Even before Halloween, the rollout of Holiday goodies begins. As November goes by, all the packaging is turning red and green and everything has a 'pumpkin spice' variety. Us consumers eat these seasonally branded items right up --literally and figuratively! Something about the feeling that these items are 'for a limited time' makes us gobble them up, and while they may do something to boost our holiday cheer, they can be terrible for our waistlines. Before you sip or snack or add a 'holiday edition' treat to your shopping cart, let's take a took at some of the potentially worst nutritional offenders below:
Panera Pumpkin Muffin
Real pumpkin may be the second ingredient in this muffin, but sugar's the first, so let's call this what it really is: a giant cupcake!
1 muffin = 590 calories, 22g fat, 53g of sugar.
Marie Callender's Lattice Apple Pie
I was shocked to find that almost every pie in this line still contains trans fats! And not just a little bit!
1 serving (1/10th pie) = 340 calories, 16g fat (3g trans fat!), 23 g sugar
Hostess Holiday Fruitcake
The joke may be that no one likes fruitcake, but if that were the case, they wouldn't appear on store shelves every holiday season! This one in particular can be deceiving, because its first ingredients are raisins, pineapple, and orange peel, so it can't be that bad for you, right? Wrong. Read on and find preservatives, a ton of sugar (including HFCS) and even trans fats.1 serving (1/4 cake) = 420 calories, 12g fat (
Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries are an ultra healthy fruit, but cranberry sauces are often so sugared down that it eliminates all their healthy benefits.
1 serving (1/4 cup) = 110 calories, 0g fat, 24g sugar
Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte
This seasonal favorite has as many calories as regular egg nog, and a shocking amount of fat and sugar, especially for something that's not even going to fill you up.
1 Grande Latte w/ 2% milk (16 oz) = 470 calories, 20g fat, 52 g of sugar.
The Bakery at Walmart Pecan Pie
Since the first ingredient of this pie is corn syrup, it's no surprise that this pie packs quite the sugar and calorie wallop. One slice also has close to half of your daily recommendation for fat and the same amount of sugar as 3.5 candy canes.
1 serving (1/8th pie) = 520 calories, 25g fat, 29g sugar.
Dunkin Donuts Peppermint Mocha Latte
This coffee treat is laden with high-calorie syrups, and has the same amount of sugar as 6 1/2 candy canes, or 1 1/3 cans of soda.
1 Medium Latte (whole milk) = 360 calories, 10g fat, 55g sugar
Kellog's Gingerbread Pop-Tarts
The fact that these are advertised as breakfast makes me shudder. The label 'good source of vitamins and minerals' doesn't mean anything if it's loaded with sugar, fat, and artificial colors. And it puzzles me that a serving size is one pastry, but one sleeve contains two.
1 serving (1 Pop-tart or 1/2 sleeve) = 200 calories, 5g of fat and 16g sugar
Wegman's Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
While real pumpkin does make it in to the top 5 ingredients on this cheesecake, it's accompanied by cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, and eggs. If you were making it from scratch, you'd add some spices and flour and you'd probably be done. But this one adds in preservatives, HFCS,and 'natural and artificial flavors' to make it a truly bad option for your holiday.
1 slice (1/10th pie) = 440 calories, 31g fat, 24g sugar