14 Of The Unhealthiest Sam's Club Bakery Foods
In an effort to boost its sales, Sam's Club has undergone a great many changes in recent years. One of the upsides of this process has been a measured improvement in the quality and availability of the bakery items at Sam's Club. Today, the brand sells a great many baked goods in its stores, some of which are adored by Americans across the country. That being said, the brand has also become known for selling some extremely unhealthy baked goods. In this article, we highlight 14 of the unhealthiest Sam's Club bakery foods.
It's no stretch to say Sam's Club now boasts one of the most impressive bakeries of any grocery store brand. The brand stocks freshly baked cakes, cookies, and even pastries. While delicious, many of these products are packed with a terrifying amount of saturated fat and added sugar, two nutrients that, when ingested in large amounts regularly, are linked with a variety of diseases, including heart disease and cardiovascular disease. For this reason, added sugar and saturated fats were the two metrics we used to determine how unhealthy a food was when writing this.
1. Member's Mark Lemon Tiramisu
Given that tiramisu's three main ingredients are cream, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, it's no surprise that the Member's Mark Lemon Tiramisu (available at Sam's Club) is not healthy. What is surprising is just how much saturated fat and added sugar this dessert contains.
A single, 80-gram portion of Member's Mark Lemon Tiramisu contains 10 grams of saturated fat. That is half of an adult's daily value — the measure of how rich a food is in a certain nutrient as expressed as a percentage of the amount adults are advised to consume daily. As such, the lemon tiramisu contains half the amount of saturated fat an adult should eat in a single day. Because of this high saturated fat content, people that eat this dessert regularly risk raising their blood cholesterol. In an interview with the BBC, dietician Lynne Garton said: "Several factors contribute to raised blood cholesterol, but a diet high in saturated fat is definitely one of them, and this has been confirmed in studies going as far back as the 1950s."
The same small portion of Member's Mark Lemon Tiramisu also contains 20 grams of added sugar (40% of an adult's daily value). While not quite as staggering as the tiramisu's saturated fat content, this is still a substantial amount of added sugar.
2. Brownie Sundae
Few desserts are as celebrated in the United States as a decadent sundae. Sam's Club lives up to these expectations by selling a brownie-studded sundae that's made with frozen yogurt and caramel. Although frozen yogurt is used in place of ice cream, this sundae still contains a great deal of saturated fat, 10 grams to be exact. As we've seen this is a significant proportion of an adult's daily value.
While fatty, the main drawback of this sundae is the astronomical amount of added sugar it contains. The sundae, which weighs 401 grams, contains an incredible 100 grams of added sugar. Not only does this mean that a quarter of the sundae by weight is made up of sugar, but also that it contains 200% of an adult's daily value of sugar. To put it more simply, this single sundae holds two days' worth of sugar.
Added sugar is thought to be unhealthy as it causes chronic inflammation, confuses the body's natural appetite, and leads to weight gain. According to Harvard Health Publishing, these symptoms ultimately lead to illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. As a result, Sam's Club's Brownie Sundae is one deemed an extremely unhealthy food.
3. Member's Mark Tuxedo Bar Cake with Chocolate Mousse
Member's Mark Tuxedo Bar Cake with Chocolate Mousse is a layered dessert made from chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, cream cheese, two types of chocolate ganache, and chocolate icing. This product is very popular and has garnered over 2,000 five-star reviews on the Sam's Club website, with many people celebrating the cake's delicious flavor and its over-the-top nature. Unfortunately, the same things which makes this cake so appealing also ensure that it is extremely unhealthy.
A single, 120-gram slice of Member's Mark Tuxedo Bar Cake contains 12 grams of saturated fat. A large proportion of this fat comes from heavy cream (the cake's main ingredient by weight). The cake's second largest ingredient by weight is sugar. Unsurprisingly, this means that each slice of Member's Mark Tuxedo Bar Cake also contains a large amount of added sugar; 30 grams to be exact. This accounts for 60% of an adult's daily value, leading us to advise that Member's Mark Tuxedo Bar Cake is only eaten infrequently.
4. Nonni's Almond Chocolate Biscotti
Biscotti are traditional Italian cookies that are twice baked. Sam's Club's version, Nonni's Almond Chocolate Biscotti, are given extra flavor through the addition of a semi-sweet chocolate base. Although untraditional, the addition of chocolate makes these cookies extremely popular. The product has over 3,000 five-star reviews on the Sam's Club website.
Each box of Nonni's Almond Chocolate Biscotti contains 24 chocolate and almond flavored cookies. The cookies weigh 37 grams and each contains 2.5 grams of saturated fat and 13 grams of added sugar. This makes them appear considerably healthier than many other foods included in this article. However, on a gram-per-gram basis, Nonni's Almond Chocolate Biscotti are actually just as unhealthy as the rest of these foods. If, for example, customers eat three biscotti — 111 grams worth — they will consume more added sugar than when eating a 120-gram slice of Member's Mark Tuxedo Bar Cake.
5. Member's Mark 12-Inch Apple Lattice Pie
The Member's Mark 12-Inch Apple Lattice Pie is one of Sam's Club's most popular bakery items. Customers rave about the pie's fresh taste and crisp, sweet pastry. The product even won a blue ribbon at the 2019 National Pie Championships. While many customers celebrate the pie's taste and texture, few seem concerned about its nutritional value. This is a concern, as Member's Mark 12-Inch Apple Lattice Pie is high in both saturated fat and added sugar.
Sam's Club suggests that each 12-inch pie be cut into 16 servings. When portioned this way, customers are left with 128-gram slices. Each of these slices contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 18 grams of added sugar. This amounts to 35% and 36% of an adult's daily value respectively. While this is considerably less than some other foods mentioned in this article, such large amounts of saturated fat and sugar mark this pie as anything but healthy.
6. Member's Mark Tiramisu Cake
Member's Mark Tiramisu Cake is a traditional version of the famed Italian dessert made from Savoiardi cookies, coffee, mascarpone, and cocoa powder. The prevalence of cream, eggs, and mascarpone ensure that this dessert is high in saturated fat. A 113-gram serving contains 13 grams of saturated fat, accounting for 65% of an adult's daily value. This is a considerable amount.
Member's Mark Tiramisu Cake is one of the few foods in this article which has less added sugar than saturated fat. The 113-gram serving contains 11 grams of added sugar, which, while remaining a large amount, is considerably less than some of the other foods mentioned in this article. Interestingly, at 11 grams per serving, this tiramisu cake contains nearly half the added sugar found in an 80-gram serving of Member's Mark Lemon Tiramisu. This suggests that customers buying a tiramisu flavored dessert from Sam's Club are better off selecting Member's Mark Tiramisu Cake, as it is marginally healthier.
7. Member's Mark Strawberry Lemonade Cake Balls
While whole cakes, pies, and desserts dominate Sam's Club bakery, the brand stocks several foods packaged into bite-sized pieces. Member's Mark Strawberry Lemonade Cake Balls is one such example. This product is made up of 24 cake balls topped with coatings, drizzles, and sprinkles. While cute, the diminutive size of these cake balls leads many people to underestimate just how unhealthy they are.
One 31-gram cake ball contains a staggering 11 grams of added sugar. The cake balls contain more sugar than flour. In fact, sugar is the food's main ingredient, accounting for one-third of the product's weight. Such large quantities of sugar become very problematic given that many customers eat more than one cake ball in a sitting. If, for example, a customer eats five cake balls, they will consume 55 grams of added sugar — more than their entire daily value.
To worsen matters, Member's Mark Strawberry Lemonade Cake Balls also contain a significant amount of saturated fat. Each ball contains 3 grams of this fat which, at 15% of an adult's daily value, is no small amount.
8. Suzy's Signature New York Style Cheesecake
New York-style cheesecake is known to be incredibly rich — thanks to the addition of extra cream cheese, eggs, and egg yolks. As an incredibly indulgent dessert, Suzy's Signature New York Style Cheesecake lives up to New York-style cheesecake's reputation.
The cake is pre-sliced into 128-gram portions. Each of these contain 17 grams of saturated fat. This is a massive amount, accounting for 85% of an adult's daily value. A slice also contains 31 grams of added sugar, making this one of the unhealthiest foods served at Sam's Club's bakery.
This cheesecake is sold plain, however, Sam's Club encourages customers to decorate it at home, using an array of toppings and sauces. While this adds to the visual appeal of the cake, decorating Suzy's Signature New York Style Cheesecake also causes the already astronomical levels of saturated fat and added sugar to increase further, making this unhealthy dessert even less healthy.
9. Member's Mark Cheese Danish
Sam's Club sells pastries in its bakeries. Among the unhealthiest of these is Member's Mark Cheese Danish, an all-butter flaky pastry that contains a sweet cream cheese filling. While delicious, the combination of butter pastry and cream cheese filling is incredibly fatty. In fact, a single Member's Mark Cheese Danish — which weighs 121 grams — contains 15 grams of saturated fat. This makes it one of the fattiest Sam's Club bakery foods featured in this article.
Sugar is present in all three aspects of the Danish: its pastry, filling, and glaze. For this reason, it is no surprise that, aside from a large amount of saturated fat, Member's Mark Cheese Danish also contains a great deal of sugar. In total, each pastry contains 19 grams of added sugar. This accounts for 38% of an adult's daily value. As a food that's both high in sugar and extremely high in saturated fat, Member's Mark Cheese Danish is easily one of the unhealthiest foods sold in Sam's Club bakery.
10. Member's Mark Tart & Sweet Apple Turnover
Apple turnovers are a bakery staple that marry a soft apple filling with crisp puff pastry. Sam's Club bakery complements this traditional combination by dousing the turnovers with coarse sugar to finish. This final step undoubtedly contributes to Member's Mark Tart & Sweet Apple Turnover containing 11 grams of added sugar per 71-gram pastry. While not astronomical, this is a significant amount that confirms these apple turnovers as an unhealthy food.
When compared to other foods featured in this article, Member's Mark Tart & Sweet Apple Turnover does not contain a lot of saturated fat; each 71 gram turnover only contains 4 grams. This should not distract people from the fact that 4 grams is still 20% of an adult's daily value. So, while Member's Mark Tart & Sweet Apple Turnovers can be deemed among the healthier offerings included in this article, they remain an unhealthy food in the grand scheme of things.
11. Suzy's Classic Sampler Cheesecake
Suzy's Classic Sampler Cheesecake sees four slices of four different cheesecake flavors combined together to make a whole cake. These flavors include: New York Style, Chocolate Marble, Turtle and Strawberry Swirl. Unsurprisingly, the additional ingredients present in these flavors result in Suzy's Classic Sampler Cheesecake being slightly more unhealthy than Suzy's Signature New York Style Cheesecake. Each 128-gram serving of Suzy's Classic Sampler Cheesecake contains 33 grams of added sugar — 2 grams more than a serving of Suzy's Signature New York Style Cheesecake.
This cheesecake also contains a great deal of saturated fat. Each slice contains 17 grams, which accounts for 85% of an adult's daily value. The extremely high-fat nature of this dessert marks it as a food that should only be enjoyed sporadically. Indulge in the cake too much and people risk serious health complications including weight gain, increased cholesterol levels and increased risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
12. Member's Mark 3-Inch Fresh Fruit Topped New York Style Cheesecakes
Member's Mark 3-Inch Fresh Fruit Topped New York Style Cheesecakes are the unhealthiest bakery food sold at Sam's Club by far. In fact, they are the only food in this article that contain more than the daily value of both saturated fat and added sugar per single serving.
The cheesecakes come in packs of eight and are made daily with fresh cream cheese. The prevalence of cream cheese sees one mini cheesecake, which weighs 254 grams, containing 29 grams of saturated fat. Not only is that 145% of an adult's daily value, it's 9 grams more than what's found in McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
Each Member's Mark 3-Inch Fresh Fruit Topped New York Style Cheesecake also contains 54 grams of added sugar. This is 108% of an adult's daily value and is 1 gram more than is found in a 500-milliliter bottle of Coca-Cola Original Taste. As a food that contains more saturated fat than a McDonald's burger and more sugar than a bottle of Coca-Cola, it's not hard to understand why Member's Mark 3-Inch Fresh Fruit Topped New York Style Cheesecakes feature in this article.
13. Member's Mark Double Chocolate Muffins
At $4.98 for six, Member's Mark Double Chocolate Muffins are a popular, cheap food enjoyed by Sam's Club shoppers up and down the country. In fact, many customers state that these muffins are a staple in their household and that they often eat them for breakfast, as well as dessert.
Although versatile, Member's Mark Double Chocolate Muffins are by no means healthy. One 167-gram muffin contains 9 grams of saturated fat — nearly half of an adult's daily value. But what's even more concerning is that a single muffin also contains 47 grams of added sugar. By weight, Member's Mark Double Chocolate Muffins actually contain more sugar than flour. This is an alarming fact which should concern anyone who eats these muffins regularly. Not only do these high saturated fat and added sugar contents make Member's Mark Double Chocolate Muffins an unhealthy choice for breakfast, they make them an unhealthy choice period.
14. Member's Mark New York Style Crumb Cake
Sam's Clubs sells a New York-style crumb cake in many of its stores. This product is made from a cake base that's topped with a brown sugar and cinnamon crumb. Given this topping, it's no surprise that Member's Mark New York Style Crumb Cake is high in sugar. A 85-gram portion contains 26 grams of added sugar, more than half an adult's daily value. Such high amounts of sugar are obvious to those eating the cake; some customers describe Member's Mark New York Style Crumb Cake as extremely sweet.
An 85-gram portion of this cake also contains 6 grams of saturated fat, which amounts to 30% of an adult's daily value. While not a huge amount in and of itself, these 6 grams — when coupled with the cake's high sugar content — are more than enough for us to label this New York-style crumb cake as an unhealthy food.