100 Calorie Packs Decoded

In the calorie-counting craze of the past few years, companies started to manufacture portion-controlled packages of cookies, pretzels, crackers, popcorn, etc.- basically all of the munchee snack food you crave in bags that hold a mere 100 calorie-sized portion. While most would say hoorah, I tend to frown on these bags. In my opinion, it's false advertisement! People see 100 calorie bag and automatically think woohoo- healthy, when in actuality, it's basically just 100 empty calories. Most of these 100 calorie packs are chocked full of sugar, empty carbs, and processed ingredients.

Now, that's not to say they have no value. While nutritionally, they don't make the cookies any better for you, it's a great way for those of us who have a hard time stopping at just one cookie indulge. If you LOVE Milano cookies, and just can't picture life without them, the new 100 calorie packages are great- they make sure you stop after the 2 cookies that the package provides! And if you can't help yourself from finishing the whole bag of goldfish in one sitting, these 100 calorie packs could be your new best friends- just keep in mind the goldfish didn't get any more nutritious.

Anyway, the takeaway: use these packages as an indulgence- not as a filling snack. In my opinion, the best way to indulge in a 100 calorie snack is to make your own 100 calorie bags from healthy snacks that contain a lot of fiber and protein. If anything, these packs are eye-openers for those who don't realize just how caloric snacks can be if they aren't controlled- I mean, common- 2 milano cookies?! 3 golfball-sized Hostess cupcakes?! What a tease!

But, if I had to pick my top choice of 100 calorie packs, I'd definitely have to say Blue Diamond's 100 calorie bags of almonds are a winner- nuts are a filling snack, with lots of healthy fats, and each 100 calorie (18g) serving of almonds has about 4g of protein and around 1g of sugar. Compare that against Nabisco's 100 calorie bags which have an average 1g of protein and as much as 8g of sugar- yikes! Not to mention, I can pronounce the 1 and only ingredient on the bag of almonds (almonds, duh!), in comparison to the long list of junk in Nabisco's 100 calorie packs. Pin It