Interesting Article Excerpt

I was searching for a place to find the nutrition in 1 M&M and stumbled upon an article comparing "Ones".  So many articles only compare servings, I always have to calculate down portion sizes and I much prefer knowing exactly how many calories are in each individual item or bite.

Taken from http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/expert-advice/diet-detective/calorie-counts-for-popular-food-items/
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One Pringles Potato Chip vs. One McDonald's French Fry


Believe it or not, one french fry has only five calories, while a single Pringles chip is double at 10 calories.



One Grape Tomato vs. One Green Seedless Grape

The winner: The grape tomato has only one calorie, whereas a green grape has four. However, both are great choices, particularly for their antioxidant content (e.g., grapes have flavonoids and tomatoes have lycopene).



One Strand of Whole Wheat Spaghetti vs. One Tablespoon of Campbell's Select Herbed Chicken with Roasted Vegetables Soup

The strand of spaghetti has only 3.5 calories, whereas the sip of soup has 6.25 calories. Keep in mind, however, research indicates that eating a low-calorie soup is a great way to fill up before a meal.



One Stick of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum vs. One Piece of Bazooka

I have mixed feelings about gum: Some people say it helps them control their weight, but I don't love the way it looks. That said, who would think that chewing two or three pieces of gum a day adds up to 4.5 pounds per year? The winner here is Juicy Fruit at 10 calories, compared with Bazooka's 15.



One M&M vs. One Jelly Belly vs. One Peppermint Altoid

M&M's can be a pretty good deal at times, especially if you're comparing them to a regular candy bar (one bite of a Hershey's bar with almonds has 37 calories) which always seems to disappear so fast. Also, if you're sharing M&M's, they split up nicely because you can pass the bag back and forth. However, they have 4.3 calories per piece, which add up fast as you're popping them into your mouth. As far as jelly beans go, well, I hear a lot about them being low in fat, but that doesn't mean very much -- they're still four calories per bean. If you're satisfied with a few, that's great, but watch out for unconscious candy dish consumption. Altoids and other mints are another story. They supposedly serve a function -- to freshen your breath -- so the calories don't matter, right? Sorry, but all calories count, and please spare me the argument that it takes work to suck on the mint. One Altoid has almost 3.5 calories.



One Bite-Size Cube of Cheddar Cheese vs. One Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie

Clearly the cheese is the better choice nutritionally, but you need to know that cheese is not a health food you can consume without guilt -- one bite-size (1/2-inch) cube has 55 calories, whereas the cookie has only 37.5 calories. Whenever possible, go with low-fat cheese. A great one is Cabot's Vermont 50% Light Cheddar -- 35 calories per bite-size (1/2-inch) cube.



One Fritos Original Corn Chip vs. One Cashew nut

Here again, the cashew has health benefits that far outweigh those of the nutritionally bland corn chip; however, cashews have 8.5 calories per nut, whereas Fritos contain five per chip. So just because you hear that nuts are healthful doesn't give you carte blanche to overindulge -- you're supposed to eat nuts in place of something else in your diet that's high in calories and nutritionally inferior, not simply add them.



One Broccoli Floret vs. One Baby Carrot

Both are super vegetables. Basically, you can't eat enough of either one. Carrots have the antioxidant beta carotene, which may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer and promote better vision, especially night vision, while broccoli is just loaded with health benefits (high in vitamins A, C, and K and a great source of iron and folate). Okay, so which is lower in calories? It's the broccoli at 0.8 calories; the baby carrot has 1.25.