Eating healthy is harder than ever. Food companies are boasting that their products are healthy by using slogans like "50 percent less fat" or "low-calorie." They make it harder to distinguish between what snacks are actually healthier than others. I decided to compare a few foods on Target.com and two smoothies from my fav drive thru. I'm not a nutritionist or anything like that, but I do label- check to make sure I choose the options with the least amount of sugar and-or carbohydrates.
The Bad: "Clif® Builder's Crunchy Peanut Butter Protein Bars"
This protein bar boasts 20 grams of protein, which is great, but what else is in it? It also had 30 grams of carbs and 23 grams of sugar. 30 grams of carbs is not a bad thing depending on your body type and goals. 23 grams of sugar, on the other hand, is typically something to avoid when trying to grab a quick healthy snack
The Good: Pure Protein Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter
This protein bar also boasts 20 grams of protein. The difference is that it only has 16 grams of carbs and 2 grams of sugar.
The Bad: vitaminwater® XXX Acai Blueberry Pomegranate
This popular sports drink contains 28 grams of carbs and 27 grams of sugar. I don't know about you, but if I am going to ingest that many carbs it's going to be pasta, not a drink! Again, the high amount of sugar could easily be avoided.
The Good: Propel Zero Berry Nutrient Enhanced Water
This drink is straight zero's in the categories the last sports drink failed in. It contains 0 grams of carbs and 0 grams of sugar.
The Bad: Smoothie King Slim-N-Trim Chocolate
This popular smoothie is listed under the category of "slim blends." This smoothie contains 57 carbs and 48 grams of sugar. That is more sugar than a can of coke.
The Good: Smoothie King Gladiator Chocolate
This smoothie is better than the previous as long as you don't add the two choices of fruits because fruit contains a lot of sugar. This smoothie only contains 1 gram of carbs and 0 grams of sugar.
The Bad: Horizon Organic Chocolate Low-fat Milk 8 oz
This chocolate milk sounds good because it is labeled as organic, and sure that might make it better than some chocolate milks, but it also contains 33 grams of sugar in a very small drink
The Good Fairlife 2% Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk 11.5 oz
This chocolate milk has more ounces than the last, yet it has 17 grams of sugar, which is almost half the amount of the first. While this is still a lot of sugar, it is a better option if you are craving some chocolate milk!
Final thoughts...
These were just a few snacks I always considered "healthy." I aways check the nutrition label and look at the sugar content. The option with the least amount of sugar is typically my choice! Keep in mind- a can of coke has 39 grams of sugar, so your healthy snack choice does not need to be anything close to that!
