Tiny Packages of Nothing

photo credit.

Alright. That's it. I am throwing in the towel. The hundred-calorie craze has gotten out of hand.

I read today that Coke is debuting their 90-calorie "mini can" this winter. Yes, you heard right: Coke is jumping on the snack-sized bandwagon. The 7.5-oz cans will get a limited debut in December before spreading to the rest of the country by March 2010. They also plan to expand the new size to their other soft drinks--Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola and Barq's Root Beer.

You'd think that decreasing your portion sizes would be the perfect way to lose weight. And, in essence, you'd be right. It's a no-nonsense (rather, common sense) way to drop pounds: eat less, move more. Can I say it? Duh.

So how are successful junkfood retailers supposed to keep up with America's insane need to diet? They package the same not-so-great in smaller packages so you can "diet" while still eating their product.

While I applaud Coke (and their marketing team) for giving consumers another form of purchase, I cannot get behind the hundred-calorie craze. Hundred-calorie packs are nice in theory. They're tiny packages of goodies that force you to control your portion sizes so you don't over-indulge.

But honestly, who always stops at one? I can tell you that those little bags never fill me up the way a real cookie can. Or the way a piece of fruit can! Also, I gave up soda as my new years resolution in 2007 as a kick-start to weight loss. I don't miss it at all and not drinking it saves me a ton of money.

The biggest problem I have with these snack packs is that they're eaten in place of other hundred-calorie foods: namely, fresh fruits and veg, a handful of nuts, a small yogurt. Yes, I understand that these snacks are convenient, but if you're going to waste money buying tiny packages of things you probably can spend the money on a fresh food and a plastic container instead to make your own.

(Plus, have you ever had the hundred-calorie packs of Oreos? Three words come to mind: tiny chocolate cardboard.)

The way I see it, 90 calories of sugar water is still just sugar water. Healthy foods always win over junk.