Spokane Fitness Tips: Healthy Foods In Unhealthy Amounts

The following foods are considered healthy or clean foods by most, but in the amounts they are eaten by most, they’re a little high on the calorie-meter.

Nuts - Whether it’s almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, or any other nut variety, these nuggets of health are often consumed by the handful. Serving size is typically 1 ounce or 10-20 individual nuts and about 175 calories per serving.

Trail Mix / Party Mix – Made up of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, granola and other goodies (no chocolate pieces though). The calories in this nutritious snack can add up fast when you start digging into a large bag. 1 servings is 1 ounce and about 150 calories.

Peanut Butter – Another form of a nut. This highly condensed as well as nutritious paste is full of fat and calorie. It’s a healthy and tasty treat, yet with a serving size of 2 tablespoons, there’s not much to go around. A single servings packs a 200 calorie wallop. Double or triple that amount on your toast or waffles and your having one rich meal.

Oats – Yep, even the gold standard of healthy food can be over consumed. A serving size is ½ cup. While that sounds reasonable, when you put that amount in a large bowl, in looks puny. You can easily pile on 1 or 2 cups of the yummy stuff which is up to 600 calories.

Dried fruit – Raisins and other forms contain all of the calories of fruit, in 1/10th the volume. So, having a bowl full of raisins is not necessarily a good idea. 1 serving is half an ounce or about 25 raisins.

Canned foods - Look at the servings sizes. That 1 small can of beans or chili you had is actually 2, 3 or even 4 servings, and up to 600-700 calories. Read the nutrition facts panel to know how many servings each can is.

Salad dressings – Add great taste in small amounts, but with the ½ cup+ most people use they’re liable as a full day of calories. A serving is 2 tablespoons which can be up to 200 calories depending on the flavor.

High-fat meat - Beef, pork and their various forms are laden with gelatin calorie containers. When dealing with these high-fat meats go for leaner cuts and the right portion sizes, usually 3 ounces, not a full plateful.