You eat healthy for breakfast and lunch rolls around and you enjoy another healthy meal, paired with the healthy plan killer; a high calorie snack. You may think you are doing good but you have it all wrong if you are eating an unhealthy snack. Some snacks have more calories than your lunch and can ruin a day of perfect eating. So before you throw in the towel and submit to the white sugar, check out the snacks that have more calories than your lunch.
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1. Dried Fruits
You are craving a candy bar but you know that is the wrong way to go so you think you made the right choice by choosing dried fruits. Dried apple crisps have only 44 calories; 2.1g fat (saturated, 0.1g); 6.4g sugars; trace salt. However this contains one - third of the calories (weight for weight) and more vitamin C and fiber than potato chips. But 18 per cent of the total weight is made up of palm oil, which is high in unhealthy saturated fat. A fresh apple, on the other hand, is only 53 calories, fat free and higher in vitamin C. So skip the dried fruit and keep it fresh!
2. Trail Mix
You opt for trail mix to make a healthful choice unaware that per 100g, it is 415 calories; 24.8g fat (saturated, 12.3g); 38.8g sugars and a trace of salt. This deceptively healthy-looking combination of nuts, grains, seeds and dried fruit has large amounts of fat:100g (about five handfuls) provides more than half the recommended daily maximum of saturated fat for women. Although the nuts are good for you, stop at a small handful and make your own trail mix rather than the high sugar content bought ones.
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3. Baked Potato Chips
Okay so lets break it down with serving size. Pringles - per 25g: 131 calories; 8.4g fat (saturated, 1.8g); 0.4g sugars; 0.3g salt - chips are high in fat without nutrients. Although baked, they are not necessarily any healthier than regular fried chips. And they can seriously sabotage your lunch. Skip the high saturated chips, and have veggies slices instead. Your waistline will thank you for making the better choice.
4. Triple Chocolate Muffin
Okay now you figured you would switch it up and enjoy a muffin for snack today. Well, the average muffin is 488 calories, 26.3 fat (saturated, 6.3g), 34.7g sugars and 0.75g salt. This contains 35 per cent sugars and has almost one-third the daily recommended saturated fat intake for women. Despite having more calories than a baked potato and chili, it won't fill you up nearly as well. The high levels of sugar and fat mean that it will supply a short, rather than sustained, boost of energy. So skip the muffin or create a whole wheat, whole grain version rather than using white flour.
5. Cookies
As you were in the baking mood, you whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies that you knew would not disappoint. And after you lunch you eat just three not even considering that they are 125 calories each. Yikes, 375 calories added to your healthy lunch and now you feel like it is total diet sabotage. Get back on track because tomorrow is another day and never ruin a healthy lunch again!
6. Banana Bread
As several bananas over ripened on the counter you debate on tossing them in the trash or whipping up some banana bread. But without further thought you create banana walnut loaf; yum! After lunch you eat one large slice and do not realize you have consumed an extra 275 calories. Next time just have a banana for 100 calories and way more nutrients!
7. Health Bar
There are countless nutritional health bars that can completely fool you. High in calories, fat and sugar, these bars can deceive you into ruining your diet. Having as many as 450 calories in one bar, it may be smarter to just save the wasted calories and create your own bar. Then you will not ruin your healthy lunch or diet plan.
So with all these healthful tips, it is time to make every calorie matter and choose your snack with thought, preparation and healthy planning!
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