are slightly toxic, they need heavy processing to become edible, hence why all olives go through some kind of brining process.

    Not to mention, olive oil is actually healthier than the olive fruit, as some health compounds are only released when the fruit is crushed into oil, they're indigestible when you eat a whole olive.
    No, they are not toxic, they are very bitter when raw. That is why they are processed.
    True. 99 times out of 100 bitterness is linked to some kind of toxicity, olives are actually one of the exceptions. I stand corrected.
  • elmr34
    elmr34 Posts: 32 Member
    Nuts and granola. I don't even serve myself nuts in a container, I just open my can, take a palm full and that is all.

    I make my own granola but it is still so high calorie that I can only have a tiny little amount. I was also pretty disappointed upon reading that 21 frosted shredded mini wheats was a serving! It makes me so sad every time I have to count them out that I have switched to Cheerios.
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    My own baking....I knew it was pretty high in calories :noway: It rivals every single restaurant nasty-tasting dessert as far as calories/fat go but doesn't compare to taste, quality and decadence......:laugh: :laugh: .
  • LWhite54
    LWhite54 Posts: 6 Member
    For me it's dried cranberries. I add a quarter cup to my oatmeal most mornings and really have to restrain myself from grabbing an extra small handful because of the concentrated sugar content.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    Olives are NOT a whole food. Raw olives are slightly toxic, they need heavy processing to become edible, hence why all olives go through some kind of brining process.

    Not to mention, olive oil is actually healthier than the olive fruit, as some health compounds are only released when the fruit is crushed into oil, they're indigestible when you eat a whole olive.

    Brining is not " heavy processing ". It's just water and salt, one of the most natural ways of preserving food.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Olives are NOT a whole food. Raw olives are slightly toxic, they need heavy processing to become edible, hence why all olives go through some kind of brining process.

    Not to mention, olive oil is actually healthier than the olive fruit, as some health compounds are only released when the fruit is crushed into oil, they're indigestible when you eat a whole olive.

    Brining is not " heavy processing ". It's just water and salt, one of the most natural ways of preserving food.
    They're also treated with lye. There's a lot more to curing olives than just water and salt. There's also a lot more to brines than just water and salt.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    oatmeal & nuts....I don't get enough enjoyment out of them to want to sacrifice all those calories. I prefer a nice salad instead....

    A whole cup of cooked oatmeal has only 150 calories! That doesn't seem like a lot to me, but I guess things start to add up when you add milk, sugar, fruit, granola, nuts, or other toppings...

    I eat oatmeal almost every day~ I love it :) So I gotta stick up for it! haha

    That is exactly my point. Oatmeal alone is so boring that people have to add all the other stuff to make it enjoyable.....and since I have zero sweet tooth....oatmeal just stays boring for me. I eat it every once in a while made as Upma ( with onions, tomatoes and lots of cilantro and chiles ), but not very often.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member

    Brining is not " heavy processing ". It's just water and salt, one of the most natural ways of preserving food.
    They're also treated with lye. There's a lot more to curing olives than just water and salt. There's also a lot more to brines than just water and salt.
    [/quote]

    You probably know much better than I. I can just say that the homegrown olives I have brined with nothing but water and salt, plus the occasional herbs have always turned out really delicious. Also when the villagers in Souther Spain, where most of my experience comes from, brine their olives for home use or local sales, they also use just salt and some water and the process is known worldwide as " aceituning ".
  • sugaspice999
    sugaspice999 Posts: 164
    A package of greek yogurt that apparently had 3 servings in it. Ended up eating an 800 calorie "snack" lol.

    A lot of nut packets are like that too, so I just buy them raw and weigh them out.
  • shannaniggans
    shannaniggans Posts: 31
    I always thought granola bars were a healthy snack, but sometimes I'm better off eating a candy bar... >__< Same thing with dried fruit. So much sugar in so little!

    but most of all...
    ALCOHOL
    I can drink an entire day's worth of calories in an hour
    :((((
    I miss being drunk

    LOL :)
  • togmo
    togmo Posts: 257
    Pretty much anything high in fats as has been said is a surprise. This is also why fast foods tend to be higher in cals, because of all of the fats. Look at all the different ways we eat hot chips. You would be surprised the difference in the amount of cals between different chips, the fat free ones you cook in the oven are quite low compared to the ones cooked in oil and sold from McDonalds or something.

    Nuts and seeds are generally quite high in fats and at 9kcals a gram rather than 4kcals for proteins or carbs, high fat foods generally do surprise you.

    Having said that these things, nuts, seeds etc. are very healthy for you. Just don't overdo them. I also tend to bag a serve of food and put aside the rest so that I don't over-eat because we have all opened a bag of cashews or a packet of chips and before we have known it the bag is empty and you start to feel crappy soon after...
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member

    However, now that I'm well into a healthier lifestyle, the portion sizes doesn't seem "unfair" to me anymore. :)

    exactly... and you find ways around things. I'm putting parmesan and feta and those cheese on things now, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more flavour bang for your calorie buck.

    re the sunflower seeds, I put 5g in my salads and it's well worth the calories :)

    for the most part the only thing I was astounded at the calories being so high on was ... actually, to be honest, nothing. I knew, I was just ignoring it!
  • CharChary
    CharChary Posts: 220 Member
    I stay away from regular salad dressings and instead buy ones made with Greek yogurt. The ranch I used to buy before changing my lifestyle had like 80 more calories per serving and 10 more grams of fat! disgusting.

    I hate how much calories/fat a bit of peanut butter has, but I eat it anyhow. I used to just smother my bagels/pretzel sticks with it. Now it's two tablespoons here and there when I want it. Forever in love with peanut butter.. haha
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    depends on what you mean by "sneaky"... if you mean that they are here on a secret reconnaissance mission to determine our weaknesses as a species so that those can be exploited by an alien invasion from another galaxy that will ultimately subject humanity to eons of slavery and bondage, then...

    ...brussels sprouts are sneaky.

    they are also inedible.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    When I first started my MFP journey, I was SORELY disappointed to see a "serving" of pasta. I was eating 3x what I should have been!
    also, I saw cheese on here, and I second that!
    However, now that I'm well into a healthier lifestyle, the portion sizes doesn't seem "unfair" to me anymore. :)

    Agree pasta and also rice 2 to 4 ounces isn't very much
  • itsfruitcake
    itsfruitcake Posts: 146 Member
    Pizza. Yes, I mean, it's obvious that it's not exactly the healthiest kind of food, but I was shocked to see that even if just *half* a vegetarian pizza can get to 800-1000 calories. AND WHO EATS ONLY HALF A PIZZA?
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    Quinoa, good for protein but packed with calories.
  • djbeba
    djbeba Posts: 7
    Yogurt ! Yogurt is one nasty *kitten*! one small cup takes something like 150 calories ! Craaazy! :) I now eat one per day...and not everyday.
  • Ozzzy66
    Ozzzy66 Posts: 36 Member
    Fast Food, even the healthy stuff is loaded with sodium. I use to always get two small cheese burgers off the dollar section and skip the fries. The small cheese burgers have around 400 calories and 900 mg of sodium. If I have to eat fast food now I try to go to one that uses fresh chicken. I get my protein and I will have a healthy carb based snack when I get home.
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
    Well for starters it turns out I was using about 500 calories worth of syrup per serving of pancakes >.> Oops. Bye bye syrup!
    Overall, I wasn't surprised by the calorie content of one single food alone. What surprised me, was the same food, from different restaurants or manufacturers. It's amazing how one serving of one type of food can be reasonable, whereas if you get that same food elsewhere, a serving may be over half of your daily calories! It's amazing how one restaurant's entree can be so much higher than another's, just by using more butter, full fat cheese, etc. that you otherwise wouldn't even notice was there unless you looked it up online!
  • lets_fly_away_tonight
    lets_fly_away_tonight Posts: 9
    Nuts are so good but so bad!

    I earned myself a single serve of icecream last night, and when I looked at it I was like "That's it?? That's how much people are supposed to be eating??"

    that's why i make my own frozen greek yogurt :)
  • lar4290
    lar4290 Posts: 55 Member
    Overall, I wasn't surprised by the calorie content of one single food alone. What surprised me, was the same food, from different restaurants or manufacturers. It's amazing how one serving of one type of food can be reasonable, whereas if you get that same food elsewhere, a serving may be over half of your daily calories! It's amazing how one restaurant's entree can be so much higher than another's, just by using more butter, full fat cheese, etc. that you otherwise wouldn't even notice was there unless you looked it up online!

    THIS!
  • Shnookington
    Shnookington Posts: 16
    I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the chicken flavoured crispy noodles had less calories than the plain one. Only slightly, but still. They had more sodium, but it was worth it for that extra taste. They'd be what I seasoned my salads with.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    The first time I weighed out a serving of cereal I was pretty disappointed.

    Exactly!
  • yixzy
    yixzy Posts: 3
    Banana chips. I always thought they were healthy, you know, because fruit...but nope, apparently they are deep fried after they are dried, and I ate 1000 calories of them in just one day...whoops...

    (damn, I really love banana chips)

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