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Sarah Schmalbruch
The INSIDER Summary:
- Carbohydrates can come in the form of sugars, starches, or fibers.
- The best carbs are the ones that are full of fiber and give your body energy.
- Refined and processed carbs like thosefound in white bread should be avoided.
- Somefoods that are surprisingly high in carbs include carrots, cashews, peanut butter, artichokes, corn, salad dressings, and fruit.
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You may think that all you need to do to cut carbs out of your life is to stop eating bread, rice, and noodles, but it's actually a lot more complicated than that.
Carbohydrates aresugars, starches, and fibers that can be found infruits, grains, vegetables, and milk products.
In other words, they're a nutrient that's prevalent in a lot offoods.
Despite the popularityof low carb diets, not all carbs are bad.Carbs that are full of fiber provide your body with the energy it needs to function. It's the refined and processed carbs found inwhite bread, for example, that you want to avoid.
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We rounded up 12 foods whose carb content might surprise you.
We're not saying you should avoid these foods by any means; we're simply pointing out that they havesignificantly more carbs than you would probably guess. Like with everything, moderation is key.
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Carrots
Chances are you didn't think you were consuming a whole lot of carbs when you were indulging in some carrots and hummus. Think again. A cup of carrots has around 12 grams of carbs.
Peanut butter
Thanks to the fact that its ingredients are mostly natural,Smuckers All Natural Peanut Butteronly has six grams of carbs per serving. Jif's Creamy Peanut Butterhas two grams more per serving, but the brand's reduced fat versionis the biggest offender when it comes to the nutrient. There are 15 grams of carbs in one serving.
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Yogurt
While plain yogurt does havecarbs, the kind of yogurt you really need to watch out for is flavored yogurt.The increased sugar content in flavored yogurt translates to more carbs as well. For example, most of Chobani's fruit-flavored Greek yogurt has around 18 grams of carbs per serving.
Sun-dried tomatoes
When they're left out in the sun to dry, tomatoes lose their water, but they also become sweeter, which makes them a popular addition to sandwiches, salads, eggs, and many other dishes. Just keep in mind thatyou're adding around 30 grams of carbs to your meal when you sprinkle a cup of these on top.
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Cashews
Cashews are significantly carby-ercompared to other nuts. Just one ounce of cashews packs about 9 grams of carbs.
Ketchup
This favorite condiment contains a fair amount of sugar, which is where its carbs come from. In fact, just a couple spoonfuls of ketchup will add around 10 grams of carbs to your meal.
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Dressings and sauces
Many salad dressings, sauces, and gravies are loadedwith sugar (and flour) to enhance flavor, which is also the reason why they can be a hidden source of carbs.
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Fruit
You'd be hard pressed to find a fruit that doesn't have carbs.That's because fruits are packed with natural sugar known as fructose.
Blueberries have one of the highest carb counts in the berrycategory (about 22 grams in one cup), whereas mangoes top the list for tropical fruits (around 25 grams per cup). Pears are also carb heavy; one large piece of the fruit has approximately 35 grams of carbs.
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Artichokes
In addition to being a good source of antioxidants, artichokes are also a source of carbs. Oneserving size of the vegetable (120 grams) contains 13 grams.
Milk
If you add milk to your morning coffee, thenthat means that your latte actually has carbs. One cup of plain milk has around 8 grams of carbs. That number jumps to about 26 grams when you treat yourself to a glass of chocolate milk.
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Corn
Yes, even vegetables can have carbs. Corn is actually packed with them. If you're looking to cut back on carbs, stick to corn on the cob, which has fewer carbsper serving. Otherwise, a cup of corn that's not on the cob contains around 31 grams of carbs.
Chickpeas
If you're looking to bulk up a salad, try chickpeas. The veggie packs 45 grams of carbs in just one cup. And since hummus is made from chickpeas, that means that there are carbs in that too.
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