Cookies

cooking

Nov 28

CookiesThe grocery store is full of cookies!!?Chocolate covered cookies, fruit cookies, trans-fat-free cookies, 100 calorie pack cookies, and all sorts of cookies. Everyone loves them. But we have never really seen a list of do’s and don’ts for buying them or compared them side by side.We found that you really have to be aware of how many total calories you are bringing to your house and that big boxes of cookies are not a good idea!Portion Control100 calorie packs are a great option if you eat just one per day. Who can argue with portion control on cookies? Although we do think you have to be honest with yourself? If you are one of the only one eating these in your house, how many packs would you eat in a day? The boxes that come with 6 to a pack are going to add 600 calories to your week.Another option, which we consider the very best of all, is to not store any cookies in the house and when you really want one you can drive for it. Starbucks and other places usually offer biscotti and other one-pack options that are only 100 calories each. Be aware that the really large ones that are the size of your hand almost always weigh in at 400-500 calories for each one. So smaller is better!Look at calories per packageWe noted that the cookies that are packaged in to-go portions bring a lot of calories in the house. We took a look at the Nutter Butter Sandwich Cookies 2 Go Packs of 12. Each 2-ounce portion is about 260 calories and 11 grams of fat. So, you are bringing over 3000 calories in the house! If you eat these by yourself and they are excess calories, which is likely for most people, that would add almost a pound to your waist over just one week. The same type of Oreo packs bring 2000 calories into the house.Cookie “Rules”If you look at the chart below, which compares the cookies by how many calories they have in an ounce, you will see that the fat-free and low-fat cookies are the lowest in calories. But this doesn’t mean that fat-free is calorie free. Cookies are still a lot more calories per ounce than the treats mother nature provides on her trees:Melon 8.5Berries 9Oranges 13Apples 14Pears 16Grapes 19Banana 25Raisins 84Sugar-free is not calorie free. The Snackwell Sugar-Free Shortbread cookies are not low in fat by comparison below. We were surprised to see their fat and calorie count.

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

Cookies

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