How Many Calories ... in a chocolate chip muffin

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Jun 6th 2007 6:00AM

At one place I worked, the boss used to compensate for making us work weekends by buying us a couple of boxes of donuts to munch on. After many a weekend of eating donuts, a few of us started to get bored -- not to mention a bit heavier -- so we asked if we could start adding some muffins in to the mix. Muffins are a healthy alternative to donuts, right? That was the logical conclusion for me, anyway, since my mother allowed us to eat muffins on a regular basis but not donuts. But was mom right? Are muffins actually better for us? How many calories are there in a chocolate chip muffin anyway?

A) 220
B) 450
C) 620
D) 870
The answer is C, 620 calories, not to mention 26 g of fat and 81 carbs. This is for a muffin at Perkins' and I imagine they're huge, but nonetheless, it's packed with sugar and very little nutritional value. Think a fruit-based muffin is better? Not really ... the reduced-fat blueberry muffin is still 425 cal -- that's a lot of calories for something that is not very satisfying. In this case, you'd be better off sticking to a donut, which averages 150 - 200 calories, merely because it's smaller. Or even better, opt for some whole wheat toast or fruit with yogurt. Both these items will keep you more satisfied than that load of sugar ever will. If muffins really are your thing, try making them at home using whole wheat flour instead of white, fruit (I like bananas) instead of chocolate and splenda instead of sugar ... there are plenty of healthy recipes out there that you can try!

What's your take on muffins?

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Crabby McSlacker 6-06-2007 @ 10:46AM

Yikes, 620 calories!

I always think it's funny when people buy big fat muffins made with white flour and sugar and butter and think they're eating "healthy," but even I'm surprised it's this bad.

(I love this "how many calories" feature by the way...)

Though I'm too lazy to bake very often, muffins are one thing you can make really healthy versions of at home that taste pretty decent too. Using whole grains and fruit; substituting canola oil for butter, using Splenda (if you dare) or Stevia (if you can stand it) in place of some of the sugar...

Muffins don't have to be a nutritional nightmare.

(When she's not harassing the fine folks at That'sfit, Crabby has her own grouchy health and fitness blog, at http://crankyfitness.blogspot.com/.)

sallysvu 6-18-2007 @ 7:17AM

The only thing a muffin doesn't have that a donut has is the oily deep fried finish! It is still very bad for you and very high in calories. I agree with crabbyslacker, make your own at home. You can use any recipe and just put in half of the sugar (it won't hurt a thing!) and sub. the oil for applesauce or nonfat yougurt and extra fruit. (forget the chocolate chips!) Use whole wheat or oat flour for fiber and you got a pretty healthy muffin!

jph 6-18-2007 @ 12:48PM

AND I just ate a muffin at Dunkin Donuts - AGH. Cured after reading this. Question - probably dumb - but how many calories in a cup of regular coffee, milk and tsp of sugar? Also - the benefits of one cup a coffee a day according to the doctors - is it the same with caffeine or non-caf????

jph

Lauren 8-05-2007 @ 8:30AM

not ALL muffins are bad for you. I buy sugar free butterfly bakery muffins and a good size 2.5 ounce muffin is about 150 calories. I love the chocolate chocalate chip ones, but they also make blueberry, corn, and oat bran muffins! they range from 150 to 160 calories for the whole muffin and only 22 carbs - which mainly are sugar alcohols.

so if you love muffins (and chocolate) I would totally recommend butterfly bakery if you are also trying to watch your calories!