Well, 16 years of educating others I thought I was immune to the everyday angst of nutritional dilemmas!!!!!!

Until very recently, so recent that I still can’t believe it and I may be in recovery for a while!

Okay enough drama, here’s what happened:

I was on a long journey driving through the night and pulled into a service station to refresh with a coffee. It was 3am so calculating ahead as my usual Dietitian head does, I considered my ‘up and coming’ breakfast options and I decided I would pick up a snack at this point so if anything changes later with my journey then I could keep on driving.

While ordering the coffee I perused the appealing, but limited, arrangement of sweet stodge!

I decide I would over look these and went for the most righteous option the ‘Nutty Flapjack’.

I paid, ate and drank with satisfaction. Ah! However things quickly turned nasty! As I finished my flapjack I smelt a rat, (okay not literally) the flavours were sweeter and fattier than my finely tuned palate was expecting, alarm bells rang. The detective flick switched on in me and I peered at the small print – the ingredients and nutrient information.

AHHHH! I nearly choked, if the coffee hadn’t woken me up at 3am then the info on the packet certainly did!!!

I had consumed the equivalent of a hamburger and small fries, or two slices of cake, or a cooked breakfast. What a cheat.

What made it even harder to swallow (wished I hadn’t!) was that it was made with 60% butter and condensed milk with a scant offering of oats, nuts and more sugar!!!! So I couldn’t even glory in the, ‘well the ingredients were superior’ therefore I shall accept the wonderful nutrients and the kcal’s come as a consequence.

This experience brought me straight to the coal face of what my clients experience daily and why sometimes when you think you are doing right you are doing wrong.

The moral of the story: no matter who you are! If you are keeping to a healthy eating plan, check all ingredients and nutritional information as you could be in for a surprise!

Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.