As delicious and convenient as coffee shop treats are — are they worth the cost to your wallet and to your health? We”ll let you be the judge.

Now don”t get us wrong — we love a good muffin or donut. WHO DOESN”T? The problem is that these pastries taste so good because they”re loaded with things such as sodium, sugar and CARBS, sweet, sweet, carbs. And not good carbs either, but evil carbs that attack you in all the wrong places. You know what we”re talking about.

The solution? Bake at home! There are thousands of recipes at your fingertips (literally — it”s called the Internet). The best thing about baking yourself is that you know exactly what”s going into your food. When you bake at home, you make the decision whether to use whole milk or skim, how much butter to use, etc. Not to mention you can use FRESH ingredients – and who doesn”t love that?

If you”re still not convinced, let”s get down to the nitty gritty.

Say you”re a lover of Starbucks (as most of us are). You”re in line for your morning Iced Caffè Americano and those delicious blueberry muffins with sugar on top are literally staring you down from the pastry case:

You cave in. You feel totally satisfied for about 10 minutes, feeling great about life. Then your stomach starts to rumble, and not in a good way. You wonder why? Here”s what was in that muffin you just demolished –

Pretty scary, right? Now had you taken the time to bake at home the night before, using low fat milk and fresh blueberries, here”s what you would have consumed:

Holy crap, look at those fresh berries! One looks like it”s about ready to explode in your mouth and fill it with blueberry goodness. Now THAT is what we”re talking about. Here”s how much this muffin is going to cost your health in comparison with the evil monster you bought:

The nutrition facts speak for themselves. Less than half of the carbs, fat, calories — are we sensing a pattern, here? This is just one of the few examples to help you realize that conveniences like buying a muffin on the go isn”t always such a “convenience” — for your wallet or your health.

What sort of things do you make at home as opposed to buying? Share with us on SocialGrocery.com and our Facebook page, or start a conversation with us on Twitter. We love being social!