Think About It - Panera Bagels

If you're like most people, a bagel is one of the most quintessential breakfast items on a busy day. Whether it's a quick in-and-out before your morning commute, an easy snack for your kids' cross country meet, or a lazy-day alternative to a full-size meal, these American staples are familiar to all and almost always within reach. 

But perhaps the most enticing part is their price--bagels are cheap. At my local Panera, one Asiago bagel is $1.39. Opt for the whole grain or the plain version and the cost drops to just $1.09. Even if you choose one of the fancier varieties and add a cream cheese spread, the total price is still well under $3. With a deal as great as this one, why pay for a sandwich?

Unfortunately, if it seems too good to be true, it is. One Cinnamon Crunch bagel with plain cream cheese weighs in at 620 calories. Most women need between 1600 to 1800 calories a day, and a meal like this one uses over 1/3 of the daily allotment. This combination also contains 25 grams of fat! Although I personally believe that the Percent Daily Value section on nutrition facts labels is misguided (click here to find out why), even by those heightened standards this meal contains nearly 40% of the recommended fat intake. 

Ways to Think About It:​

• Eat half of the bagel​​
  • ​As with most calorie-dense foods, this is usually the best way to save you from yourself. Use half of the cream cheese on half of a bagel. Save the other half for lunch, give it to your best friend, or just throw it away. 
• Sugar or fat: Not both
  • ​The Cinnamon Crunch bagel with cream cheese example that I gave above is a bad combination. The bagel itself has 33 grams of sugar, which equates to almost eight teaspoons. If this is your vice or your favorite rainy-day treat, skip the cream cheese and drop the fat to only 7 grams. If you think it's sacrilege to enjoy a bagel without cream cheese, switch to a plain bagel and drive the sugar down to only 3 grams. 
• Opt for the reduced-fat cream cheese
  • ​Again, if you must have cream cheese it might be worth it to opt for the reduced-fat version instead. Each small container that accompanies a bagel contains 2 ounces of cream cheese, or roughly four tablespoons. The reduced-fat version contains 12 grams of fat instead of 18 grams, which is an improvement but still not the best investment. Try only using half of the container to make it even better.

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Disclaimer: I am not a licensed nutritionist nor a registered dietician. The opinions expressed in this article are my own, and each individual is ultimately responsible for his/her dietary and nutrition practices. Please consult a physician before starting a new dietary program.
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