Oh, fudge! Cold Stone’s shake is fattening!
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Tired of worrying about swine flu? Need something else to keep you awake at night?
How about those 24-ounce Oh Fudge! shakes at Cold Stone Creamery? Guess how many calories and fat grams?
Calories: 1,920. Fat: 106 grams.
Leave it to the folks over at the Center for Science in the Public Interest to bring these numbers to our attention, as they’ve done in the past for such indulgences as movie theater popcorn and fettucine alfredo.
‘We think this shake is much worse than other shakes out there, and that’s probably the main reason we chose it,’ says Jayne Hurley, CSPI’s senior nutritionist. ‘The other thing is, shakes are like a stealth weight gain -- the calories you drink don’t register in your brain the way the calories you eat do. It’s something to eat with your burger or walk around the mall drinking.... I don’t think people have any clue just how high in calories and saturated fat these things are.’
In CSPI’s inimitable style, the Washington D.C.-based organization calls the shake, made from chocolate ice cream, milk and fudge syrup, ‘food porn’ and claims it is the fat and calorie equivalent of 2 pounds of T-bone steak and a buttered baked potato.
Hurley further points out how ice cream treats have evolved -- and expanded -- through the years, from a humble 300-or-so-calorie single cone to gargantuan waffle cone sundaes.
But she reminds fans of the ice cream parlor that there are lower calorie drinks available, such as the 16-ounce Berry Lemony smoothie at 230 calories and half a gram of fat.
Cold Stone issued a statement that says in part, ‘Cold Stone Creamery is best known for dishing up super-premium, indulgent ice cream treats made-to-order. However, many people don’t know that there are several low-calorie, reduced-fat options that can be applied to Creations, shakes and cakes at every Cold Stone Creamery location across the country.’ Swapping the Sinless Sweet Cream ice cream for the regular ice cream in that Oh Fudge! shake means 61% fewer calories and 97% less fat (nutritional information can be found on the company’s website).
Frankly, we’re a little disappointed in CSPI and fear they might be losing their edge. Cold Stone has a shake that’s even more caloric and fatty than the Oh Fudge! (which should be Oh, Fudge!): the 24-ounce PB&C (chocolate ice cream, milk and peanut butter), which is 2,010 calories and 131 grams of fat. But maybe they figured the peanut butter was somewhat healthful.
-Jeannine Stein