Something to help you through the work week
Dietitian and Nutritionist Maggie Radich takes a close look at our Annies Fruit Jerky to see how it stacks up as a snack option to keep you fuelled during the work week.
When you hear the word ‘jerky’, dried meat usually comes to mind, not fruit. But Annies have challenged the norm and made their own version. Annies Fruit Jerky.
Let’s learn a little more about the product. It comes in a resealable pouch to keep it fresh and contains 100% mixed fruit. Although all the Fruit Jerky strips have an apple puree base, other fruits have been mixed in including apricot, boysenberry, mango, passionfruit, raspberry, and strawberry. Good for those who like to mix it up and great for sharing.
Considering different fruits have different vitamin profiles, the mix of flavours in the Fruit Jerky offer different nutritional benefits. Annies use an airdrying process which removes the water content from the fruit but retains the original nutrients. If you were to chip away at the Fruit Jerky throughout the week, you’d be consuming different vitamins and antioxidants like vitamin C, beta-carotene and other carotenoids because of the different fruits used.
The nutrition label is based on an average of all the flavours and although the vitamins will differ, the macronutrients i.e. protein, fat and carbohydrates across all flavours should be similar, making the average a good representation of the Fruit Jerky.
For every 10g serving (10 servings/pack) there are 141kJ/33 calories, 7.8g total carbohydrate, and negligible fat or sodium. As Annies don’t add sugar the carbohydrate content will reflect naturally occurring fruit sugars and dietary fibre, of which there’s 1g of dietary fibre per serve.
Let’s put that into perspective and compare the Annies Fruit Jerky to one serving of some classic snack foods.
- An average apple contains around 218kJ/52 calories, 15g of carbohydrates and if you ate the skin there would be around 2.5g of fibre.
- A ‘Mother Earth’ Very Berry Baked Oaty slice contains 648kJ/154 calories, 5.3g of fat, 23.5g of total carbohydrate of which 2.7g is dietary fibre and close to 12g/3 teaspoons of sugar has been added.
- And two original Tim-Tams contain 798kJ/190 calories, 9.8g of fat and nearly 24g of total carbohydrates of which around 16g/4 teaspoons of sugar has been added.
If you have an office-based job or tend to sit for a lot of the day, your snack choices should be nutrient dense and sustaining but low on calories. It’s fair to say either the Annies Fruit Jerky or fresh fruit are sound snack options as they contain natural carbohydrates, dietary fibre and they haven’t had sugar or fat added to bump up the calorie content.
If you’re a shocker at packing lunch, make life a bit easier by taking a pouch of Annies Fruit Jerky to work. It’s fuel for a few days and should help you through the 3pm slump. It might even remove temptation to hit up the biscuit tin. Try teaming the Fruit Jerky with a protein source like some raw nuts, a glass of milk or boiled eggs. The natural sugars from the Fruit Jerky will keep your brain happy, the protein will sustain you for longer and the fats will help your body absorb the vitamins and antioxidants.
Annies Fruit Jerky is a convenient and nutritious way to fuel yourself during the work week and unlike other snack foods, it doesn’t pack a calorie or sugar punch. Try taking a packet to work and see how supports you through the week.
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