That's Fit

Summer brings outdoor music festivals, carnivals, and county fairs. Along for the ride come funnel cakes, cotton candy, various meats on sticks, and Snow Cones!

What's a health-conscious person supposed to eat at events like these? I've always assumed that Snow Cones were the closest thing to being a dieter's friend, since they're mostly just ice. My body is working so hard to warm up that ice in my stomach, it's probably burning almost as many calories as the Snow Cone contains, right?

Well, that's not quite true. How many calories do you think are in an average 12 oz Snow Cone?

A) 75 calories
B) 150 calories
C) 300 calories
D) 550 calories

The correct answer is D) 550 calories! That's an average amount, assuming the person making your Snow Cone is generous as they usually are with the syrup. Each ounce of syrup contains almost 100 calories! Try asking for your cone to be made light on the syrup, or just skip the Snow Cone stand entirely.

Feeling deprived? Although it's also made of empty sugar calories, cotton candy is a much safer splurge. You can eat an entire large cone of cotton candy (order a big glass of ice water with it!) and only consume about 200 calories total.