Trying to eat healthy can be very confusing.  For example, just because a product is organic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthier than it’s non-organic counterpart. Organic simply means it’s grown or processed without the use of pesticides or hormones.  If a product promotes “good source of whole grains” that doesn’t give you a green light either.  While whole grains are important to your diet, it doesn’t mean the product isn’t loaded with sugar, fat, preservatives.

There are several foods we consider healthy that you need to watch out for.  Here are common misnomers:

1.    Fruit Smoothies. It’s fruit, right?  Well, popular chains that have made these drinks popular tend to use sugary fruit juice and frozen yogurt.  Fruit smoothies can be 600 calories if you’re not careful.  You can make your own at home using fresh or frozen fruit blended with low fat yogurt or skim milk.

2.    Yogurt. Again you are trying to eat healthy, but many yogurts are packed with sugar.  Some yogurts have 6 teaspoons of added sugar per serving.  The better way to enjoy yogurt: start with plain yogurt and add your own fresh fruit.  You can even sweeten it with jam or honey, but then you are in control of the amount of sugar added.

3.    Granola. This is a popular snack with hiker for a reason – it’s very high calories, a bowl of granola can easily weigh in at 600 calories.  Again, this one is also commonly loaded with sugar.  Use granola more as a condiment and look for brands that have 10 grams of sugar or less per serving.

4.    Energy/Snack Bars. You often think of these as healthy alternatives to candy bars, but they often have the same amount of sugar as chocolate bars.  Some of the energy bars are full of artificial sweeteners as well.  Try to find bars that have at least 3 grams of fiber with just a few ingredients.