My Favorite 100 Calorie Snack

I've been hearing these things demonized since my very first day that I found Jimmy Moore's LLVLC forum.  All these months later I understand that this is rooted in the firmly held belief that calories must be irrelevant to the whole equation.  Lately there's a 100 Calorie Strawman being erected out there in low carb land -- this notion that somehow these 100 Calorie Packs are "healthy".   This is absurd, IMO.  I don't know a single person, regardless of dietary philosophy who believes that taking any food and repackaging it into 100 calorie portions will alter it's inherent healthfulness in any way.  And certainly if someone has an imperative reason for avoiding an ingredient (e.g. celiacs), there's no such thing as "moderation".  But even Dr. Rosedale says that he'll eat bread from time to time, although he's quite a bit more dramatic in what he considers the risk to his longevity to be.  If anything, packaging some of these snacks into 100 calorie portions is somewhat of an admission that they may not be all that healthy (so does that also apply to the almonds?) in portions one is likely to consume from a "Party size" bag of the stuff.  The point behind these things, that somehow the LC community seems to miss, is that the portion size is pre-measured in a nice round small calorie amount.  If you have issues with portion control, they can be a good thing.  Also, I'm sure there are lots of singles in my audience.  If you buy a whole large bag of chips, it's eat them or they go stale, I don't care how good the chip clip is.  Now, I prefer the little lunch-size packs if I'm going to eat this stuff, but it's all about finding ways to enjoy whatever it is you're doing without going overboard.  


Now, let me also say that I haven't tried most of these snacks.  If I'm going to eat Doritos or Oreos or whatever, I'd rather have two Oreos or however many Doritos makes 100 cals than these puffed up mini cookies and chips  barely resembling the real deal.    And, like I said, I think the small lunch packs are a better deal.   

But I've discovered a 100 cal snack that may well fit into the diets of many here.  I'm talking about Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop 100 cal mini-bags microwave popcorn.  I know I know ... corn is a grain!  Yikers!  But here's the rundown for 6.5 cups of popped corn:  100 calories of which 15 are from fat (2g), 220 mg sodium, 280 mg potassium, 24g total carb - 4g fiber = 20g carb and 3 g protein.  Sounds almost traditional Pima ratios there ;-)    And now for the ingredients:  Popping corn, palm oil , less than 2% of salt, potassium chloride, natural and artificial flavor, butter (cream, annatto), color added, TBHQ and citric acid.  OK, not 100% paleo either, but if Mark Sisson can convince y'all that maltodextrin is OK in moderation, then I'm going to do my darndest to convince you that the teeny bit of artificial flavor and TBHQ should not put you off.  And besides, that TBHQ might just be the next supplement promoted by Leptin Man!  After all, TBHQ stands for tertiary butylhydroquinone, which is an antioxidant!!  Read:  ROS scavenger.

OK ... tongue out of cheek.  You can get two dozen of these at Costco for a song, they make a great snack, satisfy my occasional craving for crunch, and heck IF you're really hungry have two!  I don't see much in these essentially whole kernels of corn and palm oil that's so damning.  Heck, they even fit into low carb plans.  I suppose hot air popped corn would be better, but I'm not about to make room for another gadget in my kitchen.   Enjoy!

Disclaimer:  This product contains starch.  This post is not medical or dietary advice.  Consult your physician to determine if it is safe to consume popcorn before trying this at home.

Comments

Wright Mind said…
There is some very interesting consumer research about the effect of these 100-calorie packs on chronic dieters. The upshot: dieters perceive food in 100-calorie packages to be diet food, and hence they will eat more of them. See: http://bit.ly/pN6gjy
AG85 said…
"Disclaimer: This product contains starch. This post is not medical or dietary advice. Consult your physician to determine if it is safe to consume popcorn before trying this at home."

lololol
CarbSane said…
Ahh ... "diet mentality" rears its ugly head again! The Friends study sounds most interesting. You activate someone's "diet mode", and they choose the smaller bags in an attempt to eat less junk during the study (clever how they thought the study was evaluating ads during the TV show). I'm sure there's a Snackwell effect with these 100 cal packs where folks end up eating more of them than they would eat of the real deal from a large bag.

I guess my point is that we can reprogram our diet mentalities. It's just the two of us in the house, and before I got married I lived alone (or with roommates where we basically had our own food) for many years. This is tricky b/c if I wanted cookies, back in the ED days, well, that meant a whole box. Now, if they're in the house, I can eat just one if I want, but stuff goes bad. This is why I'd rather hubs buy Little Debbies or similar that comes individually packaged because there's no even subconscious feeling of needing to finish so it doesn't go to waste. I was raised with a strong "nothing goes to waste" ethic. So that's what I like about the popcorn. It's not really that "bad" ingredients-wise, and it's really about the right size serving. Oh, and they travel well too. No worries over wasting.
Lesley Scott said…
While I'm not the biggest fan, really, of most any food or snack that comes packaged in a box or bag with a label, I do love things like those Babybel Light string-bags of lil' cheeses specifically because they're petite & portion-controlled. No worry about waste or the like. And yes, I opt for the "light" ones whenever possible b/c of the calories they save; I've compared them to the regular ones & can't really tell the difference, so if that's the case, the lower-calorie ones always win. For flying or long trips, things like those 100 calorie packs can be a total lifesaver, definitely.
Unknown said…
My favorite snacks also run around 100 calories--a banana or grapefruit or a few pecans. Is it possible 100 calories is our natural "snack" level?
Unknown said…
I had to stop buying the 100 calorie bags of almonds because I would invariably eat four bags of them at a time. Had to admit to myself I have no control whatsoever when it comes to nuts.

Now if I want a snack I eat a food that holds no appeal for me, like carrots, you can go to town on a bag of carrots and still be under 100 calories.
CarbSane said…
Oh but the carbs!!
CarbSane said…
I tend to think this is an artificial amt. But whatever works!
Galina L. said…
While it is possible to incorporate almost anything into any diet (frozen Belgian mini cream puffs or eclairs could be a good example - not many calories or carbs in each, less than 100, and they are frozen, so never get spoiled, but 20 sec in microwave will bring it to normal temperature), I found out, that the fan food and snacks lying around from time may lead to a slippery slope. We spent so much effort and exercised enough of will-power to respect our weight-loss results! Why eating a pop-corn has so high priority? I would rather be on a safe side than risking my hard-achieved results for some stupid pop-corn or cookies. Probably, I am unusual, I never tried a Little Debbie cake in my life, but I remember, how just one bite from my son's donut made me crave donuts for months, even though last time I ate one was more than 10 years ago.
CarbSane said…
Who said popcorn was a priority? I can eat a bite of donut without craving donuts for months ... NOW. I don't crave popcorn, but sometimes I do have a hankering for something crunchy and popcorn fits the bill. This is all because I have retooled my thinking about food. In my 20's one bite of donut would have meant as many as I could cram down my pie-hole and as quickly as possible. 100 calories of any food you don't allow power over you cannot undo hard fought gains (or losses as it were).
Wright Mind said…
Thanks for the link love on your twitter feed!
Swede said…
Haha you fools...

I eat 5000 calories per day of meat and fat. Nothing sticks to my ribs.

However, a single 100 calorie pack of Goldfish takes me out of ketosis and halts all fat loss.

Popcorn!? Don't get me started.
That stuff is genetically engineered to make us want to eat it all of the time. You cannot resist.
Unknown said…
You forgot to mention that you have the body of a Greek God despite only exercising 20 minutes per year.
Swede said…
20 minutes per year?! That works out to 3.29 seconds per day. That much exercise will just increase your appetite and make you eat more.
Sanjeev said…
> exercise will just increase your appetite

"just " is completely unsupportable here.

I win.

Gimme my low carb doggy biscuit.
Swede said…
Okay u win.

U should read good calories bad calories written by gary taubes.

No BS in there - pure low carb science.
Jane Cartelli said…
The only 100 calorie snack I eat that is (A) Really 100 calories, (B) satisfies me as a snack and (C) I can find readily, is a large granny smith apple. Tart and not too sweet, full of fiber, travels well and does not require a microwave, refrigerator, can opener or utensils. It does require teeth, which I have a full set of so I am good to go!
Unknown said…
You're right, my new game plan is to remain completely immobile at all times, I'll be burning fat like a furnace!
ProudDaddy said…
Methinks Swede has his tongue in his cheek. His photo indicates he has the same problems as most of us mortals.
Tonus said…
Just dip the carrots in coconut oil and presto! Instant weight loss!
CarbSane said…
I see y'all are having fun! :-)

@Jane, Welcome to the Asylum! Your point is well taken, love Granny Smiths myself.

Oh ... and folks I learned on the news this morning that popcorn contains antioxidants!
Galina L. said…
It is an easy guess then who payed for the research.