Fake Food Thursday - Mackin' Cheese

Oh Mackin Cheese, how I long for thee as I grow weary of this long, unending diet! Jk guys, diet's going AWESOMELY, but I do really love my Mackin Cheese, so last time I was at the grocery store I thought I'd stop and pick up some Annie's . . . because, y'know, Annie's is the best one, right?

Wrong. Organic <> healthy (that's Geek for "organic food isn't always health-conscious"). I mean, it's still better than Velveeta Shells and Cheese (which always makes me sick, but OH MY GOD I COULD EAT IT TIL I DIED OF GOUT), but there are other options, people. And what are they? Well I won't ruin the surprise. Here's the table.


Mackin' Cheese Comparison Per 1 Cup Prepared Serving

	Calories	Fiber	Fat	WW Points
Velveeta Shells and Cheese	360	2	12	8
Annie's Classic Mac n Cheese or Annie's Shells and White Cheddar	280	2	4	5.5
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (regular)	259	1	5	5.5
1 Packet Easy Mac	240	1	6	5
Kraft Supermac & Cheese	230	3	4	4.5

Ta Da! Kraft Supermac & Cheese wins, and I'll tell ya, it tastes just like the original. Not as good as Velveeta, but hey, few things are. Supermac is marketed as uh, a health food for kids. It has whole grains (8g per serving! but mysteriously only 3g of fiber) and vitamins in case you don't feed them any vegetables. So you can call Supermac a vegetable? I dunno, I'm not big on the marketing, but for comfort food it doesn't get much better.

A few notes: I couldn't find how much a packet of Easy Mac yields, but if college memory serves (and it may not), it's about a cup, maybe a bit less. I know that means it shouldn't be ranked the way it is, but it's rarely a matter of deciding between cooking up a packet of Easy Mac or a third of a box of regular Mac.

Fake Food Thursday - Fat Free Half and Half

Welcome to Fake Food Thursday! This week we're looking at fat free half and half!

If you're like me and cook with a lot of cream, you'll find that often-times it's in the recipe to add a little flavor to soups and veggie dishes. But since we're told to drink only skim milk, it must be obvious that heavy cream is no good for people on a diet. So what's a cream-lover to do?

Fat free half and half is the way to go. I don't really know how they make it so thick, but by itself it tastes a little sweet. No matter, in recipes it comes out wonderful. I've used it to make a naughty custard, creamier pudding, and I hope to try alfredo sometime soon, but in no instance has it let me down so my hopes
are high.

Cut to table.

Cream Comparison Per 1/4 Cup Serving

	Calories	Fat	WW Points
Heavy Cream	205	22	6
Light Cream	134	13	4
Half and Half	79	7	2
Land O'Lakes or Garelick Farms Fat Free Half and Half	49	0	1
Simply Smart Fat Free Half and Half	30	0	.5

These were the only brands of fat free half and half that I could find, and it's worth noting that there's only a .2 point difference among the three fat free options here, but since Weight Watchers insists on its rounding error, one looks like .5 points and the other 1. If you're using either in quantity, be sure to calculate based on the total calories.

I've tried the Land O'Lakes and the Simply Smart and they're equally proficient. I've heard tell that evaporated milk works well too, and I'll be personally taste-testing these options some time soon.

Fake Food Thursday - Liquid Butter Substitute

I'd like to point out that, "Fake Food Thursday" would have way better alliteration if I had an urban Brit accent. So think of Ali G saying it.

I'm going to use Thursdays to highlight products that are great substitutes or fit surprisingly well into the plan. I compare my points A LOT at the grocery store, and often times you can save yourself a point or even two a serving by buying the right brand of what at first glance appears to be the exact same thing. These aren't actually fake food, but that's more fun than, say, Substitution Sunday or Mow On This Monday (is it 'mow?' maybe 'mau' or 'mao?')

The first product I want to feature is one that gets a lot of buzz and has a bit of controversy around it . . . I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray. This little pump bottle gets people stoked because 5 spritzes are free! Needless to say this sounds a little too good to be true, and it is. First of all, the serving size is half what I use on a single piece of toast. Secondly, people dump it all over everything they eat. But I think every meeting my leader mentions how there's 900 calories in that 8oz bottle of spray, so is there a suitable alternative?

Why yes there is! I did a little digging and found a product called Smart Beat Smart Squeeze and did some comparison work. ICBINB is all well and good to spritz, but how does it measure up in terms of the tablespoon I put on my piece of toast? Check it out.

Butter Comparison Per 1 Tbsp Serving

	Calories	Fat	WW Points
Real Butter	100	45	3
Land O Lakes Light Butter	45	5	1.5
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray	113	13	3.5
Smart Beat Smart Squeeze (by Smart Balance)	13	1	.5

Did you see something there? SOMETHING INCREDIBLE? Yes, that's right, ICBINB is great for portioning out butter, but if you're going to do that you're better off spritzing full fat butter through that nozzle because it will actually be FEWER points. I'm renaming this product to I Can't Believe It Has More Calories Than Butter Spray.

The good news is that Smart Beat business starts to look pretty good. It's carried at Shaw's and is a truly good substitute in cooking, though you wouldn't be able to use it in baking and it sticks to pans, so don't throw away your nonstick spray just yet. Maybe there's something to be said about curbing down fat cravings, but if you're dipping your pizza crusts in this stuff anyway, Smart Beat's your best bet.

That said, Smart Balance blends, the sticks that are half Smart Beat and half real butter have the same nutrition content as butter. So read and compare every label. It's also worth noting that Smart Balance tastes great and carries organic and vegan butter as well, carrying universal appeal to diets of all kinds.