Donuts and Milkshakes

I had to giggle when I saw that Krispy Kreme has introduced a whole wheat doughnut. I’m typically a fan of whole-wheat products, but looking at the nutritional information (PDF here) on Krispy Kreme’s site this donut doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement over the original glazed donut. It has only 20 calories less per serving, only 3g less carbohydrates and only a gram or two more fiber. A slight improvement, but not a remarkable breakthrough in food science.

I’d be willing to try one if I ever found myself in a Krispy Kreme again, which is about as likely as finding me in the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. But I’m of the opinion that if you’re going to have a treat you should go whole hog and get the treat you want. If you compromise, you don’t enjoy it as much as if you’d gotten what you really wanted and you’ve still got more calories and carbs swimming in your stomach than you would have otherwise.

When I drove home from my friend’s theatre performance this weekend, I stopped at Steak N’ Shake and got a mint chocolate milkshake because I had been thinking about it for at least 20 minutes while driving. I told myself “Geez, if you’re going to obsess over a silly milkshake you should just go get one already.” It was damn good and I’m still wiping the drool off of my car’s upholstery. I enjoyed it, probably more than I used to because it’s a rare treat these days and thus more precious. I enjoyed it a bit less when I came home and looked online to discover it had 717 calories. But I don’t regret it because I really wanted that milkshake and that was also the day I discovered I could run 5K continuously, which almost burned off all those calories.

I certainly think it’s good for restaurants to include healthy items on their menu if at all possible. But when it comes to a donut company, adding a healthy donut is like dressing up a cow up in a tomato suit and trying to sell it to vegetarians. It’s not beef, it’s a vegetable! Ignore the taste of cotton/polyester blend! If you go to Krispy Kreme you want to eat something you know isn’t good for you. If you were being health conscious you would be eating at one of the restaurants that has a halo of a healthy brand, like Subway. So, nice try Krispy Kreme, but if I’m lured into your drive-through again I think I’ll stick to a chocolate iced custard filled donut. Yum.