Lack of education is a major problem with our diets today. There is so much misinformation and advertising on undesirable food, how do we know what is healthy. Sometimes we think we are eating a healthy diet when the truth is we may not be. Just what is a salad? Is the fat free option the best?… Think again.
The Fat Free Fad
There are so many “fat free” options on the market now you can just about get fat free anything. Fat free however does not necessarily mean something is healthy. Much of the time fat stripped out of these products is replaced with sugar and processing agents we can not even pronounce let alone know what they are doing to our bodies.
Take peanut butter for example. The full fat version can actually be healthy in moderation. It contains 2 things, peanuts and vegetable oil. Now let’s take the “light” version which boasts 25% less fat. In this instance sugar, salt and preservatives are added.
So what do you think – is the light version healthier? No because there is 15g more carbohydrate (sugar) in the light peanut butter than in the regular peanut butter that was never unhealthy in the first place. What’s more, the calories in regular peanut butter and the ‘light’ version are not too dissimilar.
When is a Salad Not Really a Salad
How often do you go to a restaurant and the person you are dining with or maybe you even say “I think I will just have a salad, I’m trying to eat healthy,” and opts for the Caesar Salad? What do you think – is this a healthy option?
A Caesar Salad can pack more calories than a steak. Why – well it is all about the extras on top of that lovely cos lettuce; the bacon, the dressing, the cheese, the croutons. So we want to pass on the extras that are not of the vegetable variety. The same goes for those creamy mayo pasta or potato salads. The word salad does not necessarily mean a healthy food choice.
And What About Soup
More often than not the soup you are ordering at a restaurant will contain about half a bottle of cream – not a healthy everyday food by any stretch of the imagination so watch the chowders and stick to the broths.
Coffee Anyone?
How many of you meet a friend for coffee or have a morning tea shout at work and stay away from a slice of cake like it is poison and go for the ‘healthy’ muffin instead?
Would you be surprised if I told you a muffin is a cake? Yes muffins are made from the same ingredients, with the same amount of calories and rubbish in them and many times, because of their size, they contain more calories than your average piece of cake
So stick to a ‘healthy’ home made muffin which you can make and eat at home. Then maybe you can enjoy a small piece of biscotti on your coffee dates.
In summing up, making healthy food choices is all about sticking to your
budget. Take a look at the Alternative Choice Table in our Articles section– it really will surprise you.
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