That's Fit

If you are a disciple of Atkins, South Beach, the Zone, or any other restrictive diet plan, this post won't pertain to you. However, if every now again you like to indulge in a good cookie, read on.

Question: Ever ate so many cookies you just got tired of them?

Of course not.

Because, duh, cookies rule and the folks who make Girl Scout Cookies agree. They've made it their mission to provide the tasty treats to Girl Scouts to sell to us each and every year. In fact, the act of selling the cookies is directly related to helping all girls realize their full potential enabling them to become strong, confident, and resourceful citizens. Ironically, the act of eating the cookies can do quite the opposite for us, so buy the cookies to help fund a good organization and sell the cookies to become independent and learn business, but otherwise read the labels and know the serving size before downing a box of the yummy treats -- although who eats only two cookies?

You can expect to see Girl Scout cookies for sale right after the holidays.

If a Girl Scout comes knocking on your door this week peddling cookies, she may have an interesting tidbit of information for you: each serving of Girl Scout cookies is now trans-fat free.

By finding what they thought were suitable replacements for partially hydrogenated oils, the bakeries that create the addictive little cookies reformulated the recipes to reflect a healthier attitude. Not only did they want to sell a better product, Girl Scout leaders claim, but they also thought the change sent a better message the the girls in their programs. The Girl Scouts will also now be offering a sugar-free cookie and one that has reduced amounts of saturated fats.

Before you eat a whole row of Tagalongs or fill up on Thin Mints, remember that these cookies are still a treat. In fact, as the Girl Scouts themselves point out, they aren't even technically free of trans fats. Each serving has less than a half of gram trans fats, which allows foods to be labeled as trans fat free, but if you eat two or three (or four or five) servings, you'll be packing on 1-3 grams of unhealthy fats as well as loads of sugar. Kudos to the Girl Scouts, though, for making their annual sale a little bit healthier.