Truthfully, I don't think of any food as evil, but the term "lesser evil" refers to making the best choice when none of the choices are ideal. Sometimes we want to indulge in something that we really wish we could abstain from. I always say to be prepared, but we are only human, we have active, busy lifestyles and from time to time we will find ourselves in a mini mart or airport or somewhere where healthy food isn't exactly a priority.

This will even happen in our own homes. We are craving something decadent, and we want to know what to choose - the best of the worst. For example, sometimes I want something in what I like to call the "cookie/cakey" category. I have a sweet tooth, and this category is definitely one of my favorites. Some people like "salty/crunchy" foods, some crave " carby" and there are other categories with less cutesy names like comfort food, juicy, etc. Anyhow, for example, this one day I was really craving cookies, and in my cabinet, I had animal crackers, Teddy Grahams (the "best choice" snack from a mini-mart), ginger snaps and Italian biscotti.

When looking at calories and fat per serving, they were all somewhat similar and not too damaging to the waistline. However, when I read the ingredient list of the animal crackers and Teddy Grahams that our children live on, I was horrified at the long laundry list of ingredients I couldn't pronounce and didn't recognize.

That told me that those 2 items were disqualified. Ginger snaps were a little bit better of a choice, but the biscotti surprisingly had 5 ingredients: flour, eggs, butter, sugar and almonds. The best part of the whole thing was that of the 4 choices, the biscotti were by far the most delicious.

This doesn't mean that animal crackers and Teddy Grahams are evil. In fact, in an airport newstand, animal crackers are often the best choice. In fact, that is why I bought them in the first place. In a store filled with fried chips, candy bars, bright orange sodas and artificially flavored candy, animal crackers are your friends. In addition to nuts, dried fruits, pretzels and Japanese rice crackers, they may be your best sweet choice.

The key is that we need to learn how to make choices, and like life, the situations that require choice will constantly change. Very often, we make things too complicated. Keep it simple. Don't obsess but look at the ingredients and eat foods with ingredients that you can pronounce. Eat real foods. Your diet is a bank account. How are you going to invest?