Good Foods Gone Bad

Good Foods Gone Bad

By Mary Kearl

A banana? Good. Banana chips? Just one example of the many low-calorie and nutritious foods gone bad. We've gathered together a list of grocery store and fast food items that have been candied, breaded, slathered with fatty toppings, diluted, fried, and turned altogether unhealthy.

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Bananas vs. Banana Chips

Good: Bananas, 1 medium
Calories: 105
Fat: Less than 1 g

Bad: Banana Chips, 1 oz.
Calories: 140
Fat: 9-10 g

Don't let this trail-mix staple fool you into thinking it's as healthy as dried grapes or even regular bananas -- its calorie and fat content is almost equivalent to that of Lay's Classic Potato Chips! Plus, this bad banana tacks on about 8 grams of saturated fat, or about 40 percent of the USDA Food Pyramid guidelines' recommend daily intake.

Hard Boiled Eggs vs. Deviled Eggs

Good: Hard Boiled Egg, 1
Calories: 70-80
Fat: 5 g

Bad: Deviled Eggs, 2 halves
Calories: 120-150
Fat: 10-15 g

Deviled eggs demonize otherwise harmless hardboiled egg snacks by adding diet-wrecking mayonnaise. Every tablespoon of regular mayo slathered into deviled eggs adds about 10 grams of fat and 100 calories. In the past, eggs were avoided because of their high cholesterol content, but the American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends eggs as a source of protein, iron, vitamin B2 and B12, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that help combat age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans. But since just one hard-boiled egg contains more than 60 percent of the recommended cholesterol intake, limit yourself to one egg a day.

Veggie Burger vs. Burger King's Veggie Burger

Good: Boca Vegan Burger
Calories: 100
Fat: 2.5 g

Bad: Burger King Veggie Burger with Cheese
Calories: 470
Fat: 20

Boca's 100-calorie patty is one lean source of protein. But while Burger King's cheese- and mayo-layered version adds 12 grams of protein, it comes at the cost of nearly 10 times as much fat. If you do eat the BK version, you'll need to watch your sodium consumption for the rest of the day, because at 1320 milligrams, or about twice the amount the Boca Burger contains, it contains more than half your daily allowance. For those counting carbs, Burger King's burger has 47 grams to Boca's 9, so you might consider skipping the bun.

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Cabbage vs. KFC Cole Slaw

Good: Cabbage, 1 cup cooked
Calories: 20-30
Fat: Less than 1 g

Bad: KFC Cole Slaw
Calories: 180
Fat: 10 g

Where cooked cabbage packs in waistline-friendly fiber along with cancer-fighting ingredients like vitamin C and beta-carotene, KFC's cole slaw adds mayo, which equates to 10 times as much fat, six times the calories and nearly half the daily recommended amount of added sugar intake.


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Chickpeas vs. Falafel

Good: Goya Chick Peas, per cup
Calories: 100
Fat: 2 g

Bad: Near East Falafel, 2 1/2 falafel patties
Calories: 220
Fat: 14 g

Just one serving of chickpeas contains 7 grams of fiber, or 28 percent of your daily needs, along with 10 grams of lean protein. Falafel on the other hand, cuts the fiber down to 5 grams and ups the fat content sevenfold. Plus, most falafel sandwiches are prepared with creamy sauces which like most condiments tack on fat and calories, without leaving you feeling any fuller.


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Fish Fillet vs. Breaded Fish Fillet

Good: Gorton's Grilled Garlic Butter Fillet, 1 patty 108 g
Calories: 100
Fat: 3 g

Bad: Gorton's Crunchy Golden Breaded Fish Fillet, 2 patties 108 g
Calories: 240
Fat: 12 g

If you're going to eat the breaded version, stick to half the serving, or one patty, which will cut your fat and calories down to 6 grams and 120 calories, respectively. This is still heftier than the grilled version, however, and will reduce your protein intake from 9 grams to 4.5. Meanwhile, the grilled patty packs 19 grams of lean protein.

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Spinach vs. Creamy Spinach Dip

Good: Spinach, 1 cup
Calories: 7 calories, raw; 41 calories, cooked
Fat: Less than 1 g

Bad: Tostitos Creamy Spinach Dip, 2 Tablespoons
Calories: 50
Fat: 4 g

The 2005 USDA dietary guidelines recommend eating three cups of dark leafy vegetables like spinach a week, and it's no wonder. Just one cup of cooked spinach is a low-calorie, nutrient superstar -- it's an excellent source of vitamin A and C, calcium, iron and also rich in dietary fiber and vitamin E. One serving of Tostitos spinach dip, on the other hand, contains next to no nutritional value. Plus, do you really want to have consumed 50 calories after two spoonfuls?

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Steamed Rice vs. Fried Rice

Good: Rice, white, 1 cup cooked
Calories: 200
Fat: Less than 1 g

Bad: Rice-a-Roni Fried Rice, 1 cup cooked
Calories: 310
Fat: 10 g

When it comes to nutrition, white rice often plays second fiddle to its brown counterpart, but while it may not be the fiber-champion of the rice bowls, white rice has been revamped to include "enriched" and partial brown-rice or wild-grain mixes that are high in nutrients like iron and folic acid. While fried rice does add veggies -- you'd be better off adding steamed veggies and a small portion of lean protein than prepping this fatty variety of greens.

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Steamed Clams vs. Clam Chowder

Good: Steamed Clams, 1 cup
Calories: 140
Fat: 2 g

Bad: Campbell's New England Clam Chowder Soup, 1 cup
Calories: 210
Fat: 9 g

This tragic transformation turns a low-fat source of a high-protein food into a fatty soup with only some protein. Not only do you end up eating more than four times as much fat by slurping your clams instead of chewing, the soup variety contains about a third of the protein that the same serving size of steamed clams would have.

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