Air travel and eating
I just returned from a trip to Dallas, Texas, on Northwest Airlines. I was surprised when they announced that in addition to the complimentary beverage service, they were offering snacks for $2 - your choice of a can of Pringles potato chips or a trail mix type of snack.
I wasn't as much hungry as I was intrigued about the trail mix snack, so I forked over my $2.
I always look at the serving size first. In this case, one serving is 1/4 cup, and the package contains 3 1/2 servings. Most people will eat the entire package, which is the first problem.
Each serving contains 150 calories; not bad for a snack. But if you eat the whole package, you get 525 calories, which is about 1/3 of the daily calories for many women. Wow!
Each serving also contains 10 grams of fat; eat the whole package and you get 35 grams of fat, or 45% of the total needed for someone who eats 2000 calories per day. The saturated fat is 1.5 grams per serving; or 28% of daily needs. No trans fats, which is the first positive thing I've found.
Here's the good news: this particular trail mix contains roasted cashews, roasted almonds, raisins, and dried cranberries, in that order. Over half of the bag's contents were cashews. I really dislike cashews, so I carefully separated all of them out. I then ate the almonds (there were 10, about 1 ounce or 1 serving), the raisins and the dried cranberries (about 2 tablespoons total). So what could have been a high calorie, high fat snack turned out to be just right. Thank goodness I don't like cashews!
I always make sure to bring my own snacks along with me when I fly. That way I have control over what I eat, and I don't have to spend a lot of money. But on this trip, I learned some important info that I can share with you and my clients: read the label, pay attention to portion sizes, and eat only what you like!
Lynn
I wasn't as much hungry as I was intrigued about the trail mix snack, so I forked over my $2.
I always look at the serving size first. In this case, one serving is 1/4 cup, and the package contains 3 1/2 servings. Most people will eat the entire package, which is the first problem.
Each serving contains 150 calories; not bad for a snack. But if you eat the whole package, you get 525 calories, which is about 1/3 of the daily calories for many women. Wow!
Each serving also contains 10 grams of fat; eat the whole package and you get 35 grams of fat, or 45% of the total needed for someone who eats 2000 calories per day. The saturated fat is 1.5 grams per serving; or 28% of daily needs. No trans fats, which is the first positive thing I've found.
Here's the good news: this particular trail mix contains roasted cashews, roasted almonds, raisins, and dried cranberries, in that order. Over half of the bag's contents were cashews. I really dislike cashews, so I carefully separated all of them out. I then ate the almonds (there were 10, about 1 ounce or 1 serving), the raisins and the dried cranberries (about 2 tablespoons total). So what could have been a high calorie, high fat snack turned out to be just right. Thank goodness I don't like cashews!
I always make sure to bring my own snacks along with me when I fly. That way I have control over what I eat, and I don't have to spend a lot of money. But on this trip, I learned some important info that I can share with you and my clients: read the label, pay attention to portion sizes, and eat only what you like!
Lynn
posted by Lynn Grieger and Mike Ryan at
8:51 PM
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