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.

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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

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• Your Omega-3 Family Shopping List
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