ome things in life should be simple. Parking in Bull?s Head for example. All you have to do is pay $5 in dollar coins or quarters and you?re all set for the day. However what if you don?t have any change? Stop and get some at the gas station? Maybe, if you?re prepared to risk the cashiers 8 a.m., ?I?d rather be anywhere than here and what do you think this is? A bank?? glower. Good point though, so stop at the bank to use their change machine and oh look, they don?t have dollar coins, but thankfully they do have quarters.

Next spend 20 minutes trying to work the change machine. Fail miserably, so knock (ok, bang) on the glass doors to get the attention of an employee as machine has now eaten cash. Bear in mind that it?s now 8.45 am and the bank is not yet officially open. Glowering employees would be an understatement. Death stares would be far more accurate.

Still, one employee comes to your aid, presses the only button you didn?t and hey presto, your coins pop out. How embarrassing. Finally you arrive at Bull?s Head and go to the ticket machine armed with 20 quarters. Apart from actually, when it comes down to it, you only picked up 19. So now ? during the five to nine, going-to-be-late, ticket buying frenzy ? not only have you committed the cardinal sin of paying for your ticket with quarters, but you have to keep everyone waiting whilst you race back to the car for the missing one. As you may have guessed, this was how my day started?

Now as so many other things in life end up being more complicated than necessary, my plan this month has been to try and simplify nutrition for you. These 4 weeks of ?try this, not that?? aim to help you make a healthy choice, quickly and simply. You don?t have to spend hours analysing the food labels, because I?m doing it for you.

Pasta sauces are just one of the areas where people go wrong, day in and day out. Pasta is so quick and easy to cook that it?s a mainstay in most households in Bermuda. However, it?s repeatedly served as macaroni cheese, or with an alfredo sauce like the one in the table. In many ways it?s totally unfair to do a nutritional comparison of a creamy alfredo sauce to a tomato-based sauce, because of course the alfredo sauce will be higher in fat and calories. However, what I wanted to point out today was just how much worse creamy sauces tend to be.

So as you can see, if you use the same amount of sauce as you would with a tomato-based sauce, the Ragu alfredo sauce will provide a whopping 20.5g of fat ? that?s nearly a third of your daily allowance and nearly 40% of your maximum saturated fat intake. Not only is this hugely calorific (225 calories) but the people at Ragu have been fairly crafty. Nutrition information is usually listed according to serving size, and they have their serving size as 61g, compared to an average sauce serving size of 125g. Yet in reality you are going to use just as much alfredo sauce as tomato sauce, so it?s even worse than you think.

Now, poor Ragu alfredo, I?m not done with it yet! As you can also see from the chart, a comparative serving contains more than double the amount of sodium (819mg) than the Scarpetta (340mg) or Muir Glen (350mg) tomato sauces. As the alfredo sauce is a dairy based product, it also contains cholesterol ? 62.5mg, more than 20% of the recommended daily maximum.

To be fair to Ragu, they do have a tomato-based ?traditional? sauce and it is only slightly higher in sugar and fat than the two sauces I have pictured here. It does however contain nearly twice as much sodium and bizarrely for a plain tomato sauce, it also contains cheese. There is no mention of cheese on the front of the jar, so this goes to show that those who are lactose or dairy intolerant need to be extra-careful when reading food labels.

When it comes to choosing pasta sauce, I would always, always choose a tomato based sauce, and preferably one of the two pictured here! The Scarpetta Marinara sauce contains tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper, and that?s it. It?s a little higher in fat than the Muir Glen sauce as it?s heavier on the olive oil, but the total fat content is still low. The Muir Glen sauce is another exceptional product. It?s organic, natural and as inexpensive as the Ragu brand - it?s delicious too! By the way, whilst I obviously can?t list every brand in detail, the Amy?s Organic and the Organic President?s Choice tomato-based sauces are also great options.

So as tempting as creamy, cheesy, alfredo-style sauces may be, they are loaded with bad fat, sodium and cholesterol. Bad news for your heart and for anyone who?s out to impress on the beach this summer! Try opting for healthy tomato sauces instead ? your heart and waistline will thank you for it.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist. She can be contacted at 291 4725 or

Insert photo of Ragu sauce Cheesy Ragu Classic Alfredo 5160 Saturated fat 0g Trans fat0g0g0g 0mg0mg Sodium Sugars3.4g5g4.1g 1.1g YesYesNo $5.21 for 723g Store Lindos, General