Love the Twinkie...Again

Sweet tooth or not, it’s a bit frightening to read that 500 million Twinkies are consumed every year—wowzers! There’s no question that these sponge cake and icing treats are a dessert splurge with little nutrition and virtually no benefits for your weight loss plan. But in a time when more people are packing lunch and/or eating on-the-go, Hostess, the Twinkies’ maker, is getting in on the calorie-counting scene. On the surface, this seems like a good thing, right?
 
Meet “Twinkie Bites.” It sound harmless and cute, and at only 100 calories a package, it qualifies as low-cal! But did you know that a regularly-sized Twinkie is only 150 calories anyway? It’s great that the calorie-counting is done for you, but what you’re getting is a bunch of empty calories and because the snack pack is more convenient, might you be more likely to eat a Twinkie everyday?
 
There are many foods out there that take advantage of the consumer, what with clever marketing such as Swedish Fish being touted as “fat-free” candy. Yes, that’s true, but that doesn’t mean they’re good for you! How do you feel about these snack packs jumping on the “low-cal” bandwagon? Do you think 100-calorie snack packs backfire in terms of eating healthy and losing weight? [MSNBC]