So I had a little lecture on nutrition today and part of it was an exercise designed to get us to think about the things people consume each day without really thinking about how many calories they are eating – like when someone stops at Starbucks for breakfast on the way to work.  Now, I’ve actually looked at the nutrition details for Starbucks fare in the past and was astounded at the shear number of calories that can be packed into a little pastry (or a big drink).  I decided to look up the nutrition information on my favorite pastry, the Marble Loaf:

				Marble Pound Cake A little lighter than the original English cake (made of a pound of butter, sugar, eggs and flour), but still deliciously dense and buttery with decadent chocolate marbled into the batter. Availability may vary by region.   Serving Size 113g Amt Per Serving Calories  400 Fat Calories  180 Total Fat (g)  21 Saturated Fat (g)  11 Cholesterol (mg)  130 Sodium (mg)  370 Total Carbohydrates (g)  49 Fiber (g)  <1 Sugars (g)  29 Protein (g)  6 Vitamin A  15% Vitamin C  0% Calcium  4% Iron  10%

So yes, eating one piece of Marble Loaf counts for about 20% of my total calories for the day (assuming a standard 2000-2500 calorie diet).  Good thing I usually share it with A.J.  🙂  And I can order one of my standard drinks – Venti Unsweetened Black Iced Tea (and then add Sweet-n-Low) for no additional calories.  If it’s cooler weather and I go for my favorite Grande Vanilla Steamed Milk (no whip) I tack on 330 calories (120 from fat).  I should start ordering my drinks with nonfat milk – that would reduce it down to 230 (0 from fat).  And finally, if I am in one of my rare iced mocha moods, I get 180 calories (20 from fat) with a Grande Nonfat Iced Mocha without whip.  Adding the whip gives you 130 more calories, 110 of which are from fat!  Good thing I like iced tea. 🙂