Can I eat low sodium girl scout cookies
It’s that time of year. You can’t escape them. They show up in your neighborhood, in your local stores, and right on the doorstep! It’s the Girl Scouts, and they have cookies! I felt it was my duty to sacrifice for the team and find out; can I eat low sodium Girl Scout Cookies? Having already had one daughter who is a Girl Scout, and a second daughter about to begin that path, I really can’t escape these things. So I might as well find out how much damage they can do.
Baked goods are typically a place where salt hides. Especially in commercially produced baked goods that need to be designed to live on a shelf for more than a week without molding. when we cook in our own kitchens, we can control the sodium when baking. We can swap out low and no sodium versions of many of the ingredients we need. If they are store bought though, it is a different story.
So how do the Girl Scout Cookies rank for sodium? Part of it depends on the recipe and bakery they originate from. You might have noticed that some of the cookies have different names even in different states. For examples, the Chocolate-Caramel-Coconut Samoas are also known as Caramel Delights. Peanut Butter Patties are also known to many as Tagalongs. This again has to do with what bakery they come from to the Girl Scouts. You can get all of this info and order on their website: www.girlscouts.org.
So here is how these cookies stack up:
Best Choices:
Cranberry Citrus Crisps – 4 cookies are only 70 mg
Trios – 3 cookies for 70 mg
Thin Mints (Yes!!!) depending on whether they are from ABC Bakers – 4 cookies for 105 mg or from Little Brownie Baker – 4 cookies for 125 mg
Trefoils – 5 cookies for 110 mg, Also known as Shortbreads – 4 cookies for 105 mg
Savannah Smiles 5 cookies for 125 mg
OK Choices:
Peanut Butter Patties – 2 cookies for 95 mg, Also known as Tagalongs – 2 cookies for 95 mg
Samoas – 2 cookies for 60 mg, Also known as Caramel Delights – 2 cookies for 55 mg
Do-si-dos – 3 cookies for 100 mg, Also known as Peanut Butter Sandwiches – 3 cookies for 140 mg
Lemonades – 2 cookies for 60 mg
Thanks A Lot – 2 cookies for 95 mg
Toffee Tastic – 2 cookies for 95 mg
Not so Good Choices:
Rah Rah Raisins – 2 cookies for 135 mg
So, if you can avoid eating an entire box by yourself in one sitting, you could avoid a lot of damage. This is a battle of willpower that is already lost when we make the purchase, so let’s at least try damage containment, or at least stay within our sodium! Good luck!