The Uncommon Sense Guide to Healthy Eating
Red Light Foods
By Shandley McMurray
Average User Rating:
Juice
The scoop: Although it may seem like an innocent drink (it's just fruit, right?), juice actually fills you with little of nutritional value. And many varieties are loaded with added sugars. Ever noticed that you're still hungry after drinking a glass of juice? That's because juice is a concentrated source of calories that offers no fiber to keep you satiated.
How to make it better: Choose only 100% natural juice with no added sugar and dilute it with water.
The scoop: Mmm, birthday cake. There's little more appetizing than a large mound of chocolate cake drizzled with icing and dripping with ice cream. Too bad this scrumptious dessert comes complete with a ton of fat and calories.
How to make it better: To cut down on the bad stuff and help maintain your family's waistlines, O'Rourke suggests using a very small amount of frosting, serving small portions and saying "no" to seconds. Can't do cake without the ice cream? Try serving the dessert with berries on top. "Go heavy on the berries and light on the cake and ice cream," O'Rourke advises.
The scoop: Nothing completes a meal of burgers, chicken fingers or fish sticks quite like crispy fries. Unfortunately, fries are high in saturated (and often trans) fats and very low in nutritional value.
How to make them better: O'Rourke suggests making your own fries at home by chopping up fresh potatoes and baking them in a small amount of olive oil. No time? Use the frozen kind, but never, ever fry them, always bake. And limit servings to a handful.
The scoop: Crunchy and savoury, potato chips are the perfect quick snack. But they, too, are high in empty calories and fat. This means they offer no nutritional benefits. Just can't say no? We understand.
How to make them better: Try opting for baked chips instead — they're often lower in sodium and fat. Or, add some healthy, vitamin-packed salsa to your baked chips. That way you're getting a bit of nutrition with every delicious crunch.
The scoop: Try as we might, we can't find any way to make this moist, sweet treat healthier. Packed with bad fats like trans and saturated, doughnuts offer no nutritional value.
How to make them better: Your best bet when it comes to these fried fatties is to choose something else — like a low-fat muffin or whole grain bagel with peanut butter.
