there's how many?

So if you live in Philly, you are either pleasantly surprised by the emergence of calories on the local menus or you are seriously pissed off. Frankly, I can understand both sides. For some people, eating out is reserved for a special occasion and no one really counts calories at birthday dinners, special dates and the like. On the other hand, quite a few of us Philadelphians tend to eat out more than we probably should, due to our busy schedules and the convenience factor.

Those of us who make the regular pit-stop at starbucks on our way to work can probably guess that grabbing that old fashioned glazed doughnut will ruin our diet (clocks in around 420 cals) but would you think the same about a pecan scone, zucchini walnut muffin or cup of soup? Not necessarily.

Last Thursday night, I returned from class at 9 p.m. seriously hungry and in no mood to cook. So I headed to my neighborhood cosi for a quick sandwich. As I waited in line to pay, I was absolutely shocked to discover that the "Cosi sangria" beverage totaled 706 calories! Were they joking when they created this? In addition, their tuna melt (a seemingly healthy choice when looking at items described as buffalo blue chicken) came to a grand total of 874 calories. This really frightened me. While the majority of the calories listed wouldn't shock you--many of the items that we often consider to be the "healthy choice" are actually far worse than you could imagine. I almost fell over when I saw that the healthiest item at my Starbucks was a large rice krispy treat! You know we've got problems when marshmallow treats are considered a low cal choice.

In light of this dilemma, I've created a list of some of the best and worst choices when visiting Cosi and Starbucks. (I figured these are two of the most popular and convenient spots for drinks, snacks and quick eats at reasonable prices.) Hopefully, you'll be better prepared during your next visit...







Starbucks

You Better Not...

Zucchini Walnut Muffin: 490 Calories

Maple Oat Pecan Scone: 440 Cal

Old Fashioned Glazed Doughnut: 420 Cal

Double Chocolate Brownie: 410 Cal

Why not?

Marshmallow Dream Bar/ Rice Krispie Treat: 210 Cal

One Mini Glazed Doughnut: 120 Cal

Cosi

Were they joking?

Tuna Melt: 874 Calories

Cosi Sangria: 706 Cal

Chocolate Chip Muffin: 506 Cal

New England Clam Chowder: 440 Cal

You could do worse.

Grilled Alaskan Salmon Salad: 457 Calories

TBM Light: 372 Cal

Lemonade: 300 Cal

Shanghai Chicken Salad: 313 Cal

Tomato Basil Soup: 225 Cal

Fruit Salad: 84 Cal

Iced Tea: 26 Cal

*Nutritional Information Courtesy of www.getcosi.com & www.starbucks.com

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons