Girl Scouts – Shepherds of the Devil?

Every year it’s the same thing. You’re minding your own business, taking a routine trip to the grocery store and there they are – The Shepherds of the Devil. OK. OK – Girl Scouts, pedaling their crack-filled thin mints (It’s true! You’ll see at the bottom of this post).

These she-devils seem innocent enough to begin with. They’re cute, they’re friendly and they’re engaged in work for a good cause, yet they fiendishly push crack. Fine – cookies. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that their cookies are one of the biggest diet pitfalls of the year.

Girl Scout Cookie Time is the one time a year when we can get Thin Mints, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos. It’s almost like an extension of the fall/winter holiday season – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years . . .Girl Scout Cookie Time.

Sure you want to support a worthy organization, and with the season only lasting 6 weeks how can you not indulge? The problem is that Girl Scout Cookies weigh in at 120 to 160 calories per serving of 2-4 cookies, and we all know that we never stop at just 4 Thin Mints (it’s the crack).  We’re more likely to eat the whole sleeve or in some cases, the whole box. That’s 1280 calories!

So how can you indulge without a Samoa induced sugar coma?

Follow these 3 tips to help you stay in control:

• Plan ahead and chose the least damaging options. While Girl Scout Cookies are by no means, health food, some are less of a disaster than others. Stick to Shortbread, Shout Outs and Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties). They range from 120-130 calories as opposed to the 160 calories found in favorites like  Thin Mints and Do-Si-Dos.

• Be a frequent buyer. Yes, buy Girl Scout Cookies and buy them often, but only one box a week. If you finish the box before the week is up, too bad. No more cookies until the following week.

• Don’t shovel. Remember, the serving size isn’t the whole sleeve but 2-4 cookies. So, savor those 2-4 cookies. Take normal bites instead of shoving the whole cookie into your mouth (you know you’ve done it).

The best strategy in my opinion though, is to avoid diet destruction all together, and if you’re a member of the 2012 Winter Clean Up Challenge it’s the only option. Give the Girl Scouts a donation and leave the cookies at the table.

Look at the ingredient list for Thin Mints – crack!