How Many Calories ... in a Large Pretzel?

Carbs are my weakness, so when I'm at an outdoor event or just walking through a sea of food vendors, I'm drawn to the ones that emit the soft, mouth watering scent of warm bread. A pretzel stand will do nicely. Especially if I can get it with some butter. I know, I know. It's a bad habit, picking up carb-loaded junk food from street vendors. But on the other hand, is a pretzel really that bad? It's not deep-fried, as far as I know. And without butter, it's just some bread with a little salt.

What do you think? Is a pretzel a calorie disaster? Or is it a fairly harmless way to curb cravings?

As it happens, a large Pretzel with butter from Wetzel's Pretzels is 384 calories and 4 g of fat. With nearly 400 calories, I'd say that's pretty high for a snack, so this is one snack to skip. But if it's a craving you just can't shake, it won't be the end of the world if you gobble one down. Skip the butter and you're looking at 336 calories and only half a gram of fat.

Still, there's not a lot of nutritional value in a pretzel. Fresh fruit, veggies or something with whole grains would be a better choice, so plan ahead if you know you're going to need some mid-afternoon nourishment.