5 Food Swaps Where You Should Eat the Donut Instead

Assorted donuts on a pastel blue background

Healthy diets can be tricky. Would you be surprised if we told that you some “healthy” foods aren’t healthy? Click here to see when you should eat the donut!

To eat the donut or not eat the donut, that is the question. 

If you’re trying to be healthy, sometimes the answer to that question is “no.”

But does your answer also involve you reaching for a “healthy” alternative to satiate your hunger or your sweet tooth

Wondering why I put healthy in quotes right there?

As it turns out, the food industry has been pulling a fast one on us for years. In order to make their products more appealing to dieters and conscious eaters, many brands have been selling low fat, gluten free, and reduced calorie versions of their products. 

But what do they do to keep these foods from tasting like cardboard?

Inject them with sugar. And not just a little bit of sugar – a lot of sugar. 

So much sugar, that as Americans we’re consuming three times more sugar than the daily recommended amount. 

The American Heart Association recommends that men consume no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar a day and that women consume no more than 6 (totally unfair by the way, as some studies suggest that women are more susceptible to sweet tooths).

How many teaspoons are we packing in on average? Around 20 per day.

Oops. 

And a lot of these teaspoons aren’t coming from the occasional sweet treat- they’re coming from foods we have been tricked to believing are actually healthy. 

For this article, we’ll see how the Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donut ( 4 grams of sugar per serving) stacks up against some other “healthy” snacks- you may be a bit surprised! 

1. Dried Fruit: Eat the Donut Instead

Do-nut be fooled, (sorry, had to do it once) while whole fruits are excellent for you, dried fruits are like their evil stepsister. 

Since dried fruits are shrunken down, everything in them is concentrated- including the sugar. Just in case the concentrated sugar isn’t enough, manufacturers will sometimes add an extra coating of sugar just for good measure. 

Example: One serving (1/4 cup) of Ocean Spray Craisins contains the sugar equivalent of 7 Dunkin Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts. 

2. “Skinny Ice Creams”: Eat the Donut Instead

If it says “skinny” on the label, it must be good for us, right?

Wrong. “Skinny” ice creams are a prime example of marketers attempting the cardboard taste cover-up.

Example: 1 Skinny Caramel Vanilla Cone = 4 Dunkin Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts. 

3. Fruit Yogurt: Eat the Donut Instead

No! Not my favorite go-to breakfast food!

Unfortunately, yes. While Yoplait fools a lot of us with their myriad of commercials touting themselves as a “healthy alternative ” to indulgent desserts, their pretty pastel cups are the ones doing the real damage. 

Example: 1 Container of Yoplait Thick n’ Creamy Peaches = 7 Dunkin Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts.

4. Energy Bars: Eat the Donut Instead

Speaking of grab-and-go breakfast foods, turns out a lot of so-called energy bars are pulling the ol- sugar coated wool cover over your eyes as well. 

Example: 1 Carrot Cake Clif Bar = 7 Dunkin Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts. 

5. Granola: Eat the Donut Instead

Despite what your hippie-mountaineering friend has been telling you, granola isn’t that healthy. 

Really, granola is just a fancy word for sugar-caramelized oats. 

You might as well pack a donut for you next hiking outing. 

Example:  2oz of Organic Gemini TigerNut Raw Banana Cacao Granola = 7 Dunkin Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts. 

Been fooled by any of the “healthy” foods on this list? Drop us a comment below!

Comments

comments