A report from MSNBC identifies seven food items commonly thought to be nutritious (or at least harmless) but actually either filled with nasty ingredients or stripped of healthy ones.
If I may be permitted, I'd like to summarize the author's findings. The seven deadly snack foods (and their sins of comission and omission) are these:
1. Granola bars - aw, c'mon - that ain't true...they are good for you...I refute it thus! [kicks display rack full of Three Musketeers] (sugar and chocolate, little protein/fiber/vitamins)
2. Bottled tea beverages - (full of sugar and spices, but little tea, thus little antioxidants)
3. Pretzels - have you ever not seen a line at Auntie Annes? (salt, with little else unless you buy one loaded with fatty extras)
4. Muffins - reminds me of Robert DeNiro in Casino: "...look how many blueberries your muffin has and how many mine has. Yours is falling apart. I have nothing." (loaded with fat)
5. Rice cakes - OhmyGawd, is nothing sacred? (empty of calories and nutrition)
6. Fruit snacks that come in little bags and remind us of gummy bears - (bereft of vitamins and antioxidants, full of unspeakably evil additives that make a double cheeseburger look like a prudent alternative)
7. Frozen yogurt - okay, you got us there. Who among the intelligentsia would be fooled into thinking that frozen yogurt was a vegetable substitute? For cryin' out loud - this is our reward for a hard afternoon at the gym! (no active cultures, full of fat)
Fortunately the story spared some of our favorite vices, such as dark chocolate, chili-lime tortilla chips, and peat-roasted barley turned into grist, then wort, then wash, then through the lyne arm into foreshots, new makes and feints. Yum, yum!
Medicine & Health
Comments
You mean celery with peanut butter, don't you? That's one of my faves.
Sad to hear about pretzels (Stuffs 3 small ones in her mouth while typing...) Would chocolate covered ones be better? You know, antioxidants and such...
Posted by: TBTAM | November 30, 2007 5:12 PM
DANG -- rice cakes?
Now if they could just make stringless celery, I'd be ok.
Posted by: Liz | December 1, 2007 9:16 PM
The unhappy generalization of this list is that if it tastes real good and comes in a nice package then it isn't as healthy as you'd think.
With winter coming on I am happy that those little easy to peel oranges from Spain are back. They are the one exception to above!
Posted by: AnnR | December 2, 2007 8:38 AM
Isn't the whole point of rice cakes supposed to be that they provide a simulation of actual eating? Nutrition and calories are kinda beside the point.
Posted by: Jon H | December 10, 2007 9:30 PM