I like to think I’m a pretty healthy eater, but I totally allow room for junk food, especially chocolate, or anything with sugar for that matter! I try to pick out healthy dessert options, Something dark chocolate, because it has antioxidants, and the last year I started eating VitaBrownies, after seeing it on Dr. Oz. If you haven’t tried them, they are amazing! They taste just like a brownie but are actually loaded with fiber, so they are pretty healthy! But sometimes I have no idea what other healthy options there are so I will pick up Skinny Cow ice cream or…. a Milky Way! Oops! 🙂
I absolutely loved reading this book “Unjunk your Junk Food” by the creators of NaturallySavvy.com, Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer, with Lisa Tsakos, a nutritionist, because this book tells you the healthier junk-food options! Because- Hey! We all eat it! They have cookie categories, ice creams (which I learned Skinny Cow is actually not the healthier option) sweets (VitaBrownies were approved as the healthier option), salty snacks, and chocolate!
The intro tells you about how to look for the best options. I have been trying to eat healthy for years and I always look at the calories, fat, sugar, fiber, protein, and sodium to make my decision. What I was really surprised to learn from reading this book, is that the ingredient list is actually the most important thing to read when looking for healthier options! The authors list several ingredients to be aware of! They also noted that one of the most important to things to be aware of is that minimally processed foods without unnecessary chemicals, and additives are your best bet! I’ve never once thought to look for these ingredients! I know that unprocessed tends to be bad because they tend to be packed with sodium to keep them fresh, but I didn’t realize things such as food coloring, partially hydrogentated oils, Monosodium Glutomate (MSG), and artificial sweeteners are a huge no-no!
I also was surprised to learn that the type of fat found in junk food also matters. Trans fat (hydrogenated oil) is the worst fat and has been proven to lead to heart disease, diabetes, and even colon cancer! Scary, huh?! Avoid those trans fats at all costs!!
I learned that sugar comes by many different names and to be aware of that. Some of these names are corn syrup, cane juice, and fruit juice concentrate! The authors suggest completely avoiding high-fructose corn syrup. They also noted that when eating sugar to combine it with protein or a lot of fiber (enter the Vita Brownies) to prevent spikes in blood sugar! I had no idea!
I loved flipping through the pages of junk food to avoid, and junk food that were ok. What I got from checking them all out, was that 9 times out of 10, the natural, or organic treat is the way to go. I found this very surprising because I had always kind of thought people chose organic or natural to be “green” or to avoid pesticides on fruit and veggies. This comes back to the minimally processed foods… The less processing and chemicals added, the better! So I guess it makes sense that natural and organic junk food would be the healthier option too!
I will certainly be on the look out for organic and natural foods and treats in the future now! And I will keep eating those Vita Brownies for dessert! This is a great book for everyone to read, because who doesn’t love some form of junk food! I also really loved the authors advice on following the 80-20 rule! Eat Healthy 80% of the time, and you can splurge 20% of the time! I’ve always kind of followed this advice because I learned once after trying to cut out sugar, mostly chocolate, I only made it a week and a half and then totally binged on a gallon of ice cream once! It was not good, so I always leave room in my caloric intake every single day, for a yummy sugary snack! Now with the help of this wonderful book, I know the healthier deserts to eat so I can feel even better about my yummy splurge!
If you would like to learn more about this book, check out NaturallySavvy.com or a book retailer near you!
**I was given this book by NaturallySavvy to review. The opinions expressed in this post are all my own!