There’s a new Krispy Kreme milkshake which contains the same calories as a (modest) Sunday roast. Kate Whiting’s tummy rumbles as she unveils the nation’s other worst obesity-inducing offenders
There’s a reason why treats are called treats – because they’re not designed to be consumed every day.
And Krispy Kreme Doughnuts certainly fall into this bracket. Not only have their wares become the go-to treat for office leaving-dos (weighing in at as much as 474 calories, for a Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake one), but Krispy Kreme are now also subjecting us to a range of milkshakes, containing as many as 612 calories each.
This is apparently the same as a whole Sunday roast of chicken, veg and potatoes (although this obviously depends on how high you pile up your plate, and whether you add stuffing and Yorkshire puds to proceedings).
So yes, we all know the maths – calories in = calories out (with exercise), or you’re in danger of piling on the pounds.
But with a Kripy Kreme lurking on every corner, and these other calorie-groaning treats out to tempt us, what hope do our waistlines have?
:: CHEESEBURGER PIZZA
Currently available to order for home delivery from Pizza Hut, is the calorie-crammed Meat Machine Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza, with 10 beef burgers, crispy bacon and, of course, mozzarella cheese, all stuffed into the crust. It has 332 calories per slice and with 10 slices, that’s 3,320 for the whole pizza – or 700 calories more than a man’s recommended daily intake in just one meal.
:: DEEP-FRIED MARS BAR
The stuff of myth and legend, this delicacy originated in Scotland, where a couple called the Watsons started selling it at their Carron Fish Bar in Stonehaven, back in 1992. With 1,200 calories, compared to just 260 in a regular Mars Bar, it attracted the attention of Mars’ lawyers, who asked the Watsons to tell customers they didn’t condone the deep-frying, as it counteracted their ’healthy’ branding message.
:: DOUGHNUT BURGERS
The newest addition to the menu at Paige’s Pig-Casso Cafe in Folkestone split opinions when it was launched in June – local punters loved it, obesity experts hated it. This Canadian invention is a bacon-topped cheeseburger, wedged between a doughnut and, at 2,000 calories, it makes a McDonald’s Big Mac (490 cals) sound like the healthy alternative.
:: STARBUCKS HOT CHOCOLATE
Whereas lattes are often seen to be the baddie of the hot drinks world, with 299 calories for a Starbucks Venti with whole milk, it’s the Venti Signature Hot Chocolate, with whipped cream, that’s the true demon – it’ll blow a 690-calorie-sized hole in your recommended daily allowance. Ouch!
:: MUFFINS
When these first became a thing, who didn’t think they were actually a health food? Now, we all know though, that’s not quite the case… A Pret Double Berry Muffin (so far, so super-foody sounding), has a whopping 498 calories. So that’s your lunch right there.
:: CHEESE SANDWICH
Not so much a treat as an everyday staple, the humble cheese and pickle sarnie surely can’t be too calorie-laden? Well, it obviously depends how much of a doorstop of bread you cut yourself and how much cheese you pop in, but take the quite-healthily-looking chain Eat’s Cheese & Pickle Sandwich as a guide, which is 566 calories for 100g.
:: PEANUT BUTTER
Packed with protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it may be, but peanut butter is also laden with calories, as it contains 598 per 100g, which is about six tablespoons of the stuff. You may not spread that much on toast in one go, but you get the point… (And let’s not even think about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups…).