Don't make mincemeat of your diet

Kellie Collins

I’ve just been to my local supermarket and I could hardly move two steps without bumping into another stack of tins full of chocolates, boxes of mince pies and tins of biscuits – all piled high in the spaces which are usually there to help us manoeuvre our trolleys around.

It’s madness. And it leaves you under the impression that you’re going to miss out on something unless you fill your trolley with at least one box of each type of mince pie, two tins of sweets and five tins of biscuits. Well, believe me, you won’t be missing out on anything and you’ll save yourself pounds all round.

Speaking of mince pies, I was baffled when it came to choosing some – there are so many different types. Lattice topped, puff pastry, iced top, deep filled, laced with brandy, spiked with port…the list goes on.

To help me make that all-important decision, I thought a quick sneak at the nutrition numbers might help me decide which type would do the least damage to my diet – but it seems like they’re all as bad as each other.

Bah, Humbug. Let me share some of the facts with you.

Tesco have a whole host of mince pies including iced top, mini, deep filled and ‘value’, all made with that nastiest of diet nasties, all-butter shortcrust pastry. Each iced-top mince pie has around 200 calories, 7g of fat and - wait for it - over 26g of sugar (3 Totals) – that’s more than five teaspoons of sugar in one mince pie.

A deep-filled pie will set you back a whopping 215 calories, 8g of fat and over 19g of sugar (3 Totals). A better choice, at 20 grams lighter, is the ‘value’ variety, which, at 150 calories, 6g of fat and 11g of sugar (2 Totals) doesn’t break the barriers too much.

Your best bet, though, is the Tesco Finest Mini Mince Pie - with 91 calories, 4g of fat and just less than 6g of sugar (1 Total), you certainly don't have to miss out (if you can stick to one mince pie, that is).

My local Marks and Spencer’s had three varieties of mouth-watering mince pies - lattice, connoisseur deep filled and mini. The lattice pies provide 200 calories, over 8g of fat and nearly 15g of sugar (3 Totals). In true connoisseur style, the deep-filled pies go one better – with 210 cals, 8g of fat and over 20g of sugar (3 Totals).

But again the mini mince pies are the best bet with 105 calories, 4g of fat and not quite 8g of sugar (1.5 Totals) – that’s a bargain at the calorie bank.

Sainsbury’s have 4 types of mince pies on offer. There are no prizes for guessing that the mini, fondant top does the least dietary damage with 124 calories, 4g of fat and 16g of sugar.

The shallow version is next with just shy of 150 calories, 6g of fat and over 11g of sugar (2 Totals). Breaking the 200 calorie mark is the ice-topped version with 210 cals, over 9g of fat and a massive 24g of sugar (3 Totals).

But, once again, the top prize for the top calories goes to the deep-filled pie with over 230 calories, 8g of fat and 21g of sugar (3.5 Totals).

Mr Kipling doesn’t do exceedingly well either, with his mince pies packed with a staggering 234 calories, 9g of fat (3.5 Totals) and over 20g of sugar. So steer well clear of these, no matter how exceedingly good they may seem!

However, Mr Kipling has a ‘mince parcel’ to offer, which has only 112 calories and less than 5g of fat (2 Totals), making them perfect for a little snack - they even come individually wrapped.

But Daelman’s Delicious Mince Puffs are at the top of the tree when it comes to tasty treats – each puff has just 103 calories, 4g of fat and 10g of sugar (1.5 Totals). Perfect for any Christmas stocking.

So keep these figures in mind when you’re shopping for mince pies – and choose wisely and well. You don’t want to make mincemeat of your diet.