5 foods that seem healthy, but aren't

Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Stretch Your Dollar
5 foods that sound healthy for you, but really aren't.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- If you are trying to eat healthy nutritious items, there are no shortage of options at the grocery store.

But what might seem healthy, may actually be an item that's packed with a lot of bad extras.

Low-calorie breads:

Most of these low-calorie breads have water as their first ingredient, meaning the nutrient content comes up short.

They are often lower in fiber than regular bread and those skinny slices of bread aren't usually as satisfying as the real thing.

Light salad dressings:

They are high in sodium and preservatives than something you make at home.

Plus sometimes the light options have sugars, so make your own dressing at home!

Granola bars:

They seem healthy because they're made with oats.

But if you check the ingredients you'll notice that sugar is usually the second ingredient behind oats.

That means it's a lot of sugar. Plus these bars typically are low in protein and fiber, and that can leave you hungry for more.

Instead look for nut-based bars that have at least 3 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.

Reduced-fat peanut butter:

A serving of regular peanut butter has 16 grams of fat compared to the 12 grams for reduced fat.

Small difference.

The best peanut butter has only one to two ingredients, peanuts and salt.

Instant oatmeal packets:

These packets can have added sugars. Add your own natural sugar with fruit.