Calories in 1 egg yolk crisp = 1 bowl of rice! Nutritionists teach you 4 tips to eat mooncakes without losing weight

The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. It is a time for reunion with family and friends. Mooncakes, which symbolize the full moon and reunion of families, are an indispensable delicacy. However, people are also worried about the calorie content. Nutritionists analyzed that the popular egg yolk crisp contains about 234 kcal/55g (equivalent to a bowl of rice), and the Cantonese-style jujube and walnut mooncake contains about 496 kcal/124g. If you want to eat mooncakes without the burden, here are 4 tips to eat mooncakes without losing weight.

Nutritionist Shen Peiyi from the Nutritional Therapy Department of Dali Ren'ai Hospital said that in recent years, the types of mooncakes have been constantly updated. In addition to traditional egg yolk pastries, taro pastries, and Cantonese mooncakes, Taoshan mooncakes, ice cream mooncakes, and snow skin mooncakes are also popular choices. However, before enjoying mooncakes, people are always looking forward to it but are also afraid of hurting their weight. Therefore, it is recommended that people check the "nutrition label" on the back before enjoying the mooncakes to help understand how much calories, fat and sugar the mooncakes contain, so as to avoid putting on weight after a happy holiday.

The main ingredients of mooncakes are flour, sugar and oil. The calories of commercially available egg yolk pastry are about 234 kcal/55g, one Cantonese date paste and walnut mooncake is about 496 kcal/124g, one lava milk custard mooncake is about 178 kcal/45g, one ice cream mooncake is about 223 kcal/75g, and one snow skin mooncake is about 175 kcal/65g (varies depending on the brand). Even a small one has nearly 200 kcal. Therefore, it is recommended that people can choose mooncakes according to several principles.

(Photo provided by Taichung Dali Ren'ai Hospital)

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Three principles for choosing mooncakes

Nutritionist Shen Peiyi proposed the following principles for choosing mooncakes:

1. "Low fat content": The fillings contain salted egg yolk, lava, custard, etc., which are high in fat and calories. You can choose items that do not contain salted egg yolk, have less butter and lower cholesterol.

2. "Low sugar content": Red bean paste and lotus seed paste fillings are high in sugar. You can choose mooncakes with nuts or whole grains instead. However, nuts are oily, so you still need to be careful to avoid consuming too many calories.

3. Choose a small portion: A common Cantonese mooncake weighs more than 100 grams. It is recommended to choose a small portion (such as the size of an egg yolk pastry) to avoid the burden of eating too much at one time.

4 tips to eat mooncakes without losing weight

Nutritionist Shen Peiyi said that when enjoying mooncakes, the following 4 tips can help people have a relaxed Mid-Autumn Festival and not lose weight:

1. Share the food but don’t enjoy it alone:

You can share it with your family and friends to enjoy the flavor while avoiding taking in too many calories.

2. Don’t eat it as a regular meal, eat more vegetables at regular meals:

It is recommended to eat mooncakes in small portions as a snack to avoid overeating as a main meal; main meals should be cooked with low oil and more vegetables should be eaten to balance the calorie intake throughout the day and avoid overeating.

3. Avoid sugary drinks:

It is recommended to enjoy mooncakes with sugar-free tea, which can not only relieve the greasiness but also avoid the intake of additional sugar.

4. Take a walk after meals: It is recommended to increase the amount of activity after meals. You can take a walk with your family and friends to appreciate the moon, which will help digestion and increase calorie consumption.

Nutritionist Shen Peiyi from the Nutritional Therapy Department of Dali Ren'ai Hospital reminds that patients with chronic diseases must pay attention to the amount of mooncakes they eat, and diabetic patients must pay attention to their daily sugar intake. (Photo provided by Taichung Dali Ren'ai Hospital)

Nutritionist Shen Peiyi finally reminded that patients with chronic diseases must pay more attention to the amount of mooncakes they eat, and diabetic patients must pay attention to their daily sugar intake; patients with hyperlipidemia are advised to eat less pastries containing lard, puff pastry, and flaky pastry (such as egg yolk pastry). Those who are trying to control their weight or lose weight need to pay attention to the calories in mooncakes. For example, if you eat a lava custard mooncake as a snack, the calories in it exceed half a bowl of rice. Read the nutrition label before eating to avoid exceeding the calorie intake throughout the day, which will cause weight gain instead of weight loss.