Hot Dog Calories
How many hot dog calories are in your favorite frank?
Hot dog calories? Hot dogs are an American tradition. Coney Island, baseball, picnicks, backyard barbeques, sidewalk vendors. The hot dog has a place in American culture. In the U.S. we eat 20 billion hot dogs every year. But how healthy can they be?
No worries. These days every hot dog company has a variety of choices. Regular, low fat, non fat, you name it.
Here are some statistics on hot dog calories and fat content.
A typical jumbo size hot dog has 180 calories and 18 grams of fat. A regular size two-ounce hot dog has 150 calories and 15 grams of fat.
The bun usually adds about 100 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.
Turkey hot dogs can have anywhere from 90 to 130 calories and 7 to 11 grams of fat.
Calories are lower in the low fat and non fat varieties of course.
Two good tasting lite franks are Hebrew National 97% fat free, with 50 calories and 2 grams of fat. Also Healthy Choice with 60 calories and 2 grams of fat. If you grill them and put lots of mustard and relish on top you might not notice the missing fat.
For you brave souls who want to try out a totally fat free frank, here are some that are better than others. Oscar Mayer fat free, Ball Park fat free and Healthy Choice fat free are all worth a try.
The hot dogs that will destroy your diet are the ones you find at fast food restaurants. Jumbo size, smothered in chili and cheese, these are real fat bombs.
The super jumbo at 7-11 probably takes the prize as the most fattening frank.
Chili dogs from Dairy Queen and Orange Julius are also very high in hot dog calories and fat.
Remember, every hot dog company has a variety of healthy choices; lite, low fat, non fat, you name it.
Americans eat 150 million hot dogs on the 4th of July alone, according to the American Meat Institute.
By choosing a less fattening variety you can still enjoy the tradition.
Nitrites?
One other thing to worry about with hot dogs is nitrites and nitrates. Some food experts swear that sodium nitrite and nitrate are safe for human consumption. Other experts say they can cause cancer.
What is a hot dog consumer to do? We looked around and only found one brand of hot dogs that are made without nitrites or nitrates or phosphates or any artificial preservatives. They are Trader Joe's uncured hot dogs. They cost a bit more than the bargain brand, but they taste delicious.
For vegetarians, there are hot dogs made from soy that some people like. One friend said that the taste is similar to regular hot dogs, once she smothers the veggie hot dog with mustard and relish, or chili and onions and cheese.
Other people don't worry about hot dog calories or nitrites because they simply quit eating that particular food item
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