Girl Scout Cookies: Healthy or Unhealthy Debate on ABC News

[Ivan Seeking]

Tonight on ABC news they did a spot on Girl Scout cookies. The basic objection is that the Scouts are promoting and contributing to bad health.

I say Girl Scout frozen broccoli!

Seriously though, aren't we getting a bit fanatical here? Is it the position of the medical community that classic cookies are so unhealthy that we should NEVER have a cookie or two [or ten].

 

[SOS2008]

Tonight on ABC news they did a spot on Girl Scout cookies. The basic objection is that the Scouts are promoting and contributing to bad health.

I say Girl Scout frozen broccoli!

Seriously though, aren't we getting a bit fanatical here? Is it the position of the medical community that classic cookies are so unhealthy that we should NEVER have a cookie or two [or ten].

A cookie or two is about right. I was just given a box of the "Old Fashioned Shortbread" cookies. Let's see now...saturated fat is 1.5 grams, and sugars are 5 grams, for a total of 130 calories, plus 17 grams of carbs...per serving size of...ONE cookie. I'm outraged, and am rationing myself to one cookie a week (the box will go stale before I can finish the danged things).

 

[Moonbear]

You know, I was going to start a thread in jest about Girl Scout cookies. The problem is that you get them all at once! And they taste so good, I can't stop once I open a box! Well, last year when I got them, I did limit myself to 2 or 3 thin mints as dessert, but this year I got the peanut butter ones, and couldn't stop at 2 or 3! But that's certainly not the fault of the Girl Scouts. And now that the two boxes of peanut butter cookies I bought are all gone, I just won't be buying cookies again for another year (I bake my own the rest of the year).

That's okay, what the Girl Scouts make me gain in weight, the Boy Scouts make me lose...they sell mulch, and I work off way more than two boxes of cookies getting the mulch from my driveway to all my flower beds in a weekend. They should combine their sales efforts; guilt-free cookies, just buy mulch too!

 

[Gale]

Ooooh, ya, i remember being a girlscout. My sister and i were both scouts, and we used to sell door to door around our block. We always used to fight over the erm... heavier... people. One woman, every year, would buy like at least a case of cookies. One year, i went to her place, and she ordered like 11 boxes of cookies. Accidently though, i lost my order sheet, so i had to go back around the neighborhood, and get everyone's orders all over again, UGH. So i went back to that woman's house, and this time her family was there. She ordered over 20 boxes!

Most people only ordered a few boxes, but there were definately people who bought WAY too many, (not that i ever minded, just meant more camping trips for me!) We just got ours last weekend... and I'm pretty sure there won't be any left for me to bring back to college next week...

 

[Moonbear]

Though, they do freeze well, so if you're really well-disciplined, you can stick a bunch of boxes in the freezer and eat them later.

It was funny this year. I didn't even know who I ordered my cookies from. The order form was left in our break-room/kitchen area, and I just signed up for cookies on it, but didn't recognize the name on it. It was our new IT guy's daughter (must be a blended family since she didn't have the same last name). Eh, I knew it was someone working in my building. Last year I ordered them from a neighborhood kid and she was slower at delivering them than the people at work, so I was watching the other folks eating their cookies for a week or two before I got mine.

 

[physmurf]

My parents always tell me that back when they were kids, what we call a small drink at the restaurant was considered a normal sized drink back then. Today we all seem to think that a lot is better than a little. I know I would have eaten the whole box of peanut butter cookies. I feel the same way as the guy in the last post. It is only our choosing. The problem is the liberal media likes to blame everybody else except for the person who is at fault.

 

[Integral]

My daughter... the pusher... How were those Somoas Ivan?

One of my co worker refused to buy any.. Said they made him sick... he wasn't sure if it is was the 2nd or 3rd box that did it.

 

[Moonbear]

One of my co worker refused to buy any.. Said they made him sick... he wasn't sure if it is was the 2nd or 3rd box that did it.

That's what keeps me in control with Thin Mints. If I ate a whole box of those, I'd definitely be sick (yes, I know this from experience...darn evil cookies).

 

[Artman]

Is it the position of the medical community that classic cookies are so unhealthy that we should NEVER have a cookie or two...

Isn't that all that come in the box anymore?

 

[Tsu]

I'll take a few boxes of those frozen broccoli cookies, please.

 

[Astronuc]

Brussels Sprouts, or Carrot with Parsnip?

Acutally I like the Somoas and Thin Mints - but sparingly.

I have to eat my cruciferous veggies first.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My daughter... the pusher... How were those Somoas Ivan?

One of my co worker refused to buy any.. Said they made him sick... he wasn't sure if it is was the 2nd or 3rd box that did it.

I polished off three boxes. After I came out of the diabetic coma I felt great!

Does anyone remember Yum Yums? They were kind of like a Somoa stick.

 

[Kerrie]

If girl scout cookies were ever abolished, I am sure there would be as much outrage and illegal cookie dealing as there was during prohibition. The mafia would definitely be involved.

 

[Mk]

What are Samoas made of? The only ones I like are the ones with the carmel and coconut and chocolate, with cookie underneath... those things are awesome. I limit myself to one column, per session of eating.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

What are Samoas made of? The only ones I like are the ones with the carmel and coconut and chocolate, with cookie underneath... those things are awesome. I limit myself to one column, per session of eating.

Those are the ones. Mmmmmmm.

 

[hypatia]

I was good..but learned a sad lesson. I thought getting the lower fat/carb ones would be alright..there like lemon puffy things. Now that I have them, I wonder what the heck was I thinking? I don't even like lemon flavor! I want some "real" GS cookies!

 

[KingNothing]

Cookies aren't good, but I think they contribute more to your mental health than they detract from your physical health (to a point)

Besides, I'm a 17 year old boy, I can eat a few hundred boxes a day and it won't ever show.

 

[Danger]

A what year-old boy? I've had naps longer than that.

 

[SOS2008]

Though, they do freeze well, so if you're really well-disciplined, you can stick a bunch of boxes in the freezer and eat them later.

You just had to tell me that, didn't you?

 

[Moonbear]

You just had to tell me that, didn't you?

Sorry.

 

[SOS2008]

Sorry.

Oh, okay...I was about to ship all my cookies to you packed in crushed china...

Along the line of manufacturer responsibility versus consumer responsibility, I was watching a program where schools are not only removing junk food vending machines, but the cafeterias are starting to provide healthier food (using low-fat cheese, for example, and removing fried foods, etc.) for the kids. In the case of what our children eat, I do feel these actions are good, in that adults do need to supervise what their children eat.

With regard to what adults eat, I read an article once in which blueberry muffins were used as an example, and researched showed that the manufacturer could have produced the product with real blueberries (instead of artificial ones) etc. and at a lower cost! In the end, the market will respond to what we purchase. There was a time where I had difficulty finding products at the grocery store without gobs of sugar, for example, or fast food that was healthy. It's getting better...

 

[JasonRox]

Wow... is it that bad in the US?

I eat constantly, and I can't stop. It's really hard, but I am getting better.

I'm a pretty active person, so gaining weight is not going to happen. I only weigh 155lbs, and I won't point of my life I ate fast food 10 times a week for a year. I gained 2 pounds from doing that I think. The "Super Size Me" video is a joke.

Note: I Super Size all my meals at fast food restaurants.

Note: I eat generally healthy, or really healthy compared to the rest of the world.

Edit Note: I eat fast food once every two months now. So, yeah I'm a lot better now.

 

[JasonRox]

While writing the above post, I ate a cup full of jelly beans. A few minutes before that I drank a litre of Gatorade. I ate more before that. I am now going to go eat some soup. :)

 

[Moonbear]

Along the line of manufacturer responsibility versus consumer responsibility, I was watching a program where schools are not only removing junk food vending machines, but the cafeterias are starting to provide healthier food (using low-fat cheese, for example, and removing fried foods, etc.) for the kids. In the case of what our children eat, I do feel these actions are good, in that adults do need to supervise what their children eat.

That sounds like a good move. In terms of school lunches, for some children who receive free or reduced cost lunches, their only choice is what the cafeteria serves them, so it should be healthy. Hmm...when I was a kid, we didn't have fried food in the cafeteria because of the fire hazard of deep fryers (or the maintenance, or something like that). Ever have baked french fries or hamburgers? When they started serving salads as an option for lunch, they were hugely popular, not because us kids were into being healthy, but because the cafeteria ladies couldn't kill a salad with their cooking!

 

[Andromeda321]

Up until I was sixteen I did ballet and my dance studio's fundraiser was fudge. That's right, we sold fudge from door to door and sold a heck of a lot of it too! So all told I guess we were worse off to the health of the area then the Girl Scouts because man, it was pretty awesome fudge, had fifteen types of flavors, and was bought by the pound.

 

[Math Is Hard]

[rant]
L.A. Girl Scouts suck. I ran into some at the grocery store this morning. They don't give a rats patoot if you buy their cookies. Their moms do all the work and they just stand there and give you this bored stare like "are you going to buy some cookies or not?" I bought a box from them anyway, and the girls never greeted me, never smiled at me, and never thanked me. (The moms did say thank you, however.)
Texas Girl Scouts are a whole different story. They set up outside a grocery store with a boom box and some balloons and it's almost a stage production. They sing songs, dance around, do cheers, and they are totally friendly to their customers. And they always say thank you.
[/rant]

 

[SOS2008]

The real killer is the cookie dough. Oh yeh...sold by the bucket.

I have a friend who got me to go to a nutrition seminar and I couldn't believe how bad so many products are--especially for kids. You know those convenience pack lunches? They had one that was something like seven years old...and it was still good because of the preservatives.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

That settles it. When I have a heart attack I'm suing the Girl Scouts...the California ones!

Interesting MIH. Maybe the California girls realize how evil their cookies are. They are conscientious objectors.

Tsu has her own version of the uncertainty principle: Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first!

 

[Moonbear]

Tsu has her own version of the uncertainty principle: Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first!

I strongly adhere to that as well. When I was in college, there was a restaurant in town that had a menu that started with the dessert section, with that motto printed at the top of the page. Needless to say it was my favorite restaurant!