Sometimes I love to kid myself sometimes and convince myself I’m eating healthy when I (secretly) know that’s far from the truth. While California Rolls might seem like a nutritious choice, there’s oodles of mayo hiding between that crab and seaweed.
These five so-called “diet” foods are far from figure-friendly.
Sushi: Sushi is one of the most renowned “healthy” choices when it comes to eating out. While the veggie-only rolls and sashimi are low-cal, the other rolls are far from it. A lot of the fancier rolls come slathered in mayo, coated with cream cheese, or deep fried. These rolls can pack 600 or more calories per order. Dousing them in sodium-packed soy sauce doesn’t help much either when it comes to whittling your waistline.
Dried Fruit and Nuts: While dried fruit is packed with the same fiber and antioxidants as its fresh counterpart, one cup of dried fruit has eight times the amount of calories as fresh fruit. Nuts, too, are often touted as a heart-healthy food, which they are, but only in moderation. A quarter cup of cashews contains 170 calories and 14 grams of fat. Yikes!
Fruit Juice: While fruit juices are packed with antioxidants and vitamins, they are also packed with sugars. A typical glass of OJ can have up to 20 grams of sugar. When it comes to liquid consumption, skip the juice, soda, and diet drinks and stick to water and tea, and watch that scale number dwindle.
Salads: When it comes to dining out, dieters first flock to the salad section of the menu. While this is theoretically a good tactic, salads can be packed with creamy dressings, nuts, croutons, bacon, and all the fatty works. For example, the Thai Crunch Salad at California Pizza Kitchen rakes in a whopping 1155 calories.
Granola: The MO for hippies everywhere, granola isn’t as healthy as it seems. One cup of this so-called breakfast of champions contains up to 560 calories and 28 grams of fat, and that’s before you add milk.
Edited by Shannon Koehle