Yes, you can have your doughnut and eat it too! Check out these tips for making healthy doughnut choices.
If a doughnut is one of your favorite indulgences, you’re not alone. In 2016, over 190 million Americans — more than half of the population — confessed to saying yes to one of America’s most popular breakfast foods. Because really, what’s not to love about a doughnut’s melt-in-your-mouth delight? When you’re working hard to eat healthier, it’s the two culprits that woo your taste buds: fat and sugar.
Doughnut’s diet disaster duo doesn’t mean you always have to say no to the deep fried dough.
Get Cooking
Why not make every day National Doughnut Day? Slash fat and calories by making your own and indulge without the guilt. Two key ingredients for delicious and more nutritious is a doughnut pan (available at discount and home goods stores) and baking, not frying them. Start with this basic buttermilk doughnut recipe and dress them up with different toppings. Or try this recipe to take advantage of the summer’s best strawberries.
Choose Healthier
It’s not often you see “healthier” and “doughnut” together. Believe it or not, lower fat, sugar and calorie options are out there for the tasting and loving. The two doughnut kingpins, Dunkin Donuts and Krispie Kreme, provide nutritional information on their websites so you can see how your favorites fare and choose options that weigh in with lower numbers. (You can also see that other treats, like muffins, aren’t necessarily the healthy alternative many people think they are.)
Dunkin’s classic French Cruller and Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed, for example, are two healthier doughnut options under 300 calories and 11 grams of sugar.
Eat Less
Portion control pays off when it comes to keeping the fat, sugar and calorie counts of doughnuts low. Go halfsies with someone — don’t leave that other half to tempt you later. Or go for the doughnut’s own best version of portion control: the doughnut hole. A Krispie Kreme glazed hole weighs in at only 45 calories and 2 grams of fat. Dunkin Donuts’ white puff of powdered goodness has only 60 calories and 3 grams of sugar.
Confused when it comes to sugar? Learn about the different types and how to get less in your diet, here.
Topic:Nutrition
Categories:Eating Well
