Snack attack!
Vending machines wage war on diets
By STEPHANIE ALLMON
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
If you rely on vending machines to satisfy afternoon cravings, you might be waging war on your diet.
Fortunately, calorie-counters who find themselves in the trenches usually can find a few safe options. But not many.
Here's a color-coded battle plan for your best and worst vending-machine choices in terms of calories and fat grams.
Some tips:
Sorry, Mrs Baird and Little Debbie -- there's no such thing as a baked "good" from a machine.
Remember: Portion size counts. Four ounces is a big bag of Corn Nuts. Your machine may offer a smaller size. Of course, it may offer a bigger size, too. Check the label.
Sugar-free doesn't mean low-cal. (Check out the calories in the vanilla wafers, sweetened with NutraSweet.)
Low-fat and fat-free don't mean low-cal, either. (Skittles, with 2.5 grams fat, have more calories than a Nestle Crunch bar, with 11.)
"Baked chips" may not mean "lower in calories than the chocolate you crave." (A bag of Cheddar & Sour Cream Baked Lays has as many calories as two Reese's Peanut Butter Cups -- but, yes, less fat.)
There might be other advantages to some higher-calorie snacks. Peanuts, for example, have a lot more calories and fat than a Rice Krispies Treat, but they have about 13 times the protein, making for a much more satisfying snack for most people.
RED ALERT! (More than 300 calories)
Corn Nuts (4-ounce bag)
520 calories
17 grams fat
Little Debbie Double Decker Oatmeal Creme Pie
470 calories
18 grams fat
Otis Spunkmeyer Banana Nut Muffin
460 calories
22 grams fat
Mrs Baird's Orchard Cherry Pie
450 calories
22 grams fat
Act II Butter Lover's popcorn
394 calories
28 grams fat
Mrs Baird's cinnamon rolls (package of 2)
380 calories
12 grams fat
Duchess Powdered Sugar Donuts (package of 6)
370 calories
18 grams fat
Fritos Chili Cheese corn chips
320 calories
20 grams fat
Cheetos
320 calories
20 grams fat
Golden Batch Sugar-Free Vanilla Wafers (package of 4)
320 calories
22 grams fat
DANGER AHEAD! (250-300 calories)
Lance Sunflower Kernels
300 calories
25 grams fat
Planters Salted Peanuts
290 calories
25 grams fat
Kar's Sweet 'n Salty Mix
280 calories
16 grams fat
Snickers
280 calories
14 grams fat
Twix (package of 2)
280 calories
14 grams fat
Keebler Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers (package of 8)
260 calories
13 grams fat
3 Musketeers
260 calories
8 grams fat
Peanut M&M's
250 calories
13 grams fat
Nacho Cheese Doritos
250 calories
13 grams fat
Skittles
250 calories
2.5 grams fat
APPROACH WITH CAUTION! (200-249 calories)
Milk Chocolate M&M's
240 calories
10 grams fat
Starburst chews
240 calories
5 grams fat
Power Bar (peanut butter)
240 calories
3.5 grams fat
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (package of 2)
230 calories
13 grams fat
Cheddar & Sour Cream Baked Lays
230 calories
6 grams fat
Nestle Crunch
220 calories
11 grams fat
Chex Mix Bold Party Blend
220 calories
9 grams fat
Junior Mints
220 calories
4 grams fat
Pop Secret 94-percent Fat-Free Butter-flavor popcorn
220 calories
4 grams fat
Hot Tamales
220 calories
0 grams fat
French Onion Sun Chips
210 calories
9 grams fat
Rolo chews
210 calories
9 grams fat
PROCEED, IF YOU MUST (Fewer than 200 calories)
Funyuns
180 calories
8 grams fat
Nature Valley Oats & Honey granola bar (Package of 2)
180 calories
6 grams fat
Baked Nacho Cheese Doritos
170 calories
4 grams fat
Rice Krispies Treat
160 calories
4 grams fat
York Peppermint Pattie
160 calories
3 grams fat
Snyder's Fat-Free Mini Pretzels
160 calories
0 grams fat
NutriGrain Strawberry Cereal Bar
140 calories
3 grams fat
Life Savers Gummies
140 calories
0 grams fat
SOURCES: Product labels and Web sites. Nutritional information based on entire package.
