YOU THINK THAT'S HEALTHY? - Ten Foods to Avoid

GUT HEALTH | HORMONE HEALTH | MENOPAUSE DIET

There is nothing worse than thinking you are eating healthy when you’re really not. That’s hard work wasted, especially as we age and seem to gain belly fat just by looking at chips and chocolate.

Most people need to revamp their eating habits when they try to cut calories and get in shape and the quest for “healthy choices” becomes nearly all-consuming. The advertising and food myths out there make it easy to choose foods that have a reputation for being healthy but really aren’t.

You're smart, so you already know that drinking your average store-bought fruit juices with all the processed crap in them isn't healthy. But what about other so-called "healthy" foods?

Here are Ten Food to Avoid and Why:

1) Sushi

Fish, rice, and seaweed sounds healthy, light, and low calorie. And in fact, sushi from exceptional Japanese restaurants is just that. It’s also brutally expensive. What most of us consume is grocery store or “to go” quality sushi that ends up being high in carbs, low in protein, and free of vegetables. All that non-nutrition will leave you hungry and craving more sugar.

Think about it. Sushi rice is short-grain white rice dressed with sugar and rice vinegar, high in carbs and high in sugar. Most “rolls” are 60-75% rice which is equivalent to two slices of bread. And the amount of fish in a roll is pretty slim. If you are trying for a deck of cards sized serving you’ll need to swallow a whole lot of sushi rolls.

To up the quality of your sushi supper, consider requesting brown rice. Avoid too much soy sauce to keep the sodium down. And be wary of California Rolls that contains imitation crab which is a processed food.

2) Trail Mix

A handful of trail mix seems like the ultimate power snack but there are nearly 700 calories lurking in a cup so tread softly. It’s lightweight, tasty, and portable but if weight loss is your goal, trail mix should not be your go to snack.

These days packaged varieties are oiled up to keep them from sticking and packed with delicious diet pitfalls like chocolate and fried banana chips.

If you are a trail mix fan and you can limit yourself to a single serving, consider making your own using raw, low, or no salt almonds, walnuts, or peanuts and sugar-free naturally dried raisins, apricots and cranberries. You can even add pumpkin or sunflower seeds and dried coconut. Always keep in mind that trail mix is calorie dense so when you eat it, keep your servings snack-sized!

3) Spinach Wraps, Pasta, etc.

Just because it’s green doesn’t mean it’s healthy. The allure of green pasta and wraps is undeniable. I can eat a ton of these right? I mean they’re made of spinach! But the truth is that pasta and wraps are still noodles and flour tortillas, high in carbs and not necessarily high in nutrition.

Most spinach wraps and pasta are made from white flour and the green colour comes mostly from artificial food colouring. Spinach is usually way down on the ingredient list. These foods prey on our belief that green=vegetables so green is good. Fact is, green is a colour. It’s what’s in your green that counts!

4) Veggie Patties

How many times have you been proud of yourself for subbing a veggie patty for a beef burger?

Consider this, most veggie burgers are highly processed food products made mostly of cheap soy. They’re usually packed with salt too. Check the package for chemicals, additives, GMOs, and unhealthy oils.

In most cases a big fat Portobello mushroom bun for a homemade grass-fed beef burger OR a homemade veggie burger made of whole grains, sweet potato and beans is a much better substitute for the premade, packaged veggie pattie.

5) Couscous

This quick cooking carb from exotic lands can lure you into thinking it’s healthy but the truth is that couscous is really a tiny pasta with nearly zero nutritional value. Made popular in vegetarian and foodie circles, it’s just refined wheat. Sadly, you might as well be eating white pasta.

It is possible to find whole wheat couscous but your better option is to choose quinoa, bulgur, millet, or cracked wheat when you want a fine textured grain to include in your meal.

6) Commercial Granola

The word “granola” conjures images of healthy outdoorsy folks eating breakfast cereal on a mountain. What a bummer that granola is one of the least healthy ways you can start your day! It tends to be low in fiber and protein and high in fat and sugar, which is pretty much the opposite of a healthy breakfast.

One cup of granola usually weighs in at more than 600 calories which is about a third of an average woman’s daily total. Think of it like eating a bowl of oatmeal cookies. If you love it and can’t give it up, try making granola at home using whole oats, unsweetened dried fruit, mixed nuts and cinnamon, baked with olive oil. Then use your granola sparingly as a garnish for fruit or full-fat plain yogurt.

7) Commercial Salad Dressing

What’s better for you than a salad? One that doesn’t contain store-bought salad dressing.

That huge bowl of healthy green stuff can be totally destroyed by a salad dressing packed with unhealthy fats, sugars, salts, artificial flavourings, colors and preservatives. Processed-food companies create a cocktail of flavours meant to entice you into pouring on the dressing and suddenly that crisp, fresh salad in front of you is a diet bomb.

The best way around the salad dressing dilemma is to buy organic or make your own. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and spices to create a homemade dressing. Pair a healthy fat with an acid and plenty of spices and voila! You have a wholesome salad dressing that, used sparingly, won’t add too many calories or chemicals to your meal.

8) Sports Drinks

Most people think sports drinks are healthy sources of electrolytes and hydration for active people. Fact is that most sports and energy drinks contain nearly as much sugar as soda, artificial colours and flavours, a whole lot of processed salt, and caffeine, none of which will help you get healthier.

So stop kidding yourself and ditch the blue beverages. Go natural. Coconut water is a much better natural source of electrolytes and water is a better hydrator than any processed sports drink.

9) Flavoured Yogurt

Yogurt is marketed as the ultimate health food but if you are eating fruit-flavoured yogurt cups, you’re likely to be eating plenty of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame and a host of other sweeteners but not much fruit.

Usually, any fruit in your yogurt comes from high-calorie, high-sugar fruit extracts or purees. In fact, in an 8oz cup of fruit flavoured yogurt, you can be looking at 47 grams—that’s twelve teaspoons—of sugar. You might as well be eating dessert.

Conventional dairy is considered an inflammatory food for some of us, so you might want to consider alternatives. If you just have to have your Greek yogurt in the morning, try eating it plain with fresh fruit, chopped nuts and seeds, and a drizzle of honey for a healthier alternative.

10) Fat-Free Anything

When you’re trying to lose weight, the words ‘fat-free’ are like a siren song. Just remember that when a food manufacturer cuts fat, they have to replace it with something and that something is almost never good for you.

Fat gives food flavour. When you take it out you have to make up for that with more sugar, more salt, and more chemicals. Your body needs healthy fats. It recognizes them and knows just what to do with them. But those food additives used to replace fats are completely foreign and do your body more harm than good, confusing your hormones and making it harder to lose weight.

My advice for sustained weight loss always begins with, “Eat real food.”

The best way to make sure that the food you’re eating is really healthy and not just healthy by reputation is to keep it fresh, simple, and clean. Don’t rely on packaged foods. Look for hidden sugars. Don’t fall for package ‘marketing’. Check your portions.

And remember that you have more control and better quality when you make it yourself!

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Join me on March 28th at Noon ET for the first of 5 mini trainings in the FREE 5-Day Low-to-No Sugar Challenge "Shake the Sugar Habit". Learn how to tackle some of the biggest challenges that might be stopping you from moving forward - like how to remove sugar without feeling deprived or what steps to take to get started. Simply join my Facebook group Busy Broads Re-Energize & Thrive for the daily Live Zoom links. To grab the companion WORKBOOK - email me at NutriHelpers.info@gmail.com and I'll send it out right away.

All trainings will be recorded, so if you miss one you can easily catch up. Spring is such a great time of year to embrace growth, potential, and change. Challenge yourself this Spring!

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About Me:

I'm Margaret of NutriHelpers, the Busy Broads Health Coach and Registered Holistic Nutritionist. I am committed to helping busy and motivated women over 40, like you, struggling with unwanted belly fat, wonky hormones (think brittle nails and thinning hair) and tons of bloat and gas finally reboot their midlife metabolism and regain energy and control so they can live their best lives with resilience and joy.

💛 Add don't forget to join my Facebook group Busy Broads Re-Energize & Thrive so you can surround yourself with likeminded women, enjoy accountability and get ongoing support while you take consistent small steps toward building healthy habits.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/179222990082048