I knew the Chocolate Caramel Chex mix was going to be good, having previously consumed an entire regular-sized bag of its naughty big cousin, the Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix. Sure enough, maker General Mills gets a lot of different flavors and textures into these little 100 calorie packs. They’re great for when you want something sweeter than chips or crackers, but not all-out candy.
Yes, Target is in the 100 calorie market. Packaged under the Target store brand, Archer Farms, these 100 calorie packs of baked chocolate chip snacks offer generous portions but the taste and texture are not as satisfying as real cookies. My 3-year-old, who isn’t allowed many cookies, enjoyed them. But next time I’ll opt for a smaller serving of more cookie-like cookies. I am looking forward to seeing what Target comes up with next in its new 100 calorie line, however.
Let’s cut to the chase: Of course this popcorn tastes good. It’s from Orville Redenbacher, and it’s sweet kettle corn. So, where can you go wrong? I’ll tell you: messing up the microwave popping process. Like many things in nature and snacks, it’s a delicate balance. With so few kernels at stake, pop too long and you’ll burn your snack. Don’t pop long enough and you leave precious kernels unpopped, wasting money and missing out on calories you deserve and planned for. Enjoy the kettle corn, but babysit that microwave closely.
Nabisco has released its famous animal crackers from their recognizable box-with-string and caged them in 100 calorie packs. Trouble is, the trip has not only made the animals shrink; they’re now too hard and crunchy, with less flavor. More importantly, their heads are too small to bite off with any real precision. Save these for kids’ play dates and seek out a more substantial snack for yourself.
Who would have thought the Dollar Tree would jump on the 100 calorie snack band wagon? At a price of $1, we couldn’t pass up this box of fudge shortbread cookies. They didn’t taste half bad, but they’re no Keeblers either. The chocolate isn’t very rich and the shortbread isn’t very buttery. Still, if you want to save money as well as calories, they’re worth a try. Think of them as the poor man’s (or woman’s) 100 calorie pack.
Reese’s has managed to cram a lot of peanut buttery taste into this 100 calorie wafer bar. In fact, you get two bars in the pack for the same 100 calories. They’re small, but with the rich taste, it feeds your fix just fine. They don’t skimp on the chocolate coating either. So crunchy and creamy, you’ll forget you were craving a Reese’s peanut butter cup.