Nutella. The “hazelnut” spread made with cocoa. More like the cocoa spread made with a touch hazelnut.

I have always enjoyed my sporadic run-ins with Nutella spread, however until recently when I purchased a true tub of nutella for my own use, I had never really understood the pure deliciousness that it has to offer.

Unlike the organic, chunky peanut butter my family buys, Nutella remains at a constant spreadable consistency, without developing the unsettling centimeter thick layer of oil on top. It can be eaten with toast, graham crackers, apples-you name it, Nutella probably belongs with it. For the first few days of having the jar remain on my counter, I was so pleased with the new household necessity; it was a chocolate flavor, but I didn’t feel as guilty pigging out on it as I did real chocolate such as Hershey’s Kisses or chocolate bars.

But this amazing new development in my life was too true to be true. The moment of truth occured when I was gleefully dipping my third (ok maybe fourth) graham-cracker quarter in the jar, that I made the mistake of turning it around. My jaw dropped. I felt utterly lied to and mislead at what I saw. Two tablespoons for a serving size, with 200 calories! I am not one to count my calories. I pretty much eat what I am so inclined to eat, and I feel thankful every day that I am able to do that, however 100 calories per spoonful was a bit extreme, not to mention the 21 grams of sugar per serving  (which is the first ingredient by the way). And let’s be honest, who in their right mind could eat only two tablespoons of Nutella and be done. The stuff is addicting.

After my break-up with Nutella, I felt the need to find out what other delicious but faux healthy items I had filling my belly with all this time. So here are a few items that are misleading about how healthy they really are.

The first item on the list that surprised me was ketchup, the overly used dipping sauce made from tomatoes. The serving size was a measly one tablespoon. Anyone who has ever been to a burger joint knows that this is just plain ridiculous. The little black cup of ketchup that the wait staff brings you? Definitely not one tablespoon. The second, maybe third refill you ask for? Ok now you’re just mocking the all-knowing black and white Nutrition Facts. Overall, the nutrition facts for ketchup were actually not that bad, but it was the ingredients that got me. My whole life I have felt great taking extra squirts of ketchup, gleefully thinking that I was getting my healthy serving of veggies because it was made from tomatoes, but little did I know three ingredients in sat High Fructose Corn Syrup and regular Corn Syrup. As if I didn’t get enough of that as a result of my sweet tooth, now it’s in my ketchup.

That wasn’t the last time High Fructose Corn Syrup would show up, changing my views on what I eat. It is also a common ingredient in granola bars, especially in the chewy kinds. Yes, you are getting a decent amount of nuts and grains, but upon looking at labels (especially Nature Valley), granola bars aren’t as healthy as I once thought. High Fructose Corn Syrup was indeed the fifth ingredient listed. Also high sugar levels can make an assumed healthy granola bar quickly go south. This can often result from the special flavors such as s’mores, chocolate chip, chocolate chip peanut butter, etc.

When asking around, I found that many people didn’t mind the high sugar levels in granola bars.

“The fiber is always nice…and it tastes good to so I would have to say a five or a six [on a scale of one to seven] depending on what you can get. The amount of sugar in them is relatively  and they taste good anyway so I don’t really care,” junior Malcolm McGehee said.

The last item on my list is fruit snack gummies. But take out the word fruit. Now take out the word snack. There! These pouches of colorful gummies are often gimmicks for children (or sweet-toothed teenagers like myself). The bright colors, fun shapes, and sweet taste offer a perfect snack. However, the often claimed “fruit” snacks should not be a major source of fruit. The first ingredient is frequently High Fructose Corn Syrup, like on gummy worms and bears, and if it’s not number one it isn’t far away. The sugar levels are also pretty high. Granted, you do get natural sugar from fruit so it’s hopefully not all from natural sources, but still. Stop lying to yourself. If you think fruit gummies are any better than gummy worms, then suit yourself, but often a simple solution to making this delicious and addictive snack is a simple apple or orange. It has the natural sugar, the colors are still fun, but you aren’t putting nasty dyes and syrups in your body.

Luckily,I found that most students weren’t that clueless when it came to thinking “fruit” gummies were healthy.

“Gummies….They would probably be like a one or a two, cause it’s just sugar and artificial flavorings,” McGehee said.

I understand that the opinions I have on the things above are truly just that-opinions. I’m not saying to stop eating these things (by golly I sure haven’t), but at the same time, there is something to be said for thinking about what you usually aren’t aware of when you eat. I would rather know that each time I dip something new in my Nutella jar or rip open yet another pouch of gummies that I am not lying to myself about how healthy I am being.