Print
You try to walk past it, but you can’t seem to look away. All the pretty colors. All the choices. All the temptation.
What? When did we they start putting that in there? Ohhhh… I want it! And that’s how they get you. Before you know it, you’ve plunked in 65 cents, pressed B5 and scarfed down two king-size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Damn you, vending machine!
On your good days, you’re able to avoid the vending machine voodoo, but during the occasional weak moment… we understand. Not that we’re saying it’s OK to give in to temptation, but if your quarters accidentally fly into the change slot and you’re forced to choose something (you wouldn’t want to waste money, would you?), we’ll help you pick the lesser of all the evils.
First, here’s the list of most popular vending machine snacks by sales totals, according to Automatic Merchandiser:
1. Snickers
2. Doritos Big Grab
3. Peanut M&Ms
4. Cheetos Crunchy
5. Cheez-It Original
6. Twix Bar
7. Strawberry Frosted Pop-Tarts
8. Rice Krispies Treat
9. Lay’s Chips
10. Mrs. Freshley’s Jumbo Honey Buns
Clearly, there’s nothing “diet” about anything on this list. But if you had to pick something to munch on, our Director of Nutrition Services, Pam Ofstein, suggests you stick to the Rice Krispie Treat, Cheez-Its or Pop-Tarts (but only if you can eat one — we all know there are two delicious pastries in each package…).
Rice Krispies (90 calories, 2.5g fat, 17 carbs for one bar) easily took the top spot, but choosing the other “healthiest” options was a little tougher. “Where some may be lower in calories, they make up for it in fat or carbs,” Ofstein says. “It really just comes down to picking the best choice overall.”
So which most-popular snacks on this list should you absolutely steer clear of? “Hands down, the Doritos Big Grab chips and the honey buns,” Ofstein says. One single-serving bag of Doritos weighs in at a diet-wrecking 410 calories, 21g of fat and 30 carbs. And Mrs. Freshley’s Honey Buns are even worse — 590 calories, 29g fat and 76 carbs (Fun fact: The average slice of wheat bread has 12 carbs. That means you’d have to eat about 6.5 slices of bread to get the same amount of carbs as ONE honey bun!).
The bottom line is, any of these are a heck of a lot of “bad stuff” to waste on a little snack. I mean, if I was going to eat 590 calories, I’d much rather indulge on savory feast than one measly honey bun. Right?
Anyway, if I was to be bad, my pick of the list would be the Peanut M&Ms. How about you? Leave a comment below and pick your poison!
Email Page
