The holiday season is all about eating, drinking and being cheerful, but there are also foods that make you feel like socks on Christmas morning. Trader Joe’s has a lot of festive foods, but not all of them are on the great list of top nutritionists.
This is Instead, eat this! Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, and Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, of Real Nutrition, members of the Medical Experts Committee, Full at the end, slim at the end Private dietitians are advised to skip to shoppers during their last-minute vacation trip to Trader Joe’s.
Related: 2021 Best Trader Joe’s Food
Per cup: 220 calories, 9 g fat (6 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 580 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 6 g protein
Cauliflower gnocchi’s festive cousin truffle cream gnocchi sounds like a fine pasta dish perfect for a family feast. However, neither Young nor Shapiro are recommended.
“This dish is rich in saturated fats and sodium and has little nutritional value. Unless you’re a true gnocchi lover, it’s not worth it,” says Young.
“”[It] Contains 25% of the recommended daily amount of sodium, without the addition of seasonings. “Not ideal for people with heart problems or high blood pressure!”
Per 1.6 ounces: 570 calories, fat 41 g (saturated fat 26 g, trans fat 0 g), sodium 0 mg, carbohydrate 45 g, fiber 11 g, sugar 29 g, protein 8 g
Another Trader Joe’s food to skip this year is a chocolate passport. It has a wide variety of flavors from around the world, including fruits, trees, flowers and vanilla, but is also rich in calories, fats, carbohydrates and sugar. Both Young and Shapiro say they are passes.
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Around 2/3: 290 calories, 17 g of fat (8 g of saturated fat, 0 g of trans fat), 85 mg of sodium, 38 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of fiber, 33 g of sugar, 3 g of protein
Not surprisingly, this list includes ice cream, even during the holiday season. Filled with two of the most popular ingredients this month (chocolate and peppermint), this option is very dense.
“With about 300 calories and over 30 grams of sugar in a 2/3 cup portion, I pass this and enjoy candy cane dark chocolate instead,” Young says.
And Shapiro agrees, noting that the second ingredient listed is sugar cane.
Per brownie: 130 calories, fat 6 g (saturated fat 2 g, trans fat 0 g), sodium 65 mg, carbohydrates 17 g, fiber 0 g, sugar 13 g, protein 1 g
Trader Joe’s boasts that peppermint brownies are superior to sugar plums. According to Shapiro, one serving of this dessert is a better option than the other desserts, but it depends on what you eat with it. “”[It] Unless combined with supplemental proteins and fiber snacks, it can cause blood sugar spikes, “she says.
To find out more about what’s happening in the holiday section of your favorite grocery store, see below.
