I guess they are the stuff junk food legends are made of though. I've seen wedding cakes formed from them, seen them in kid's lunches at school, ran across several Pinterest recipes for Twinkie tiramisu, Twinkie cupcakes, and Twinkie strawberry shortcake. I have even heard that they never spoil. So when the big nuclear apocalypse comes, looks like it'll just bee the Twinkies and the cockroaches left.
I read the following quote from a newspaper article this morning:
"Twinkies are here to stay, especially since the company is looking at different variations, like a "crunchy" Twinkie (a store-bought version of the deep-fried Twinkie, we imagine), plus other options like gluten-free, added fiber, low-sugar, and low-sodium versions."
Really? There are so many things wrong with that quote. First of all, Twinkies with added fiber and lower sugar? Isn't that like the "near beer" that made a quick appearance in the 90's? People don't want beer without the alcohol and people don't want their junk food to be healthy. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, a deep fried Twinkie? Yikes. That reminds me of the restaurant that serves a fried egg on top of their 1/2 pound bacon cheeseburger. Why not just go have a medically induced heart attack and be done with it?
So while some are celebrating the return of the golden, cream filled styrofoam cakes around the world today, dieters beware. Twinkies are a regular cornucopia of unhealthiness.
Try this instead if you need something to fill your cake craving:
3 Ingredient Lemon Cake
Ingredients
1 box (18.25 oz.) Pillsbury Moist Supreme Lemon Cake Mix
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in 100% pineapple juice
6 oz. (approximately 3/4 cup) non-fat Greek yogurt – lemon or pineapple flavor
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare a 13×9 baking pan with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl combine all three ingredients making sure to mix thoroughly eliminating any pockets of dry cake mix. The batter will be thick.
When fully combined, pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes until a tooth pick or cake probe can be inserted and removed cleanly.
Per serving: calories 154, fat 2.6, carbohydrates 32, fiber .3, protein 1.7, PP=4