Coffee and fruit juice drinks from the vending machine may seem like innocent, even healthy, choices, but you’d be surprised by the amount of calories they hide. Find out for yourself by taking a look at the product’s Nutritional Value label, either on-line or at the store, if available. All it takes are two or three of these hidden traps to ruin a hard day’s (or week’s) work. To avoid ugly surprises, consider these healthy alternatives.
On the street, on the subway or at the supermarket:
–When you see a vending machine, keep on going. The great majority sell products that are full of empty calories and made up of solid fats (potato chips, nachos, bakery goods) and added sugar (chocolate bars, soda, juice).
–Choose the cash register without all the goodies. Waiting to pay at a cash register inundated with sweets and chocolate bars is anybody’s challenge. Save yourself the suffering, and the money, by waiting in another lane.
At the cafeteria:
–Order coffee with skim instead of whole or reduced-fat milk.
–Give up extra toppings (syrups and vanilla, hazelnut and caramel creams all contain sugar, which significantly raises the amount of calories).
–Say goodbye to whipped-cream (it’s full of calories and sugar).
-Back to basics: order regular coffee with skim milk and artificial sweeteners, or just plain old black coffee.
At the fruit juice and smoothie stand:
–Buy the small size.
–Ask to see the nutritional info for each drink and order the one that has the fewest calories.
–No extra sugars. Many milkshakes and fruit juices contain added sugars. Ask the smoothie barista to prepare your drink without adding sugar; fruit is already sweet enough.
