Kathy Manweiler: Don't munch a bunch: It's Girl Scout cookie season, but enjoy them in moderation
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES are coming to a coffee break, lunch box or kitchen near you. They raise money for a good cause, and they taste so good that some people have been known to make a whole box of them disappear in one day.
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES are coming to a coffee break, lunch box or kitchen near you.
They raise money for a good cause, and they taste so good that some people have been known to make a whole box of them disappear in one day.
In moderation, Girl Scout cookies can fit into your food plan, and you can still fit into your clothes. If you ate a serving of the best-selling Thin Mints (four cookies) every day for a week, there would still be a few cookies left in the box.
But if you find yourself reaching for a fifth . . . or 10th, here are some tips that can help:
_ Don't eat them straight out of the box.
It's too easy to lose track of how many you're eating, especially if you're watching TV or working on a computer while munching. Decide how many cookies you're going to eat, serve them on a plate and put the box out of sight.
_ Make a few small changes in your diet to make room for some Girl Scout cookies.
If you typically use 4 tablespoons of ranch dressing on a salad, use 2 tablespoons instead. That saves 150 calories and 16 fat grams, enough for two Caramel deLites, three Thin Mints or four Shortbread cookies.
If you usually drink 12 ounces of sugary soda, have water instead. That saves 150 calories, too. If you normally order large fries at McDonald's, get a small order, saving 320 calories and 17 fat grams - enough for eight Thin Mints, four Peanut Butter Patties or four Lemonades.
_ Store the cookies in the freezer. That way, you can't eat them right away when a craving hits. But this stall tactic doesn't work as well with Thin Mints, because they even taste good frozen, darn it.
A healthy serving
Here are seven ways to enjoy Girl Scout cookies and get some calcium or fruit at the same time, all for 200 calories or less.
1. Crumble a Thin Mint into a single-serving container of fat-free chocolate or vanilla pudding: 145 calories, 2.5 fat grams, 29 carb grams, 276 mg sodium.
2. Top a 1/2-cup of fat-free vanilla and chocolate frozen yogurt with one crushed Caramel deLite: 150 calories, 3.5 fat grams, 27.5 carb grams, 108 mg sodium.
3. Slice a small banana and top with a crushed Shortbread cookie and a tablespoon of chocolate syrup: 176 calories, 4 fat grams, 41 carb grams, 99 mg sodium.
4. Break a Peanut Butter Patty into several pieces. Put it in a blender with a 1/2-cup fat-free frozen yogurt and a splash of fat-free milk: 182 calories, 4.5 fat grams, 30 carb grams, 140 mg sodium.
5. Crumble two Shortbread cookies over a 1/2-cup of sliced strawberries and top with 2 tablespoons Cool Whip Lite: 107 calories, 5.3 fat grams, 18 carb grams, 69 mg sodium.
6. Crumble a Lemonades cookie into a 6-ounce container of Yoplait light yogurt: 165 calories, 3.5 fat grams, no fiber, 27 carb grams, 110 mg sodium.
7. Have two Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies with 1 cup of fat-free milk: 200 calories, 4.4 fat grams, 28 carb grams, 207 mg sodium.
The Girl Scout cookie sale runs through March 8. To find out where cookies are sold near you, go to the Girl Scout Web Site, www.gsep.org, and click on the cookie locator. *
Do you have a favorite food or popular recipe that you'd like to see made healthier? Send your ideas and recipes, along with a daytime phone number, to Kathy Manweiler at
kmanweiler@wichitaeagle.com, or mail to: Don't Say Diet, McClatchy Newspapers, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201.