To Nog, or not to Nog.

Tis the season for drinking strange things.  I was asked last week by my good friend, and food connoisseur, Dean Porter, if egg nog is bad for you.  Is it made from eggs?  And what is nog?  

I have great memories of Christmas Eve spent at my Grandmas and she would bring out the container of egg nog and pour everyone some.  Some liked it, others didn’t.  I was one who loved it, and she didn’t even put bourbon in it.  I don’t think it is really good for you, but lets take a look at just how bad it is.

I’m going to start with the ingredients.  We know that the longer the list the healthier it is so here goes!

Milk, cream, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, egg yolks (no wonder this is SO delicious), whey, nonfat milk (how did that get in there), stabilizer (sounds like a wrestling move) (guar gum, gelatin, carrageenan, cellulose gum, gum acacia), natural and artificial flavors, nutmeg oil, salt and annatto-turmeric extract (for color).  WOW!  It must be healthy because I can’t pronounce a lot of those things.  

Now for the nutrition facts.  It starts with a serving size is a half cup…really!!!  Who only has a half cup?  That’s like putting on a beer can that a serving size is half a beer.  

Calories – 190, calories from fat – 80, total fat – 9g, saturated fat – 6g, trans fat – 0g (well that’s good), cholesterol – 60mg, sodium – 105mg, total carbs – 20g, dietary fiber – 0g, sugars – 20g and protein – 5g.  Remember, this is per half cup serving.

The plus side to egg nog, as I see it, is there is 5g of protein per serving AND we only have this once a year.  If you are going to sit down and drink an entire container of nog (still don’t know what that is) you are going to have problems.   I’m having mine with a little Jack Daniels, thank you.  Thanks for the inquiry, Dean, and I hope I was able to help.   Cheers!

Until next time…