Since the grocery store is packed with endless food options, it’s hard to decide which is best for you. It’s especially difficult with packaging that makes products appear healthy and organic. The recently-released book, “Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution” by David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health, gives supermarket relief in every isle. Here we take a stab at our own “Eat This, Not That” picks for suspiciously “healthy” foods.

REAL HEALTHY FOODS IN THE SUPERMARKET
Stouffer’s Grilled Chicken Teriyaki
Fage 2% Strawberry
Martin’s 100% Whole Wheat Potato Bread


WORST “HEALTHY” FOODS IN THE SUPERMARKET
Frozen “Healthy” Entrée: Healthy Choice Sweet & Sour Chicken

Don’t be misled by the company name, this is a “healthy” choice that definitely isn’t. Besides 430 calories and 600 milligrams of sodium on the ingredient list, there’s an additional 29 grams of six different sweeteners used in this dish. That’s equivalent to a Snickers bar.

Try Stouffer’s Grilled Chicken Teriyaki instead. It has 90 percent of your daily vitamin A intake, 21 grams of protein and 130 less calories.


Yogurt Yoplait 99% Fat Free Cherry Orchard:

Fruits like cherries may be exceptionally sweet, but that’s not what candies this snack. Sugar is actually one of the main ingredients on the list. One individual container has 170 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 27 grams of sugar.

Try Fage 2% Strawberry instead. It has fewer calories, and is made sweet by adding more fruit than sugar. Unlike many yogurt brands on the shelves today, Fage 2% does not have sugar as one of its main ingredients.


Bread Arnold’s Whole Grain Health Nut:

Studies prove that a high-protein, not high-carb, diet helps you feel full longer and eat less at the next meal. For as many calories as this bread contains, which is 240 in two slices, there is not enough fiber to maintain a good diet.

Try Martin’s 100% Whole Wheat Potato Bread instead. It’s one of the best choices on the shelf with 12 grams of protein, half the calories and double the fiber of Arnold’s.


REAL HEALTHY DRINKS IN THE SUPERMARKET
Bolthouse Farms Perfect Protein Vanilla Chai
Honest Tea Lori’s Lemon Tea
Monster Lo-Ball Java Monster Coffee + Energy


WORST “HEALTHY” DRINKS IN THE SUPERMARKET
Drink Naked Protein Zone Banana Chocolate:

Also on the “Worst ‘Healthy’ Foods in the Supermarket” list, this 15.2-ounce protein drink is equal to eating five Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches. It has a whopping 480 calories, 3 grams of fat and only 32 grams of protein — not exactly naked on ingredients.

Try Bolthouse Farms Perfect Protein Vanilla Chai instead. It has more ounces, fewer calories, less sugars and a slew of vitamins and amino acids.


Iced Tea Snapple Lemon Iced Tea:

Iced tea is supposedly packed with anti-oxidants, but that’s hardly possible with this 20-ounce bottle, containing 58 grams of sugar and 250 calories. That’s the sugar equivalent of six Fudgsicle bars.

Try Honest Tea Lori’s Lemon Tea instead. It has one-third the calories and even less sugar. They don’t use high fructose corn syrup, either, unlike Snapple.


Energy Drink Rockstar Original:
As pointed out in a past issue, energy drinks are packed with sugars, caffeine and other ingredients that have an instant, sometimes threatening effect on the heart. Rockstar Original has nearly 300 calories in one 16-ounce can and 62 grams of sugar.

Try Monster Lo-Ball Java Monster Coffee + Energy instead. It has 100 calories and a slim 8 grams of sugar. That equals one Chocolate Drizzle Rice Krispy instead of seven.