PrintYou call that healthy?
What foods did you think were healthy years ago that you don't consider so healthy now? For example when I was a kid, my mom used to give us potato chips for a snack to keep us from eating chocolate. In college (many, many years ago) anyone who was a vegetarian was considered more healthy in spite of the fact that many of the popular vegetarian dishes in those days were swimming in butter, cream and cheese. And then there was that white wine diet I went on...
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29 Comments:
potatoes. "They're a vegetable!" I used to say- formerly the only one I actually liked and predominantly ate. Thankfully, though, I've grown past my hate of vegetables (or at least the way my mother cooked her limited selection of them) and eat much healthier now, viewing actual vegetable as such and eating them on a regular basis.
I'm with you on the vegetarian thing - I know so few vegeatrians whose diets aren't overwhelmed by greasy carbs.
I do want to hear more about your white wine diet though :P
joyyy at 11:54AM on 05/16/08
I eat vegetarian - but I'm also 1) lactose intolerant and 2) a health nut - so my food rarely swims in cream or butter!
I used to think frozen yogurt was healthy. And that pretzels and Goldfish crackers weren't so bad. And that French bread dipped in olive oil was diet-friendly food. And that I would die if I didn't drink 3 glasses of milk a day (now, that would *kill* me). Lots of bad things.
KarynMC at 12:13PM on 05/16/08
I used to think that a diet with a lot of pasta was good for me. Ha! Now I try to eat only whole grains. Cutting out the carbs from white flour products really has made a difference for me.
Library Lady at 12:24PM on 05/16/08
@KarynMC--I was one of those fro-yo is good for you(!) girls. My girlfriends and I would try to have one everyday after school (back when TCBY at the strip mall was a very big deal). And of course we had to top it with healthy stuff like m&m's, sprinkles, strawberries in syrup, whipped cream, etc. *shuddering from the sugar*
In college, I thought that snacking on yogurt covered pretzels was a great idea. Until the school paper ran an article on the sugar and calorie content of snack foods sold at the campus convenience store.
Oh and the best was eating salads. Drenched in Ranch or French dressings, with macaroni salad covered in mayo, topped with fried noodles, bacon crumbles...I'm sure there were some veggies drowning in all that dressing, but sort of defeated the purpose of the salad. After reading that I would have been better off eating a filet mignon and a baked potato (plain) with some steamed broccoli, I decided that I needed to make better food choices and not follow all the other girls.
Oh during the salad phase, I had a girlfriend (who always struggled with her weight) tell me that I should stop using Ranch & Blue Cheese dressing and switch to French bc it was low-fat. Of course no one thought high-fructose corn syrup was THAT bad back then, fat was bad, sugar was okay.
wookie at 12:34PM on 05/16/08
The saddest day of my life was when I discovered peas were a starch. I used to eat MOUNTAINS of them (actually, I still do, but they're more like hills, really) thinking I was getting my greens. Sigh.
@wookie, lol!! I had a friend in high school who prided herself on eating only salads (these justified her late night candy binges). I couldn't bring myself to tell her that they don't really count as salads if they include fried chicken, wontons, or lots of cheese. Actually I had dinner with her the other day and she said she was "just going to have a salad" -- the sirloin salad. Three pieces of mescaline mix covered in marinated beef. Old habits die hard!
embolini9 at 12:45PM on 05/16/08
Oh just thought of something else, SnackWells.
They were low in fat, high in refined sugars and carbs, but low in fat.
And teenage girls being teenage girls, gorged themselves on them because they were "good for you." Ah, teenage logic.
wookie at 12:53PM on 05/16/08
Cheese. I have cut WAY down in these sunset years!
Iceberg Lettuce. Don't touch the stuff now. It's organic greens all the way now.
Animal protein. Have been a vegetarian for a few years.
Brownie at 12:58PM on 05/16/08
"mescaline mix" ???
uh, I think you mean mesclun, unless some laws have changed recently that I'm not aware of. Mescaline is something entirely different, and not usually consumed in a salad with beef. Lots of fun, but definitely not widely considered "healthy" ;)
simon at 12:59PM on 05/16/08
Fried Fish. It's fish, right? Ugh. My mother served us lots of fried fish. As a matter of fact, she used to do a whole "fried dinner" thinking it was healthy (because we were eating fish, right?). As more information became available, thankfully this ritual ceased.
LOL@Simon. While Mescaline might impart lots of energy, healthy it's not (as you've pointed out with your link).
chiff0nade at 1:26PM on 05/16/08
Agh! I so relate to the first wave of Atkins sugar-phobia with the potato chips! In my household, sugar was considered the DEVIL and I was made to feel guilty about any sliver of sugar I consumed. My parent's cheese binges were okay, of course--and I'm really ashamed to say this, but I didn't know that McDonald's was unhealthly until I investigated what was in it on my own--you know, hamburgers are healthy because they aren't sugar things, but 2 M&Ms will make you fat...
In terms of my own idiocy, I used to think that anything low in calories was healthy. Processed diet dinners and desserts, diet sodas, Tasti-D-Lite, life savors, anything so long as it wasn't high in calories, to hell with nutrition and the fact that most of that stuff spikes rather than satiates your appetite...
HeartofGlass at 1:50PM on 05/16/08
These answers are great! I can relate to almost all of them. Here's what kills me. I ate the giant salads with croutons, cheese, bacon bits, creamy dressing, etc. for lunch almost every day... with lots and lots of crackers. If not the billion-calorie salad, then a large fro-yo topped with assorted nuts and carob chips. And I LOST WEIGHT! Now just looking at stuff like that makes me fat. Ah, youth.
@Joyyy, the white wine diet is simple. No solid food after lunch. Start drinking white wine around 7:00 p.m. and continue until around midnight. Dance and/or make out a lot during those five hours.
elizabethw at 2:28PM on 05/16/08
@simon - hahhahahaha! Oops!! Friday afternoon, I guess! Still, it fits in with the thread I guess! :)
embolini9 at 3:13PM on 05/16/08
When I was a kid back in the 40s, my dad used to love to eat the fat on pork chops or steaks. I hated it, but mom always told me to eat it because it was good for me! Now, I love it, but I only eat the tiniest bit. By the way, my dad died of arteriosclerosis at age 63.
1stmakearoux at 3:16PM on 05/16/08
Corn and peas. I love them to pieces, but they're not very healthy...So much for making the lovely steak and creamy mashies on my plate look more balanced by piling some peas next to them.
Now I'm a vegetarian (and lactose-intolerant), and for a long time I successfully deluded myself into thinking that I could eat as much fried tofu as I wanted because tofu was calorie-free. :( Now my 'healthy' Chinese food binges (brown rice, satueed tofu and mixed veggies) happen way less often.
@ simon-- Lol! Ken Kesey would approve.
Christina at 3:35PM on 05/16/08
in high school i was all about the snackwells, lean cuisines...all those things that are low-fat but high in preservatives and never leave you satisfied. also eliminated so many delicious foodstuffs from my range of options...like no guacamole, cheese or sour cream on burritos ever...food just didn't taste as good and i would eat lots more to make up for it. small doses of "unhealthy foods" = so much better than mountains and mountains of plain rice and beans.
billyburgwife at 3:54PM on 05/16/08
Ahhh! Snackwells - my girlfriends and I lived on those in jr. high. I loved those deviled food cakes.
My favorite was my high school diet - Snickers and Diet Pepsi. Lived on it for 2 years as lunch. No wonder I'm hypoglycemic now.
My parents gave me Diet Coke shortly after it came out - no sugar is good right? That was one of the hardest things for me to quit as an adult because I'd been drinking it since I was about 4.
Tara Tot at 4:08PM on 05/16/08
I used to think sushi had like 5 calories per piece and I would just down it like there was no tomorrow! haha, nope!
laurelie at 4:26PM on 05/16/08
HAHAHA @simon and @bolini:
I really did laugh out loud. Interesting thread tho.
I used to eat a lot more cheese than I do now.
My healthy recipe is: "Everything natural in moderation"
...think about it! It makes sense!
hungrychristel at 4:31PM on 05/16/08
For years I must have discounted the calories I consumed in liquid form, particularly juice. By that I mean Hawaiian Punch or Hi-C or Kool-Aid. Sure, there might be some vitamins in there ... but a lot of sugar as well. Better to eat oranges!
dancingmonkey at 6:01PM on 05/16/08
Wow this is good stuff. Having grown up too thin I never had to think about what I put in my body, now that I'm chronically ill, it's not the fat and calories, but the additives that I watch out for. I'm the girl in the cardiologist's office who has no idea what she's doing amongst all the overweight smokers, but wonky DNA trumps all I suppose.
However, I had no idea that I was also on the White Wine Diet elizabethw! I was also on the cheap beer and liquor diet during my college years as well.
bobcatsteph3 at 6:16PM on 05/16/08
My favorite "healthy" alternative food story is that of margerine. Throughout my childhood, I remember my mom (as well as the media) telling me that margerine was healthier than butter because it had no saturated fat. While that may have been true, there was that nasty trans-fat issue. Now, I just use less, but use butter instead. Wonder what we eat today that people will say the same thing about in 10 years?
beth1 at 6:38PM on 05/16/08
When I was in high school and college, I used to eat "healthy" vegetarian proteins like boca burgers, morningstar farms sausages, and fake chicken nuggets.
And they're all full of the over-processed soy protein, wheat gluten, and preservatives that I avoid now that I'm so much older and wiser.
I'm sure I'll look back in a few more years and shudder at my current whole milk regime, but for now I'm happy.
butterface at 9:10PM on 05/16/08
chicken... before i read about the poultry industry.
cybercita at 9:39PM on 05/16/08
I'm going to have to recluse myself from this thread. For years I've searched for healthy and all I've found is that the "experts" continue to contradict themselves. Is sugar bad or substitutes worse? Are eggs harmful or healthy? Butter, yes or no? Carbs? Protein? Grapefruit, white wine, red wine,...? It seems all too contraversial so now I eat what pleases me and try to do it with moderation (obvious omissions practiced)....
czken at 1:45AM on 05/17/08
Good one, Beth1! I had forgotten about the whole margarine thing. To this day there are folks from my parent's generation who still think margarine is good for you and butter is evil. I haven't eaten margarine since I lived with my parents, but as I recall, it had very little flavor at all. I think in my parent's day price was also a consideration. I think margarine was a lot cheaper than butter. Right? (Which still makes no sense in my case because my grandfather made butter on his farm and GAVE it to us, but my mom still preferred to buy margarine.) At any rate, I'm with you. Butter, but in moderation.
elizabethw at 6:38AM on 05/17/08
@czken: Totally with you. As long as everything is in moderation, it's all good. Depending upon what "experts" you are reading about is the answer you are going to get. Some think you should watch carbs, others fat, others sodium, others sugar, now trans-fats. I mean, seriously. At this point I think a lot of people are confused about what they should/shouldn't eat.
Perfect example: I was in the elevator at work and two people were talking about food. Both of them (man and a woman) had the same views. Bananas were the discussion. She was saying how people didn't understand food. Continued to say that if there was choice between a doughnut or banana you may as well go after the doughnut because there's the same amount of sugars-and the doughnut will taste better. HUH?? I don't know how I was able to keep my mouth shut. I think it's because I was too baffled by what I was hearing.
Butrflygirly at 11:21AM on 05/17/08
Ummm, I used to think top ramen was a complete and balanced meal. And I was a mac-and-cheeze vegetarian.
Kerosena at 4:21PM on 05/17/08
Not really food-related, but I have to add that I have had many, many people tell me that hookah, cloves, and American Spirits are safe – even healthy – to smoke.
KarynMC at 9:38PM on 05/17/08
I don't think anything edible is inherently unhealthy (barring, obviously, things that are poisonous or that you have an individual allergy to). You need some salt in your diet, you need some fat, you need carbs. Cutting down on a food, or a food group, only makes sense if you're overdoing it to begin with. Anything you eat or drink to excess can be bad for you, so cutting back on things that you're over-consuming makes sense. But you can over-do in that direction, too, to the point where you've also eliminated things you need -- vitamins, minerals, trace elements. The keys, for me, are moderation and variety. Eat a little of everything, not too much of any one thing, and eat a wide variety of foods, and chances are that you'll get enough of the things you need without overdoing anything.
As far as what I used to think was heathy or unhealthy -- I guess I never considered it in terms of heath, but more in terms of calories, so I used to drink diet sodas. Blech.
But I've always been amused and quite skeptical of the food fads and the food scares that have people madly making changes to their diets. When fats were evil people stopped frying and sauteeing and started grilling their food, but then grill smoke was bad for you...But now olive oil is good for you. Liver used to be good for you, but now it's not. Chocolate was a treat, but now it's good. Eggs are good. Or are they bad? Breakfast cereal started as a heath food, but then it got loaded with sugar, so now it's bad, but some of it has fiber which is good.
There's no way to guess what will be the next evil food or what will be found to have magical nutrients, so I figure that if I eat most of it, I'll be covered.
dbcurrie at 1:39PM on 05/18/08