The Unhealthiest Pre-Packaged Guacamoles You Should Avoid
You'd think with ingredients like avocado, tomato, onion, spices, and citric acid as a preservative, guacamole is overall a pretty healthy product. And while most pre-packaged guacamoles sold in grocery stores contain those simple ingredients, some store-bought guacamoles are still healthier than others.
The primary factors that differentiate one guacamole from another are on their nutritional facts labels -- since the ingredients of most guacamole products are similar, it's typically metrics like fat and sodium totals that determine their relative healthfulness. That said, there are very few pre-packaged guacamoles that might make for as potentially unhealthy of a choice as, say, some of the unhealthiest boxed macaroni and cheeses you can buy. Nevertheless, the following list highlights each of the pre-packaged guacamoles that can be considered among the unhealthiest on the market. Shoppers for whom a restrictive diet is a priority, therefore, may want to take note of these guacamole options and consider opting for healthier choices.
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Albertsons Mild Guacamole
Many big chains sell guacamole in generic packaging, which differentiates buying grocery store guacamoles from shopping for other common pre-packaged items that are often packaged under their proprietary store brand. So, while Albertsons offers guacamole under the Signature Select label unique to stores owned by the Albertsons company, also available is an even more generic option adorned with little more than a brand-less, minimalistic sticker on the outside of its plastic container.
The generic Albertsons Mild Guacamole earns a spot among the unhealthiest pre-packaged guacamole options primarily due to its high sodium content. In total, a single 100-gram serving contains about 133 calories, 10 grams of fat, 450 milligrams of sodium, and almost 7 grams of carbs. Markedly absent from the generic Albertsons guacamole is saturated fat, but 19% of the FDA's daily recommended quantity of sodium is notable in and of itself for a food item most often incorporated into a meal as a dip or spread. Of course, it's possible and perhaps even likely that someone might want to eat more than 100 grams of guacamole in a single sitting, resulting in an even higher percentage of the FDA's recommended sodium intake.
Classic Sabra Singles
Sabra is recognizable for its hummus first and foremost, including one of the nine unhealthiest store-bought hummus products. However, Sabra also produces a few different kinds of guacamole. While they all contain many of the same ingredients, the guacamole item that earns a spot on this list is the package of Classic Sabra Singles. The "classic" branding refers to the straightforwardness of the guacamole recipe -- as opposed to spicier and flavored alternatives -- whereas "singles" means that the guacamole is separated into four individual dipping cups.
Compared to the other items in Sabra's guacamole lineup, the Classic Sabra Singles stand out for having more of just about everything per serving. In total, each 57-gram dipping cup contains 100 calories, 8 grams of fat, 2 grams of which are saturated fat, 280 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of carbs. That single cup, notably, contains 11% and 10% of the FDA's daily recommended fat and saturated fat totals. Meanwhile, consuming just two Sabra Singles would result in about one-quarter of the FDA's daily recommended sodium intake. Anyone trying to limit fat or sodium, then, should opt for a healthier guacamole product.
Wholly Classic Guacamole
Like Sabra, Wholly is a nationally distributed company with products sold in a variety of grocery stores including Target, Walmart, and Albertsons. That said, Wholly is a specialty brand that only produces guacamole and other avocado-based products. Shoppers looking for a guacamole on the healthier end of the spectrum might want to avoid the Wholly Classic Guacamole in particular.
The aspect of Wholly Classic Guacamole that stands out most is its total number of calories, but it's high in fat and sodium too. One 30-gram serving equals 70 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of which is saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, and 2 grams of carbs. Multiplying by three and still landing a little short of a 100-gram serving results in 210 calories, 18 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, and 420 milligrams of sodium -- all noteworthy numbers. That quantity of fat alone is equivalent to about a quarter of the FDA's daily recommended value. Wholly Classic Guacamole, then, is a particularly unhealthy option for anybody on a diet for which calorie intake is important as well as those limiting their fat or sodium consumption.
Dean's Guacamole Dip
What differentiates Dean's Guacamole Dip from its competitors is the fact that it's explicitly labeled a "dip" rather than a simple guacamole. In practice, this means that it contains a much larger list of ingredients than what's standard for a guacamole product. While the end result may be a somewhat different consistency than usual, it's a guacamole all the same -- and one that belongs on this list of the unhealthiest pre-packaged options available in stores.
Each 29-gram serving of Dean's Guacamole Dip contains 90 calories, 9 grams of fat, 3 grams of which are saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of sugar. To start, virtually all of those numbers exceed the totals per-gram contained in most other items in the guacamole aisle. Plus, it's made with a large quantity of adjunct ingredients including dyes like Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5 -- which is key to how Mountain Dew gets its color -- and Yellow 6. While it's debatable whether or not those and other ingredients like autolyzed yeast extract are outright unhealthy, there are, at least, some consumers who might prefer to avoid them. Altogether, then, its total numbers of calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, extra ingredients, and even sugar are all valid reasons to opt for a guacamole other than Dean's Guacamole Dip.
Good & Gather Classic Guacamole Singles
Good & Gather is a brand proprietary to Target's groceries department. Of the different guacamole products that Target produces under that branding, it's the Good & Gather Classic Guacamole Singles that stand out most for their potential unhealthiness.
Each package of Good & Gather Guacamole Singles contains six individual dipping cups. One 57-gram cup totals 120 calories, 10 grams of fat, 2 grams of which are saturated fat, 270 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of sugar. Incorporating just two of those cups into one meal results in 240 calories, 20 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 540 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of sugar -- while small, sugar is uncharacteristic of guacamole, making that last number notable. Overall, though, it's calories, fat, and sodium that stand out in particular. Exercising self-control and limiting oneself to a single dipping cup of Good & Gather Guacamole may mitigate the product's health impact, but it belongs amidst the unhealthiest guacamoles all the same.
Simple Truth Everything Seasoning Mashed Avocado
The Simple Truth brand is a health-oriented label oftentimes applied to organic products sold at stores under the Kroger umbrella. Simple Truth guacamoles are not all organic but they are produced with all natural ingredients. That said, the Everything Seasoning-flavored Simple Truth Mashed Hass Avocado -- effectively a guacamole, even if it's called something slightly different -- stands out as one of the unhealthiest pre-packaged guacamole options on the market.
Like the Sabra and Good & Gather singles, the Simple Truth Everything Seasoning Mashed Avocado guacamole is separated into single-serving cups. Each of those 56-gram cups contains 100 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of which is saturated fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of sugar. Of note are that relatively small serving's calories content, a quantity of fat equivalent to 10% of the FDA's daily recommended value, and even that gram of sugar. Seemingly, the addition of sesame seeds to produce an everything seasoning flavor is significant enough to earn the Simple Truth Everything Seasoning Mashed Avocado guacamole a spot on this list.
Park Street Deli Classic Guacamole Cups
Aldi is another grocery store that packages its proprietary guacamole in single-serving cups, under its Park Street Deli brand. Of those and a few other guacamole options, it's the Park Street Deli Classic Guacamole Cups that belong among the unhealthiest guacamole products in major grocery store chains.
Each 57-gram cup of Park Street Deli Classic Guacamole includes 120 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1 ½ grams of which are saturated fat, 250 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of sugar. In addition to a notable calorie count, those quantities of fat and sodium are equivalent to 13% and 11% of the FDA's daily recommended value each -- and that's just in a single cup. Plus, once again, a single gram of sugar may not be significant in the grand scheme of things, but it's atypical for guacamole. While Aldi may oftentimes help shoppers save money, its Park Street Deli Classic Guacamole Cups might not help certain diet-minded customers stick to their health goals.
Del Monte Fresh Guac
Whereas many of the non-store exclusive brands that produce guacamoles at least specialize in dips, the Guinness World Record-holding Del Monte is a wide-ranging foods company known for canned vegetables, fruit cups, and plenty more. The unhealthiest item in Del Monte's guacamole lineup is a product branded as Fresh Guac, packaged in individual dipping cups. It's perhaps the fact that each cup of guacamole needs to pack a flavorful punch, in spite of its relatively small size, that the recipes for these sorts of single serving-based items are oftentimes fattier and saltier than the norm.
One 57-gram container of Del Monte Fresh Guac contains 90 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of which is saturated fat, 200 milligrams of sodium, and 5 grams of carbs. That sole dipping cup, then, accounts for 12% of the FDA's daily recommended fat value. Plus, just two cups contain 400 milligrams of sodium, which is itself a sizable quantity. Del Monte Fresh Guac, then, earns its spot on this list of the unhealthiest guacamole options predominately for its fat and sodium content.
Methodology
Compiling this list of the unhealthiest pre-packaged guacamoles meant looking through every item available online at major grocery store chains. While it's entirely possible that an individual chain store might stock, say, a local option not listed online, this list encompasses virtually all nationally available brands.
Determining which guacamoles belong on this list meant assessing both their ingredients and nutritional facts. Ingredients seldom played a part because they're similar from brand to brand, with one notable exception -- Dean's Guacamole Dip -- which is reflected on this list. That exception aside, the sole factor used to determine if a guacamole product should be among the unhealthiest was its nutritional facts label. That said, each guacamole producer is limited to a single entry on this list for the sake of variety, so shoppers looking for a healthy choice might likewise want to remain cautions of other guacamole products produced by some of these same brands. Otherwise, if a guacamole is not on this list, that's because it's more-or-less in line with what's standard for a pre-packaged guacamole.
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