Food game - answers

Yesterday you were asked to score these foods from 1: super-unhealthy to 5: super-healthy.

Here are the answers. Ok it’s a little subjective. This is the Life Force Fitness view of these foods. Remember we’re all about weight loss and metabolic health.

1. Donut – ok so I put this one in to get you off to a flying start. I can’t say anything good about this food. Loaded with sugar and fat and no fibre or protein to slow the blood sugar surge. Highly processed, no goodness whatsoever. Score: 1
2. Broccoli – and this is an easy one too. Loaded with goodness, calorie sparse, plenty of fibre and has a positive effect on hormones. It’s not a complete food but it is super healthy. Score: 5
3. Orange juice. If it’s made from concentrate then you might as well be drinking syrup. Will cause a fast blood sugar rise, there’s no fibre and all the vitamins have withered from the processing. Score: 1. If it’s freshly squeezed, score 2.
4. Peanut butter. It’s got a bad rep but the stuff that is made from pure peanuts and nothing else is pretty good for you. With calorie dense foods like this, you just have to exercise portion control. A common way to eat this is on toast. That’s not the best choice. The toast just acts like sugar on your blood and there is little fibre or protein to slow digestion. If you slather on the peanut butter then you’re going to get a high calorie meal that won’t fill you up. Score: 3
5. Boiled egg: Eggs are great. They provide a good chunk of high quality protein in the white, and bags of goodness in the yolk. Yes the yolk is full of fat, but it’s good stuff and will give your hormones a boost. It used to be thought that eggs increased your cholesterol. That’s been debunked. Eggs are full of goodness, will fill you up and keep hunger at bay. Score: 5
6. Raisins. Not great. Take a look at the label on raisins. Pure sugar and not filling either. Calorie dense. They are going to give you a sugar rush and not fill you up. Children are often given raisins in place of sweets. They are not much better to be honest. Their only saving grace is a little fibre and goodness. Score: 2
7. Fillet steak. Red meat gets a bad rap. I often hear people say that if they want to lose weight they have to give up red meat. Not so! Yes, give up red meat that is wrapped in pastry, like pies, give up red meat in the form of sausages etc, but there’s no need to give up red meat altogether. You need some saturated fat in your diet. Not a lot, but you need some. Fillet steak provides a good chunk of high quality protein with a little fat and plenty of healthful micronutrients. It’s good tucker! Score: 4
8. Baked potato. The flesh is very quick to digest and will spike your blood sugar. Eat the skins and you get some fibre. Eat it with some sort of protein – like chili for example – and some vegetables, and you’ll slow its digestion, get a decent protein hit, a good deal of fibre and plenty of goodness. It’s also a good comfort food. It’s a great meal if you make the right choices, but the fast digesting flesh lets it down a little. Score: 3
9. Avocado. Great tucker. As with peanut butter, you just have to be portion aware and avoid combos like ‘on toast’. Have it as the fat component of a salad and it’s fantastic. Score: 4
10. Ham sandwich on wholemeal bread. Unless you’re eating a spouted grain variety, all bread is fast digesting. It doesn’t matter if it’s wholemeal. In a typical supermarket ham sandwich, you get a load of mayo, butter, a limp piece of iceberg and some reformed ham. Ham is a processed meat. Processed meats have been associated with cancer, perhaps because they contain a list of additives. Check out the label on a packet of standard ham. It might be a complete meal, but it’s not a good choice. Score: 2
11. Houmous. So tasty. It’s high in fat, yes, but it’s also made from chickpeas which are relatively slow to raise blood sugar. As with peanut butter and avocado, portion control is key, as is finding the right combo to eat it with. It doesn’t have the superfood status of avocado, but it’s good stuff nonetheless. Score: 3
12. Fruit smoothie. Not as bad as you might think. At least it’s the whole fruit and not just the juice. So you get all the fibre, all the goodness of the fruit and plenty of liquid. It’s going to be filling. If you have just fruit then it’s not going to keep you going for long enough because there’s no protein. If you make Greek yoghurt part of your smoothie and add a small amount of some source of fat (depending on what ‘goes’ with it – avocado, peanut butter, olive oil, for example), then you have a complete meal that is packed with goodness and will fill you up. Score 5 for freshly smoothed with the right combo; Score 3 for bottled, on the supermarket shelf, consumed on its own.

Score a point for every one you got right.