'Healthy' Trap Foods

Aug 1, 2024

Comment Print
Share on:

Note
 For an easier to digest list broken into categories based on what food they are, see the linked posts below:

Introduction
 I wanted to put together a list of foods that people consider to be healthy, but are really just either a product of good marketing or misinformation. These foods are typically referred to “Trap Foods”, or “Fake Healthy Foods”, as they can lure customers into thinking they’re making better decisions, when in realty these “healthy” alternatives can be just as bad, if not worse.


TLDR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

  • Extensively read ingredient labels
  • Avoid ultra processed foods, especially ones containing refined sugar, refined grains, and vegetable/seed oils
  • Don’t believe marketing claims
  • Prioritize nutrient dense whole foods or minimally processed foods

Disclaimer
 I’m not saying you should absolutely never eat any of these foods. Moderation is key, and the dose makes the poison. Most of the foods on this list are treats, and should be treated as such, but it’s healthy to enjoy treats every once in a while. Don’t eat them all the time, but don’t forbid yourself from having anything. Find a proper balance.


List of Foods




Cereal
 “Part of a complete breakfast” is what we were taught growing up. That children need cereal, and that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That’s a hell of a successful marketing campaign. Cereal is probably one of the worst things you can eat in the morning; it’s essentially just a bowl of added sugar. Don’t worry guys, it’s fat free though (as if that’s really helping it’s case).

 It doesn’t take a nutritionist to realize that Lucky Charms or Froot Loops are nothing more than a treat, but where the real “danger” lies is the cereals that are instead marketed as healthy. I’m talking about things like Honey Nut Cheerios, Raisin Bran, and any of the other “boring” adult cereals that aren’t “sugar bombs”. Except they are. For a 1 cup (36 g) serving of Honey Nut Cheerios, you’ll run yourself 12 g of added sugar and 140 calories, the exact same as in Lucky Charms. Oh and that “can help lower cholesterol” claim, only Original Cheerios actually have the American Heart Association certification on it. And let’s be honest, no one eats just 1 cup of cereal.


 If you’re going to eat breakfast cereal, go with a sugar free option like plain cheerios or unsweetened puffed rice, and instead add flavors using fruit. Original Cheerios only have 1 g of added sugar per serving, and the serving size is larger (1.5 cups as opposed to 1 cup). Even then cereal still isn’t the healthiest breakfast; it’s still a bowl of empty refined carbs with no healthy fats or proteins, but at least this way it can actually be “part of a complete breakfast”. I’ve also had good success making my own cereal called Cinnamon Toast Chickpeas, which are crispy chickpeas tossed with cinnamon, served over a protein shake, and topped with berries and nuts. Now that’s a complete breakfast!

 Don’t know why I just came out swinging with a vendetta against General Mills, the rest will be toned down. Probably because I’ve personally been duped by this in the past, and it’s a very common trap food. Look for cereals with no added sugars, whole grains, and high in fiber. Anything else is junk food with a good marketing team.


Oatmeal
 Okay so you’ve gotten past cereal, but surley oatmeal is safe right? Think again. Oats can be a great addition to your diet: they’re a whole grain, high in fiber low fat, versatile, delicious, and gluten free. They also contain a fair bit of manganese and iron, and are rich in antioxidants. It even boasts about being “heart healthy” (so does cereal) on the box. So what’s the problem?


 The main issue isn’t with oatmeal, but how it’s prepared. I’m mainly talking about flavored packets of oatmeal here, like ones in the image above. Unfortunately, these are really no different nutritionally from a bowl of sugary cereal; it’s just warm now. These packets are loaded with added sugars. When it comes to oatmeal for breakfast, make it yourself from plain oats, and sweeten it with fruit and a small amount of maple syrup or honey if desired. Also add some healthy fats like chopped nuts or nut butter, and some protein with yogurt or protein powder (or both!)

 Below I’ll list a bunch of oatmeal recipes which are all low in added sugar, packed with protein and fiber, have a good dose of healthy fats, and can be eaten warm or cold:
  - Overnight Oats with no Protein Powder
  - Strawberry Chia Protein Oatmeal
  - Yogurt Free Protein Oats
  - Bigger Boi Oatmeal
  - Banana Nut Bread Protein Overnight Oats
  - Very Vic
  - Peanut Butter Punch Protein Overnight Oats
  - Berry Delicious Protein Overnight Oats
  - Pumpkin Pie Protein Overnight Oats
  - Reese’s Protein Overnight Oats


Granola Bars
 Oatmeal flows us nicely into granola bars. Usually thought of as a healthy boring snack, these are actually much worse than they seem. Granola and granola bars are loaded with added sugars; just 1 Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar has 7 g of added sugar in a 24 g serving. Do you know what else has the same amount of added sugar? 2 Chips Ahoy cookies. The vast majority of bars on the market contain sugar (or some type of sugar) as one of the first 3 ingredients on the label, making them a dessert.

 Don’t think Nature Valley, Nutrigrain, Kind Bars, or Clif Bars are any better. I will say I used to be a huge fan of all 4 of these, and Clif Bars in particular serve a purpose. On a long hike or after a hard workout, the simple sugars in Clif Bars are actually exactly what your body needs to replenish energy, and the protein aids in recovery. Just don’t eat them as a day to day snack. If you want your own homemade granola or granola bars, you should check out my Low Sugar Granola and my Peanut Butter Banana Granola Bars, which only use a minimal amount of sweetener, and no refined fats or oils. Just nuts and oats!


 If you’re going to get a bar, I’d recommend either Larabar or RxBars (or my own Copycat Chocolate RX Bars); both are made with dates and nuts, and contain no added sugar or artificial sweeteners. RxBars even have some protein powder as well.



Trail Mix
 Trail mix is the next step from granola, where you essentially just remove the oats, and instead have a mix of nuts and candy. Nuts are healthy, but can be easily overconsumed. But the main problem with trail mix is the chocolate chips or M&Ms. Trail mix can be a great snack, especially when on a trail (duh), where the salt, fat, and sugar are great for when you’re out exercising.

 But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s healthy just because it contains nuts, just like how granola isn’t healthy just because it contains oats. Look out for the chocolate and dried fruit. A lot of trail mixes can contain a surprising amount of added sugar. Plus, it’s very high in fat and calories, so it’s very easy to overeat. The numbers below might not look like a lot, but that 1/4 cup (38 g) serving is a lot smaller than you think; most people can easily have 2-3 times that amount no problem.


 If you really love trail mix, you should consider making it yourself. It’s cheaper and healthier, as well as dead simple. Just mix together nuts, dark chocolate, and unsweetened dried fruit in a bag, and you’re done. You can check out my Mixed Nuts and Chocolate Trail Mix for a easy typical trail mix, or my Air Fryer Trail Mix for a roasted varation with nuts, bananas, and chickpeas.


Nuts
 Nuts, just like oats, can be a very healthful addition to your diet, or they can be the end of it, depending upon how they’re prepared and consumed. Nuts are rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, fiber, selenium, manganese, and contain a fair bit of protein. They can also help in raising your HDL. The problem is that nuts are insanely calorically dense (similar to real dark chocolate). They’re very high in fat, where just a 1 oz (28 g) serving contains about 160 calories. Calories aren’t everything, and fat is essential for you, but just don’t overdo it on nuts (as I tend do to).


 Additionally, make sure to get plain nuts. Ideally, your nuts are dry roasted; either unsalted or lightly salted are okay depending on your tastes and salt intake. Just stay away from flavored nuts, like honey roasted peanuts or candied pecans. These contain lots of added sugars, unhealthy oils, and unnecessary ingredients. Even regularly salted nuts tend to contain a paragraph of ingredients. Stick to just nuts and salt, and always weigh out your serving of nuts. Any more than a handful is probably too much.


Peanut Butter
 Natural nut butter is the nectar of the gods. Not only is it absolutely delicious, but it’s very good for you for all the same reasons nuts are. Peanut butter has all the same downisdes as regular nuts though, but even worse, as it’s even easier to over eat. Just a large spoonful, or about 2 tbsp (32 g), of peanut butter contains 190 calories. So while its packed with healthy fats and micronutrients, you need to be very mindful of your nut butter consumption, as the calories can add up very very quickly. If you’re eating peanut butter with your apple, you’ll probably end up consuming twice as many calories from peanut butter than from the apple itself.


 However, overconsumption isn’t even the main problem with peanut butter. The problem is the fake “no stir” peanut butter, that also contain hydroginated oils and sugar. This peanut spread is cheaper than even buying your own peanuts and grinding them yourself, just fueling the problem (remember: sugar and oil are subsidized and therefore very cheap). Just like with regular nuts, make sure to only buy peanut butter (or any nut butter) that is labeled as natural, and contains only nuts and salt. My favorite brands (when I don’t make it myself) are Teddie and Trader Joe’s. Stay away from any flavored nut butters, especially…


Nutella
 …nutella. Nutella has a lot of nerve to call itself hazelnut spread, considering its just a sugar and fat spread. A jar of nutella is 58% sugar and 30% palm oil; only just 13% of the jar contains actual hazelnuts. Nutella is way more of a jelly substitute than a peanut butter one. A 2 tbsp (37 g) serving contains 200 calories and a whopping 18 g of added sugar; that’s 5 teaspoons!. You know what contains 17 g of added sugar in the same serving size? That’s right, Chocolate Frosting, and the frosting is actually lower in fat and calories. And you and me both know we’re going to eat more than just 1 serving.


 If you love nutella, then consider making it yourself, where you can control the sweetness, and totally eliminated the hydroginated oils. I have a recipe for Roasted Hazelnut Nutella that’s free of added sugars and oils. Just roast and blend hazelnuts (or peanuts) into a smooth nut butter, and add in some chocolate and bananas for sweetness. Tastes way better than the jar, and isn’t a total sugar bomb.


Jelly and Jam
 I love a good PB&J. Which means using a good peanut butter, jelly, and bread. Here, we’re tackling jelly and jam though. A jam is ideally just simmered fruit that’s mildly sweetened, just like my Low Sugar Berry Jam or Strawberry Chia Jam. The problem is that most jellies and jams are just sugar spreads. A 1 tbsp (20 g) serving of Smuckers Grape Jelly contains 12 g of sugar. That’s 60% sugar (about the same as nutella), and with none of the fiber from the whole fruit. Even jellies that claim to be healthy may just be using sugar under different names, like evaporated cane juice or apple juice concentrate.


 Outside of making your own jam, your best bets are any low sugar jam or jelly, with less than 4-5 g of added sugar per serving. Trader Joe’s has some good low sugar jellies, jams, and preserves. Good Good is also a good stevia sweetened jam brand, and this Smuckers Low Sugar Strawberry Preserves is a decent option. Just stay away from any jellies labeled as “Sugar free” (like this one), as those are sweetened with sucralose and taste disgusting.


Dried Fruit
 Dried fruit is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s just fruit with the water removed, leaving a concentrated source of minerals but natural sugars. On the other hand, some dried fruits are pumped full of added sugars. Generally, raisins, dates, dried figs, and freeze dried fruit crisps are pretty good, as all the sugar in these are just from the fruit itself. Dried apricots and prunes also tend to be unsweetened; just look out for the ingredients list. Even though, you should be mindful of your dried fruit consumption, as it’s very easy to overeat without all the water from the whole fruit. Think about how many raisins you can eat in a handful, versus how many grapes you would eat in 1 bite. Just like with nuts, dried fruit can be a healthy addition to your diet as long as your mindful of how much you’re eating.


 The bigger problem though comes from dried fruits with added sugars. Dried cranberries, or crasins, are easily the worst offenders here. Have you ever had a fresh cranberry? They’re insanely tart (which is apparently how fruit used to taste before we selectively bred them to be sweeter). Compare that to dried cranberries though. Dried cranberries are entirely added sugar. You wouldn’t think of putting Gummy Bears on your salad. Raisins are nature’s candy, but craisins are just actual candy. Just a 1/3 cup (40 g) serving contains a whopping 26 g of added sugar! That’s already over the American Heart Association’s (AHA) daily guidelines for added sugar consumption for women. Other sweetened dried fruits to be cautious of include blueberries, mangos, cherries, and bananas.


Fruit Juice
 So dried fruit is a highly concentrated source of sugar, even natural, that you should be mindful of consuming. But what if we did the opposite: remove all the fiber, but keep all the water? That’s fruit juice. In reality, a glass of fruit juice, even 100% without any added sugar, is only marginally better for you than a glass of soda. You’ll get some Vitamin C, but that’s really about it. You wouldn’t give your child a Coke with breakfast, so why a glass of orange juice (I’ll tell you: really good marketing). Just eat the whole fruit. At the end of your day, all fructose is the same to your liver, so without fiber to slow it’s absorption, it really doesn’t matter what the source is, even if it any isn’t technically added.



Smoothies
 So if dried fruit is a maybe and fruit juice is a hard no, then where do smoothies fall then? Well about somewhere in the middle. Smoothies are made with whole fruit, and thus do contain more fiber than fruit juice. However, the process of blending fruit destroys some of it’s fiber. A smoothie can still be healthy however. Just make sure to add some protein and fat to slow down the spike to your blood sugar. I prefer using protein powder, greek yogurt, and chia seeds for a Protein Fruit Smoothie if I do have one, but peanut butter, almond butter, avocado, or flaxseeds also work as great fat sources. The healthiest smoothies also include some vegetables like spinach as well.


 And of course, only use an unsweetened liquid for your smoothies like milk, unsweetened plant milks, or water. Fruit is already plenty sweet without the addition of added sugars from the milk or any additional honey. Smoothies are great to make yourself, but be very weary of ordering one anywhere, since you don’t know how much added sugar is secretly in that glass.


Sports Drinks
 Sports drinks, when used as they are intended, can be exactly what your body needs. One medium 12 oz bottle of Gatorade contains 21 g of added sugar and 160 mg of sodium. Which after a really strenuous activity, like a marathon, is exactly what you need. The simple sugars replenish your glycogen stores in your liver, and sodium is an essential nutrient that is lost through sweating. If you’re sweating a ton, sick, or hungover, a Gatorade can be a lifesaver.


 Or it can be a noncarbinated salt soda if you’re consuming it incorrectly. The fact of the matter is that most Americans are not exercising enough, and consuming way too much ultraprocessed foods. That means a high consumption of added sugar and salt, without any way of your body to use it. So another addition source of the 2 is way more likely to do harm than good. Save sports drinks for after intense physical activity, and not after a kid’s leisurely soccer game or as a sipping drink throughout the day. Give little Jimmy an orange instead.


Energy Drinks
 What if you take a sports drinks, remove some of the salt, and instead add a ton of caffeine and some B vitamins? You end up with a Red Bull. Surprisingly, most energy drinks actually come packed with vitamins and minerals, with concentrations as much as a multivitamin. They also contain a ton of added sugar (go figure) and caffeine (which isn’t necessarily good or bad, just something to be mindful of).


 I found this image under the listing for Red Bull on Walmart, where they out themselves as being worse for you than a typical soda or fruit juice. Thankfully there are some brands of energy drinks that don’t have any added sugar like Celsius, but that doesn’t make them healthy, just less bad. Energy drinks aren’t bad if you got a particularly terrible night’s sleep, need to pull the (occasional) all nighter, or if you’re out partying. Just dont rely on them; I see people drinking these all the time at the office or the gym.


Coffee
 As I mentioned above with energy drinks, caffeine isn’t inherently good or bad. It can absolutely be a substance of toxic abuse, or it can help improve alertness and brain function. For clarity, I’ll say that I don’t consume coffee or any caffeine. I’ve just never drank it, so my body has never developed a dependency for it like most people. There are studies showing the benefits of caffeine in moderation however; every coin has 2 sides.


 So why is coffee on this list then? Added fat and sugar. Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino contains a tooth shattering and diabetes inducing 73 g of added sugar (that’s over 6 tablespoons!), as well as 470 calories and 17 g of fat. That’s almost 10 g more sugar and double the calories of a 16.9 fl oz Mountain Dew. One of these every morning along with a muffin is a one way ticket to metabolic syndrome. Only black coffee contains any benefits; this is just a caffeinated milkshake.


Iced Tea
 I think most people can agree that while tea is healthy, there’s no health benefits of a Snapple or Arnold Palmer iced tea. The issue comes from the iced teas that are marketed as being “healthy”, with Pure Leaf being the main brand. For a 16.9 fl oz serving of Pure Leaf, there’s 42 g of added sugar, or 2.5 g per fl oz. Just a single bottle contains over 1.5x your daily added sugar maximum. The nutrition facts for the Pure Leaf are on the left below.


 Compare that to this Great Value Iced Tea (on the right in the above image). This store brand iced tea has 30 g of added sugar in a 12 fl oz serving, or 2.5 g of sugar per fl oz. Hey look at that; it’s the exact same amounts of added sugar! Don’t be a fool to marketing.


Diet Soda
 So no sugar = healthy, right? Not quite. While the issue of artificial sweeteners is a highly contested topic, it is generally agreed that artificial sweeteners, and by extension diet coke, are less bad than their full sugar counterparts. Less bad, but that doesn’t mean good. Diet soda is good if you’re addicted to regular soda, and are trying to wean yourself off. In the same way that vaping could be helpful as a way to quit cigarettes. That doesn’t mean you should take up vaping, and the same holds true for a Diet Coke.


Milk
 Ah, the humble milk. Whether you get whole milk, low fat, or skim, milk can be a nutritious option. It’s a complete protein, the fat helps with feeling satiated, and of course is a good source of calcium. Milk also landed its way on my Overshadowed Healthy Foods list for these reasons. But milk isn’t a trap food because of it’s fat content. I think we know by now that fat is very good for you when not overconsumed; we don’t live in the low fat craze of the 90s anymore.


 The issue is again, added sugars (are you seeing a pattern?), and this plagues both milk and milk adjacent products. Firstly, let’s look at chocolate milk and strawberry milk. A 14 fl oz bottle of Chocolate Milk or Strawberry Milk contain 39 g of sugar, 18 g of which are added. But they’re made with low fat milk, so people were duped into thinking these were helathy ways to give their kids calcium. Oh, and strawberry milk doesn’t contain any strawberry. Go figure.

 The other main issue with milk is it’s non-dairy counterparts. I’m talking about almond, oat, soy, pea, cashew, and any other type of plant milk you can think of. I’ll be fully transparant and say that I keep almond milk in my fridge instead of cow’s milk, mainly because it lasts way longer in the fridge (a few months instead of just a week). I hardly ever drink milk too; normally it gets used a little at a time in my oatmeal or something.


 As long as you purchsae an unsweetened variety, you should be relatively okay. Most plant based milk do contain other gums and weird ingredients, so as an almond milk purchaser, I will say that cow’s milk is almost always the better choice (assuming you can digest it). Sweetened plant based milk can have 12 g of added sugar in just a cup, as is the case with this Sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. I always stick to either Unsweetened Original Almond Milk or Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, or occasionally I’ll make my own Homemade Plant Based Milk using either oats or peanuts for a cheaper option.

 I’ll be honest and say that in high school, I never used to understand why my mom would get mad at me for buying vanilla almond milk instead of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but we all grow up and learn from our mistakes. Be willing to change, and keep an open milk (I mean mind).


Yogurt
 Yogurt, just like milk has the same deceptions. It offers low fat “healthier” varieties that are pumped full of added sugar, and are way worse for you than their original full fat counterparts. Just like with milk, the low or no fat options can also be healthy, as long as they are plain. For me, Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt is the king of all dairy products. Just 1 serving (2/3 cup, 170 g) contains 17 g of protein, no fat, no added sugar, and just 100 calories. Greek yogurt is also a fantastic source of both calcium and vitamin B12, where 1 serving has 15% and 53% of your daily value, respectively. I opt for the nonfat version, as I don’t taste a difference between that and the full fat variety, so I’ll instead get my fat from other sources, like nuts, chia seeds, or natural nut butter.


 Things start to get worse when you look at flavored yogurt, where Vanilla Nonfat Greek Yogurt contains 13 g of added sugar (remeber, that’s up from 0 g), and less protein (14 g instead of 17 g). Don’t be fooled by the fruit flavors either, even the ones with fruit chunks in them. These contain just as much added sugar as the vanilla, if not more. I used to eat the single serving fruit cup yogurts (like this one) every day in high school, until it started to hurt my teeth to eat it. Only then did I flip it over and notice how much sugar was loaded into these small “healthy” cups. Stick to plain, and add your own fruit and additional sweetner if desired.


 Leaving the realm of Greek yogurt and going to Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt, the added sugar content increases yet again to 16 g, and the protein content is slashed down to just 5 g now. Yopait Key Lime Pie Yogurt was my favorite in elementary and middle school, and unforunately it does not fare any better. At the bottom of the barrel is Go-GURT, but I don’t think anyone thinks this junk could be healthy right?


Pretzels
 Let’s leave the world of dairy and move on to snack foods. First on the chopping block: pretzels. I’ll just come out and say it: I was the weird kid who liked getting pretzel on Halloween (everything is probably starting to add up now). I’ve always like fresh baked desserts, but I’ve never been a fan of packages cookies or candy; they’re just too sweet with no flavor.


 Backstory aside, let’s get back to pretzels. Pretzels are though of as a healthier snack for some reason; I’m guessing because they’re savory instead of sweet. So added sugar isn’t an issue for once; these Great Value Pretzels contain virtually none. The problem is that they’re not much more than an ultraprocessed white flour snack with a ton of salt. The enriched flour is stripped of all it’s fiber and micronutrients, leaving just starch and empty calories. At least they’re low in fat though, unlike crackers and chips. I’ll be honest, I still love pretzels to this day, but they’re still a treat I enjoy in moderation.


Crackers
 Crackers we easily my go to snack growing up. Ritz, Graham Crackers, you name it. I even have a recipe for Gluten Free Crackers, that are basically mini healthy graham crackers. I used to have an obsession with Wheat Thins, where in college my friend shipped me 18 boxes for my birthday (thanks Sean, I would eat them every day when I woke up just before running).


 Crackers have the same issue as pretzels though. While being low in sugar, they can just be empty starch calories from refined white flour. Some crackers are also noticeably in both fat (think “butter” crackers like Ritz), or sugar (sweet graham crackers). A serving of Ritz is a measly 5 crackers, with 4.5 g of fat and 3 g of sugar. Graham crackers aren’t any better, where a serving (2 full cracker sheets) has 3.5 g of fat and 8 g of added sugar. My precious wheat things are actually high in both, where just a 16 cracker serving has 5 g of fat (from canola oil) and 5 g of sugar. These don’t sound terrible, but you and I will certainly be eating more than just 1 serving if we’re not paying attention.


Chips
 I think everyone can agree that Lay’s Potato Chips or Doritos aren’t healthy. In fact, they’re probably the default junk food snack that people think of, up there with cookies and candy. There are lots of different types of chips though, with tortilla chips being the other main variety. Most would probably also agree that tortilla chips are junk food, so I’m not gonna spend any time here. Any type of chip is going to be relatively low in sugar, but very high in fat and salt.


 There are variations of chips that are marketed as being healthy though. These include veggie straws, plantain chips, and banana chips. Starting with Veggie Straws, these are just potato shapes in a different shape, with a tiny bit of dehydrated vegetable. They’re basically the potato chip version of Tri-Color Rotini Pasta; just a fun different color, no more, no less.


 Next up is Plantain Chips. Instead of deepfrying potatoes to make potato chips, these are just deepfried plantains. It’s a starchy vegetable (good) fried in vegetable oil (bad). Both potatoes and plantains are healthy on their own, but can be turned into junk food when prepared like so. Now replace the plantians with bananas, add a little bit of sugar, and you end up with banana chips. These tend to use coconut oil at least, but that’s a mild improvement. If you can, make them yourself, or just eat the whole fruit/vegetable.


Popcorn
 This one might actually be the opposite of the others on this list. Most people would associate popcorn with being junk food, eaten with a ton of butter alongside a candy at the movies. But popcorn can actually be a relatively healthy snack with a lot of volume if prepared correctly. Just 3 tbsp (40 g) of unpopped kernels turns into a whopping 7.5 cups when cooked. I’ve never been a personal fan of popcorn (it always gets stuck in my teeth), but I’ve heard that plain popcorn with some nutritional yeast or other spices can make for a very satisfying snack. Yes it’s essentially all carbs with a mediocre amount of fiber and protein, but a full serving actually looks like a lot of food since it’s mostly air. Just make sure to get plain popcorn kernels like the one linked above and shown below.


 Just stay away from the microwaveable bags of popcorn. These have a lot of salt, fat (palm or vegetable oils), and preservatives. Additionally, the packaging for microwave popcorn contains PFAS, or forever chemicals, which are linked to many negative health outcomes including cancer and lung problems.


Keto, Vegan, Gluten Free, and Organic Snacks
 Despite being very different, most diets work for weight loss and better overall health because they have one main thing in common: limiting your consumption of ultraprocessed junk and focusing on real whole foods. Which is great, until the diet becomes trendy, and companies capatalize on this.


 First up is keto. For those living under a rock, a ketogenic, or keto diet is extremely low carb and high fat. This means a lot of oil, butter, nuts, and fatty fish (ooh sounds good), and no high carb foods like bread, rice, pasta, or even beans (whelp nevermind). Keto is the hot and trendy diet right now, with snacks such as cookies, brownie mix, chips, and more hitting the store shelves. These are similar to their original counterparts, with just all the carbs removed. Mainly, they use stevia or erythritol instead of sugar, and almond flour instead of wheat or corn. While maybe being margianlly healthier, these snacks are still ultraprocessed, containing a laundry list of ingredients, with a lot of hydroginated oils, salt, and preservatives.


 Many people you have the false notion that vegan = healthy. But you can be very unhealthy on a vegan diet, or very healthy on an omnivorous diet. Not eating animal products does not directly correlate to better health; eating more whole foods does (which vegans tend to do, so that’s a plus). You know what else is vegan though: Oreo’s, Coca-Cola, and Sour Patch Kids. I think you get my point. Even the supposedly healthier snacks (like these Nature’s Bakery bars) are just expensive and fancy looking versions of the original products, and are at best only marginally better for you.


 At least (most) people have a good reason for following a strict gluten free diet, with that being Celiac disease. Gluten comes from grains such as barley, rye, and of course wheat. It would be assumed then that a gluten free diet would be healthier then, omitting all sources of flour, thus eliminating any ultraprocessed “foods” containing it. But there’s still plenty of junk food that’s naturally gluten free (pretty much all chips are), and some specifically made to be gluten free. You can still get gluten free cookies like Oreo’s and Tate’s. Fine treats to have on occasion (everything in moderation, remember), but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s healthier because it contains no gluten.


 Finally, and probably worst of all, we have organic. Why is organic the worst? Because it’s the most ambiguous. All the other categories above (keto, vegan, and gluten free) have hard set criteria for what is and isn’t allowed. Organic though: can anyone actually define what that means? Why do Doritos and Tostitos make organic chips? What are you really doing here lmao.


Protein Bars and Snacks
 As I said in my 100 Calorie Protein Bars, a protein bar needs to have at least 10 g of protein per 100 calories, and have no added sugar. Otherwise, it’s not a protein bar. I love RxBars, but I wouldn’t consider them a protein bar (not even my own Copycat Chocolat RX Bars). They’re still a healthy snack certainly, with good doses of healthy fats (nuts), natural sugars (dates), fiber (dates and nuts), and protein (egg white protein powder). I’m ripping on RxBars here, but only because they’re probably the best protein bars on the market; it pretty much just gets worse from here.


 Most other protein bars and snacks on the market contain vegetable oils, added sugars, and a slew of other weird ingredients. They also have very high contents of other macro nutrients; I want a protein bar, not a fat bar or a carb bar. Protein bars can be a great lean snack, and I can always add more fat (peanut butter) or carbs (banana) along side it. Just because it has the word “protein” on it doesn’t mean it’s healthy, or necessarily even high in protein. Some examples are Great Value, TruBar, Nature Valley, Gatorade, Clif Bar, Kind, and Kellogg’s. All of these protein bars fail to hit those requires, with low protein contents and added sugar ranging between 5 g and 24 g per bar.


 It’s not just bars; other protein snacks are just as guilty. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The following examples either come close or actually meet the protein bar requirements, but they’re still ultraprocessed snacks to enjoy in moderation; not a building block of your daily diet. I’m talking about protein cookies, chips, and pastries. A good general rule of thumb is if there are multiple lines of ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce, you probably shouldn’t be eating it often. Look for foods with just a handful of real, whole food, ingredients (we’ve come back full circle to RxBars).


Rice Cakes
 Rice cakes just scream 1990’s low fat craze to me. They’re basically all carbs and starch, but they’re super light and airy; 1 whole rice cake weighs just 9 g and contains only 35 calories and 7 g of carbs. They can be a great way to get some more carbs into your diet without going overboard like most snacks. I’ll be honest and say have some Lightly Salted Rice Cakes in my cabinet right now.

 They’re super customizable; think anyway you’d enjoy toast, you can do as a rice cake. Rice cakes are a great base, and you can easily top with some healthy fats (nuts or avocado), protein (yogurt or cottage cheese), or fruit (berries, bananas, apples, etc.). Some sweet examples are:
 - Natural Nut Butter with sliced banana
 - Homemade jam (either Low Sugar Berry Jam or Strawberry Chia Jam) and nuts
 - Cottage Cheese Peanut Butter with blueberries
 - Roasted Hazelnut Nutella (SF) with sliced apples
 - Strawberry Mint Protein Pistachio Butter with sliced strawberries
 - Chocolate Banana Protein Peanut Butter with sugar free chocolate chips
 - Cranberry Protein Almond Butter with raspberries
 - Banana Bread Hummus Spread with toasted oats
 - No Sugar Added Apple Spread with pumpkin seeds


 You can make them savory too; sometimes I mix some plain nonfat greek yogurt or Holy Guacamole with some spices, and top with sliced tomatoes, cucumber, or any other fresh produce in my fridge at the time. Or you can just simply spread on some hummus. Here are my homemade hummus recipes:
 - Classic Tahini Hummus
 - Creamy Pesto Hummus
 - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
 - Cheesy Garlic Hummus
 - Golden Sweet Potato Hummus
 - Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Hummus
 - Creamy Roasted Beet Hummus
 - Ginger Lime Black Bean Hummus
 - Lemony Taco Inspired Hummus


 As with most things, make sure to get the plain variety. The lightly salted ones contain nothing but brown rice and salt, 2 healthy ingredients. The problem comes with the flavored rice cakes, like Caramel, Chocolate, or White Cheddar. Calories can double, sugar is added, and the ingredients list expands.


White Rice
 White rice is fairly processed, removing the hull and bran and leaving just the starch. It’s basically the white flour equivalent for rice. With just the starch, white rice is lacking the fiber, vitamins, and minerals of brown rice, which is why it’s often enriched with micronutrients (the same is done with white bread). More starch and less fiber leads to greater insulin spikes, increasing your risk for diabeter and metabilic syndrome. Now I’m not saying that white rice is the most unhealthy thing in the world, far from it; I’m just simply saying there are better options. Instead of white rice, try instead using brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, couscous, or even riced cauliflower or broccoli.

 I like have rice on the side with my meals, like with my Classic Rice and Beans or Simple Cauliflower Rice. Rice also works great mixed into dishes, such as Baked Rice and Beans with Vegetables or Lebanese Riced Cauliflower Casserole.



Flour
 If you’ve noticed, all of my recipes stay away from white flour, also known as all purpose flour. Instead, I opt for whole wheat flour in recipes with gluten, and probably either oat flour or coconut flour in gluten free dishes. So why not all purpose flour? Below is a diagram showing the anatomy of a grain of wheat. Grinding togther the whole kernel (the bran, germ, and endosperm) will yield whole wheat flour, which is rich in nutrients like fiber, protein, calcium, iron, potassium, and some B vitamins (B1, B3, and B5). It also contains a small amount of fat, which in combination with the high fiber content of whole wheat flour leads to much lower spikes in blood sugar. Whole wheat flour can be used just like regular all purpose flour in baking, and leaves you with a great nutty flavor that adds a lot of depth to your baking.


 But if you grind down just the endosperm, you end up with white flour. White flour is white due to both the white endosperm center and bleaching. All the nutrients are in the other parts (the bran and the germ), leaving just the starchy center with nothing but empty calories and a massive spike in your blood sugar. There’s a reason why most commercial white flours and white breads are “fortified” or “enriched”. White flour is entirely stripped of its nutrients, so manufacturers have to “add” them back in. Not only is white flour much more processed and refined than whole wheat, being devoid of any flavor, but its minerals aren’t as bioavable as compared to the ones naturally occuring in whole wheat flour. Whenever feasible, it is best to avoid using and consuming products with refined white flour, and instead opt for more whole grain options.


Bread
 As discussed, white flour is generally a poor nutrition choice; it would then follow that white bread would also not be your healthiest option. Though whole wheat bread isn’t that much better of an option if we’re still talking about commercially processed bread products. Most store bought loaves of bread are high in our old friend, added sugar (a lot of whole wheat breads actually contain more sugar than their white bread counterparts), as well as vegetable oils and preservatives. Look at that giant list of ingredients below! There’s a reason why grocery store bread can last for weeks without going bad, whereas real bread from a bakery goes stale in just a day or two (tip: store extra fresh baked bread in the freezer, it’ll last forever in there). Traditionally, bread is just flour, water, yeast, and salt; one of man’s oldest and simplest creations.


 Bread is a soft spot for me; baking bread is what first got me into cooking during COVID (no I’ve never made sourdough; apparently I missed that memo). The process of creating a loaf of whole wheat bread from scratch is my favorite thing to do in the kitchen, leading me to enjoy the delicious resulting loaf more than the cake like loaves bread you typically see on store shelves. There’s a reason my most Europeans describe American bread as being way too sweet, and why Ireland declared Subway “bread” to instead be cake due to its high sugar content. White bread is essentially entirely made up of glucose, leading to the largest blood sugar spike of any food you could consume. Even whole wheat bread is a high GI food, but it is significantly lower than white bread. Below is a chart of different foods and their respective GI values.


 If you’d like to get into breadmaking, I have plenty of whole wheat flour recipes. I’ve linked some of them below.
 - 100% Whole Wheat Bread
 - Oat-Wheat Tortillas
 - Home Oven Baked Pizza
 - Whole Wheat Hot Pretzels
 - Whole Wheat Pita Bread
 - Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Loaf
 - Whole Wheat and Oat Flour Irish Soda Bread
 - No Yeast Whole Wheat Burger Buns

 For anyone with Celiac disease, I also have a few gluten free bread recipes for you to enjoy. I’ve used flour alternatives such as coconut flour and oat flour, but I’ve come across other GF bread recipes with almond flour, ground flaxseed, psyllium husks, or millet flour.
 - High Protein Flatbread Wrap
 - Gluten Free Oat Wraps
 - Gluten and Grain Free Coconut Bread
 - Low Carb Cloud Bread
 - Gluten Free Savory Pretzels
 - Cheesy Protein Cornbread


Muffins
 Muffins are unfrosted cupcakes that somehow get a pass as a breakfast food. These Blueberry Muffins have 350 calories per muffin with 21 g of added sugar and 17 g of fat. They’re filled with a ton of ingredients, and contain almost as much sugar as flour. I used to make muffins decently often (banana chocolate chip specifically). Just take a look: 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 3/4 cup of sugar, as well as 1.5 cups of white flour, for just a dozen muffins. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. Most “breakfast” options are just a meal of dessert. Which is fine in moderation if you know what you’re getting yourself into. A muffin can be a fine dessert on occasion, but is a terrible start to your day. Sorry, but a Triple Chocolate Muffin is just a brownie.


 As for healthier homemade versions, you should check out my Sweet Potato Banana Muffins, Oatmeal Banana Mini Muffins, or my Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins.


Banana Bread
 So take muffins, mash some bananas into it, and bake it in a loaf pan. What you end up with is banana bread. A delicious cake, no doubt, but not a breakfast, bread, or a healthy snack. Just because it has bananas or nuts doesn’t make it healthy; it’s still a dessert. At least this one below is honest and refers to itself as a cake.


 As for healthier homemade versions, you should check out my Protein Banana Nut Bread or my Double Chocolate Banana Bread.


Pancakes and Waffles
 Last on the chopping block for breakfast foods are pancakes and waffles. Take your banana bread recipe, and cook it instead on a frying pan for pancakes or a waffle maker for waffles. Just the same dessert in a different shape again, being filled with sugar and refined flour, leading to massive spikes and crashes in your blood sugar, energy, and mood.

<


 I’ll be honest, I absolutely loved waffles growing up. I’d make myself chocolate chip banana waffles once a week in high school by following a boxed mix, mashed in a banana, and fold in chocolate chips. They’re delicious, but again not something to start your day off with. Instead, consider a pancake (or waffle) recipe made of protein and whole grains, like my Pumpkin Protein Pancakes or Banana Protein Pancakes.


Dark Chocolate
 Dark chocolate is one of those foods that people think is healthy, but they’re probably eating the wrong variety. Just being labeled as “dark” chocolate doesn’t automatically make it good for you; a lot of it is just well marketed candy. Let’s start with the benefits though. True dark chocolate is rich in fiber, iron, mangesium, copper, and manganese. Cocoa is also a great source of antioxidants, which decrease your body’s free radicals and lower inflamation, due to its high concentration fo flavanols.

 Dark chocolate is also a good source of healthy fats, though this can make it quite calorically dense. True dark chocolate is a healthy snack, but, just like nuts, should be measured and enjoyed in moderation due to its high calorie content.

 Here are a few examples of some chocolates that are wrongly considered healthy. This Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel bar has sugar as the first ingredient. This isn’t a healthy snack; rather it’s a candy. Let’s look at another; the “special” part about Hershey’s Special Dark is that it’s not even dark chocolate, containing only 45% cocoa solids. Finally, to put things into perspective, these 60% chocolate chips contain just 1 g less of sugar than milk chocolate chips. These numbers don’t look that bad, but remember that 1 serving (1 tbsp, 15 g) of chocolate chips is a tiny amount, about a small handful. No one is eating just that.


 Certainly be wary of anything claiming to be “dark” chocolate without even listing a cocoa percentage, as it’s probably just barely higher than most milk chocolates. I’d say at minimum, you should opt for anything over 70% to be considered healthy. Higher cocoa percentages mean lower sugar content, going all the way up to 100% for the most bitter and strong flavor. Personally, if I’m eating a piece of chocolate, I like 90% or higher; sometimes I enjoy a 100% bar of chocolate; unsweetened and delicious (just work your way up to it; it can be quite bitter if you’re used to typical candy).

 A bar of chocolate is typically made of of 3 parts. Firstly, the cocoa powder itself, which gives it bitter chocolate flavor. Second, is some sort of saturated fat (typically cocoa butter), which mixes with the cocoa powder and allows it to stay solid at room temperture. Stop here, and you have unsweetened chocolate; otherwise, add sugar (the third part) to make it sweeter.

 Instead of paying $3.37 for 100% Chocolate, I can make it myself for just $0.94. I prefer to make my own Sugar Free Chocolate Bar by mixing together equal parts (by weight) of cocoa powder and coconut oil. Sweetener is optional; sometimes I like a little honey or maple syrup to make it more like 85-90% chocolate, or sometimes I leave it at 100%. If you want it sweeter without and sugar, you should try using carob powder (though it is more expensive), which tastes just like chocolate, but is midly sweet. I used it for a bar of Chocolate Free Chocolate by combining just coconut oil and carob powder for a taste very similar to an 85% bar.


Unrefined Sugars
 Very often, I see recipes that are “sugar free”, meaning they replace any white or brown sugar with some other natural, less refined sweetener. While it is true that these may offer some very minimal health benefits, at the end of the day they are still just concentrated sugar that needs to be moderated.


 To start though, what even is sugar? I’ve mentioned it a lot here, but what exactly is it? Here’s the really rough chemistry lesson: White sugar, or sucrose, is a chemical bond of 50% glucose (your body’s main energy source) and 50% fructose (what’s actually sweet, typically found in fruit). It is typically made from dehydrated sugar cane or beets. Brown sugar is simply just white sugar plus molasses. High intakes of sugar, particilarly fructose, can lead to diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, and much much more.


 High fructose corn syrup on the other hand comes from corn (duh), and is about 45% glucose to 55% fructose. The main difference is that the glucose and fructose are not bonded together; instead they are free molecules. This means that the fructose does even more damage to your body than standard sugar. You can’t even commercially buy high fructose corn syrup; I think that’s telling of how bad it is for you.


 So what are the “unrefined” sugars then? Let’s start with the granulated ones first: coconut sugar and date sugar. These are essentially the exact same thing as regular granulated sugar. Instead of dehydrating a sugar cane or beet and making it into a pure sugar, it’s instead done with dates or coconut. Okay in moderation like all added sugar, but really just the same product from a different fruit. And no, organic cane sugar is not any better for you. You’re just spending more money for the same product.

 Next up are the liquid sweeteners. My mind goes to honey, maple syrup, agave, date syrup, and molasses. With the exception of molasses, all these liquid sweeteners are more fructose than glucose, wtih agave being the worst offender at 85% fructose. In equal quantities, agave might actually be worse for you than high fructose corn syrup. Molasses is mostly glucose, which is why it’s not that sweet, despite being entirely sugar.


 I often like to say that sugar has a taste (sweetness is one of the main 5 tastes), but it doesn’t have a flavor. Refined sugar is so, well, refined, that it is devoid of any flavor, only concentrated sweetness. These “unrefined” sugars on the other hand have a distinct flavor. The benefit of using honey or maple syrup in a recipe (which I definitely do from time to time) is that you can rely on the flavors of the sweetener, and use substantially less.

 The dose totally makes the poison; using 2 tbsp (42 g) of honey or maple syrup in a midly sweetened dessert is much better for you than 1 cup (200 g) of granulated sugar in your cookies. But if a recipe uses more than 1/4 cup of sweetener, you should be probably rethinking it’s claim of being “healthy”. I’m looking at you, healthy cookie recipes with 3/4 cup of honey or 1 cup of coconut sugar



Sugar Substitutes
 Sugar substitutes are typically low calorie sweeteners that does not contain any sugar, but are instead sweetened through something else. The first category is artificial sweeteners, where the main ones are sucralose (Splenda), Saccharin (Sweet’N Low), and aspartame (Equal). These can be up to 600 times sweeter than sugar. Additionally, we have the sugar alcohols: erythritol, sorbitol, maltitol, and xylitol. The other category is the “natural” sugar substitutes, like stevia, monk fruit, and allulose.


 While this is a topic for much debate, it’s generally agreeded upon that the artificial sweeteners (typically found in sugar free products like soda, jelly, or BBQ sauce) are less bad than sugar, but still not good for you. New studies are emerging suggesting that long term consumption of artificial sweeteners can lead to leaky gut, so always read the ingredients label. 1 packet in your coffee every morning can easily add up over time.

 Sugar alcohols like erythritol naturally occur in fruits in trace amounts. They are carbohydrates like sugar, but they are not digested in your small intestine. Instead you pee them out. Where sugar contains 4 calories per gram, erythritol only has about 0.2 calories per gram. That’s only 5% of the calories while being about 70% as sweet as regular sugar. Sugar alcohols are essentially just sweet fiber.


 So what’s the problem then? For a lot of people, consuming sugar alcohols can lead to gastrointestinal issues like upset stomach, bloating, gas, and nausea. Some of them are still prone to spiking your blood sugar, with maltitol being the worst with a GI of 35 (for reference, sucrose has a GI of 65). Maltitol also contains the most calories of any sugar alcohol, at 1.6 calories per gram, or 40% of the calories of sucrose.

 Finally, we have the natural sweeteners. Both stevia and monk fruit are sweet extracts from plants. Think vanilla extract from a vanilla bean pod. Instead of giving a vanilla flavor, stevia leaves and monk fruit have sweet tastes. They’re about 200 times sweetener than table sugar.

 Allulose on the other hand isn’t a sugar alcohol, but it has properties more closely aligned with it. It occurs naturally in some fruits, and anything not absorbed exits your body in your urine. Like erythritol, allulose contains about 0.2 calories per gram, and is about 70% the sweetness of table sugar


 Overall, I don’t have too much bad to say about the low calorie sweeteners. But I want to point them out for 3 main reasons. Firstly, most of these, like stevia, monk fruit, and all the artificial sweeteners, are many hundred times sweeter than table sugar. As such, any granulated forms of these contain very small amounts of the actual sweetener. Instead, the majority of the packet is either maltodextrin or dextrose, a flavorless sugar that’s added to bulk up the product, making it measure more similarly to sugar. Yes you heard that right; your sugar free sweeteners have sugar in them. Talk about irony. Instead try to get a liquid version of these sweeteners. I prefer to use liquid stevia or liquid monk fruit with essentially just water and the natural sweetener.


 Another main point against sugar substitutes are that all of these are relatively new products. As such, there has not been long term research on many of these sweeteners. Better to be safe then sorry, and only consume these in moderation. They’re not a cheat code just because they have no calories.

 Finally, remember that these sweeteners are, well, sweet. As such, it’s much harder to break a sugar addition if you simply just replace all sugar with low calorie alternatives. Instead, adjust your taste buds to be used to less sweet options. Lean towards fruit being your main sweeteners, and use natural sweeteners or unrefined sugars in small amounts if you need. You’re taste buds and body will thank you.


Low Fat Options
 Ah low fat. The glorious health craze of the 90s, where the food pyramid was in and eggs where the worst thing for your health. In hindsight, this one didn’t work out very well. This era caused the spawn of low fat products, from yogurt to peanut butter. To preface, fat is essentially and definitely healthy, but is also very calorie dense and very easy to overconsume. That being said, both full fat and non fat options have their place when done correctly.

 For example, let’s look at dairy. When you remove all the fat from yogurt or milk, it doesn’t taste as good. As such, the food industry pumped it full of sugar instead to make up for the lack of taste. This is a very common story across the grocery store; replace potentially healthy fats with cheap inflamatory and addicting sugars. I will say that I personally buy skim milk and plain nonfat greek yogurt, both of which are dairy products with little to no fat. The main part however is the “plain”. This means unflavored, and thus unsweetened. Definitely stay away from any flavored milks or dairy products, like vanilla yogurt, strawberry yogurt, or chocolate milk. All low fat, all pumped full of sugar.


 Let’s look at another; here we have reduced fat peanut spread. To be classified as peanut butter, a product needs to contain at least 90% peanuts; this only contains 60% nuts. This spread contains 4 less grams of fat, and instead has 4 g of added sugar, as well as corn syrup, sugar, hydroginated oils, and a laundry list of additives you can’t pronounce. Stick to the natty stuff: just nuts and salt. It’s cheaper, tastes, better, and much better for you. Win, win, win.

 Let’s quickly rapid fire some low fat or fat free foods you should avoid. All of these are filled with some combination of hidden sugars, hydroginated oils, ingredients you can’t pronounce, artificial colors, or artificial flavorings:


Seed Oils
 I’m going to keep this brief, as it’s a very contested topic. Some people are adamant that seed oils are the worst thing ever, and some say they’re perfectly healthy. I probably land somewhere in the middle. Let’s start by going over what seed oils are. Also known as vegetable oils, they are oils made of mainly mono and poly-unsaturated fats from plant based sources. The term refers to the following oils: canola, sunflower, grapeseed, cottonseed, corn, soybean, safflower, rice bran, and peanut.


 Much of the long term science is unclear, as these oils are fairly new, but here’s what is known. Seed oils have a higher Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio than more natural oils (such as extra virgin olive oil and unrefined coconut oil). Omega-6 fatty acids are still essential, but the standard American diet contains far too many Omega-6 fats, largely from these oils. These types of fats are pro-inflammatory, and are present in most ultra-processed food products on the market. Moreover, vegetable oils are often marketed as being “heart healthy”.

 These oils are highly processed, being devoid of any flavor or smell, leading to their main use as a “neutral” oil. Again, while these oils are a highly debated topic, it would seem intuitive that oils used for thousands of years from fatty sources like olives or coconut with minimal processing are probably healthier for you than these plant oils from products that aren’t even fatty (does anyone describe corn, rice, or grapes as being high in fat?). That’s just my two cents on the issue.


 In general, definitely avoid deep frying (which creates trans fats), as that’s when these oils are at the most dangerous. It’s best to cook with less processed fats like extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, or unrefined coconut oil instead of highly processed vegetable oils. But a little bit here and there is probably okay; just try to limit your intake whenever possible. Cutting back your intake of ultra-processed foods would probably decrease the vast majority of vegetable oil in your diet anyway.


Margarine and Low Fat Butter
 Margarine is a butter substitute typically made from vegetable oils. Popular brands include Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. They’re heavily processed, contain unnecessary additives, and even used to have trans fats until they were banned. Margarine is essentially hydroginated seed oils, turning them from a liquid to a solid. I’m not calling butter a health food, but I’d certainly opt for that over the fake butter substitutes.


 Despite trans fats being banned in the US, most brands still contain trace amounts, as it can legally be rounded down to 0g if they contain less than 0.5g of trans fats. Trans fats in any amount are extremenly harmful to your health, raising LDL, lowering HDL, and lead to increased risk of heart attack or stroke. The process of partially hydroginating unsaturated fats is how trans fats are created (how margarine used to be made). Now, it uses fully hydroginated oils, which are instead saturated fats instead of trans fats. Research on fully hydroginated fats is minimal, as trans fats were only banned in 2018, but it’s assumed that these fats are less bad, but not good. Always opt for whole food fat sources whenever possible instead, like nuts, avocado, fatty fish, and EVOO.


Salad Dressing
 Salad is often thought of as a healthy food, but the dressing can make or break this. Most bottled salad dressings contain high amounts of vegetable oils, sugars, and sodium, and are very highly processed. The creamy dressings, like Ranch and Caesar are very calorically dense, containing mainly soybean oil, sugar, gums, and preservatives. On the other hand, the more oil based dressings like Italian and Vinaigrette have higher amounts of sugars to make up for less overall fat, in addition to artificial colorings.


 Try to stay away from these preprepared bottles, as homemade is typically healthier and tastes better. Most of the time, I just add some hot sauce and mustard to my salad to act as my vinegar, as well as some avocado, nuts, or cheese to give some healthy fats. Don’t be afraid to put things that aren’t traditionally “dressing” onto a salad. Great examples of homemade dressings include:

 I also have more standard dressing recipes in the following meals. Use them for these dishes, or use them on a regular salad as well:



Condiments
 Condiments are types of sauces that can typically go on a sandwich, salad or toast, or be used in cooking. Here are some of the most common condiments that I can think of:

 Some of these storebought ones can easily fit into a healthy diet, being fairly minimally processed and containing a small list of nutrient dense ingredients. These would include hummus, guac, salsa, hot sauce, mustard, and soy sauce. The only things to really look out for in these is the amount of seed oils in storebought hummus, or if the mustard or hot sauce have any added sugar. Soy sauce is very salty, so it’s better to opt for low sodium whenever possible. Most of these can be made fairly easily at home too, which often tastes better and are better for you. I have some homemade condiment recipes that won’t dissapoint:

 The other ones don’t get off so easily though. The worst offenders on this list are BBQ sauce, ketchup, and relish, which are essentially just flavored sugar bombs. These come in the form of high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, molasses, and juice concentrate. A 2 tbsp (36 g) serving of BBQ sauce contains a whopping 16 g of added sugar, which equates to 4 tsp of sugar. And that’s a fairly small amount of BBQ sauce; it’s very easily to double or triple that amount. I prefer to make my own Unsweetened BBQ Sauce instead.


 On the other end of the spectrum is mayo. Mayonnaise is simply oil emulsified with egg yolks, leading it to be essentially pure fat. It’s very calorie dense, and typically store bought versions use soybean oil. It can be healthier at home with extra virgin olive oil, but it will still be very high in calories, which is something to keep in mind.


Creamy Dips
 Most creamy dips are either mayo, sour cream, or cream cheese with slew of additional ingredients. These are all very calorie dense, being very high in saturated fat. These are typically not good for your health, increasing your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and weight gain. Store bought versions include Spinach Artichoke Dip, French Onion Dip, Thousand Island, Ranch, and Caesar. Plus, they’re typically paired with chips, which can easily lead to too much consumption of Omega-6 fats, as both the deep fried chips and these dressings are high in inflammatory seed oils. Most of these can be made at home fairly easily by just swapping the mayo for plain Greek yogurt; check out some examples below:



Sauces
 A lot of commercial pasta sauces are either full of hidden sugars or loaded with oils. Examples include marinara, pesto or alfredo. The below image shows just how much sugar there is in each serving of sauce. Note that tomatoes are sweet on their own, and these glasses include the natural sugars of the tomatoes as well. But it’s apparent how much can be added without you even noticing. Marinara sauce is probably not the main source of added sugar in your diet, but it’s something to be aware of. These jarred sauces also tend to also be highly processed and sodium dense.


 Below are some of my homemade sauces. All are sugar and sweetener free, low in added fats, delicious, easy, and healthy:


Frozen and Canned Meals
 Frozen and canned meals are great for convienence, but that they can very high in sodium, fat, added sugar, calories, and artificial preservatives. I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse; instead, I’ll just leave some links to examples:


Processed Meats
 Processed meats can be a great convienence food. They’re typically used on a sandwich, but can also work well in eggs, pizza toppings, salad, or even more. Examples include pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, and lunch meats (ham, turkey, chicken, and roast beef), as well as other cured meats like bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and ham.

 Unfortunately, these meats tend to be very heavily processed and have high amounts of sodium and saturated fat. Sodium can be up to 400% higher in cold cuts as compared to standard cuts of meat, as well as containing more fat than protein in many cases. Plus, cold cuts are often paired with cheese and bread, which can also be quite sodium dense. Additionally, the curing processes involving nitrates and nitrites to preserve the meats have been linked to colorectal cancer, as well as heart disease and high blood pressure.


 Try grilling, roasting, or shredding your own chicken, or sautee some ground beef or turkey to use instead. Here’s some ideas to get you started:


Fake Meat
 If you’re vegan, it can be hard to find a meat substitute, both for getting enough protein and for the feeling of being able to replicate meat. However, you don’t want to be a junk food vegan. This means avoiding fake meat replacement products like Impossible Meat, Beyond Burger, Bac’n Pieces, and Chick’n Filets. All are worse for you than regular meat, being ultra-processed and so far removed from what they started as.


 Either eat real meat, or prioritize whole food or minimally processed plant based protein sources, like soy (tofu, tempeh, and edamame), seitan, beans, lentils, and hemp hearts. I actually have a recipe for Ground ‘Meat’ Seitan that you can check out, and use in place of ground beef in tacos, skillets, or chili.


Baked Beans
 Beans are a healthy side dish. They’re a good plant based protein, contain a lot of fiber, and can even make you a musician. Baked beans on the other hand, not so much. Canned baked beans are just navy beans covered in a ton of sugar, often containing as many grams of total sugar as protein and fiber combined. With 11 g (nearly a tablespoon) of added sugar per 1/2 cup (130 g) serving, this is really a dessert in disguise on your dinner plate. I prefer my version instead: No Added Sugar Baked Beans. Not to mention that it’s often paired with…



Cornbread
 …cornbread. Cornbread is another dessert that somehow weaseled it’s way onto your dinner plate. Just like muffins, banana bread, and baked beans, cornbread is secretly a dessert with good marketing. The one linked above (and shown below) has sugar as it’s first ingredient, closely followed by bleached white flour and seed oil (wait, where’s the cornmeal?). There’s more added sugar, fat, and calories in 1 slice of this cornbread as one of these large chocolate chip cookies!


 Cornbread or corn muffins can be a fine dessert in moderation, but know what you’re getting when you reach for a slice. If you’re anything like me (if you’re this deep down then congrats, you probably are lol), you should enjoy my Cheesy Protein Cornbread, which is much higher in protein, lower in fat and carbs, and free of any added sugars or artificial sweeteners.


Potatoes
 Finally, at long last, we’ve reached the end. I bet you’re asking: why are potatoes, a nutritious whole food, on this list? It’s true that potatoes are a great starchy vegetable, where 1 medium baked potato with the skin (173 g) contains:

  • Calories: 161
  • Fat: 0.2 g
  • Protein: 4.3 g
  • Carbs: 36.6 g
  • Fiber: 3.8 g
  • Vitamin C: 28% of DV (daily value)
  • Vitamin B6: 27% of DV
  • Potassium: 26% of DV
  • Manganese: 19% of DV
  • Magnesium: 12% of DV
  • Phosphorus: 12% of DV
  • Vitamin B3: 12% of DV
  • Vitamin B9: 12% of DV

 Sweet potatoes are even healthier (and taste better imo), where 1 cup (200 g) of baked sweet potato with skins contains:

  • Calories: 180
  • Fat: 0.3 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Carbs: 41 g
  • Fiber: 6.6 g
  • Vitamin A: 213% of DV
  • Vitamin C: 44% of DV
  • Manganese: 42% of DV
  • Copper: 36% of DV
  • Vitamin B5: 35% of DV
  • Vitamin B6: 34% of DV
  • Potassium: 20% of DV
  • Vitamin B5: 19% of DV


 Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are highly nutritious foods. Sweet potatoes are my preferred carb side to a meal as opposed to pasta, rice, or bread, such as in the following recipes:


 Potatoes are on this list because of what’s been done to them, not because what they are. While a baked potato or simply sauteed or roasted cubes are certainly healthy, potatoes are more often than not turned into junk food:

  • French fries
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Hashbrowns
  • Tater tots
  • Home fries
  • Twice baked potatoes
  • Scalloped potatoes
  • Loaded potato skins
  • Potato salad
  • Potato chips
  • Potato rolls
  • Gnocchi


 Most of these foods contain extremely high amounts of oil, butter, cheese, or mayo, or they are deep fried (or both). No one thinks that potato chips or French fries are healthy just because they come from potatoes. While all of these dishes can me made in ways that won’t clog your arteries, it’s best to be mindful about what you’re eating, as the calories for all of these can very quickly add up.


Sources

  1. 10 ‘Healthy’ Foods That Are Worse Than You Think
  2. Yogurt to salad dressing: Top 10 trap foods and how to avoid them
  3. What foods are commonly mistaken as healthy?
  4. 68 ‘Healthy’ Foods That Are Terrible for You
  5. Fake Healthy Foods: 6 Foods We Think are Healthy
  6. 9 Health Benefits of Eating Oats and Oatmeal
  7. 8 Health Benefits of Nuts
  8. Added Sugars
  9. The truth about juice
  10. What does caffeine do to your body?
  11. Every Starbucks Coffee Drink - Ranked by Sugar Content
  12. 5 Ways That Drinking Milk Can Improve Your Health
  13. Does microwave popcorn cause cancer?
  14. Here are 17 Snacks You Never Knew Were Vegan
  15. Is White Rice Healthy or Bad for You?
  16. 5 of the Healthiest Florus for Every Purpose
  17. Whole Wheat vs. White Flour
  18. Irish Supreme Court Rules That Subway Bread Has Too Much Sugar to Count as Actual Bread
  19. 7 Proven Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
  20. Dark chocolate health benefits? The good and the bad to this sweet treat
  21. What are flavanols?
  22. 8 ‘Healthy’ Sugars and Sweeteners That May Be Harmful
  23. Habitual Fructose Intake Relates to Insulin Sensitivity and Fatty Liver Index in Recent-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Patients and Individuals without Diabetes
  24. Coconut Sugar: A Healthy Sugar Alternative or a Big, Fat Lie?
  25. 6 Reasons Why High-Fructose Corn Syrup Is Bad for You
  26. Low Dose of Sucralose Alter Gut Microbiome in Mice
  27. What Are Sugar Alcohols, and Are They a Healthy Sugar Swap?
  28. Everything You Need to Know About Stevia
  29. Monk Fruit Sweeteners: Good or Bad?
  30. Is Allulose a Healthy Sweetener?
  31. Sucralose (Splenda): Good or Bad?
  32. 12 Low-Fat Snacks That Are Actually Unhealthy
  33. 10 ‘Low Fat’ Foods That Are Low In Nutrients
  34. Seed Oils: Are They Actually Toxic?
  35. Are Vegetable and Seed Oils Bad for Your Health?
  36. Margarine or Butter: The Heart-Healthiest Spreads
  37. Trans fat is double trouble for heart health
  38. Are Cold Cuts Healthy? Here’s What a Dietitian Has to Say
  39. Processed meat and cancer: What you need to know
  40. Sodium Levels of Processed Meat in Australia: Supermarket Survey Data from 2010 to 2017
  41. The 18 Best Protein Sources for Vegans and Vegetarians
  42. 7 Health and Nutrition Benefits of Potatoes
  43. 6 Surprising Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes