Taste Test Tuesday: Weight Watchers Chocolate Chip Soft Cookies

My first thought after tasting the new Weight Watchers Chocolate Chip Soft Cookies (individually wrapped) was, "I like my chocolate chip cookies with a bit more chocolate than cookie." They are indeed "soft" cookies. Each cookie is worth 1 Weight Watcher point mainly because they have pumped up the fiber (which lowers the points in the Weight Watchers point system).

Without the fiber fortification, each cookie would be worth 2 points.

Is the fiber coming from the use of whole wheat flour? Well...no, the first ingredient is enriched wheat flour. The second ingredient is invert sugar, the third is chocolate chips, and the fourth is sugar. Just in case you wondered...there are 8 grams of sugar per cookie, which computes to 36% calories from sugar.

A little further down the ingredient list you'll come to inulin, which they describe as a "natural extract of chicory roots". Bingo! What do we know about inulin? It's considered to be a "low-digestible carbohydrate" which means it is incompletely or not absorbed in the small intestine but is partly fermented by bacteria in the large intestine. Manufacturers often use inulin, also considered to be a prebiotic, as a fat replacement.

How does it taste?
These cookies taste pretty good and they seemed to appeal somewhat to the other people that sampled them. I prefer homemade cookies from the oven made with part whole wheat flour, but admittedly that takes a bit more culinary cunning than opening up a box of these cookies.

Each cookie contains:
90 calories, 2.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 18 g carbohydrate, 8 g sugar, 5 mg cholesterol, and 4 g fiber.

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: New Morning Star Maple Flavored Sausage Patties

Yes, there's another veggie product on the market trying to be a savory sausage. This one is by Morning Star Farms and it is working the "maple flavored" angle. Textured vegetable protein is the first ingredient with water, sugar, corn oil, and egg whites being the next four ingredients.

A 2-patty serving contributes 20 grams of protein and 6 grams of fat and barely any saturated fat (and no cholesterol since it doesn't include animal meat or egg yolks). It does, however, boost your daily sodium total by 500 milligrams! So make sure if you are using this product that you don't add even more sodium to the dish or recipe you are making.

How do they taste?
They don't taste too bad considering the list of ingredients, and although I definitely prefer some of the turkey sausages I've tried, this is one of the better tasting veggie-based sausage products. They would work particularly well in dishes where other ingredients are eaten along with them like a homemade Sausage Egg McMuffin (sausage patty topped with cooked egg or egg substitute, some reduced fat cheddar cheese, all served on a toasted whole wheat English muffin).

2 patties are probably a realistic serving, which contains:
160 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 1 g monounsaturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 20 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 500 mg sodium.

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• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Bumble Bee Pink Salmon in a Pouch

Lightly Marinated with Lemon & Dill

Looking for a super convenient way to get your daily dose of fish omega-3s? Many health organizations recommend consuming two to three servings of fish a week, preferably from the higher fat fish (because this translates into a higher intake of fish omega-3s).

I have to really work on making this happen every week, and I actually like fish! And I know I'm not alone in this. I'm always on the lookout for quick fish options and the other day I tried a "pouch" of salmon with lemon dill flavoring.

The ingredients are pretty straightforward:

• Pink salmon
• Marinade (soybean oil, water, salt, sugar, lemon flavor, citric acid, sodium acid pyrophosphate)
  
• Dill

How did it taste?
The lemon and dill flavor was pleasant and although the texture was firm compared to freshly cooked salmon (similar to the difference between fresh tuna and canned tuna), it wasn't unappealing. I would buy this product again mainly due to the sheer convenience of having salmon on hand in the pantry.

Possible uses?
Here are three ways that you could use the firmer "pouched" salmon, in case you were wondering:

1. Add to your omelet or frittata to make a salmon avocado omelet or a salmon & chive frittata.


2. Use the salmon like you would canned tuna to make a salmon salad sandwich.


3. Add bite-size pieces or salmon to pasta dishes such as salmon fettuccine Alfredo (made with a light Alfredo sauce and whole wheat pasta).

4-ounce pouch:

150 calories
25 g protein
2 g carbohydrate
4.5 g fat
1 g saturated fat
45 mg cholesterol
600 mg sodium

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Kashi Cocoa Beach Granola

Imagine a little taste of cocoa, coconut and almonds all wrapped up in a high fiber, higher omega-3 granola. I had to go to a couple of grocery stores to find this new cereal, but it was worth it. This morning I enjoyed a serving of this new granola (only 1/2 cup) with 1/2 cup of light vanilla soy milk.

I literally measured this out so I could get an idea of whether this suggested serving size was truly "enough" to satisfy my morning hunger. I probably would be more likely, left to my own devises, to pour 3/4 cup of the cereal instead of 1/2 cup.

How did it taste?
This granola has a very pleasant flavor with subtle tastes of almonds, coconut and cocoa all coming through. Lowfat or skim milk or soy milk compliments this granola nicely.

What's in it?
The first seven ingredients include:

• Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame Blend (rolled oats, barley, hard red winter wheat, rye, triticale, long brain brown rice, buckwheat, sesame seeds)
• Evaporated cane juice syrup
• Expeller pressed canola oil
• Almonds
• Gum Arabic
• Coconut
• Cocoa

All of this translates into a cereal that contributes an assortment of helpful nutrients such as fiber (7 grams with 3 grams soluble fiber), omega-3s (.4 grams), monounsaturated fat (4.5 grams), and protein (6 grams). Here's the breakdown:

1/2 cup cereal = 230 calories, 9 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 2.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 4.5 g monounsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 7 g fiber, 140 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 35 percent.

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Green Giant Healthy Heart

We all need to eat more whole grains and vegetables. Almost everyone who has been paying attention even a little to science news over the past 5 years knows that. Green Giant brand (the king of frozen vegetables) has come up with a few new single serving frozen side dishes. I picked up the one labeled "healthy heart" and it contains:

• Pearled barley
• Sugar snap peas
• Julienne carrots
• Herb infused extra virgin olive oil sauce

Aha! I thought..."herb infused extra virgin olive oil sauce,"sounds suspicious! The ingredient label reveals that the sauce is innocent enough, made from water, extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, garlic powder, salt, modified corn starch, spice, and monoglycerides).

Each individual serving - a 7-ounce box - adds up to 140 calories, 3 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4 grams fiber, 2 grams soluble fiber, 420 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 19 percent.

If I could have a one on one with the Green Giant 's people, I would recommend adding half as much salt so the sodium per serving would be in the 200 milligram ballpark instead. Because if someone at risk of heart disease is trying to follow the newer sodium suggestion of 1500 milligrams of sodium per day, one serving of this side dish would put a major dent in that total.

How did it taste?
It was a little "saucy" for my liking but the flavor and combination of textures was definitely pleasant.

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Smart Ones Vegetable Pizza Minis

They're new. They're cute and convenient (and a little high in sodium). They're Weight Watchers Smart Ones mini pizzas. There are a few different flavor options (cheese, vegetable, and pepperoni) but of course, I tried the vegetable option. I would prefer to make my own mini pizzas using mini whole-wheat bagels or whole-wheat pita bread as the crust, but this type of product can come in handy when hungry teens are afoot and you have literally only a few minutes to make a snack.

So How Do They Taste?
They look like mini deep-dish pizzas and there seemed to be enough cheese and toppings to make it appealing. I think they must have looked better than they actually tasted because my taste buds were a little disappointed. What I think was missing the most was a flavorful pizza sauce.

Hunger wise they were fairly satisfying; that might have been the 6 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein kicking in. It makes a nice snack or lunch entrée at 270 calories. The 3.5 grams of saturated fat is mainly coming from the cheese.

1 tray (4 pieces) =

270 calories
11 g protein
41 g carbohydrate
7 g fat
3.5 g saturated fat
1.5 g polyunsaturated fat
1.5 g monounsaturated fat
10 mg cholesterol
6 g fiber
470 mg sodium

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Smart Balance Reduced Fat Sour Cream

Would you want fish oils in your sour cream? You won't even notice them in this new product hitting the dairy aisle. The Smart Balance line of products has reached over to sour cream and this time, they brought reinforcements - fish Omega-3s.

They make a regular fat sour cream too but I was only interested in taste testing their reduced fat option which has only 30% less fat than regular sour cream (3.5 grams of fat and 2 grams saturated fat per 1/8 cup).

The third ingredient listed on the label is an omega-3 oil blend made with purified fish oil and sunflower oil). The result is 32 milligrams of long chain omega-3s (EPA/DHA) per 2 tablespoon serving. Keep in mind an average of about 500 milligrams per day of long chain omega-3s is the amount being talked about as being helpful for people with heart disease risk factors. Hey, but every little bit helps!

How does it taste?
I'm used to fat free sour cream so this product tasted extra thick and creamy to me. It had a pleasant taste and texture and I think this new reduced fat sour cream would particularly appeal to people who are still using the whole milk version...People who haven't been able to take that leap into lowfat dairy land.

Nutrition information per 2 tablespoons:
45 calories, 1 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 3.5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 40 mg sodium. 10% Daily Value for Calcium and 32 mg long chain omega-3s.

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Celestial Seasonings Two New Fun Green Tea Flavors!

I'm a green tea enthusiast...I admit it. I drink about two cups of green tea a day without fail and half the time it's iced and half the time it's hot. But it's almost never plain green tea. Although I enjoy traditional green tea when dining in Japanese or Chinese restaurants, in the comfort of my own home, I opt for the flavored green teas.

I'm always up for trying new flavored green teas and so I was happy to find two new flavors from Celestial Seasonings. Celestial Seasonings has developed a new line of all-natural green tea that they say "eliminates the bitterness." These teas are actually a blend of green and white tea (which is also brimming with antioxidant phytochemicals). The white tea comes from the tender buds and low-tannin young leaves of the plant.

The two flavors I tried and I must say THOROUGHLY ENJOYED are:

• Decaf mandarin Orchard (a decaf blend of green and white tea)
• Blueberry Breeze (a blend of green and white tea)

I REALLY liked the mandarin Orchard tea iced and I REALLY liked the Blueberry Breeze tea hot. That's kind of backwards in terms of caffeine though since I tend to drink the hot green tea at night and the Blueberry is the one that has caffeine in it, while I tend to drink the mandarin flavored tea (iced) in the day time and that happens to be the one that's decaffeinated.

To make either as iced tea, just put 4 bags in a pitcher or 6 cup measure and pour in about 6 cups of boiling water. Let the bags steep for about 10 minutes then remove the bags. Keep in refrigerator to chill or pour directly into a glasses filled with ice and enjoy immediately.

There are three really good reasons to drink green tea:

1. Green teas today taste so wonderful-there are so many flavor and brand options to choose from. Drinking green tea is an absolutely enjoyable taste experience!


2. Green tea is calorie free, a great substitute for calorie-containing beverages that you might be trying to cut down on.


3. Drinking green and white tea is a super healthy habit - gobs of studies have linked green tea and the phytochemicals in green tea to reducing the risk of the top diseases in America.

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Eating Right Light Poppy Seed & Caramelized Onion Dressing

Looking for a salad dressing off the beaten path? I saw this Safeway brand light salad dressing on the shelf and thought I would give it whirl. You have to really like those two flavors (poppy seed and caramelized onion) to even think about tasting this dressing. I never thought of poppy seed as being particularly pungent until I tasted this dressing. I guess the other times I've had poppy seeds they have been in foods that had other strong flavors going on - like lemon poppy seed or almond poppy seed muffins. I think the combo of poppy seed and caramelized onion works in this dressing, but then I've been known to sauté some caramelized onion just in case someone wants to add it to his or her sandwich or turkey burger.

How does it taste?
This pretty salad dressing has a pleasant flavor with the flavors of poppy seed and sweet caramelized onion coming through. This light option will work well in any salad recipe that calls for poppy seed dressing along with serving as a dip, spread on sandwiches, or as a sweet sauce for grilling.

The main ingredients are pretty straightforward in this dressing with the first five being water, sugar, vinegar, soybean oil, and salt.

2 tablespoons = 50 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 310 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrates.

If you like whipping up dishes or recipes that call for a poppy seed-like sauce or dressing, you may want to give this product a second look.

Would you rather make your own low-fat salad dressing? The try one of these!

• Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing Recipe
• Japanese Restaurant Salad Dressing Recipe
• Cilantro Lime Dressing Recipe

Related Topics:

• 4 Healthy Reasons to Eat a Salad Today
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Corazonas Pacific Rim Barbecue Potato Chips

For those times when you want something to crunch on that resembles a potato chip but doesn't have as much fat and calories...these potato chips might do the trick. They have 40% less fat than regular potato chips and a serving contains .4 grams plant sterols (similar to the plant sterols added to some margarine).

They're crunchy and have a nice texture but best of all they have a great flavor. This brand makes potato chips in several different flavors but the barbecue flavor option was the most popular with my family.

The first five ingredients are: russet potatoes, canola oil, sugar, contains 2% or less of the following: natural plant sterols, and maltodextrin.

Each ounce contains:

130 calories
6 g fat
.5 g saturated fat
2 g fiber
17 g carbohydrate
2 g protein
160 mg sodium

A popular brand of regular barbecue potato chips has 150 calories and 10 grams of fat and 200 mg sodium per ounce!

Related Topics:

• Quick Tips: Making Healthy Snacks
• DIY: Baked Seasoned Potato Chips Recipe
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: The Cooking Spray Quandary

Smart Balance Omega Nonstick Cooking Spray

First of all, let me just say that for the past year I have made it a point to stop using those cans of nonstick cooking sprays. They are so very convenient, but I feel terrible when it comes time to dump them in the recycling bin because I don't know for sure if they are actually recycled; and even still, recycling uses energy and the idea is to not generate any waste. I've been meaning to buy one of those re-usable oil sprayers that are man/woman powered (you pump it with your hands and then spray) rather than propellant powered since the one I had for years seems to have reached the end it its lifecycle, but I just haven't had the chance.

Meanwhile I've been using a silicon pastry brush to coat the pots and pans with canola or olive oil as needed. This has worked well most of the time but there are two problems with the non-cooking-spray technique:

• This doesn't work well when coating the hot, outdoor grill before barbequing your food (my husband, our chief BBQ-er has been complaining about there not being a can of cooking spray around)
• This doesn't work well when trying to add a thin layer of oil to food that is coated with flour or crumbs (the pastry brush takes off the flour or crumb mixture when it touches it)

I promised my husband I would purchase another can of cooking spray to tide us over until I locate a good re-usable oil sprayer (it's summer and BBQ season after all), and I found this new Smart Balance Omega nonstick cooking spray. A quick glance at the ingredient label told me that they use a combination of canola, soy and olive oils and a non-chlorofluorocarbon as the propellant.

The confusing part to a consumer might be the conflicting advertising banners on the label:

• Zero fat and calories
• Ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3

If there is an ideal ratio of omeg-6 to omega-3 fats (which means you are getting some amount of fat) than how can it be zero fat and calories? The answer is that it's a 1/3 second spray that is worth zero calories and fat. I don't even know how to measure anything less than 1 second! I'm guessing my sprays are about 1 to 2 seconds.

According to the nutrition information label, each second your finger is on the trigger of the cooking spray can, you are getting about 10 calories and 1.5 grams of total fat - .5 grams of which are polyunsaturated and .5 grams of which are monounsaturated. Okay, I know it's been a while since I was in a math class but I'm getting a total of 1 gram of fat (.5 + .5) when the total grams is 1.5. Where is the other .5 gram coming from? The label says 0 for saturated and trans fat. According to the company, this missing amount of fat is due to the rounding of numbers on the nutrition label.

As far as taste-testing purposes, this product performed very well!

My family is trying to generate less waste in general, so we are using the silicon brush more and the cooking spray can less. (I put it on the highest shelf in my kitchen cabinet so I really have to think about it before I grab it.) The other option is to buy a re-usable oil sprayer (Pampered Chef makes a pretty good one last I checked), buy a desirable oil (it could even be Smart Balance), and use it to to fill your sprayer!

Related Topics:

• The Recipe Doctor's Top 12 Healthy Cooking Gadgets
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Starbucks Gluten-free Valencia Orange Cake

On top of the pedestal in the bakery case at my local Starbucks was this little orange round cake. You might pass it up thinking it's loaded with sugar and white flour...or you might pass it up because you just noticed the name tag on the product boasts "Gluten-Free", a term that may have come to mean "taste-free" in your house based on sampling other gluten-free products.

But...I didn't pass it up and I shared it with a friend and we were both pleasantly surprised with the taste and the texture. This little cake was so good there is no way I'm sharing my next one!

The first five ingredients are:

Whole eggs
Valencia orange pulp
Almonds
Sugar
Orange peel

If you are slightly alarmed by whole eggs being the first ingredient, know that each cake contains 125 mg cholesterol, which is the equivalent of slightly more than half of an egg. The second ingredient, the orange pulp, is contributing a good portion of the impressive 4 grams of fiber that comes with each cake. Yes, it's pretty high in fat, 16 grams, but there are only 2 grams of saturated fat and zero grams of trans fat per cake serving. Where is the 16 grams coming from anyway? If there is a little over half an egg in each cake then that accounts for 3 grams of fat. And with a little detective work I found out that most of the remaining fat grams come from almonds. The Valencia Orange Cake is composed of 24% almonds in the form of sliced almonds sprinkled on top of the cake and almond flour used in the cake batter. That's good news because almonds are a great source of smart fats and phytochemicals.

The cake definitely doesn't taste too sweet and there is actually less sugar added than there are almonds sprinkled on top as garnish, according to the list of ingredients. Here's what each cake contains:

290 calories
16 g fat
2 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat
125 mg cholesterol
32 g carbohydrate
4 g fiber
40 mg sodium

Related Topics:

• Healthy Fruit Dessert Recipes
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Flat Earth Baked Veggie Crisps

I've tasted my share of "veggie" chips over the years but these new Flat Earth Baked Veggie Crisps are, in my opinion, one of the best tasting so far. There are several flavors in this line of veggie crisps but I tasted the "garlic & herb field" flavored ones.

Each ounce of these veggie crisps has the equivalent of 1/2 serving of vegetables baked in them, according to the mother company that makes them (Frito Lay). So just what vegetables are being "baked in?" Would you believe pumpkin? The main vegetable appears to be potato, however.

The first six ingredients are:

Rice flour
Potato flakes
Corn oil
Modified cornstarch
Dehydrated vegetables blend (pumpkin, tomato paste, onion)
Whole oat flour

How do they compare to an ounce of ruffled potato chips?

1-ounce of the Crisps	1-ounce of Potato Chips
(about 12 crisps) contain:	contain:
130 calories	160 calories
5 g fat	10 g fat
1 g saturated fat	1 g saturated fat
2.5 g polyunsaturated fat	3 g polyunsaturated fat
1.5 g monounsaturated fat	6 g monounsaturated fat
2 g fiber	1 g fiber
90 mg sodium	160 mg sodium
10% Daily Value for vitamin A	0% Daily Value for vitamin A
10% Daily Value for vitamin C	10% Daily Value for vitamin C

So they are lower in calories with half the fat but high in fiber with about the same sodium and saturated fat levels.

Let's be honest, there is no way these chips are as good for you as eating vegetables in their whole state, but they do appear to be a better options compared to regular potato chips.

Maybe with the extra gram of fiber, people will be satisfied with an ounce of these high flavor chips. Hey, it's possible!

If you try this flavor or one of the other flavors, let us all know what you think!

Related Topics:

• Experts' Choice Slideshow: The Best Healthy Diet Snacks
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Weight Watchers Giant Mint Fudge Ice Cream Sundae Cone

These are one of the better low fat ice cream treats in the frozen dessert aisle for sure. The chocolate cone is definitely unique and so is the mint ice cream that fills it. But Weight Watchers had me with the "2 Points Per Cone" written on the box. Each cone is very tasty and satisfying with one serving being a perfectly sized portion.

The low fat mint ice cream is made with milk fat and nonfat milk, sugar, polydextrose, maltodextrin, cellulose gel, and a few other ingredients, while the chocolate cone is made with mostly bleached white flour, sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, natural and artificial flavors, oat fiber, and canola oil. This tells us that 4 grams of fiber per cone is coming from a couple different directions and that sugar is the second or third ingredient for the ice cream and the cone. A quick glance at the grams of sugar per cone plus a bit of math and now 43% of the calories for this yummy dessert comes from sugar. Here are the rest of the nutritional numbers.

Each cone contains:

140 calories
3 g protein
27 g carbohydrate
15 g sugar
4 g fat
1 g saturated fat (0 g trans)
Less than 5 mg cholesterol
4 g fiber
70 mg sodium

I would buy these again, perhaps occasionally, because they are enjoyable to eat and one serving doesn't get me too far up in calories. Although the % of calories from sugar is a bit higher than I would like, the grams of fiber is surprisingly high as well.

Related Topics:

• Study: Ice Cream = Happy
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Oroweat Whole Grain & Flax English Muffins

The big red banner on the see-through package of these new English muffins reads, "Heart Healthy Omega-3." I'm a big fan of omega-3s, so it certainly caught my eye. I checked the ingredient label to make sure it was made with 100% whole wheat flour (you can never be too sure) but it wasn't until I got home and had my reading glasses that I realized WHOLE flaxseeds were added and not the ideal GROUND flaxseed.

After even closer inspection I saw that a type of fish oil was also added (Menhaden oil). My next question was, "well then...how many grams of omega-3s are we talking about?" Luckily, the package discloses that each serving (1 muffin) provides 14 mg of EPA and DHA omega-3s. Granted there could be some additional omega-3s in the plant form (ALA) provided by the whole flaxseed, but most of it will pass through our intestinal tract intact which means its valuable plant omega's will also pass through unabsorbed.

These English muffins are pretty low in sodium compared to other bread products. I really liked the flavor and the texture so this could be a good option for people who need to stay below 1500 mg of sodium a day, for example.

The first 5 ingredients are whole-wheat flour, water, honey, brown sugar, and rice flour.

Each English muffin contains:

150 calories
5 g protein
29 g carbohydrate
2.5 g fat
0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat
0 mg cholesterol
5 g fiber
160 mg sodium

Related Topics:

• Your Omega-3 Family Shopping List
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: KFC Takes the "Fried" Out of Chicken!

Photo: Elaine Magee

The other day I was driving down the street in my town and out of the corner of my eye spotted a big sign on the outside of the local KFC that said something about tasting the "unfried side of KFC". It didn't really click until I watched a commercial later that evening about the new Kentucky "grilled" chicken now being served at the KFC near you.

Well, my family has gotten into a grilled chicken groove lately - every Monday night I buy grilled chicken from a local deli/meat market (so much so that they call me "the chicken lady") and then I throw together Caesar Chicken Salad. Today, we tried out the new grilled chicken from KFC instead.

I had the nutrition information in tow, but I wondered as I ordered a bucket:

• Would there be skin on the chicken breast? (The answer is "YES")
• Would it have many of the same herbs and spices as their yummy signature fried chicken? (The answer is "YES")

Let's compare the nutrition info for the original recipe fried chicken breast and the new grilled chicken breast:

1 Grilled Chicken Breast	1 Original Recipe Chicken Breast
180 calories	370 calories
35 g protein	38 g protein
0 g carbohydrate	7 g carbohydrate
4 g fat	21 g fat
1 g saturated fat	5 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat	0 g trans fat
110 mg cholesterol	120 mg cholesterol
440 mg sodium	1050 mg sodium

Compared to fried, the grilled chicken breast has:

• Half of the calories
• 80% less total fat and saturated fat
• 60% less sodium too!

How did my family like it? Granted my teen girls aren't used to bone-in chicken because I almost always cook with boneless skinless chicken breast - so the bones threw them off a little...but we all definitely liked the chicken.

It's a step in the right direction for the Colonel, that's for sure. But if I had it my way, I would take it one step further and use skinless breast and thighs so you could enjoy the yummy seasoning without the skin. I can dream can't I?

Related Topics:

• 10 Healthy Ideas for a Lean Barbecue Season
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Kellogg's Fiber Plus Antioxidants Bars

Chocolate Chip Chewy Bars

There's a new granola-type bar on the supermarket shelf! And this one gives you 35% of your daily fiber (or so the package says). It looks like a candy bar, it almost tastes like a candy bar... is it a candy bar with fiber?

Well, let's look at the first 5 ingredients:

• Chicory root fiber
• Rolled oats
• Crisp rice cereal (rice flour, sugar, malt extract, etc..)
• Sugar
• Semi sweet chocolate drops

While the first few ingredients are more like a cereal, the last two are more like a candy bar. Put it all together and you've got a chewy bar with 23% calories from sugar and 30% calories from fat. Each 120-calorie bar also contributes 9 grams of fiber, 10% Daily Value for calcium, 20% Daily Value for vitamin E and zinc.

Here's the nutritional information per bar:

120 calories
4 g fat
2 g saturated fat
0 g trans
55 mg sodium
26 g carbohydrate
7 g sugars
2 g protein
9 g fiber

If you are looking for a chew cereal-based bar that is really high in fiber but also high in flavor and you don't mind that it has around 20% calories from sugar and only 2 grams of protein...this is a snack bar for you!

Related Topics:

• Sugar Shockers: Foods Surprisingly High in Sugar
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Skinny Cow French Vanilla Truffle Bars

They look like big fudgesicles but without the fudge, although they have a chocolate drizzle on the outside. These are the new low-fat ice cream bars by Skinny Cow and they are probably going to go over really big with the vanilla-loving crowd.

The first ingredient is skim milk, followed by two types of sweetener - sugar and corn syrup. Each 100-calorie bar contains 12 grams of sugar (48% Calories from sugar), and 1.5 grams of saturated fat mainly from the coconut oil and palm oil used to make the chocolate drizzle (13.5% calories from saturated fat). That's the bad nutritional news. The good news is, each bar only contains 2.5 grams of total fat along and contributes 3 grams of fiber and 0 grams of trans fat and sugar alcohols. People who are sensitive to the intestinal side effects of sugar alcohols (gas & cramping) will appreciate this.

If you are in the mood for something chocolaty and cold, this probably won't do the trick. But if you love the taste of vanilla (and tend to order vanilla lattes or vanilla shakes), this could be an ideal 100 calorie treat or snack for you.

Related Topics:

• Study: Ice Cream = Happy
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
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Taste Test Tuesday: Stash Chai Green Tea

You can have your chai tea and drink green tea too! I love chai tea and the wonderful combination of spices and flavors that go into making it (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, etc...) But, I like to get a couple cups of green tea a day for all the potential health benefits.

Now there's a way to do both! Stash brand of tea has a Chai Green Tea bag and it's wonderful. I found it in my local supermarket so I hope that means it's pretty easy to find in your neck of the woods. The directions on the tea bag say to brew the tea for 3-5 minutes, but if you like your chai tea flavor on the mild side, steep your tea bag more like 2 minutes.

Green tea was named as one of the "synergy superfoods" in my latest book by Rodale, FOOD SYNERGY. With each sip you get two potent flavonoids - anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin - as well as a healthy dose of catechin, which may enhance the antioxidant activity of alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E) and trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and decrease body fat.

But I'm probably most excited about this research breakthrough: Green and black tea contain antioxidant polyphenols thought to block cell damage that can lead to cancer. Green tea happens to be loaded with a certain polyphenol catechin called EGCG, which has a knack for binding to a certain procancer protein, interfering with its ability to activate cancer cells, possibly stopping cancer before it starts!

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Taste Test Tuesday: Nutritionally Tempting Tater Tots?

Alexia Potato Nuggets (Yukon Gold Potatoes with Seasoned Salt)

I can't remember the last time I've tasted a tater tot. My kids have only seen them when the cafeteria happened to serve them at their elementary school. I don't have anything against the tator tot per se, it's just that most companies that make them use saturated and trans fat to hold the tot together.

An alternative frozen food brand, Alexia, makes a 0 gram trans fat + 1 gram saturated fat tator tot look-a-like made with canola oil and/or sunflower oil or safflower oil. I found this brand at Whole Foods but it is also available at assorted stores across the country (Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Super Target, Target GM, Wal-Mart, Wild Oats, and more).

The bad news is these tots are still pretty high in fat (8 grams of fat per 3 ounce serving) but the good news is most of those 8 grams are from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat.

A 3-ounce serving contains (if you bake them):

150 calories
8 grams fat
1 gram saturated fat
0 g trans fat
0 mg cholesterol
340 mg sodium
18 g carbohydrate
1 g fiber
2 g protein

How did it taste? Way better than I can ever remember tater tots tasting from my youth. They can definitely be part of a healthful meal when paired with lean meats or lower fat vegetarian entrees plus a nice serving of steamed vegetables (like a broccoli) and fresh fruit!

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Taste Test Tuesday: Nate's Taquitos (100% Vegetarian)

They taste like they have chicken in them but the box says they are 100% vegetarian...Vegetarian Taquitos aren't exactly an appetizing thought to most carnivores but these frozen appetizers definitely taste better than they sound.

Each serving of 3 taquitos contain 230 calories, 8 grams of fat, .5 gram saturated fat (0 trans fat), 10 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 430 mg sodium.

So if they aren't made with chicken, what's in them? Besides the corn tortilla, the top 3 ingredients are salsa Verde, textured wheat protein, and soy cheese.

If this "chicken style" taquito doesn't grab you, Nate's also makes a "beef style" taquito, along with a more straightforward black bean & soy cheese taquito. Haven't tried these yet but I wouldn't hesitate to give them a whirl since the chicken style ones were pretty darn tasty.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Green Pudding!

JELL-O Sugar Free Fat Free Pistachio Pudding

Calling all pistachio lovers with a sweet tooth! For 70 calories and about 7 grams of sugar (from the lowfat milk not the pudding mix), you can have a serving of pistachio pudding.

Let's face it, it's a pudding flavor that you might not normally try... it's green for heaven's sake! But you might want to give it a go sometime - maybe even for St. Patrick's Day? It's an instant sugar-free and fat-free pudding mix by JELL-O sweetened with aspartame (NutraSweet) and acesulfame potassium. You would want to avoid this product if you have a sensitivity to either of these alternative sweeteners.

You can dial-in whatever milk you like or have at home (nonfat, 1% or 2%); they all work well.

Each 1/2-cup serving contains (if made with fat free milk):

70 calories
0 grams fat
0 grams saturated fat
7 grams sugar (lactose from milk)
0 g fiber
13 g carbohydrate
6 grams protein
390 mg sodium
15% Daily Value for calcium!

If you try it, please share your review here.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Wendy's Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich

If you watch even a small amount of television you have probably seen commercials for the Wendy's new Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich. They tout this as a fish sandwich that's a cut above the rest - but is it?

First of all, I was very disappointed that this sandwich wasn't served on a whole grain bun. Doesn't that make total sense? You are serving fish, albeit breaded and fried...why wouldn't a healthful alternative to red meat be served with whole grain?

Okay, so I had to get past that and ordered the sandwich without tartar sauce, but added tomato and onion. This decreases the calories by 100 and the fat grams by 12 and increases the vitamin A and vitamin C content of the sandwich (6% Daily Value each).

Each sandwich ordered without tartar sauce and with tomato and onion contains:
370 calories, 12 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 0 trans fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 780 mg sodium, 48 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, and 17 g protein.

How did it taste? I really like fish sandwiches and this one was one of the best-tasting fast food versions I've had. If you think you would like some sort of condiment, you could always opt for catsup. Ask for dill pickles on your sandwich if that's the flavor you are going for. And if you insist on doing the tarter sauce thing, you can always wipe most of it off and only keep a scant amount on the bun.

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• 21 Healthier Fast-Food Meals
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Taste Test Tuesday: Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars

If you don't like chewy granola bars then you've probably already discovered the Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars. For years I've seen the "variety" box available with three different flavors. The times I've bought them for camping trips or marathon dance competition weekends, I always tried to grab one of the peanut butter packs before they were all gone - they are definitely my favorite flavor. I like that they aren't too sweet but have a wonderful peanut butter and toasted oat flavor.

Well, the other day at Target I actually came across a whole box of the peanut butter flavor! These crunchy granola bars have a nice peanut butter flavor and a crunchy (bordering on crumbly) texture. There are two granola bars in one pack (6 packs per box) and most people eat both in one serving.

This adds up to 180 calories and 11 grams of sugar, 30 grams of carbohydrate, 7 grams fat, 1-gram saturated fat, 5-gram protein, and 190 mg sodium. Both bars only contribute 2 grams of fiber, however, even though whole grain oats is the first ingredient.

The first four ingredients are:

Whole grain rolled oats
Sugar
Canola oil
Peanut butter

Nature Valley products are not impacted in any way by the recent peanut butter recall. Their website states, "Nature Valley does not source peanut butter from the plant that has been implicated."

If you have a favorite granola bar, tell us about it!

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Taste Test Tuesday: Kashi Five Cheese Tomato Pizza

The makers of Kashi cereal have moved onto frozen pizza. When I saw this new product in the grocery store I was drawn to a few nutritional declarations on the front of the box:

• 14 grams of protein
• 4 grams of fiber
• 260 mg plant omega-3s

And since I have a couple of teenagers in my house, having a frozen pizza or two in the freezer is a necessity. When my teen daughter and her friends warmed this up in the oven they gave me their honest assessment and it was a resounding, unanimous..."OKAY"

My daughter said she would bake it and eat it if it was in the freezer but she wouldn't necessarily go out of her way to buy it. The crust was just a little too tough and the sauce was just a little too bland.

The omega-3s come from the flaxseed in the crust, in case you were wondering.

1/3 of the pizza is a serving and each serving contains:

290 calories
9 g fat
3.5 g saturated fat
14 g protein
37 g carbohydrate
4 g fiber
570 mg sodium

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Taste Test Tuesday: South Beach Living Fiber Fit Cookie Packs!

Got a sweet tooth craving but want to keep your extra calories and grams of sugar to a minimum and your grams of fiber to a maximum? Well, there are two new cookies on the supermarket shelf that might just come in handy. Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk and Double Chocolate Chunk are manufactured under the "South Beach Living - Fiber Fit" product line and I've got to say, they had me at the 5 grams of fiber and the 5 grams of sugar. They do taste pretty good (I prefer the Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk) and the 6 mini cookies per pack seem to quell most sweet cravings.

They are made with mostly semisweet chocolate, whole grain wheat flour, high oleic canola oil and oat fiber with sweetener coming from several different directions - sugar, maltitol (a sugar alcohol), sucralose (Splenda) and acesulfame potassium.

The 5.1-ounce box contains 6 individual packs and they are often on sale for about $2.50 or less, so keep your eye out for the sales.

South Beach Living Fiber Fit Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 package: 100 calories, 5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 5 g fiber, 5 g sugar (2 g sugar alcohol)

South Beach Living Fiber Fit Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 package: 100 calories, 5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 5 g fiber, 5 g sugar (2 g sugar alcohol)

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Taste Test Tuesday: Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers

Simple Meal Creations - Rotini & Zesty Marinara Sauce

You know that section of the supermarket where they have "entrees in a box" like macaroni and cheese and Hamburger Helper? I don't go down that aisle often either, but I was doing research for an article I'm writing and couldn't help but notice the explosion of super convenient microwavable entrees found in this section. These would definitely come in handy in your desk at the office of in your pantry for the kids to fix themselves in a pinch. Just remember to recycle the packaging! Many parts are recyclable.

The one that seemed to have the most potential was the Healthy Choice Rotini & Zesty Marinara Sauce, mainly because it contains 7 grams of fiber, 10 grams of protein and it didn't have any meat I had to worry about chewing on. There's something about meat that has been sitting in a can or in a package on the shelf that just doesn't appeal to me.

The product tasted pretty darn good, even better with some Parmesan sprinkled over the top (do you have any of those packets from a pizza parlor lying around?) The marinara sauce had a great flavor and thick texture and the noodles were nice and satisfying and partially made with whole-wheat flour!

Each package (individual microwavable portion) contains:

300 calories
10 g protein
56 g carbohydrate
3.5 g fat
1 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat
0 mg cholesterol
7 g fiber
600 mg sodium

The sauce is made with some dynamite ingredients like mostly tomato puree, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, fire roasted onions, burgundy wine reduction and extra virgin olive oil.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Cheddar Chex

100 Calorie Snack Pouches

In bright red letters you see, "70% less fat" in big print on the package of 100-calorie Cheddar Chex snack pouches. Then underneath that in smaller print you see, "than regular potato chips."

One pouch of this snack won't get you too far if you are extremely hungry, but it will be a nice sideline to a healthful sandwich or quick nibble when you just need something tasty to munch on. To be honest, I was hoping for maybe two grams of fiber per pouch but alas, it adds up to 1 gram. Also be forewarned that there are quite a few food-coloring additives in this product, courtesy of the orange powder posing as cheddar flavoring.

If you want to limit the packaging involved with this product, you can buy it in a big bag instead of pouches. Just pour what you need into a small snack bag (for lunch bags) or in a small bowl (for snacks).

The first 4 ingredients:

Degermed yellow corn meal
Whole wheat
Vegetable oil (soybean, canola and/or rice bran)
Sugar

1 Pouch = 100 calories, 2 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans, 1 g fiber, 170 mg sodium. 22.5% calories from fat

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Taste Test Tuesday: Fiber One Toaster Pastry

Well, it's finally happened...pop-tarts have gone whole grain! Well, not all of them, but now if you want your toaster pastry to contribute 5 grams of fiber (3 from soluble fiber), you have an option - Fiber One Toaster Pastries.

I found two flavors in my supermarket, brown sugar cinnamon and strawberry, but there is also blueberry. Whole grain wheat flour is the first ingredient with water as the second and corn syrup as the third. Sugar is the fourth item listed in the ingredient list with high fructose corn syrup as the fifth and vegetable oil (palm, canola) as the sixth. That sure sounds like a lot of sugar to me and with 16 grams of sugar per pastry, it comes to 33.5% calories from sugar.

1 pastry =

190 calories
4 grams protein
36 grams carbohydrate
34% calories from
sugar
4 grams fat
1 gram saturated fat (0 trans fat)
5 grams fiber
140 mg sodium

How did it taste?
I'm used to whole grain everything so I hardly noticed they were packed with fiber and that the pastry looked more "brown" than usual. The brown sugar cinnamon flavor was definitely on the sweet side and would probably satisfy most pop tart-loving teens.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Promise Activ Super Shots

You'll find these mini plastic bottles in the yogurt section of your supermarket. They are packaged in groups of four shots. I knew the shots contained a good-sized dose of plant sterols (the ones used in Promise Take Control margarine which have been clinically proven to help lower serum cholesterol) but I also expected them to contain some probiotics...based on the "activ" part of the name, "Promise Activ Super Shots." Alas, after studying the packaging in detail, I didn't find any evidence that a probiotic is added to this product. I didn't even find the "contains active cultures" reassurance statement on the packaging.

How much plant sterols?
Each shot contains 2 grams of plant sterols, which is a little bit more than the 1.7 grams that a tablespoon of Promise Activ margarine (formerly Take Control) contributes.

And don't get too excited about the fact that it contains some plant omega-3s (ALA); each shot contains .150 grams of omega-3s and 1.3 grams of omega-6. I have a better ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 with some of the new higher omega-3 eggs.

First 7 ingredients:
Water, cultured nonfat milk, red raspberry puree, sugar, plant sterol esters, canola oil, and pectin

1 Raspberry Super Shot bottle (100 ml) =

70 calories
1 g protein
8 g carbohydrate (8 g sugars)
3.5 g fat (0 g saturated fat)
0 mg cholesterol
less than 1 g fiber
25 mg sodium

How did it taste?
The raspberry has a nice flavor that isn't too sweet (which reminds me - it does contain the alternative sweetener sucralose).

If you are in the market to supplement your diet with some plant sterols, this offers you a tasty and convenient alternative to the margarine. I am personally much more likely to enjoy a shot of raspberry yogurt drink than a tablespoon of light margarine. If they could add some probiotics to this shot drink (maybe probiotics thought to enhance immunity or help the gastro-intestinal tract) I would be killing two birds with one stone!

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Bacteria That's Good for You?
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Taste Test Tuesday: Moist and Lean Grilled Chicken Strips at Fast Food!

If you have a craving for lean but moist grilled chicken and you happen to be cruising by a Jack in the Box, fear not! You can order grilled chicken strips (4 strips) from Jack in the Box and they actually taste terrific.

With this blog in mind, I bought an order of the grilled chicken strips, tasted one of the strips right away (YUM!), and then used the other 3 strips to make chicken Caesar pitas for my daughters' lunches the next day. Both daughters commented on how tasty and moist the chicken was.

Each order of 4 strips contains:

180 calories
37 grams protein
3 grams carbohydrate
2 grams fat (10% calories from fat)
.5 g saturated fat
125 mg cholesterol
700 mg sodium

It's nice to know there is now a healthier choice to items like crispy chicken strips or curly fries!

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Taste Test Tuesday: Crisco Canola Oil with Omega-3 DHA

Canola oil is already rich in plant omega-3s, compared with most vegetable oils, but it doesn't contain the omega-3s that we normally get from fish...until now. Crisco appears to have supplemented their canola oil with one of the fish omega-3s, DHA. They did this by adding some DHA Algal oil (DHA derived from algae) to canola oil. You'll also notice if you read the nutrition facts label that some vitamin E (tocopherols) have been added as well for their antioxidant abilities. Each tablespoon of the oil contributes 20% of the Daily Value for vitamin E.

If you smell the oil, there does seem to be a different subtle odor about it. But I've used the oil in all sorts of ways over the past couple of weeks and the flavor in the cooked food seems to similar to regular canola oil.

I was a bit disappointed with the amount of DHA omega-3s per tablespoon though - 32 milligrams per tablespoon (.032 gram). That's 20% of the 160 mg of the Daily Value for DHA, according to their label. Compare this to the amount of total fish omega-3s (EPA and DHA) in 3-ounces of steamed salmon (1.3 grams) or 1/2 can albacore tuna (.8 gram).

If you are interested in trying this oil out, you might want to find it on sale because it's a bit pricey for the petite 16-ounce bottle.


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Taste Test Tuesday: Smart Ones Morning Express Breakfast Quesadilla

What to do when you only have a couple of minutes to prepare breakfast but you don't feel like the typical bowl of cereal but a more substantial egg-type entrèe? Weight Watchers is hoping you'll reach into the freezer for their new Morning Express line of Breakfast entrèes. I'm not a fan of frozen entrèes in general, but I realize many people rely on them, particularly people who live alone. So, I try to taste the new entrèes that come along that I think some of you out there will be curious about.

This morning I followed the directions on the box and popped a Breakfast Quesadilla into the microwave for 2 minutes. There are two things I look for in a breakfast and this product had both - at least 5 grams of fiber and at least 5 grams of protein. I look for this because it helps make the breakfast more satisfying physically through the morning. The Breakfast Quesadilla contains 13 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. The protein is mainly coming from egg whites; the quesadilla also contains cheese, turkey bacon and vegetables.

It totals 220 calories with 6 grams of fat (25% calories from fat) and 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, and 710 mg sodium. The sodium seems rather high for a food with only 220 calories, but that's one of the reasons I'm not crazy about frozen entrèes. It was nice to see the 2 grams of monounsaturated fat though.

How did it taste?
Actually, it tasted pretty good. There wasn't anything unappetizing about the texture, like you might anticipate in a frozen item with eggs, and it seemed like a good amount of food for me (my stomach isn't ready for anything substantial until at least 10 am.)

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Taste Test Tuesday: Two New Green Teas

Green Teas from Celestial Seasonings

Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Every time I see those pink ribbons on pretty much anything, it grabs my attention. Well, there are two new flavors on Celestial Seasonings green tea boxes proudly displaying the pink ribbon as a sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Foundation...just in time for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

The colorful and eye-catching art on the two boxes were designed by two artists who are breast cancer survivors. These boxes are so beautiful; you will want to keep them out on your kitchen counter! The bonus to this is you are much more likely to think about having your high antioxidant cup of green tea if it's sitting right there in front of you.

How did they taste?
What I loved about both of the flavors was that they still looked and tasted like green tea. Sometimes when you have a berry-flavored tea, the tea is literally red and overwhelmingly tart or sweet. Not the case here.

The Topical Grapefruit was nice and subtle and you might still enjoy this tea even if you aren't crazy about grapefruit.

The Cranberry Pomegranate Green Tea was also delightful. The berry and pomegranate flavors were noticeable and pleasant without being overwhelming.

I will be enjoying both of these new green tea flavors throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month and beyond!

NOTE: Green tea is one of the 10 "synergy superfoods" I named in my most recent book, FOOD SYNERGY. The half life of some of the healthful phytochemicals in green tea is a few hours so have a cup in the morning and one later in the day or early evening!

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• Green Tea Ingredient Slows Breast Cancer
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