Croissant calories

Croissant Calories? If you love pastries then we are sure that you must be loving croissants too as they are also a type of pastry majorly popular for their flaky texture but the flavor and shape.

Croissant is a staple in patisseries and French bakeries adapted from the kipferl that originated in Austria.

Croissants are available in many different fillings, flavors, and varieties served in multiple fast-food restaurants all across the world.

However, the main question is whether it can be a healthy food item to consume or not. In this article, we will be discussing in detail the nutritional breakdown along with the benefits, demerits, and calories of croissants along with tips to consume them in a healthy form.

History of croissants

Back in the 13th century in Austria croissants were introduced in multiple shapes. The proper establishment of croissants was in the year 1869 when people started including them as a breakfast staple.

Talking about the overview of the manufacturing of croissants, it is first formed into a pre-doh made with sugar, salt, yeast, water, flour, etc. For hydrating the ingredients, 19 degrees celsius is considered to be the ideal temperature for the dough prepared and after the dough is ready it goes into the lamination process.

After the lamination process, the dough is fermented and then the dough created is firmly given the shape of a croissant. Once it has a proper shape it goes into the baking process and after that finally, it is cooled and stored.

The number of calories found in croissants –

There are majorly 4 types of croissants found and we will be discussing the number of calories each type contains.

The first type of croissant is the plain one which contains 231 calories. The second type is the chocolate croissant containing 240 calories. The third type is the ham and cheese croissant having 359 calories and The fourth type of croissant is the almond croissant containing 279 calories.

These croissants are either served alone or contain fillings such as meat, cheese, or eggs.

The calorie content of all these varieties of croissants depends on various factors such as their brand flavor, filling, etc. Talking about on average, most of them contain around 231 to 500 calories in one serving.

Some of the famous restaurants that offer a good variety of croissants are-

Starbucks chocolate croissants, Dunkin donuts plain croissants, Costco croissants, Burger King sausage egg, cheese croissanwich, Jimmy Dean sausage egg, cheese croissants, and Wendy’s bacon egg and Swiss croissants.

Below mentioned is the calorie breakdown of each of these restaurant croissant menus-

Restaurant Name & menu item	No of calories
Starbucks chocolate croissant	300 calories
Dunkin donuts plain croissant	340 calories
Costco croissant	300 calories
Burger King sausage egg and cheese croissanwich	500 calories
Wendy’s bacon egg and Swiss croissant	410 calories
Jimmy Dean sausage egg and cheese croissant	394 calories

Considering the above information the burger King sausage egg and cheese croissanwich has the highest amount of calories as compared to the other restaurants.

By now you must know that croissants are comparatively high in calories, carbohydrates, and fat. Let’s understand the detailed nutrition breakdown of it.

Nutrients present in a medium butter croissant –

Apart from containing carbs, fat, and calories they also have selenium and some kinds of flours enriched with niacin thiamine folate, and riboflavin.

The breakdown of these nutrition contents is given below

231 calories
5 grams of protein
26 grams of carbs
12 grams of fat
5 grams of fiber
24% of selenium
18% of thiamine
13% of folate
13% of vitamin A
11% of riboflavin
10 %of pantothenic acid
10% of sodium
8% of niacin
8% of manganese
6% of iron

Benefits of eating croissants –

Well, you must be wondering since this food item is high in calories will it have any benefits at all?

The answer is yes! there are certain benefits that it can give you, let’s discuss them.

Here are a few benefits of eating croissants

Croissants contain vitamin A, vitamin b, and other important nutrients like selenium which is good for your health.
All these nutrients present in croissants are very good for the functioning of your kidneys, thyroid lungs, heart, brain, and other health aspects.
They also give you some amount of protein. The macronutrients present in the croissants are good for weight management boosting immunity and other healing properties as well.
Many types of toppings used in croissants can increase the amount of protein in the meal per serving. These topics include meat, eggs, cheese, etc.
Apart from all this croissant is also an extremely versatile dish which means that it can be consumed with different healthy and nutrient-dense fillings that can make it slightly guilt-free so you can choose the kind of toppings you want and customize your meal accordingly.
A few healthy topping options can include cheese, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, eggs, and herbs that not only make it delicious yet nutritious and healthy.

So these were some of the proven benefits of consuming croissants, but does it have disadvantages too? Yes, let’s have a look at the downside.

Demerits of eating croissants are as follows:

Croissant is high in calories –

Croissants are high in calories and per serving, you will get excessive calories as compared to any other meal option. Being a high-calorie food in itself. If you add other toppings that are high in calories or consume other dishes complementary like juices, drinks, brownies, etc with it, it will increase the calorie content making it too much for one go.

So if you are trying to lose weight or follow a specific diet then we would not recommend you consume such a high-calorie Intake. Yes, having a cheat meal once in a while is okay but not advisable frequently.

Croissants are high in sodium –

Croissant has a high sodium content that usually comes from the ingredients present in them such as butter, egg, bacon, etc.

All of these things add up to the sodium content.

As per the American heart association, the ideal sodium intake per day for any human should be less than 2300 mg. Most adults should try to limit their intake of sodium to around 1500 mg per day.

If you don’t take into account your sodium intake and indirectly end up consuming more than the usual intake it can cause several health issues such as problems of increased blood pressure levels, risk of heart diseases, etc.

So if you are prone to any such diseases or sensitive to salt then avoid overconsumption.

Croissant contains trans fat and saturated fat –

Animal products such as red meat, and other ingredients like butter, cheese, etc contain saturated fat. This saturated fat might not directly result in any increase in heart diseases but it can result in increased levels of bad cholesterol also known as LDL.

Any food that is rich in simple carbohydrates, and saturated fat, and is highly processed can hurt your heart health which is why moderating your intake is very important.

Talking about the ideal intake of saturated fat for any adult according to the American heart association is 5-6% of the total amount of daily calories.

Let’s understand this with an easy example. Suppose you are consuming 2000 calories in a day then your limit of saturated fat per day should be around 11 to 13 grams. If you do not limit this, it will increase your everyday calorie content which is not good for your health.

This proves that any of your favorite food items can come with their possible demerits which is why thorough research and moderate consumption is the key to maintaining your health and fitness.

How to store croissants?

Why is it important to store Croissants properly? Well if you don’t store your croissants properly it might affect their flavor, texture, and freshness. If you are willing to store them at room temperature make sure to wrap them in foil paper or plastic bags. In this condition, you can consume them within 2 days.

If you want to store them in the refrigerator then you can wrap them and store them in your fridge for approximately one week. However, storing them for a week might have a slide impact on their texture but won’t affect the taste much.

If you keep it in the freezer then it can last up to 1 to 2 months. Even if you are storing them in your freezer don’t forget to cover them with plastic wrap and right before heating them, thaw them so that they don’t become soggy.

How to make your croissants healthy?

So you love eating your croissant but you are afraid that it might not be very good from a health perspective and hence you will have to give up on your favorite meal?

Well, don’t worry we are here to solve this problem. Yes, croissants can be certainly unhealthy as they are high in calories, fat, carbs, etc but there are ways to make them healthy as well.

Following are the tips to make your choice healthy for consumption.

Pair your croissant with healthy ingredients that are rich in fiber and protein that can make your pastry more balanced, fulfilling, and nutritious
Avoid going too fast food restaurants as they may give croissants that are high in sodium and highly processed too. It’s a better idea to try making your croissant instead at home using your favorite topping that is healthy and nutritious.

Following mentioned are some of the healthy toppings that can be included in your croissant meal-

Nut butter
cheese
eggs
ricotta
berries
tomatoes
banana slices
spinach
avocado
fresh herbs
pesto
cream cheese
arugula

If you are following a specific diet and willing to lose weight or on a hunt to reduce your calorie intake then you can try limiting your toppings such as processed meat, jelly, butter, jam, etc, that can have extra sodium and salt increasing overall calories.

The last tip is to make a smaller serving instead of a big pastry to have its taste yet have portion control.

Bottom line

The nutritional content, number of calories, variety of toppings, etc differs from croissant to croissant.

Regardless of how unhealthy it is you can still take some measures to make it fit into your healthy diet routine.

Follow the tips mentioned in this article to make it more balanced and nutritious.

Avoid going to restaurants and rather prepare your meal at home which can be guilt-free.

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