A cheeseburger has 1190kJ and 12.5g of fat. There are lots of foods that are considered healthier choices that have more kilojoules than a cheeseburger, but not necessarily more fat.

Fat is the most kilojoule dense nutrient, containing 37kJ per gram compared to carbohydrate (16kJ/g) and protein (17kJ/g). Generally speaking, this is why reducing your fat intake can help you lose weight or manage a healthy weight, because reducing your fat intake is the most effective way of reducing your kilojoule intake.

The best advice in deciding what foods are healthier than others is to take into account a few more factors than just fat content and kilojoules.

The kind of fat matters.

Avocado, for example, contains more fat and kilojoules than a cheeseburger, yet the majority of the fat is monounsaturated which is considered very good for our health. It is also a great source of vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant) and dietary fibre. Nutrients a cheeseburger would not come close to providing.

The nutrient density matters.

A banana (510kJ) has more kilojoules than a fun size Mars Bar (357kJ) but does that make it the less healthy choice? Not at all…bananas are a fantastic source of dietary fibre, natural sugars, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C and other antioxidants. The chocolate bar gives you nothing but sugar and fat.

That being said, here are some foods that have more fat than a cheeseburger.

Caesar Salad

A regular size Caesar Salad from Sumo Salad has 1544kJ and 23.3g of fat. Caesar salad is often thought of as a healthy choice but in most cases it’s very high in kilojoules, fat and salt, particularly if you are buying it from a restaurant. Ingredients such as cheese, bacon, croutons and dressing add lots of fat and thus kilojoules to the meal and because the only vegetable in caesar salad is lettuce, theres not much nutrition in the way of vitamins and antioxidants. A greek salad or garden salad containing more variety of vegetables and dressed in olive oil is a much better choice.

Banana Bread

One slice of banana bread from a cafe has 1702kJ and 16.4g of fat. Banana bread, although containing bananas, is essentially a cake and not bread. Large amounts of sugar and butter are added to the mix making this not an overly healthy choice at all. You are better off having a skim latte with your friend at the cafe and grabbing a wholemeal salad sandwich instead.

Strawberry Milkshake

A small strawberry milkshake from New Zealand Natural has 1323kJ and 15.2g of fat. The word ‘natural’ can often mislead consumers into thinking that the product is healthier. Unfortunately because this is a drink, people are likely to eat a meal with this as well as liquids tend to not be as filling. One of the ways our culture is consuming too much energy is through drinks such as soft drink and milk based drinks. Liquid kilojoules quickly add up and although this would provide you with some calcium (important for women) there are much healthier ways of achieving your daily calcium needs such as skim milk on a high fibre breakfast cereal, a low fat yoghurt with fruit or low fat cottage cheese in a wrap.

Iced Caramel Macchiato

An iced caramel macchiato with full cream milk from Starbucks has 1218kJ and 10.5g of fat. Not only this, but it also contains 36g (7 tsp) of sugar. Liquid kilojoules are never a good thing as they don’t fill you up, meaning you’re likely to want to eat more food thus increasing your kilojoule intake even more. Switching to skim milk will reduce your fat intake, but it wont do anything for the sugar. You’re better off ordering a small skim latte or flat white or just drinking herbal tea or water and getting something healthy to eat.

Ham & Cheese Toasted Sandwich

Your humble ham and cheese toastie has 1634kJ and 20g of fat. Cheese is the fat adding culprit in this meal with 50g of cheese (what you’d put on a sandwich) adding 17g of fat. Make this meal more nutrient dense by switching to reduce fat cheese, using wholegrain or soy & linseed bread, 97% fat free ham, avocado instead of butter, tomato slices to add antioxidants, baby spinach for folate and vitamin C and serve with a small garden salad of lettuce, capsicum, cucumber and carrot sticks. Otherwise, make a sandwich on fresh wholegrain bread, 97% fat free ham, skip the cheese altogether and add avocado, sprouts, baby spinach, grated carrot, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato and roast capsicum.