Snack Comparison

I don’t usually count calories, but I’ve been curious about the calorie and nutrient count of various snack foods.  Particularly, how homemade versions compare to commercial versions.  For example, what’s the difference between homemade salted/buttered popcorn, chips, and pretzels?  What’s the difference between homemade chili cheese popcorn and Cheesies? What about homemade caramel popcorn and store bought caramel popcorn? Does homemade caramel corn look like a much better option compared to something like Cheezies?

What’s the difference between chips and tortilla chips? And overall, what’s the difference between these savory crunchy snacks and something we probably all consider a healthy snack – fruit kabobs?

To figure out the answers, I needed to get the nutrient analysis of these various snacks and compare them based on similar serving sizes. I anticipated the most challenging part of this process would be getting the nutrient analysis of my homemade recipes.  Turns out that was fairly easy with the help of the Spark Recipes Calorie Counter.  It was getting information for similar serving sizes of commercial products that was the most challenging and frustrating.

For ease of calculation I decided to compare snacks based on 1 cup amounts (approximately!). One cup may be a small portion size when considering what most people would eat in one sitting, but it’s an amount people can easily visualize and provides a standard comparison. Hmm, if only food labels would compare similar serving sizes!!!

I was just trying to get a big picture comparison, so even if the calculations are not 100% accurate, they do provide a general perspective. The three sources I used were the Spark Recipes Calorie Counter, My Fitness Pal and Calorie Count. Here are my very general comparisons.

What can we conclude from this chart?

Homemade vs Commercial Caramel Popcorn – Do you think there’s enough difference to consider homemade caramel popcorn a healthy alternative?  I certainly don’t think so. Although, I do prefer homemade for all the additives that you avoid.

Homemade Chili Cheese Popcorn vs Cheesies – If this substitution will do the trick – go for it!  The Homemade Chili Cheese Popcorn is a much better alternative.

Homemade Caramel Corn vs Cheesies – It’s a moot point.  Neither one is a great snack if sugar, fat and sodium are of any concern to you.  Damn, I was hoping I could say “it may not be healthy but at least this homemade caramel corn is better than Cheesies”.  No such luck.

Chips vs Salt & Butter Popcorn – Popcorn.  Based on 1/4 cup butter & 1/2 tsp salt per 16 cups of air popped popcorn.

Pretzels, Chips or Popcorn – Popcorn.  Although, one cup of pretzels seems like a big snack compared to one cup of popcorn – doesn’t it?

Tortilla Chips vs Chips – Popcorn!

Fruit Kabobs – The Grinch Kabobs may be higher in naturally occurring sugar (some added sugar in the mini marshmallow) than some snacks, but what this chart doesn’t show are the additional nutrients you get from the fresh fruit.  I like them.

I’m not saying we’re never having chips, cheesies or caramel corn again – it was just good to get a little perspective.

Probably the most important thing this exercise reminded me of is MODERATION. Remember, this chart is based on 1 cup servings. Do you limit yourself to 1 cup of popcorn? Good food for thought.

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