We often attach nutritional labels to foods: calorie bomb, healthy, recovery food, fattening, vitamin-rich or greasy. Cookies might immediately suggest sugar and fat, rather than something for an athlete. First impressions can be misleading.
Foods with the same name can have different ingredients and composition. Even products such as ham vary with production and feeding, though that does not make any version an unlimited everyday food.
If you have read Eating vs Nutrition, you will know that the body uses the nutrients supplied by ingredients rather than a food’s name. A cookie’s composition depends on its recipe.
Cookies and cakes can therefore be more or less suitable for a person at a particular time, depending on ingredients, portions and the overall diet.
Examples of nutritional illusions:
At INDYA we enjoy experimenting with dishes that look like one familiar food but have a different ingredient or nutrient profile.
- Carbonara sauce?
Not quite: 0% fat whipped fresh cheese mixed with curry powder. It provides protein with little fat, although comparisons with yoghurt depend on the products chosen.
- Pasta for dinner?
Almost: these are vegetables, specifically aubergine and courgette cut into noodle-like strips. See this example. They can add volume with less energy than a similar weight of pasta, useful in some meal plans.
- Chips with hollandaise or cocktail sauce?
Baked sweet potato wedges with paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and herbes de Provence, served with a yoghurt sauce seasoned with salt, parsley and black pepper.
- Surely this is pasta?
It looks similar, but these are Pescanova Tallarimis, a fish-based noodle product providing protein as well as carbohydrates. Traditional pasta also contains some protein. Try them with sautéed courgette, cherry tomatoes, onion and a little reduced-fat grated cheese.
- A brownie? Really?
Yes, but with avocado replacing butter. Chocolate-flavoured protein powder can be used in some recipes, with adjustments for texture and taste.
- A chocolate milkshake?
A sweet smoothie made with skimmed milk, white-chocolate-flavoured protein, reduced-fat cocoa, vanilla and coffee may provide fewer than the 1000 kcal you might imagine, depending on portions.
Other examples include these “chocolate doughnuts” and this quinoa “paella”.
Why experiment? People sometimes assume meeting nutritional needs means giving up every food they enjoy. Adapted recipes can retain familiar flavours and formats, whether a smoothie, cake, cookie, noodle dish or red lentil burger. They are alternatives, not compulsory substitutes.
Spices, flavourings and selected reduced-fat products can help change recipes, but “light” or “0%” is not a complete health judgement. For more about misleading claims, watch this talk by Aitor Sánchez of Mi Dieta Cojea.
Here are two sweet recipes to try at home:
Oat and chocolate cookies
These cookies supply carbohydrates, protein and fat. They may fit a post-workout snack, depending on your needs. The example quantities are for approximately one person; the original panel lists a substantial share of calories from fat, so they should not be called almost fat-free.
- Rolled oats 25 g (2 tablespoons)
- Cinnamon – 1 g (1 dessertspoon in the source; use the stated weight)
- Raw egg 30 g (1/2 piece)
- Olive oil 2 g (1 teaspoon)
- Liquid saccharin – 2 g (a small splash)
- Cinnamon – 1 g (1 dessertspoon in the source; use the stated weight)
- Vanilla extract 1 g (1 teaspoon)
- 70–85% dark chocolate 5 g (1 square)
- Cookie-flavoured protein powder – 15 g (half a scoop)
Method
- Mix the oats, cinnamon, vanilla extract, half an egg, liquid sweetener, olive oil, chopped chocolate and protein powder in a bowl. Cinnamon appears twice in the source list; do not add a second amount unintentionally.
- Mix thoroughly into a paste.
- Spoon into small balls on microwave-safe baking paper.
- Microwave on full power for around 3 minutes, adjusting for the appliance and ensuring the egg mixture is cooked through.
Nutrition figures
- Kcal: 262
- Protein: 19 g / 76 kcal (29% of total calories)
- Carbohydrates: 23 g / 92 kcal (36% of total calories)
- Fat: 10 g / 90 kcal (35% of total calories)
Apple-pie-style cake with walnuts
Approximate quantities for 5 servings. Adapt portions to your needs, and refrigerate or freeze portions safely rather than leaving the cake at room temperature all week.
Apple-pie-flavoured oat flour – 60 g (3 scoops)
2 whole eggs – 120 g
Egg whites – 70 g
Cinnamon to taste
Olive oil (1 tablespoon)
Honey – 5 g (1 small teaspoon)
Baking powder (½ sachet)
Sweetened 0% fat yoghurt – 125 g (1 pot)
1 apple
Walnuts – 15 g (1 small handful)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Chop the apple, place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for around 4 minutes.
- Beat the whole eggs and egg whites thoroughly.
- Gradually whisk in the yoghurt, cinnamon and honey.
- Add the oat flour gradually while whisking.
- Stir in the baking powder.
- Fold in the apple pieces.
- Pour into a tin, distribute the chopped walnuts over the cake and bake at 180°C until cooked through. The source says 120 minutes, which appears unusually long for this recipe; begin checking much earlier and use doneness rather than that unverified time.
- The apple gives a moist cake. Cool slightly before serving and store safely.
Nutrition figures
- Calories: 738 (5 servings of approximately 147 kcal)
- Protein: 38 g / 152 kcal (21% of total calories)
- Carbohydrates: 75 g / 300 kcal (41% of total calories)
- Fat: 32 g / 288 kcal (39% of total calories)
For an online nutritionist to design a personalised plan, explore our online sports nutritionist service.
