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My ‘Healthy’ Food Black List

By Mandi Mellen

Posted on April 2, 2013

It was a lovely afternoon and I found myself browsing the healthy living section of PopSugar online. Predictably awesome, I know! One article from the Huffington Post immediately caught my attention: 12 ‘health’ foods fooling us. I love healthy living and couldn’t resist some education on the foods that fool us. What we’re eating and where it comes from is super important, and so is having a black list. Those foods you think are ‘good’ for you, but are def not!

One of the least surprising ‘health’ foods to make the black list is granola. I love granola just as much as the next girl, YUM, but I learned long ago that it’s loaded with sugar and empty calories. Unless you’re making it at home and eating only a quarter of a cup (not that much) you’re definitely consuming some serious calories! Another on the black list is Vitamin Water, that delicious flavored water that comes in every color and flavor. I had an obsession with Vitamin Water once upon a time, but it’s not water. It’s a sugar drink like Kool-Aid. Avoid!

My heart now brakes a little for the next food on the list. Its specific but a necessary addition. The Starbucks Egg-white Wraps with egg whites, spinach and feta on a whole wheat wrap make the black list! In all honesty, these little wraps are delicious but MUST be avoided. I know the egg isn’t real, but it’s the other added ingredients which put it on the list. So what’s in those egg whites? Nothing fun; whey powder, unmodified corn starch, nonfat dry milk, salt and eight other ingredients not named egg. Oh snap! How can I splurge and eat the unidentified egg like substance? I can’t. I won’t do it, especially when a homemade version is natural, actually healthy and just as delicious with no guilt what so ever. Guilt free is super important!

My black list is just getting started, but what did we learn from the first three members? If a ‘healthy’ food seems too good to be true, it is. Look at what’s actually in them and always question what you’re eating, especially when a company tells you it’s ‘healthy.’ Marketing works and ‘healthy’ sells, but don’t be fooled. Make your own black list for the fridge and take control of what you eat!