10 Foods I Use To Think Were Healthy But Are Actually Loaded with Sugar

You flick on the TV only to be bombarded with a barrage of advertisements for so called “healthy” choices. Below are 10 foods, I use to think were the “healthier” choice  and many times are promoted as healthy but in reality are loaded with sugar and kept me stuck in my throes of sugar addiction. It wasn’t until I started doing my own research and reading labels that I realized I needed to eliminate these foods from my meal plan, if I truly wanted to have sustained energy and optimal health. If you’re ready to kick sugar to the curb then start ditching these toxic “health” foods.

1. Fruit juice

Juice is terrible because it contains no fibre so even if it’s 100% juice with no added sugar, the reality is that fruit sugar is still sugar. It still causes your blood sugar to spike dramatically and it’s just as addicting and bad for you as pop or kool-aid.

2. Dried Fruit

Dried fruit without added sugar is okay in moderation, or when eaten with some nuts and seeds for protein, but make sure you read the ingredients because many of the dried fruits have additional sugar added to it. Which I never understood why since fruit is already sweet and drying it makes it taste even sweeter. Now, if you find yourself popping a date in your mouth every time you get a sugar craving and thinking it’s healthy, think again. Also you might be having something else going on such as candida overgrowth, like I did for over ten years.

3. Pasta Sauce

Store-bought pasta sauce has a ridiculous amount of added sugar. Prego traditional spaghetti sauce has 40g of added sugar! Always read your labels, or better yet, make your own tomato sauce so you know EXACTLY what’s in there. Once you start making your own you will not want to go back to store bought pasta sauce I know that was the case for me.

4. Bread

Ah bread! People like to pretend that they’ve cut sugar yet they’re still eating bread. Bread turns into sugar in the body. Add to that the inflammatory effects of gluten and bread becomes a ticking time bomb for illness to ensue. I know this is a hard one to let go of, but I challenge you to try not eating bread for a week and see what happens.

5. Noodles

Both pasta and rice noodles are pure refined carbohydrates, which like bread, turn into sugar once they break down in your body. They may be fun to slurp, but you can make noodles from vegetables that are just as tasty and won’t spike your blood sugar. My favorite is zucchini and yellow squash noodles, but since they aren’t in season during the winter, I use spaghetti squash.

6. Instant oatmeal

Instant oatmeal may seem like a quick and healthy breakfast, and it sure is convenient. But unfortunately just one serving of this stuff can pack as much as 15g of sugar! Wow, can you believe that and to think I was eating a couple of packages a day.

Opt for making your own oats, check out this recipe for sugar-free overnight oats.

7. Smoothies

Yes, I know you are probably thinking Cassandra is always talking about  the benefits of smoothies. Your right, smoothies can be really healthy and delicious,but the ones you get from Orange Julius or those premade store-bought smoothies are a far cry from a health food. They want to make smoothies approachable for most people and thus they make them super sweet and tasty. I have found some places actually use sugar water to make the smoothies more tolerable.  WTH!! If you want to enjoy a smoothie make your own and add lots of greens to it. One of my favorites green smoothies is

•  1 cup spinach
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 avocado
• 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 12 oz unsweetened coconut milk

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour in cup and enjoy.

8. Yogurt

Yogurt has got to be the worst on the list. Especially because it’s promoted as this great healthy food but most of the time flavored yogurt is FULL of junky additives including high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener. If you want to eat yogurt, buy it plain and sweeten it with some berries or mashed banana.

9. Granola

Like oatmeal, pre-made granola is riddled with added sugar and dried fruit which only makes matters worse. Eating granola for breakfast is like having a big old cookie with your coffee. Back in my sugar addiction days a cookie and coffee for breakfast sounded great, well I would have milk instead of the coffee. Then when I thought I was being “healthier” I would have pre-made granola and sugar laden yogurt for breakfast. How about you?

10. Protein bars

Protein bars are either full of added sugar or contain toxic sugar substitutes like aspartame. Read protein bar labels very carefully, even the popular cliff bar contains a whopping 22g of sugar per bar! Again WTH?

Next week I will share with you some healthy low sugar snack ideas so you don’t feel deprived as you start to give up these foods loaded with sugar.

Want even more great tips to help you lose weight, improve your digestion, increase your energy and end your sugar addiction once and for all?  Next week I will also share about my upcoming Release The Sugar Blues Program. Until that time, please share below what foods you have seen promoted as “healthy” but aren’t.