I'M NOT SURE THIS QUALIFIES AS HEALTHY

My husband and I went to the grocery store last week. He was wandering the market as he usually does and I was actually accomplishing the task of getting the items on our grocery list. I was in the dairy department, considering if I should get some greek yogurt when low and behold my eyes fell on these containers. I couldn't help myself but to stand in awe and take photos. Really? Isn't yogurt supposed to be healthy? Don't we eat yogurt because it is good for us?

 

So then why do you suppose Dannon, the company that manufactures YoCrunch, felt the need to add sugar, food starch, unenriched wheat flour, butter, chocolate, preservatives, additives and a host of other ingredients to an otherwise healthy food product? Their ad says "Yum ~ Just Yum. Smooth, yummy yogurt meets fun, tasty toppings." After the ad tells you how to mix up the yogurt with the toppings it goes on to say "because you deserve the best of both worlds." Wowza! Don't you just love the way companies market these days?

And while we are on the subject of a wolf in sheep's clothing ...

What happened to granola - granola used to be healthy - whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds - but now we've added butter, shortening and sugar along with chocolate chips, sugary fruits and yogurt coverings so the average serving of granola has more than 400 calories. Yikes!

And energy bars - these were originally marketed to folks exercising (running, swimming, heavy weight lifting) but now the average consumer (who isn't working out) eats them in large quantity because they are marketed as a healthy snack. Some of these 'healthy' energy bars contain as much sugar as a candy bar while others contain artificial sweeteners for flavor and as an added bonus actually cause sugar cravings.

Let's discuss turkey bacon. While some believe this is a better option than the good stuff of pork bacon we must remember that turkey bacon is still processed meat treated with sodium, artificial colors, sodium nitrates and saturated fat. While it is somewhat healthier than pork bacon, there is not enough of a difference to warrant the switch. You might as well eat the real stuff, just cut back on the quantity.

I'm afraid we must talk about coconut oil too. I have personally fallen victim to the marketing ploy suggesting coconut oil is better than other oils. Here's the truth ... while coconut oil has protoprotective and anti- bacterial properties, it also has 115 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. Its saturated fat creates LDL (the bad one) and has such a high percentage of fat, we really should leave it on the tree in its original form. The saturated fat content of coconut oil sits at a whopping 82%, compared to 63% for butter and 50% for beef fat. 

And for those of you considering going veggie - veggie burgers are touted as being a healthy alternative to the cow or turkey burger. However, read the label carefully because many of these so called healthy alternatives are bound together to create the burger texture with fillers like gums, yeast extract, and corn starch. They are loaded with soy, salt, fat and additives. While going vegetarian is certainly an option many are choosing these days, just be sure to read labels carefully or better yet, make your own version of the burger using more veggies and less yucky stuff.

How is it possible that we can ruin even the best intentions of being healthy by masking the truth, dare I say, lying to ourselves about what we are consuming. Eating yogurt with candy pieces and cookies is pretty much defeating the purpose of eating yogurt. If you want a cookie, eat a cookie. If you want to be healthy, choose the yogurt without all the garbage in it. You'll be better off in the long run.