If it’s white, only take a bite!

Those smooth, creamy, ever-so-innocent-looking white foods.  They sneak their way into our sandwiches, on top of our healthy salads, next to the enchilada on our plate, into our bagels and hide in our tortillas and refried beans.

These white foods are fats — but they aren’t butter, margarine or oils, and sometimes they are sneaky and so you may be adding them by the tablespoon without realizing how many calories are in each one.  Here are the calorie counts of some of the most common white foods/fats:

(Note:  16 Tbsps. = 1 cup)

Cream Cheese (1 Tbsp):  51 calories

Whipped Cream (1 Tbsp):  52 calories

Ranch Dressing (1 Tbsp):  74 calories

Mayonnaise (1 Tbsp):  103 calories

Shortening (lard) – (1 Tbsp):  120 calories

How are white foods sneaky?

* One bagel may have up to 6 Tablespoons of cream cheese on it (306 calories).

* Some fruit salads are tossed in whipped cream, and you may not notice it.  Make your own fruit salad.

* Ranch dressing has become  a staple in the American diet.  Besides being the most popular salad dressing now, consumers eat it in place of ketchup for their french fries, dip their healthy veggies in it, and, after eating pizza, they dip their pizza crusts in it.  Yes, there is diet Ranch dressing, but I say just skip it entirely or make a different, lower-calorie choice.  Your arteries will thank you for it. (see ranch dressing substitute recipe below under sour cream).

* Mayonnaise: Do you know how many burger places slather your burger with mayonnaise without your permission? Check the ingredient list and order it without.  Make your tuna salad with a lower calorie alternative, like Miracle Whip or low-cal dressing.  At 103 calories per Tbps., beware the mayo!

* Shortening (lard) is the highest calorie of them all, at 120 calories a pop (1 Tbsp).  This one sneaks into our pre-packaged treats from the grocery store, is used as an ingredient in bakery products (especially frosting), and looks innocent enough in a delicious tortilla or refried beans — because nobody knows it’s in there! 

One white food I was amazed at was sour cream, at 27 calories per Tbsp. — not as bad as I would have thought.  However, most people usually use a lot more than 1 Tbsp., adding 432 calories per cup to their meal.  Or, they use sour cream as a base for dip, then consume an entire pint in one sitting (usually along with chips). 

Here’s a trick if you want sour cream for a baked potato:  puree a pint of cottage cheese in the blender –the consistency is then almost identical as sour cream.  Add a package of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix to the pureed cottage cheese, mix together, and put that on a baked potato — very tasty!  And about 12 calories per Tbsp. (this is also a great substitute for ranch dresssing).

If you’re living thin, you can still have white foods whenever you want — it’s awareness that counts.  I personally love a few bites of an onion bagel with chive cream cheese on it every now and then – yum! Choose your treats, that’s all I’m sayin’. 

Sorry white food — your secret is out!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 8:38 am and is filed under Health. Tags for this post: Bathroom scale, BMI, Burning Calories, Calorie Calculator, Calorie Counting, Counting Calories, Diet, Diet Ideas, fat calories, hcg, Healthy Eating, Healthy Lifestyle, Healthy Living, Keeping Weight Off, Living Thin, Losing Pounds, Restaurant Eating, Scales, Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.