3 'Health' Foods That Really Aren't

You may not spend your days scoffing pizza and cheeseburgers, but there are many foods that sound pretty healthy, even diet-friendly, but when you delve a little deeper, they are quite the opposite.

Wonder around your local supermarket and check out the nutrition labels on many of the products available -- it's enough to put your head in a spin.

Mostly, I blame food manufacturers, with their bold-faced claims, highlighting whatever good points they can dig up, and using tiny type to hide the less beneficial. You've seen it all before I'm sure, with claims like "organic," "natural," or "vitamin enhanced."

Sometimes though, it's because of our own misunderstandings about what is healthy, and not health.

Here are three so-called health foods, that have done little to deserve their prestige:

1. Muffins
Don't be tricked by the word muffin, it's often just a giant cupcake, minus the frosting. Even bran muffins may sound healthy, but often there's little more in their ingredients than refined sugar and white flour.

If you must eat something along those lines, go for a wholegain English muffin, with a scrambled egg, sliced tomatoes, and mushrooms.

2. Nutrition Bars
Many of the popular brands of nutrition bars are high in saturated fat, refined sugar, and hydrogenated oils. Some of them even contain the calorie equivalent of a candy bar.

A better option would be an apple and some peanut butter, or you could try making your own "power bar."

Here is a recipe adapted from Enlightened Cooking:

Easy Whole Grain, Fruit and Nut Energy Bars

Ingredients:
3 cups puffed whole grain cereal (puffed wheat or Kashi)
1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds (or a combination)
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/3 cup natural nut butter (e.g. peanut, cashew, almond)
1/2 cup honey

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9-inch square metal baking pan foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray.In a large bowl mix the cereal, nuts, dried fruit and flaxseed; set aside.Place the nut butter and honey in small heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly for about 1 minute until bubbly and smooth. Pour hot mixture over cereal mixture in bowl, stirring to blend (mix well to coat all of the cereal). Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using a large square of wax paper or foil, firmly press mixture down into pan to firmly compact.Bake until just golden around edges, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Remove bars using foil lines and cut into 16 bars or squares.

(Nutrition per 1 bar serving: calories 121; fat 6.0g (sat 0.8g, mono 1.8 g, poly 3.1g); protein 3.2g)

3. Commercial Smoothies
Some of the commercial smoothies available use ingredients like full fat yogurt, ice cream, fruit drinks, syrups, and heaps of sugar. You can expect 500 calories plus for many of the options on the market.

Instead, go for a home made green smoothies by blitzing up some fresh or frozen berries, a frozen banana, low fat natural yogurt, ground flax seeds, and some baby spinach leaves.

So, what would you add to this list of so-called 'health' foods?

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