The 100 Calorie Solution: The Answer to Our Prayers?
The New York Times piece on the burgeoning popularity of 100 calorie snack food packages stated the obvious in its headline and sub-head: "Fewer Bites. Fewer Calories. Lot More Profit," and "Snacks in Small Single-Serving Packs Aren't Economical, but People Buy Them."
Of course snack-food manufacturers make more money selling six packs of 100 calorie bags of everything from Goldfish to Oreo Thins. And yes, if I could find the wherewithal to just buy a big bag of Goldfish and divide them neatly into 100 calorie portions using plastic bags and ties, I would save lots of money. But the reality of the situation is if I bought the big bag of Goldfish I would polish them off in a couple of forays to the kitchen between innings of a televised Yankee game. I don't have the self-discipline to divide the big bag in order to practice portion control, and furthermore, I doubt that most other people struggling with their weight do either.
In fact I have a radical notion that might just solve my weight problem.
I think the answer is that all foods should be sold in 100-calorie packages. That way I would know exactly how many calories I was consuming, that if I just had 15 hundred-calorie-bags in a day I would lose weight. If Popeye's would sell fried chicken in 100-calorie portions, that would be swell. If Thomas Keller would sell 100-calorie portions of his coffee and doughnuts dessert at the French Laundry and Per Se, my problems would be solved. If I could buy a hundred calorie portion of an In-N-Out cheeseburger, life would be grand. Ditto for a scoop of Graeter's ice cream. If Hot Doug's in Chicago would sell french fries fried in duck fat in 100-calorie portions, life would be great. The same is true for the hot dogs topped with french fries at Gene and Jude's, the hot dog stand I insist on stopping at on my way to O'Hare every time I go to Chicago. My life would be just about perfect if I could buy a hundred calorie portion of the South Side Market's beef sausage in Elgin, Texas, or a similarly sized pork shoulder sandwich at Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, Alabama. Tell me—in your fantasy life, what would you like to see 100-calorie packages of?
I tell you, the 100 Calorie Solution just might be the answer to my prayers. Whaddaya think?
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17 Comments:
"I tell you, the 100 Calorie Solution just might be the answer to my prayers. Whaddaya think?"
I think that life would become like 'The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock':
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—
[They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”]
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
[They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”]
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
For I have known them all already, known them all:—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons
Karen Resta at 8:05AM on 07/09/07
Ed,
as far as most foods go in your article, you would probably need a magnifying glass just to see what you're eating in a 100 cal portion.
I'll skip on other food for the rest of the day, but give me this heart-stopping artery-clogging stuff served right.
Mr. K at 9:13AM on 07/09/07
Though I have a hard time following it, I'm a fan of the ELEM diet—Eat Less, Exercise More.
Adam Kuban at 9:48AM on 07/09/07
Please sign me up.
Will you do home delivery?
ParisBreakfasts at 10:42AM on 07/09/07
"Fewer Bites. Fewer Calories. Lot More Profit" ... and a hell of a lot more solid waste, most of it mylar coated foil or other non-recyclable or non-reusable material (the plastic bags from cereal or cracker boxes are great for produce--clean and sturdy).
The 100 calorie pack also exposes you to transfats. The small serving size makes it less difficult for manufacturers to keep the transfat levels below 0.5 g, the point below which they can claim "zero trans fats." More at Ethicurean.
Marc at 11:23AM on 07/09/07
Or you could just not eat junk food at all and save your calories for food actually worth consuming.
I'd gladly give up a couple of packs of "Oreo thins" so that I could enjoy a heaping plate of vegetable pasta for dinner.
America could lose so much weight if people started buying food that wasn't vacuum-sealed and mass-marketed. Just buy food, not "food products"
logographic at 11:40AM on 07/09/07
I have to confess a weakness for salty, crunchy things with lunch, but having no interest in swallowing some 250-cal (1/5 of my daily suggested calories!) chips, I'd much rather reach for a 100-calorie pack. I think the product is brilliant. Unlike products that brag "low fat" (but are ridiculously high in carbs) or "sugar free!" (but are loaded with all sorts of garbage) or the generic "healthy!" (I believe I last saw this on Fruit Loops), they kind of are what they are.
deb at 12:53PM on 07/09/07
I have to confess a weakness for salty, crunchy things with lunch, but having no interest in swallowing some 250-cal (1/5 of my daily suggested calories!) chips, I'd much rather reach for a 100-calorie pack. I think the product is brilliant. Unlike products that brag "low fat" (but are ridiculously high in carbs) or "sugar free!" (but are loaded with all sorts of garbage) or the generic "healthy!" (I believe I last saw this on Fruit Loops), they kind of are what they are.
deb at 12:54PM on 07/09/07
One of the fattest and most unhealthy people I have ever known used to eat in the smallest, most humble and dignified bites you have ever seen.
seyo at 2:51PM on 07/09/07
Its really stupid...from what I have seen none of these are diet foods, they are just smaller portions of things you already eat (or don't eat) .
If you don't have the willpower to stop eating the whole bag of chips now...what makes you think you will shame yourself into not eating two smaller bags?
Go to any grocery store and look at the extra information (by the price) to find out what the price per serving/ounce/lb is, then go run over another aisle and see how much it costs in bulk. Like one regular size product...now take the money (and polution/trash) you just saved and buy the bigger product and portion it out in baggies...this also may help you stay busy and lose another calorie or two...
Now don't you feel better? You burned a few calories, saved waste, and saved some money....go ahead, reward yourself and eat two or three smaller helpings!!!
tyronebcookin at 4:51PM on 07/09/07
sad as it may seem, it's actually unbelievably easier to eat just one 100-cal bag than to stop at 22 cheetos, or whatever a serving size is from a larger bag. and that extra help is worth the 10 cents per ounce extra.
besides, if you view it as cost per serving, vs. cost per ounce, you're probably at least getting the same value: if you'd get only 6 self-portioned (ie., oversize) servings from a large bag of chips, vs. 6 albeit smaller servings from the 100cal box, it could cost the same. and you'd spare yourself a few hundred calories.
as for portioning out into baggies, i don't see how that helps the trash issue much, if at all.
the way i see it, is all these foods are foods we shouldn't be eating in the first place. but sometimes i just need a bit of junk, and i'm more than willing to pay fifty cents or so to stave off a true binge.
ren at 5:59PM on 07/09/07
WHAT????!!!! You don't buy biodegradable or recycled material baggies???
Shame on you....
And the smaller portions package statistically ALWAYS cost more than the big abundant bag or box of your same goodies with the same, or more in it - per ounce and/or serving.
Go get the 30 1oz chip bags, then go see how many ounces of chips you can get for the same amount of money from the big value pack bags.....LOTS MORE humph...
Works the same with food purveyors too.
tyronebcookin at 6:27PM on 07/09/07
Okay, I have the BEST diet solution to your snack problem........be a poor working student AND have a very profound respect for food. What does this do for you? Well, first off, you do not have the money to spend on stupid, uneconomical advertising fluff. So anything sold in individual, bite sized bites is OUT! Second, since your truly respect food and are very picky of the stuff you put in your mouth, you can not imagine buying any sort of disgusting packaged food crap in the first place. So, in order to save money and be true to your food worshiping taste buds, you buy everything from scratch and prepare and make your own food goodies. Yes, believe it or not, this is a much more economical version of eating (and life!). Oh, and guess what, your diet will take care of itself. Because you know what the answer to the 'French Paradox' is? (The one about why French people eat so much fatty foods but are so damn good looking). Because they don't buy in to the American marketing garbage that tries to tell you the fastest way to a better life is eating low-fat, no taste, trans-fatted, tree-killing, and children-fattening prepackaged, highly manufactured edible junk!!!!!!! Whew, I'm done now.
Oh, and to Karen Resta, the very first post....Thank you....I love that poem!
stareater at 8:14AM on 07/10/07
I believe that 100-calorie packs represent the growing disconnect we have from our bodies. Despite what Nabisco, Jenny Craig, and dominant dieting culture might want you to think, your body can be a wonderful wise tool in determining if you are hungry or full. When we rely on prepackaged caloric amounts to tell us how much to eat, we ignore our bodies that might want 50 calories or 150 calories. If you eat a 100-calorie pack, are hungry for more (as you likely will be with these sugary, processed snacks), and then eat another pack, there is built in guilt waiting for you. I believe that you can really enjoy all foods freely, if you trust your body to tell you when it wants more and when it doesn't.
grubgirl at 1:23PM on 07/10/07
For someone who has absolutely zero self-control, 100 calorie packs are godsend. I always wanna try things out, at least have a bite of everything and regular pack would be too much. Living in a third world country teaches me never ever waste food, so I'd finish it anyway even though I'm too full for it. So yeah, Viva bite sized foods!!!
I'd love 100 calorie donuts, french fries, mousse, pizzas, custard, parfait.. well... just every dessert under the sun.
winny at 3:08AM on 07/11/07
Nope. I've had to stop buying these. I can't eat only one bag (I'd bring one with me to work and then go to the vending machine for another) and I feel too guilty about all the extra packaging.
So I just buy full size and snack on. And on. And on.
missbhavens at 1:41PM on 07/17/07
ED LEVINE THOSE ARE MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY !
Honeylacewigs at 9:56PM on 08/25/08