10 snacks that are unhealthier than a donut

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: 10 snacks that are unhealthier than a donut.

It is a major annoyance for my friend: the snacks that I throw into the cart during every shopping trip. He does fine on three meals a day, I need my snacks. Now I thought that such a oat bar, spiced cake, or rice cake with dark chocolate wasn't that bad at all. Better than a donut, right? I was just brought face to face with the facts. These 10 snacks contain so much sugar that you might as well choose a donut...

In this case, it concerns the amount of sugars per 100 grams of a product. A fresh sugar donut from Albert Heijn (€1.95 for 4 pieces) contains 17 grams of sugar per 100 grams. That means you consume about 17 grams of sugar if you eat two donuts: one donut weighs 49 grams. Compare that with the snacks below and you will see that most of them are real sugar bombs.

LIGA MILKBREAK
The Liga Milkbreak used to be almost standard in my school bag. It was not necessarily a cookie that made you really popular at school, but it was (and is) a tasty snack anyway. It probably also has to do with the 21 grams of sugar that are in (100 grams of) this cookie. And you thought you were being healthy with that milk layer and so on.

LIGA EVERGREEN RAISINS
Another Liga cookie that is bursting with sugar. In 100 grams of Liga Evergreen raisins, there are no less than 27 grams of the sweet stuff. You wouldn't say it, but there is less sugar in 100 grams of donut.

LIGA OAT KICK
Well, then you pick the Oat Kick from the Liga assortment. It can't contain more sugar than the Milkbreak and the Evergreen, right? Ha, yes it can. This one even takes the crown: 31 grams of sugar per 100 grams of cookie. So don't be misled by the word ‘oat’, there is just a ton of sugar in it. You won't get an oat kick, but a sugar kick.

SULTANA FRUIT BISCUIT BERRIES
Another famous one among snacks: the Sultana. The Fruit Biscuit with berry flavor is perhaps the most popular of all Sultana cookies. Note: in 100 grams of these cookies, there are 26.4 grams of sugar. Swallow.

SULTANA GOODMORNING NATURAL
I really find the Goodmorning bars from Sultana not normal delicious. Crunchy, filling, and gone quickly: perfect when I'm in a hurry in the morning. Only I start the day with a big spike in my blood sugar. The reason: the 21.7 grams of sugar that are in (100 grams of) this cookie. That's why I think it's so tasty, I guess.

B'TWEEN MUESLI BAR MILK CHOCOLATE
Secretly, we knew that a muesli bar is not as good for us as we think. Yes, there might be some fiber in it, but that amount of sugar... Why do you think all that muesli sticks together so well?! Take a B'tween muesli bar with milk chocolate. 34 grams of sugar per 100 grams! It undoubtedly also has to do with the chocolate on top, but still. If you can't resist it, take the Zero variant. It contains only 1.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams of bar.

NATURE VALLEY HONEY & OAT GRAIN BAR
Nature Valley sounds like all the ingredients of the bar are picked straight from nature; without additives and completely healthy. Ha-ha. The Honey & Oat grain bars from this brand (100 grams) contain 26.8 grams of sugar. That is per serving (2 cookies, 42 grams) still 11.26 grams of sugar that you consume.

SNELLE JELLE SPICED CAKE NATURAL
When you say spiced cake, you say Snelle Jelle. In 100 grams of natural spiced cake from this brand, there are 40.9 (!) grams of sugar. Hallelujah. That means a few very quick rounds of running to get that stuff out of your body.

AH RICE CAKES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
Rice cakes: approved by Sonja (Bakker – you know, who was recently sued for plagiarism). Dark chocolate: maybe not super healthy, but the healthiest chocolate variant there is. Is that really so bad for you together? If you look at the amount of sugars, yes, it is. 100 grams of AH rice cakes with dark chocolate contain 27 grams of sugar. The rice cakes with a yogurt layer add even more: 35 grams. Even though it's such an easily packaged snack, just grab a pack of ‘normal’ rice cakes. Possibly with hummus or cream cheese on top, if you want them a little less dry. It takes a bit more effort (and is less tasty for some) than pre-packaged rice cakes with chocolate or yogurt, but it is much healthier.

AH WHOLE GRAIN EGG CAKE
Let's bring our Sonja back again. The diet guru wanted to get us en masse to eat egg cakes, hence her title: egg cake queen. Sonja, we hereby ask you to hand in your crown. In 100 grams of egg cake (from AH), there are no less than 31 grams of sugar. In the whole grain version, no less. No, I’d rather have a donut or two. That doesn't save that much sugar compared to one of those egg cakes.

DISCLAIMER
Before you start throwing packs of donuts into your cart every week: of course, most snacks are a better choice in other respects than a donut. When it comes to the amount of fiber and fat, for example, or the number of calories. Plus: you (hopefully) don't eat 100 grams of such a snack, but a serving. A serving of Sultana Fruit Biscuit weighs for example 43.5 grams and a Snelle Jelle spiced cake 65 grams. So you don't consume as much sugar per snack as mentioned above, but still... Think carefully before you browse the snack aisle next time. Or not, of course.