Local nutritionists say that may not be a bad thing.

Ronda Bokram, Olin Health Center’s dietitian and a registered nutritionist, said concentrating on the nutritional value of the seasonal food can do more harm than good.

“Eating (a paczki) at any time is not wrong,” Bokram said. “I think it’s a fun food. It comes out at certain times of the year. If you want to eat it, just enjoy it.”

Diane Fischer, chief dietitian at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital, agrees.

“You look at the overall diet,” she said. “If you’re eating one, just make sure the rest of the time you’re eating five to nine fruits and vegetables a day.”

Fischer said the average paczki contains about 500 calories and anywhere between 30 and 40 grams of fat, depending on both the recipe and the size of the pastry. If you ate two, that would be the equivalent of eating four to five slices of bread, one-half of a cup of custard and six tablespoons of shortening.

While that sounds like a lot, Fischer pointed out that what you do in the long term is far more important than the occasional indulgence.

“It’s the things you do every day that’s more essential,” she said. “Small things make much more of a difference.”

If you ate toast every day with one tablespoon of margarine, and then doubled your margarine for a year, you would end up consuming an extra five pounds, according to Fischer. That would make a much greater difference than indulging during one day.

“One day of deviation (in your diet) is just going to make you say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so full,’” she said.

Fischer herself is looking forward to eating a paczki. She said it’s important for people to keep their eating habits in perspective.

“We eat for nutrition, we eat for health, but we also eat for pleasure,” she said. “There’s a lot of other reasons we eat besides nutrition, although nutrition is important.”

While the paczki is not a nutritious item, it was never meant to be — and that’s not a bad thing, Fischer said.

“If you (eat it) once, it’s part of the joy of food,” she said.