These days, there are lots of options for “dressing-up” your favorite foods. Maybe you like creamy sauces, dressings, and dips – just to add a little extra taste. But be careful – you could be adding a ton of extra calories, fat, and sodium to your daily diet, without even realizing it.

Healthy Foods You May be Over-dressing

Baked Potato

A baked potato is a good, healthy accompaniment to any meal, right? Well, yes – as long as you stick to eating just the potato.

One medium baked potato has 168 calories, 0 fat, and 14 mg sodium. But, add a tablespoon each of sour cream and bacon bits, and that balloons to a total of 227 calories, 4 g fat, and 144 mg sodium!

Salad

Salad has a well-earned reputation as being a light, healthy meal – and if you’re using the right kind of dressing, it can be. But if you’re telling yourself a Caesar salad is a light lunch, you might want to think again.

Two cups of shredded romaine lettuce have only 16 calories, 0 fat, and 8 mg sodium. But, add 2 tablespoons of Caesar dressing (a conservative amount), and your salad now has 160 calories, a scary 17 g fat, and an incredible 325 mg sodium! Croutons can add almost another 50 calories, 2 g fat, and 124 mg sodium.

Pasta

Pasta can be healthy, filling, and wholesome – especially if you choose a whole grain variety. But drown your pasta in alfredo sauce and you’ve added way more than just good taste.

One cup of whole wheat pasta has 176 calories, 1g fat, and 4mg sodium. But add a serving (1/4 cup) of alfredo sauce, and suddenly your pasta has 286 calories, 11 g fat, and 364 mg sodium! Topping it off with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese can add another 22 calories.

Popcorn

Air-popped popcorn is a really healthy snack – it’s whole grain, and a 3-cup serving has only 90 calories, 1 g fat, and 2 mg sodium. Oil-popped or microwave popcorns usually have double the calories.

If you pop your popcorn in oil, then cover it with 2 tbsp melted butter, your healthy snack ends up packing in 370 calories, 32 g fat, and a whopping 455 mg sodium. Wow!

The Bottom Line

Healthy foods are only healthy when they’re eaten in a sensible way. Covering a healthy meal or snack with calorie-heavy, fat-laden toppings and sauces turns it into an unhealthy choice. So think twice about what you add to your healthy foods.

Gloria Tsang, RD

Alumni: University of British Columbia – Gloria Tsang is the author of 6 books and the founder of HealthCastle.com, the largest online nutrition network run by registered dietitians. Her work has appeared in major national publications, and she is a regularly featured nutrition expert for media outlets across the country. The Huffington Post named her one of its Top 20 Nutrition Experts on Twitter. Gloria’s articles have appeared on various media such as Reuters, NBC & ABC affiliates, The Chicago Sun-Times, Reader’s Digest Canada, iVillage and USA Today.