Originating in Europe, the baked pretzel comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and flavors; however, most people are familiar with the knot-like soft pretzel variety. Bread-based, or yeast-based pretzels, such as the SuperPretzel, are popular in the United States and are made from wheat flour, water and yeast, then glazed with an egg wash and sprinkled with coarse salt. SuperPretzels, frozen, heat-and-eat pretzels, are marketed by the J & J Snack Foods Corporation. Each box of SuperPretzel Soft Pretzels and Pretzel Bites come with a packet of coarse salt, which you can sprinkle on the pretzels before heating, but you may want to rethink that.
Size and Variety
SuperPretzel comes in Original; Pretzelfils in Pizza, Pepperjack and Mozzarella; Softstix filled with Kraft cheese; and Soft Pretzel Bites. One Original SuperPretzel equals 2 ½ oz., or 64 g, and has ½ tsp. of salt -- if the added salt is used. There are 6 pretzels per box of Original SuperPretzels, 10 Pretzelfils, 10 Softstix and approximately 35 Soft Pretzel Bites per box.
Nutrition Facts
One SuperPretzel Soft Pretzel has 160 calories, 1 g of fat and 130 mg of sodium, without the added salt. Two Pretzelfils have 120 calories, 2 g of fat and 230 mg of sodium. Two Softstix have 130 calories, 3 g of fat and 270 mg of sodium. Five Pretzel Bites have 150 calories, 0.5 g of fat and 115 mg of sodium. According to MayoClinic.com, healthy snacks can actually help you manage your weight by reducing hunger and the associated binging. However, while SuperPretzels may not be on the list of preferred snacks, pretzels are preferred over processed, sugar-laden cakes and cookies that have a high fat and sugar content.
How High is High Sodium
Most Americans consume too much sodium. A good rule of thumb is to use the percent daily value (DV) to determine if a food item is high in sodium. If the DV is 5 percent or less, the item is low in sodium. If the DV is 20 percent or higher, the item is high in sodium. The percent daily value for 1 SuperPretzel Soft Pretzel or 5 Pretzel Bites is 5 percent, 2 Softstix is 11 percent and 2 PretzelFils is 10 percent. If you use the salt packet on a SuperPretzel Soft Pretzel, it increases the DV to a whopping 38 percent of sodium.
Carbohydrates and Protein
One SuperPretzel Soft Pretzel has 34 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of sugar and 5 g of protein. Two Pretzelfils have 20 g of carbohydrates, 2 g of sugar and 5 g of protein. Two Softstix have 22 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of sugar and 4 g of protein. Five Pretzel Bites have 32 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of sugar and 3 g of protein. While SuperPretzels are not whole-grain products, they are made from enriched, fortified flour, which according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, makes them products that still fall within the grain group in MyPyramid, a guideline for healthy eating.
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