I just returned from the grocery store where I was looking for
some tasty munchies that weren't too high in calories. Most
chips and snacks have 120-180 calories per serving. Some
serving sizes are quite small!
So I found this new variety of chex mix (their sweet-n-salty
variety) which contains 9 servings at 120 calories each. That
sounded good, and I bought them.
Here is the label I read:
Well, I started thinking when I got home--this looks almost
like a 'big grab' bag of a snack that would realistically only be
two or three servings. I started thinking that if anyone in the
household opened the bag, they would easily eat half of it and
not realize they had downed what I calculated to be 540
calories--an awful lot for a snack!
So I decided to portion the bag out into the 9 servings in little
snack baggies.
Only I ran out of chex mix way before I got to the 9 baggies!
Here is what I managed, pictured on the right: Five--count
'em--FIVE little baggies. Now, I think the little ziploc bagful is
okay for a snack, but I also think most people would probably
easily eat two of the portions I ended up with if they weren't
paying careful attention, or dishing out their snack serving
before they sat down to eat it. Eating out of the bag would
surely be a lost cause!
Meanwhile, if I eat one of these portions I just made, it comes
out to about 215 calories. Not what I had in mind for a
lower-calorie snack!
If you've been reading labels for portion sizes and calories,
good for you! But my little experiment showcases how off we
can be when thinking about an amount of a food we might
realistically eat. Think about portioning out your snacks in a
measured dish next time you count on having one with a
reasonable number of calories
some tasty munchies that weren't too high in calories. Most
chips and snacks have 120-180 calories per serving. Some
serving sizes are quite small!
So I found this new variety of chex mix (their sweet-n-salty
variety) which contains 9 servings at 120 calories each. That
sounded good, and I bought them.
Here is the label I read:
Well, I started thinking when I got home--this looks almost
like a 'big grab' bag of a snack that would realistically only be
two or three servings. I started thinking that if anyone in the
household opened the bag, they would easily eat half of it and
not realize they had downed what I calculated to be 540
calories--an awful lot for a snack!
So I decided to portion the bag out into the 9 servings in little
snack baggies.
Only I ran out of chex mix way before I got to the 9 baggies!
Here is what I managed, pictured on the right: Five--count
'em--FIVE little baggies. Now, I think the little ziploc bagful is
okay for a snack, but I also think most people would probably
easily eat two of the portions I ended up with if they weren't
paying careful attention, or dishing out their snack serving
before they sat down to eat it. Eating out of the bag would
surely be a lost cause!
Meanwhile, if I eat one of these portions I just made, it comes
out to about 215 calories. Not what I had in mind for a
lower-calorie snack!
If you've been reading labels for portion sizes and calories,
good for you! But my little experiment showcases how off we
can be when thinking about an amount of a food we might
realistically eat. Think about portioning out your snacks in a
measured dish next time you count on having one with a
reasonable number of calories
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A Surprise Serving Size