Most baked goods (even the healthy-looking ones made with nuts and seeds) are packed with refined flour and sugar—and completely devoid of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. And the baked goods you get from coffee shops or restaurants are usually far worse than homemade efforts, partly because they come in enormous portion sizes, but also because they're often loaded with additives to improve texture, color, and shelf life.
We get it, though: Sometimes, nothing will suffice but a warm baked good straight out of the glass case. But you can still save hundreds of calories and dozens of grams of sugar by choosing one kind of goodie over another. Here are 7 treats to avoid and the slightly better swaps to make in their place.
SKIP: Cinnamon roll
Ooey gooey frosted cinnamon rolls are the granddaddy of bad-for-you foods. Some fast-food varieties actually top 1,000 calories, with 75 grams of sugar to boot. Even the more modest rolls land in the neighborhood of 500 to 600 calories a bun—still ridiculously high for a single snack.
SMARTER SWAP: Cookie
In general, cookies have fewer calories and less sugar than cinnamon buns. There are just two major exceptions to the rule: cookies with icing on top, and cookies that are as big as dinner plates. Choose a naked, reasonably sized cookie (about 3 inches across), and it will most likely have fewer than 300 calories and less than 25 grams of sugar. One good pick: the Gingerbread Cookie at Au Bon Pain, with 210 calories and 11 grams of sugar total. (Snack AND lose weight with this box of Prevention-approved treats from Bestowed.)
SKIP: Danish
Do your best to resist this combination of flaky pastry and syrup-sweet fruit (or cheese). Just about any Danish you can find in restaurants and cafes has more than 300 calories, while some reach all the way to 450. Plus, they deliver around 20 grams of sugar. (Try these 10 low-sugar desserts that really hit your sweet spot.)
SMARTER SWAP: Plain croissant
What makes flaky croissants so great? Their rock-bottom sugar content. We've researched croissant offerings from just about every major chain, and there isn't a tasty crescent out there with more than 6 grams of sugar. Try the plain croissant at Panera Bread: It's got 300 calories and 6 grams sugar. Plus, the chain refuses to use artificial colors, flavorings, and more than a hundred other potentially unsafe additives.
MORE: Top 10 Cholesterol-Fighting Foods
SKIP: Scone
Chain bakery scones regularly clock in at 500 calories or more, while some have an astounding 47 grams of sugar. That's nearly twice the recommended daily limit!
SMARTER SWAP: Biscotti
Even when biscotti is as big as a baseball bat, it's usually a better choice than a scone. Smaller packaged versions found at the cash register can have as few as 150 calories, while larger ones, like Così's Amaretto Biscotti, have a higher (but still reasonable) total of 240 calories. (Così doesn't provide sugar stats for its desserts at this time.)
MORE:8 Things That Happen When You Finally Stop Drinking Diet Soda
SKIP: Pecan pie
True, pecans are packed with protein and healthy fats, but it's hard to stomach the number of calories in an average slice of restaurant pecan pie: 541, according to USDA data. (That's along with a whopping 33 grams of sugar.) Bottom line: Don't use the nutritional benefits of raw pecans as an excuse to choose this intensely sugary dessert.
SMARTER SWAP: Apple pie (or crisp)
You'll lose around 300 calories and 12 grams of sugar when you choose a fruit-based dessert instead of a nutty one, the USDA nutrition database shows. Just avoid added ice cream, sauces, or whipped cream, all of which can swiftly undo that calorie savings. It's not exactly pie, but the Cinnamon Apple Crisp served at Seasons 52 (one of our favorite sit-down restaurants for real food) is pretty close, and it's got just 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 23 grams of sugar.
SKIP: Muffin
Muffins can masquerade as health food when they include ingredients like carrots, berries, flax, and bran. But you've probably heard these pastries described as "glorified cake"—and that nickname is so deserved. The USDA calculates that the average large blueberry muffin (because have you ever seen a coffee shop sell anything but large ones?) has 521 calories, 44 grams of sugar, and a paltry 1.5 grams of fiber.
SMARTER SWAP: Plain doughnut
Sounds crazy, but this one's actually a no-brainer. Your average plain glazed yeast doughnut has only 269 calories—that's 252 fewer than the giant muffin. And it doesn't stop there: Doughnuts also have about 30 fewer grams of sugar. Of course, you'll have to say no to creamy fillings and sugary icings—these can add hundreds of calories back to the decent doughnut base. Dunkin' Donuts' plain glazed is a better-than-average pick with 260 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 12 grams of sugar.
MORE:7 Weird Reasons You're Gaining Weight
SKIP: Cheesecake
Some chains serve cheesecake slices with more than 1,300 calories. A 150-pound woman would have to run for more than 2 hours to burn that amount of energy. Eating more than half the calories you need in a day in one dessert? No, thanks.
SMARTER SWAP: Ice cream
No, it's not a baked good, but ice cream delivers all the creamy texture and sweet satisfaction of cheesecake for a fraction of the calories—and you can order a scoop at just about any restaurant. One cup of vanilla (two ½-cup servings) has 273 calories and 28 grams of sugar. It's even got 17% of your daily required calcium. Try this recipe to make your own ice cream at home:
SKIP: Cupcake
Cupcakes available at nationwide chains can have up to 400 calories—no surprise considering the mountain of buttery, sugary icing sitting on top.
SMARTER SWAP: Cake pop
We think cake pops are genius: They've got all the decadent flavor of a full-sized cupcake, just in a smaller package. It's just enough to crush your craving without going overboard. Starbucks is the best-known provider of the little delicacies—one of their chocolate-flavored pops will set you back only 140 calories and 15 grams of sugar.
