Girl Scout Cookies - Wolves in Sheep’s clothing?
Published on Mar 11th, 2008 in Cravings with
Girl Scout cookies seem to be everywhere these days!
Coworkers bring in their child’s cookie order sheet to work and encourage you to, “Just buy 8 boxes, and Jenny will get her badge!” Bubbly girls in green bombard you as you enter and exit the grocery store by displaying the most tempting cookie (and they just happen to know what your most tempting cookie is too, by the way) right in your line of view and sweetly ask, “Would you like to by a box of Girl Scout cookies, please?” I believe it’s a premeditated, strategic move. I also believe they’ve taken over the Wal-Mart entrance, as well.
Girl Scout cookies are hard to resist. And you can never eat just one, can you? (I’m a Caramel deLites (original name, “Samoas”) and a right-from-the-freezer Thin Mints fan.) I think it’s humanly impossible. I also think the strategy expands to the packaging. Notice how the cookies are packaged in sleeves. You open one, and immediately you have access to 15 cookies! Oh, the cleverness! (And you thought Girl Scouts were just sweet - Oh, no! They’ve got keen minds!)
What to do? What to do? Well, if you’re one who can’t pass up boxes of this annual treats, we can at least try to figure out which cookies would be the least damaging to our waistlines. Here are some of the more popular Girl Scout cookies and their nutritional content :
Shortbread, 4 cookies
Calories: 120
Fat: 4.5 gms
Saturated fat: 2 gms
Sugar: 4 gms
Do-si-dos, 2 cookies
Calories: 110
Fat: 5 gms
Saturated fat: 1.5 gms
Sugar: 8 gms
Lemon Chalet Cremes, 2 cookies
Calories: 160
Fat: 6 gms
Saturated fat: 2 gms
Sugar: 12 gms
Trefoils, 5 cookies
Calories: 150
Fat: 7 gms
Saturated fat: 2 gms
Sugar: 6 gms
Thin Mints, 4 cookies (made by Little Brownie Bakers)
Calories: 150
Fat: 7 gms
Saturated fat: 4.5 gms
Sugar: 10 gms
Thin Mints, 4 cookies (made by ABC Bakers)
Calories: 160
Fat: 8 gms
Saturated fat: 6 gms
Sugar: 11 gms
Caramel deLites, 2 cookies
Calories: 140
Fat: 7 gms
Saturated fat: 6 gms
Sugar: 13 gms (Of course my favorite would have the most sugar!)
Tagalongs, 2 cookies
Calories: 150
Fat: 10 gms
Saturated fat: 4 gms
Sugar: 8 gms
Watch out for trans-fat. The box may say “no trans fat,” but if you read the ingredients, quite a few cookies list partially hydrogenated oil as an ingredient. Eating one cookie may equate to what the FDA deems as no trans fat, but if you eat 2, 3, or more, you’re probably getting some trans fat.
Conclusion - If you’re able to eat Girl Scout cookies (or any cookies) in moderation, I’d say good for you and go ahead and buy your favorite kind. Ration them, savor them, and make them last.
I fit into the other group that would end up eating half a sleeve in one sitting. My choice of action in this case is to walk, avert my eyes and walk straight past the sweet Girl Scouts; walk past their table of tempting cookies; continue walking as I politely respond, “No thank you” to the cookie purchasing appeals; and keep on walking until I’m safely inside my car where I can sing along with one of my CDs and forget about Girl Scout cookies, at least until next week when I have to visit the grocery store again.
Another strategy is to drop them off in your break room at work. Downside…other people will do this to you as well.
Good idea, but they may still call to me.
My best bet is to not buy any at all!
I love Girl Scout cookies, but I’ve been blessed that no one has offered me any this year. Strange, but true.
Enjoy that blessing!
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