The Dirt on Sneaky Foods You Should Avoid

As you probably learned from my junk food blog, there are a lot of foods out there with hidden ingredients to make products more addictive, and boost successes of food companies. Some of these foods we already knew were bad for us, even if we didn’t know just how bad. But a lot of these foods are sneakily disguised in health food packaging to sell better, while really providing no health benefits at all. What gives? Well don’t fret, because I am here to inform you on the important things you should know when it comes to sneaky ingredients in sneaky foods.

This blog goes hand in hand with my sneaky ingredients blog. So, if you haven’t read that yet, it might be useful for you to click over there first.

Now, I hope you have a stick to bite on or a ball to squeeze. What I’m about to reveal to you may not be pleasant. It may even shock you … *cue flashlight on face*

1. Yogurt

Yogurt is a big fat liar! It proudly boasts its probiotic benefits, but in reality, it is full of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and it doesn’t even have enough good bacteria to make a difference in your gut health. Did you know most yogurt has between 14 and 20 grams of sugar? No. I could eat three Oreos for that. If you want to take charge of your gut health – and I recommend you do as the microbiome is basically a second brain in the human body – get yourself a good pre and probiotic. Nobody really has a healthy enough gut these days (unless you’re the ambassador of kimchi land), and we could all use a little help. Just not from Yogurt. Thank you, next.

2. Bread

Obviously, bread is carby and lacks the valuable macronutrients like protein and fat. But on top of that it contains high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, and enriched flour. It single-handedly checks off the big three ingredients we’re supposed to be avoiding. White bread has all of these ingredients. 100% whole wheat won’t necessarily have enriched flour, but usually it has some form of sugar and vegetable oil. Some whole grain/multigrain breads are free of these ingredients. Just make sure you really read the labels. It is still carby and has empty calories, but it isn’t an awful thing to keep in the freezer for rainy days when you’re craving avocado toast or a peanut butter sandwich.

3. Crackers

Crackers are dangerous and deceiving because they are perceived as a light snack, but most brands are comprised of enriched flour, canola oil, soybean oil, and you guessed it, high fructose corn syrup, making them empty and harmful calories. I just get a kick out of exposing crackers, because no one expects them to have corn syrup in them, yet most average, non-organic brands do.

4. Frozen Meals

So not all frozen meals are bad, but a lot of them have some pretty weird preservatives in them, and they do contain vegetable oils and starches. You will be better off getting the Healthy Choice ones that have all natural, real ingredients. Look at the label, and if you can pronounce all the ingredients, it is probably okay.

5. Canned Foods

Once again with the not being able to read most of the ingredients on the label. If you pick up a can of Chef Boyardee, Campbells, Beenie Weenies, or whatever it may be, chances are you have no idea what half of the ingredients are. I know I don’t. But I can recognize a few: high fructose corn syrup, enriched flour, soybean oil, and sugar. Canned foods are full of processed chemicals, preservatives, and added sugars to keep convenience not only easy, but addictive.

6. Prepackaged Meals

Boxed dinners like Hamburger Helper, Velveeta, Manwich, Hormel’s, Bob Evans, etc. are all the same way, hiding some combination of vegetable oils, sugar, cottonseed oil, enriched flour, and corn syrup. Usually anything “convenient” in the pantry aisles is too good to be true.

7. Cereal

Cereal makes me laugh. It truly does try to look so healthy. Cereal boxes always boast “12 vitamins and minerals;” “significant source of iron;” “good source of fiber;” “start your day the right way.” But the reality is that these cereals are full of added sugar and enriched flour. Cocoa Puffs have 9 grams of sugar per ¾ cup serving. Lucky charms have 10 grams. Honeycombs has 10 grams. Trix have 12 grams.

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Oh well I’m fine, because I eat Cheerios and Special K.” Well think again. Honey nut Cheerios have 9 grams of sugar per ¾ cup serving. Special K Red Berries has 9 grams. Honey Nut Chex has 12 grams. Even Raisin Bran has 9 grams of sugar per serving. And who actually eats the standard serving size? Sugar, we will remember is an addictive ingredient, and turns that ¾-1 cup serving into 2-3 cups, thus tripling our sugar intake.

Now there are a few cereals that have only 1-4 grams of sugar per serving, but even still they have enriched flour, added sugar, and unbalanced macronutrients. These cereals include: Multigrain and plain Cheerios, plain Chex, Wheaties, plain Rice Krispies, and original Special K. If you are just a total cereal lover and don’t think you can give this one up, try these cereals with some added stevia, a natural and affordable plant-derived sweetener that has a zero glycemic index.

8. Granola and Protein Bars

Granola is in the same ballpark with cereal. It boasts vitamins and fiber, yet it is packed full of sugar. Granola bars and protein bars are even worse, once again containing high fructose corn syrup, enriched flour, fructose, starches, vegetable oils, etc. While some of these bars do luckily boast natural ingredients, cane sugar is still one of those ingredients. For instance, Cliff bars have 21 grams of sugar. Lara Bars have 14 grams. To me, that is not something I want to eat before I try to do a workout. That is why I prefer bars with no added sugar, such as Atkins, Think Thin, and Quest bars. But even these still have mystery ingredients that I can’t pronounce, and that just makes me uncomfy. It is really best to avoid these most of the time, but they do make for decent emergency snacks. Better than a bag of pretzels or a pack of gummies. Just read the labels carefully.

9. Oatmeal

Some oatmeal is safer than others. The ones you want to watch out for are rolled oats, instant oats, and flavored oats. Obviously, the pre-packaged, flavored ones like apple cinnamon, peaches and cream, maple cinnamon, and blueberry have about 12 grams of sugar per serving. You don’t want that. But even if you just buy plain oatmeal, make sure you are getting steel cut oats or porridge. These have a lower glycemic index than instant oatmeal and rolled oats, which have been pre-cooked. If steel cut oats sound like a pain in the butt to you, don’t worry too much! You still don’t have to stand over the stove cooking “healthy” oatmeal. A single serving of steel cut oats can be cooked in the microwave. You just have to do it longer then 60 seconds. No biggie! It’s the microwave’s problem, not yours.

10. Condiments and Dressings

These are some of the sneakiest foods in America. We always consider the main ingredients we are putting into our bodies, but we never remember to question what is in the sauces, dressings, and dips we are slathering all over them. If the condiment in question good enough to have you pouring half a bottle of it onto your food, chances are that is because it is loaded with a sneaky addictive substance that goes by the name of high fructose corn syrup. This addictive ingredient can be found in most condiments and dressings, including ketchup, honey mustard, BBQ sauce, vinaigrettes, A1 Steak Sauce, Heinz 57, Catalina, and more. Remember, that salad you were all proud of yourself for eating is as good as candy if you are drowning it in raspberry vinaigrette.

The safer condiments are the fattier ones that are lower in sugar, like ranch, mayonnaise, Italian dressing, and oil and vinegar. But you have to be careful here. Most of these dressings still list soybean and canola oil as their first ingredients. Try to look for the ones that boast natural ingredients like olive, avocado, and coconut oils. They do exist, they are just a little harder to find. I really like O’Charley’s ranch, which has buttermilk as the first ingredient.

11. Potatoes

While I feel like most of the population knows this one, I still come by people that try to sell potatoes as nutritious options to be gotten away with in the place of actual green vegetables. Yes, potatoes have some vitamin C and potassium. But there are so many other foods that deliver these benefits, minus the high-glycemic-index starchy carbs.

12. Deli salads

The ones of the pasta, potato, and coleslaw variety. I’m not telling you that you can’t eat these things. I just want to make sure you are aware of the hidden sugars and vegetable oils they contain.

13. Canned Fruit

Did you know that a single 15 ounce can of fruit cocktail has 42 grams of sugar? A 15 ounce can of fruit cocktail in heavy syrup has 73.5 grams! Even canned fruit “in light syrup” has 38.5 grams per can. You guessed it. High fructose corn syrup. How rude! You think you’re getting a healthy snack and they steer you wrong again. Peaches, pears, apples, and oranges are all the same way. You may as well be eating candy. And even if you get the “no sugar added” kind, they put weird artificial sweeteners in like sucralose and aspartame, which taste gross and aren’t good for you either. Get your fruit from the produce section, not from the pantry aisle. If you find yourself complaining that you don’t like fresh fruit as well, I think you’ve found the reason why. It was never the fruit you liked in the first place.

14, Jams and Jellies

Corn syrup, corn syrup, corn syrup! Everywhere! In Welch’s, in Smucker’s, in Great Value! High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and sugar are the second, third, and fourth ingredients in all of these! In Welch’s “all natural” strawberry spread, sugar is the first ingredient. So, what we have learned is that you’d be just as good putting table sugar on your PB&J.

15. Fruit Juice and Sports Drinks

Even if you buy a juice that boasts “no sugar added,” which I pray you do, there is still just as much sugar in an 8-ounce glass of orange juice as there is in a 7.5 ounce can of soda. Think about it. Sure, there is maybe 12 grams of natural sugar in an orange. But how many oranges would you need to squeeze to produce an 8-ounce glass of orange juice? Even if the label on the fruit juice boasts “not from concentrate,” the fruit juice by nature is too concentrated! As nature’s desserts, fruits are meant to be consumed in moderation, and fruit juice leaves out that key detail.

The same thing goes for sports drinks. It isn’t very beneficial to be replacing your lost salt and water with 34 grams of sugar. If you need energy drinks for salt and electrolytes, make sure you are buying the ones with zero sugar.

Glycemic Index

Really quickly before I let you go, let’s talk about glycemic index. Glycemic index is a measure of how much our blood sugar raises when we eat certain foods.

Now let’s list some unexpected foods that actually have a higher glycemic index than ice cream: whole wheat bread, white rice, white bread, white bagels, watermelon, russet potatoes, couscous, honey, rice cakes, pineapple, cantaloupe, raisins, hamburger buns, pita bread, cereal, corn chips, instant oatmeal, taco shells, cranberry juice, Gatorade, and Splenda. I seriously would rather eat ice cream. Look at all the free room you will clear up for the ice cream if you take these things out of your diet! (Ok, that’s kind of a joke … kind of.)

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Now having said all of this about the food in the pantry aisles, sometimes there are exceptions to these rules. Some organic companies actually do make high-quality products that don’t have a bunch of cheap, harmful ingredients. Sadly, if you want foods made with wholesome ingredients, you have to pay good money for them. Thus, the reason I usually just avoid these foods altogether if I can.

But get this! The more people that buy high quality, organic foods, the more the prices on these items will lower. And the less people that buy the crap foods with harmful ingredients, the less power we are giving the companies that have had us addicted to their harmful products for decades! They are nothing without oblivious consumers. So, it is my hope, that by staying educated and open minded to new research, we can trump the processed food movement and start to live organically, as we did in the beginning of time!

If you are feeling overwhelmed with new information, the bottom line here is to look at your labels, every single time. I cannot stress this enough. It is so easy to fall prey to the ads on the front of products and forget to look at the nutrition facts that hold the actual truth. Before you eat or buy, always remember to scan for those red flag sugars, oils, and enriched flour mentioned above, so that you will be in the know, and able to make informed decisions about your diet.

If you now find yourself puzzling over what on earth you actually can eat, basically anything that comes from animals and the earth. Check out my Grocery Shopping for Wellness blog here. Also, make sure you scroll up to my menu and hit the subscribe button. Soon I will be releasing blogs with meal ideas, recipes, and foods that have surprising health benefits. Thanks for reading!

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