You may already read the nutrition labels when you shop for foods. But, are you paying enough attention to the right things? Do you go straight for the calories and fat numbers? Instead, I think the two most important figures are the number of ingredients and the amount of fiber.

Ritz or Triscuit
Let’s consider two popular crackers – Ritz and Triscuit. The Ritz brand has fewer calories and slightly less fat, but also no fiber and lists 10 ingredients. The Triscuit brand includes 3 grams of fiber per serving and uses only 3 ingredients. And, read both of the lists below. You can easily read and recognize every single one of the three ingredients on the Triscuit list. That’s probably not the case for the much longer Ritz list.

Triscuit Crackers
3: WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN OR CANOLA OIL), SEA SALT.

Ritz Crackers
10: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL, SALT, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SOY LECITHIN, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NATURAL FLAVOR.

Not All Calories are Created Equal
Why am I emphasizing this? Not all calories are created equal. The longer the ingredients list, usually the farther away from nature the food is. And, the closer to nature a food is, the better for your body the food is going to be. This means your body will be able to use it more efficiently.

The same is true with fiber. Fiber content is another sign of how close to nature a food is. More fiber means your body will digest more slowly and store less as fat. So, Triscuit is actually the healthy choice once you consider the ingredients and fiber numbers.

Everyone looks at reduced fat this or reduced calorie that on labels. Often times, these claims and numbers are marketing tricks to make you think a food is healthier than it is. Take another look if you haven’t read the ingredients lists of your favorite food staples recently. If you there are too many ingredients or you’re having trouble pronouncing some of the ingredients, it may be time to reevaluate. There are likely plenty of healthier options. Test your knowledge with the healthy food staples below.

Butter
Land O’Lakes Butter
2: Sweet Cream, Salt.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (Margarine)
10: PURIFIED WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, PALM KERNEL OIL, PALM OIL, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVORS, VINEGAR, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, AND BETA-CAROTENE (FOR COLOR).

Cereal
Kashi Whole Wheat Biscuit
3: ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, ORGANIC EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, NATURAL FLAVOR.

Honey Nut Cheerios
10: WHOLE GRAIN OATS (INCLUDES THE OAT BRAN), SUGAR, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, HONEY, BROWN SUGAR SYRUP, SALT, TRIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CANOLA AND/OR RICE BRAN OIL, NATURAL ALMOND FLAVOR. VITAMIN E (MIXED TOCOPHEROILS) ADDED TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS.

Guacamole
Wholly Guacamole
6: HASS AVOCADO, VINEGAR, JALAPENO PEPPER, DEHYDRATED ONION, SALT, GRANULATED GARLIC.

Dean’s Guacamole Dip
34: SKIM MILK, SOYBEAN OIL, AVOCADO, DICED TOMATO, WATER, COCONUT OIL, TOMATO JUICE, DEHYDRATED ONION, SALT, EGG YOLKS, DISTILLED VINEGAR, NONFAT DRY MILK, SUGAR, SODIUM CASEINATE, SPICES, LACTIC ACID, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, VEGETABLE MONO & DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (AS PRESERVATIVES), GELATIN, ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, GUAR GUM, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, XANTHAN GUM, ASCORBIC ACID, CELLULOSE GEL & CELLULOSE GUM, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, LOCUST BEAN GUM, CITRIC ACID, BLUE 1, RED 40, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6.

Peanut Butter
Justin’s Classic Peanut Butter
2: ROASTED PEANUTS AND SALT.

Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
6: ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR, MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.

Snack Bars
KIND Protein Bar (KIND)
13: MIXED NUTS (PEANUTS, ALMONDS, BRAZIL NUTS, WALNUTS), HONEY, DRIED FRUIT (SULTANAS, DATES, RAISINS), NON GMO GLUCOSE, CRISP RICE, APRICOTS, APPLE JUICE, VEGETABLE GLYCERINE, FLAX SEEDS, SOY LECITHIN, CHICORY ROOT FIBER, CITRUS PECTIN, NATURAL APRICOT FLAVOR.

Nutri Grain Bar
43: CRUST: WHOLE GRAIN OATS, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN B1 [THIAMIN MONONITRATE], VITAMIN B2 [RIBOFLAVIN], FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, DEXTROSE, FRUCTOSE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, INVERT SUGAR, SALT, WHEY, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, WHEAT BRAN, CELLULOSE, NATURAL FLAVORS, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN, WHEAT GLUTEN, NIACINAMIDE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CARRAGEENAN, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, GUAR GUM, VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE), VITAMIN B1 (THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE), VITAMIN B2 (RIBOFLAVIN), FILLING: INVERT SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, STRAWBERRY PUREE CONCENTRATE, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, SUGAR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, VEGETABLE JUICE FOR COLOR, SODIUM CITRATE, SODIUM ALGINATE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, METHYLCELLULOSE, MALIC ACID.

Tomato Sauce
Hunt’s Natural Tomato Sauce
5: TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), SEA SALT, CITRIC ACID, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER.

Prego Traditional Tomato Sauce
11: TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), DICED TOMATOES IN TOMATO JUICE, SUGAR, CANOLA OIL, SALT, DEHYDRATED ONIONS, SPICES, CITRIC ACID, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, ONION EXTRACT, GARLIC EXTRACT.

Turkey Breast
Applegate Organic Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
7: TURKEY BREAST, WATER, SEA SALT, POTATO STARCH, SALT, CHICKEN BROTH, ROSEMARY EXTRACT.

Oscar Mayer DeliFresh Over Roasted Turkey Breast
14: TURKEY BREAST, WATER, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, SODIUM LACTATE, SALT, SUGAR, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, CARRAGEENAN, NATURAL FLAVOR, SODIUM DIACETATE, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, SODIUM NITRITE, CARAMEL COLOR.

Wheat Bread
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread
11: SPROUTED WHEAT, FILTERED WATER, SPROUTED BARLEY, SPROUTED MILLET, MALTED BARLEY, SPROUTED LENTILS, SPROUTED SOYBEANS, SPROUTED SPELT, FRESH YEAST, WHEAT GLUTEN, SEA SALT.

Thomas’ Light Multi-Grain English Muffins
24: ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, REDUCED IRON, NIACIN THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID), WATER, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, WHEAT GLUTEN, CELLULOSE FIVER, FARINA, POLYDEXTROSE, YEAST, WHOLE GRAINS (WHEAT, RYE, CORN, OATS, MILLET, TRITICALE, BROWN RICE, BARLEY), CALCIUM PROPIONATE AND SORBIC ACID (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), WHEY (MILK), SALT, GRAIN VINEGAR, MALT EXTRACT, DATEM, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, FLAXSEED, XANTHAN GUM, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, ETHOXYLATED MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN, SUCRALOSE, SOY.

Yogurt
Chobani Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
1: NONFAT YOGURT (CULTURED PASTEURIZED NONFAT MILK).

Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt
13: CULTURED GRADE A NONFAT MILK, WATER, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, CANE SUGAR, KOSHER GELATIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SUCRALOSE, SODIUM CITRATE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, CITRIC ACID, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3, ACTIVE YOGURT CULTURES L. BULGARICUS & S. THERMOPHILUS.