Log in to WRAL.com with one click using your favorite social network:
OR
Log in using your WRAL.com account:



Wrong email/password combination.

Forgot password?

Register with WRAL.com using your favorite social network:
OR
Register for a WRAL.com account using our web form.

Login Options

5:52 p.m. • 2-12-12

Weather Forecast for Raleigh

  • Mon: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 50° F
  • Tue: Rain.
    • Hi: 53° F
  • Wed: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 57° F

Other Locations

> 7 Day Forecast

Doppler Image

Marketplace Links

Social Links

Main Menu

100-Cal Snack Packs Convenient But Pricey Compared to Counterparts


e-mail print friendly
100 Calorie Snack Pack
100 Calorie Snack Pack
One-hundred-calorie snack packs keep multiplying.

More than 100 products are out on supermarket shelves. At least 45 new ones came out last year, alone.

Consumer Reports tested nearly a dozen of the most popular, including Oreos Thin Crisps, Doritos and Ritz Chips.

Testers compared the 100-calorie snack packs' nutrition and taste to their regular-sized counterparts.

Some snacks look like miniature versions of the regular-sized versions. Others, however, did not come close in neither appearance nor taste.

"Chips Ahoy had barely any chips in them, and the Oreos -- well we couldn't find any creamy inside," Consumer Reports' Lisa Lee Freeman said.

Another difference is price. You pay more and get less. The snack packs cost more than twice as much per ounce. As for the bottom line:

"If it's really tough for you to open up a bag of chips or cookies without devouring the whole thing, then these 100-calorie packs are a great way to control your portion size," Freeman said. "And it may be worth spending the extra money on them."

So, if you need to pay more to make sure you eat less, testers say the tastiest snack packs are the Cheez-It Rite Bites. They are a bit milder than their regular counterpart but testers still liked the taste.

Another calorie-counting option is Doritos MiniBites, which tasted pretty close to the real thing.

Worth noting %u2015 all of the 100-calorie snack packs tested are transfat-free.
e-mail print friendly

8 Comments


WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

View Comments VIEW ALL 8 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments
Wife almost fell for this today at the store. Luckily, I was there to explain cost per ounce...

just eat fat free pretzels.. you can eat what seems like a ton of them before meeting the serving size!

So, if you can't control yourself and put down the snack bag, then you are paying the cost for the manufacturer to control the portion for you. Makes sense to me.

I agree with the article that it is definately more expensive to buy the packs. The other downfall that i have is I am more likely to eat more because they are so easy to pick up and eat. I stick to my one or two fat free fig newtons.

Chips Ahoy are my favorites along with Ritz Chips!

View Comments VIEW ALL 8 COMMENTS

Experian Credit Center

Average Credit Score: 678. See Yours Free!
1. Make sure possible inaccuracies aren't hurting your credit
2. Detect potential identity theft
3. Stay on top of your credit without hurting your score

See your Free Credit Report online in seconds when you sign up for a free 30-day credit monitoring trial!

advertisement