Snack Review: Little Debbie 100 Calorie Snacks

I’ve been crazy about Little Debbie since I was Little Jimmy. I remember fervently wishing that the cute cowgirl on the snack cake package lived nearby so we could play together, not knowing Debbie was easily twice my age at the time. Like all good stories, there’s a narrative arc: Now Little Debbie is following ME! On Twitter! (LittleDebbie is trying to make you salivate like a Great Dane who missed lunch. about 5 minutes ago from web)

What’s more, she sent me a huge box of cute li’l snacks! For pre-packaged, mass-produced cakes and sweet treats, you can’t find much better than this.

The trick to wise snacking is sensible portions in moderation. Little Debbie’s 100 Calorie Snacks help us do just that, or at least suggest it; the rest is up to us. These snacks have about the same fat and sugar content as their regular items, but the serving sizes are anywhere from 50-60% smaller. In short, you’re eating the same sweet and fatty food, just less of it. At least it’s a start.

Although I’m not a body builder like the narrator’s father and brothers in Jonathan Evison’s excellent first novel, All About Lulu, I swear I thought my arms were super bulked when I grabbed a Yellow Cake (with “butter creme” icing) and a Triple Fudge Brownie.

Man, I’m massive!

Uhh… no. The snacks are just super tiny. It was like handling a brown Mahjong tile and a yellow VW Microbus Matchbox car with icing on the roof - okay, not quite that small, but easily half the size of the photos on the package. But hey, Debbie’s just trying to slim us down while giving us the same delicious treats she always has. She’s a smart one, that sly little minx with her apple cheeks, endearingly mischievous blue eyes, and cloying milk breath.

The Gingerbread Cookies were right-out-of-grandma’s-oven soft with a strong ginger scent and subtle glazed icing. (Confession: my grandma never baked cookies - she bought Archways.)

All of the 100 Calorie offerings (”Fresh Taste, Right Size!”) were tasty and delicious and left me wanting more, some to a greater extent than others. There’s the rub: Same yummy snacks, but less of them - a mirror reflecting our current economic state. Also, Debbie’s cute mug has been downsized, relegated to a tiny corner of the package flap, and the box looks suspiciously similar to a certain brand of cereal bar in a likely attempt to cater to the slightly more health-conscious masses.

In traditional Little Debbie fashion, all singled-serving snacks are individually wrapped, and not all of the snacks were as small as the cakes and brownies. Each variety gets a wholesome thumbs up from me, even the chocolate-marshmallow-coconut Snow Puffs which resemble freakishly cute albino cousins of Tribbles from the original Star Trek series. I swear I heard one purr. Fat content ranged from 5g per serving in the Nutty Bar Peanut Butter Stix to 2g in the Snow Puffs.

My faves - the largest size of all - were the chocolate and peanut butter Nutty Bar Singles and the Rice Krispie Treat-inspired Marshmallow Treats, which contained a hint of banana at first bite behind the marshmallow. Quite satisfying, and probably the richest, sweetest tasting and most filling of the lot.

In these tough times, Little Debbie is making it just a tad easier to tighten our belts, both figuratively and literally. Throw some exercise into the mix and you’ve got yourself a slimmer 2009. Deb, you rock my face off!

The 100 Calorie line includes:

• Soft Baked Gingerbread Cookies
• Yellow Cakes
• Chocolate Cakes
• Marshmallow Treats
• Nutty Bar Singles (chocolate coating)
• Nutty Bar Peanut Butter Stix
• Snow Puffs
• Triple Fudge Brownies

• Little Debbie Website

Buy Little Debbie 100 Calorie Snacks Online:

• at Amazon.com

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