This is the unhealthiest snack at the snack bar (+ the least unhealthy one!)
Okay – no one goes to the snack bar thinking, ‘Right, let’s get something healthy’. (Right?!) We all know that deep-fried snacks aren’t good for you, but we also know that treating yourself every now and then contributes significantly to your happiness. Too much and too often really isn’t a good idea (yes, yes, we know by now), but for those moments when you’re already standing there, these are the healthiest and unhealthiest choices at the snack bar!
Because even though you won’t find any greens at a hardcore snack bar, apart from the plastic ‘leaf edges’ between the snacks, you can still choose something that’s slightly less unhealthy than, say, a cheese soufflé. And that’s not all we’re giving away, because that’s not the unhealthiest item on the menu…
Bear of a snack
That dubious honor goes to the berenhap. According to Ingeborg Brouwer, professor of nutrition for healthy living, this is partly due to the impressive size and therefore weight of this snack, which weighs around 150 grams. That may not sound like much, but most other snacks weigh about half as much, says Brouwer, meaning that with a berenhap you automatically consume far more calories.
But even per 100 grams, the berenhap comes out as the unhealthiest compared with other snacks: according to Brouwer, with one berenhap you already consume more than half the recommended daily amount of salt. And you probably won’t quench that thirst with a glass of water either, will you? Admit it, there’s a good chance that berenhap/paw/claw will be washed down with a can of cola or an AA drink… And look at those calories adding up!
Top five
In a top five ranking of snacks from healthy to unhealthy, the berenhap languishes at the bottom. And what do you think comes in at number one? The frikandel, perhaps? Almost, but it’s the good old humble croquette. It contains less salt than a frikandel and is generally eaten with mustard, unlike a special frikandel, which is topped with big dollops of fatty mayo and spicy sugary sauce—in other words, curry.
Sliding scale
The frikandel does still rank second, by the way (and is more sustainable than you might think!). In third place comes the bamischijf—supposedly threatened with extinction, but also a source of (too much) sugar. And in fourth place is the cheese soufflé, that orange unit of mysterious composition, containing too many unhealthy fats and too many calories.
What the professor eats
Brouwer herself prefers a croquette. But she does add this warning: ‘Eating a croquette every now and then isn’t a problem if you eat it as a replacement for regular meat [or a meat substitute]. But it really does become unhealthy if you start eating it alongside your regular meals.’
So, as always, snack sensibly, not too often, and when you do, enjoy it to the fullest!
Also read:
- 10x deliciously disgusting #3
- Frikandel lovers, listen up: with these spices, everything tastes like your favorite snack
- Typically Utrecht: pizza Marjolein—with two croquettes
Source: Quest
