So I was reading the article, 14 Health Foods That Aren’t
The authors, David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, of the book Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide, discuss the most “misunderstood ‘health’ foods in America.”
The article was OK, but sometimes the nutritional reference points are a bit skewed. I don’t think that saying Turkey Burgers and Pasta Primavera are ‘bad’ choices is really a helpful tip.
But anyways..
Here is my Vegan Version of what “healthy foods” to shun and what to eat instead.
On my list of not-so-healthy, ‘healthy’ foods:
1. V8 Fusion Juice
2. Jimmy Dean Delights Breakfast Sandwich
3. Pizza Hut ‘Natural’ Pizza
4. Motts Plus for Kids ‘health juice’
Read more if you want to know what to eat instead …..
Vegan Version of what new “healthy foods” to shun and what to eat instead.
1. DON’T EAT: V8 Fusion
DO EAT: 100% Fresh Juice!
Do you really think that you are doing your body ‘healthy’ if you are drinking reconstituted fruit and veggie juices? Does reconstituted sweet potato juice actually sound appetizing to you? I personally think it sounds horrid. All the enzymes and many of the nutrients found in fresh juices will be absent in this shelved, plastic bottled juice. I’m not a fan of the deceptive ‘healthy’ marketing of this V8 juice. Stick to fresh pressed juice. Or heck, even drink Odwalla or Naked bottled juices. At least they are refrigerated and not from concentrate.
2. DON’T EAT: Jimmy Dean Delights Breakfast Sandwiches
DO EAT: A vegan do-it-yourself breakfast sandwich, shown in photo above.
The commercials are cute. The sad moon-man who is half-full and needs to rise full any minute. Jimmy Dean Delights to the rescue! But the ‘healthy-marketed’ Jimmy Dean sandwich actually has around 3 grams of saturated fat. That’s 15% your RDA. And with 6 grams of fat total, you don’t want to get in a habit of starting your day with one of these. Go vegan-style and get all the taste (and more flavor) without the added fat and chemicals galore in the ingredients list.
Get the Vegan breakfast sandwich recipe here- Giggling Morning Muffin.
3. DON’T EAT: Pizza Hut Natural Pizza
DO EAT: A D.O.C or fresh-pizzeria pizza
Go for high quality, made fresh to order pizza. Better taste, better for your pizza-loving spirit.
For more on why the Pizza Hut Natural Pizza is not as ‘healthy and natural’ as they claim, read my post, Pizza Hut Goes Au Natural, What Was it Before?
Pizza DOC info here.
4. DON’T DRINK: Motts Plus for Kids
DO DRINK: Fresh juice, see #1 above.
Motts Kids “health juice” may have added vitamins and minerals, but the calorie content is still very high. There are 128 calories in 8 ounces of juice. That is more than in one whole fruit apple. Juice: 32 grams carbs. If you are going to drink juice for its nutrition properties, go for freshness first.
With all this fresh juice talk, perhaps you should consider doing your own at-home juicing. Read at-home juicing 101.
Or fresh fruit instead of juice, so you get the fiber, the whole food. No prep, either!-Nina
DJ Karma-You are so right! Eating healthy is very very simple.You don’t need complex diets and rules.Just stick to the basics. And eating less processed foods and more whole foods, as you said….is a great basic guiding principle.If you plan ahead, healthy eating IS super simple.Kathy
I would love to hear more about chemicals in my food.
I think a good rule is- the less processed the food is, the better it is for you. Most people (including myself) have thought that it’s more convenient to grab or reheat a packaged meal, but it really just takes a bit of planning ahead, and it CAN be done!
Anonymous-Fresh fruit beats juice any day in my book. However, fresh pressed juice (from a juice bar or at-home juicer) can really up your fruit/veggie servings for a day. You can easily juice and drink 5-6 servings of produce in one easy swoop of the juicer!But that natural fiber, and joy of crunching into fresh produce just can’t be beat.Eating fruits and veggies is the “chew” that our bodies were meant to embrace.Crunch an apple and experience the miracle that is REAL EATING AT ITS PUREST.Thanks for the comment,Kathy
Wonderful post. Great tips for people who don’t know how to eat right (yet)!
Wonderful post. Great tips for people who don’t know how to eat right (yet)!
Anonymous-
Fresh fruit beats juice any day in my book. However, fresh pressed juice (from a juice bar or at-home juicer) can really up your fruit/veggie servings for a day. You can easily juice and drink 5-6 servings of produce in one easy swoop of the juicer!
But that natural fiber, and joy of crunching into fresh produce just can’t be beat.
Eating fruits and veggies is the “chew” that our bodies were meant to embrace.
Crunch an apple and experience the miracle that is REAL EATING AT ITS PUREST.
Thanks for the comment,
Kathy
DJ Karma-
You are so right!
Eating healthy is very very simple.
You don’t need complex diets and rules.
Just stick to the basics. And eating less processed foods and more whole foods, as you said….is a great basic guiding principle.
If you plan ahead, healthy eating IS super simple.
Kathy
Or fresh fruit instead of juice, so you get the fiber, the whole food. No prep, either!
-Nina
I think a good rule is- the less processed the food is, the better it is for you. Most people (including myself) have thought that it’s more convenient to grab or reheat a packaged meal, but it really just takes a bit of planning ahead, and it CAN be done!
I would love to hear more about chemicals in my food.