List of foods you should get rid of right now

Bologna and Hot Dogs

It’s no baloney – these delicounter bad boys are no good. For one thing, they’re processed meat, which recent studies have linked to colon cancer and heart disease, among other health woes. For another, they’re high in fat and sodium and lack nutritional value. Still hungry? Just skip the bologna and search out 100 percent all-beef franks if you have a hot dog. You may be surprised that no suggestion for chicken or turkey hot dogs, but these can be made with chicken parts rather than lean meat, so they may not be any better for you than traditional dogs. And they don’t’ taste as good.

Full-fat Cottage Cheese

Wait, isn’t cottage cheese a healthy diet food? Not if you’re eating the full-fat version, which has 110 calories per half-cup and – shocker – 5 g of fat, including 3 g of saturated fat, which means that almost half of what you’re eating is fat. Opt for the low-fat version and you can knock the fat grams down to 2 per serving. Go for a half cup of nonfat cottage cheese things look even better – you’ll be consuming less than 1 g of fat (and only 60 calories). Now it’s diet food, and you’re getting a good dose of calcium and protein, to boot.

Alfredo Sauce

Mama mia! This pasta topping is delicious, but the calorie and saturated fat counts are off the charts. Bertolli’s Alfredo sauce packs in 110 calories for only a quarter of a cup, with 5 g of saturated fat. And then there’s the pasta! Steer clear of creamy sauces, and chose tomato-based toppings instead. For example, Bertolli’s Tomato & Basil sauce has only 70 calories per half cup (40 fewer calories for twice the previous serving) and zero grams of saturated fat. Like a lot of prepared sauces, however, both types do contain a fair bit of sodium, so consider cooking up a tempting marinara sauce yourself, using fresh tomatoes or canned low-sodium ones.

Fruit Punch or Cocktails

Once again, sugar is the culprit. If you’re not drinking 100 percent juice, you’re drinking something with added sugars. And excess sugars mean empty, excess calories – and really, who needs those? Also, like soft drinks, fruit drinks go down easily. It’s so easy to take down extra calories in the form of a juice. You don’t realize how much you’re drinking. Choose real fruit juice instead. It’s not calorie-free, but at least shoe calories contain nutrients like vitamin C and potassium, as well as fiber and antioxidants.

Frozen Fried Foods

You probably know to rid your cabinets of fried snacks like potato chips and snack on baked chips instead. But did you know that fried foods might be hiding out in your freezer? If you buy packaged, prepared fish filets or chicken nuggets – the kind you bake in the over – you’re eating fried fish or chickens because it’s been battered and fried before you bought it. (The oil that cooks out when you bake it is a tip-off). Gorton’s Beer Better Fish Fillets have 250 calories per serving, and 160 of those calories come from fat. You’re better off buying fresh fish and baking it yourself.

Breads and Cereals that aren’t 100% whole-grain

Whole or unrefined grains are better sources of fiber, protein, and nutrients like selenium, potassium, and magnesium than refined flours. But it can be tricky to figure out which products are made completely from these nutritious grains. For one thing, some brown breads are colored with caramel, which can be misleading. And words like “multigrain” or “cracked wheat” may appear on products that are made at least partly with white flour. It’s up to you to read the nutritional information on the package and make sure that a whole grain is the first ingredient listed. Look for breads with 3 g or more of fiber per servings. And when it comes to cereal, buy ones with 5 g or more of fiber per serving.