The pretzel, which isn't deep-fried like many of its snack food counterparts, is a good choice for an easy, no-preparation snack. According to "Cooking Light" magazine, the pretzel's biggest nutritional pitfall is its usually high sodium content. But there are many types of pretzels, with many options in terms of sodium and other ingredients.
Basic Pretzel
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a pretzel is a slender bread, usually salted, either chewy or brittle, and often shaped into a loose knot. The primary ingredients in most pretzels are flour, yeast, sugar and water.
Hard, Plain Pretzels
A single serving of hard pretzels--60 grams or 10 pieces--contains 227 calories and 2 grams of fat, according to "Self" magazine. A single serving also has less than a gram of saturated fat, 48 grams of carbohydrates and 814 milligrams, or 34 percent of one's daily value, of sodium. Opting for unsalted pretzels instead can cut the sodium content down to just 173 milligrams, or 7 percent of your daily value.
Hard, Whole Wheat Pretzels
Choosing whole wheat pretzels over traditional pretzels can decrease both calories and fat. A 57 gram serving of whole wheat pretzels, according to "Self" magazine, contains 206 calories and one gram of fat. A single serving contains 46 grams of carbohydrates, and only 116 milligrams of sodium.
Soft Pretzels
According to "Self" magazine, a typical large soft pretzel that weighs 143 grams, contains 483 calories, with 4 grams of fat. They have 99 grams of carbohydrates and more than 2,000 milligrams of salt--more than 80 percent of your daily value. The same size soft pretzel without salt contains just 987 milligrams of sodium, for 41 percent of your daily value.
Coated Pretzels
Embellished pretzels coated in chocolate, yogurt or sprinkles work against the pretzel's inherent nutritional value. According to "Self" magazine, a 60-gram serving of chocolate-coated pretzels contains 272 calories and 11 grams of fat. They tend to have less sodium than the average hard pretzel, 340 milligrams, and 43 grams of carbohydrates.
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