Top Food Goofs!

It's easy to make mistakes when it comes to buying food.  This week, we'll check out some of the biggest food mistakes Americans make.

Here are 5 food goofs you need never make again.

1. It says it's fat free.

It's there, right next to the coffee in virtually every office and many kitchens: a fatfree coffee creamer like Nestlé's Original Tat Free Coffee-mate. According to the label, it's "cholesterol free," "lactose free," "gluten-free," and has "0 g trans fat."  But it actually has up to 50 calories and 1.6 grams of saturated fat in two tablespoons.

2. I avoid high-fructose corn syrup.

"Now, new research at Oregon Health & Science University demonstrates that the brain - which serves as a master control for body weight - reacts differently to fructose compared with another common sweetener, glucose," said the OHSU press release in February. "High fructose corn syrup has become the sweetener most commonly added to processed foods," it noted, adding that "Many dietary experts believe this increase directly correlates to the nation's growing obesity epidemic."

3. I look for the most servings of fruits or vegetables.

"A full serving of vegetables in every bowl," promises Chef Boyardee, whose ads show parents desperately trying to keep their kids from finding out. Each serving of the salt-laden whiteflour pasta has a serving of vegetables because it contains a half cup of "tomatoes" (tomato purée plus water, actually). Big deal.  Looking for fruits and vegetables? Buy them whole (fresh or frozen), not as ingrethents in juices, tomato sauce, chips, crackers, or other processed foods.

4. I only buy lean meat.

Think you're buying lean meat or poultry? It's hard to know, since many packages of fresh beef or pork have no Nutrition Facts labels. And posters (if your store has them) often give numbers for a puny 3 oz. serving of beef or pork that's been trimmed by scalpel-wielding technicians.

Ground beef, pork, turkey, or chicken packages usually do have Nutrition Facts, which are supposed to keep people from being misled by claims like "80% Lean/ 20% Fat."

The fattiest ground beef you can buy is 70% lean. Even ground beef that's 85% lean has 5 grams of saturated fat - a quarter of a day's worth - in a 3 oz. cooked serving.

5. My ice cream has just 150 calories.

Your ice cream has just 150 calories. Your hummus has just 70. And your beef eye of round has just 180. Not too bad.. .if that's what you actually eat. The serving sizes on the Nutrition Facts labels - which are largely set by the Food and Drug Administration - are unrealistically small for many foods. And that makes the calories, saturated fat, sodium, sugar, and other nutrients look unrealistically good. For example: * Ice cream. The Vi cup (4 oz.) serving is equal to two golf balls. Have you seen those single-serving cups sold by Edy's or Dreyer's? They're ¾ cup (6 oz.), which is 1½ servings.