Ever gone through a food phase where you crave and eat a particular food for a given amount of time and can never seem to get enough of it?
Well, I have. In fact, I’m going through one right now.
Recently, the editor for Confection & Snack Retailing, Deborah Cassell, and I rediscovered Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls, a layer of crème filling rolled into a chocolate cake and topped with a fudge coating.
Indulging on just one Swiss Roll brings me back to sixth grade, when my mom would stock the pantry with Little Debbie products such as Swiss Rolls, Oatmeal Crème Pies, Holiday Snack Cakes and the Stars & Stripes Snack Cakes in the vanilla variety. I even remember hiding some of my favorites in other parts of the pantry when friends came over so I wouldn’t have to share.
But now it’s okay to share as Cassell and I are regressing to the past and perfecting the Swiss Cake Roll system.
We each purchase a box at our local grocery store, hide out in the cafeteria and devour our share of the two-roll package.
Just unraveling the clear plastic forces memories of when life was easy, a time when sinking my teeth into a Swiss Cake Roll reminded me of hot summer days spent rollerblading, bike riding or prank calling boys.
Word eventually traveled around the office of our little “lunch excursions” and a Super-Size Me-type bet was placed on the table.
“If you eat a Swiss Roll every day for the next 90 days, you win the bet,” taunted our male cohorts.
So I crunched some numbers.
Each two-roll package equals 270 calories, divided by two, equals 135 calories. But if we eat that for 90 working days, I would consume 12,150 calories within a three-month timeframe, just by eating one Little Debbie Swiss Roll per day.
Not too bad if I choose to give up 135 calories elsewhere. With zero trans fat and only 27 g. of sugar, I’m sure I can find the perfect snack to cut out of my routine.
Or maybe I’ll just stick to my Swiss Cake Roll phase. Whoever doesn’t believe that great things come in small packages obviously hasn’t experienced this mouthwatering treat.
Some things will just never change. That is until I enter my next food phase. And then the bet may be on.
Marina Mayer, managing editor
