Trail Mix is a popular snack, but one which can really contribute hidden calories to any diet. Planters Trail Mix Golden Nut Crunch for example, while tasting great with it's mix of peanuts, almonds, raisins, honey roasted cashews, peanut candy pieces, honey roasted sunflower seeds, pretzel sticks and sesame sticks, it's also 3 tablespoons per serving which will contribute 17% of the recommended daily intake of total fat, and 10% of the saturated fat recommendations. That's more fat than you get from a small bag of potato chips!
Three tablespoons is really not a lot - there are 16 tablespoons in a cup - so before you know it, you could eat 50% or more of your daily fat servings could come from these nuts! There are also 160 calories per 3 tablespoon serving (about the same as is in a small bag of potato chips). Of course, I'm not saying that Planter's Trail mix shouldn't be eaten - just in moderation. My solution is to take out a certain amount to take with me - and eat no more. I never eat directly from the bag - since I really have little self control when it comes to snacks!
Jen said:
I think that trail mix and granola are the two foods most commonly mistaken as diet-friendly (a term some people use to excuse eating gobs and gobs of a particular food item, insisting that it is healthy and/or will not cause weight gain). Of course, no food should be eaten in "gobs", but really, 320 calories for 1/2 cup of mixed [tasty whatever]?! A cruel, cruel joke, friends.