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CNN Moneyline - The lowdown on low carb



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 2nd, 2003, 04:04 AM
Kalish
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Default CNN Moneyline - The lowdown on low carb


Find this article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/25/pf/m...ex.htm?cnn=yes

We put Atkins-friendly breads, sweets and pastas to the test. Which
are worth the price?

NEW YORK (Money magazine) - "The low-carb products are selling like
crazy," says Ali Shabbir, owner of a General Nutrition Centers health
food store in Manhattan. "And new ones are coming out every day."

He's not kidding. According to Productscan Online, a Naples, N.Y.,
firm that monitors marketing trends, more than 1,000 low-carb packaged
products have recently been introduced, everything from muffins to mac
'n' cheese. Even big players like H.J. Heinz, Hershey's and
Anheuser-Busch are getting into the act. It's all great news for the
estimated 20 million Americans who have turned to a low-carbohydrate
regime to control their weight.

Or is it? The annals of dieting, after all, are littered with
disgusting packaged products. They may have been low in fat or salt --
or some other culinary bogeyman du jour -- but they tasted awful.

In an effort to determine which low-carb items are fabulous fakes and
which are just plain lousy, we convened a 12-member tasting panel and
munched our way through a staggering number of items. Many low-carb
products are shockingly expensive -- often two or three times the
price of a fully loaded version. Only the best of them are worth the
high price.

Our reviews include the number of grams of carbohydrate per serving.
In accordance with manufacturers' common practice, we've listed the
"effective" carb count, which subtracts from the total both fiber and
a class of oddball ingredients known as sugar alcohols -- the secret
sauce responsible for many of the products' deceptively sugary taste.

When consumed in quantity, though, sugar alcohols can make for
unpleasant hours in the bathroom and may even knock your diet off
track. As with so many things, moderation is the key.

Health food stores and supermarkets are rapidly expanding their
low-carb offerings, but for the most extensive selection try Castus
Low Carb Superstores (lowcarbsuperstores.com; 888-642-2700), Low Carb
Connoisseur (low-carb.com; 888-339-2477) or Synergy Diet
(synergydiet.com; 877-877-1558). Lowcarbluxury.com is a great source
of reviews, recipes and support. And our favorite dessert in the genre
can be found at Cheesecake Aly (cheesecakealy.com; 800-555-8862).

Sweets
Eat dessert first! Sweet stuff -- chocolate in particular -- is easily
the most successful category in the low-carb lineup. Top honors go to
the swooningly rich Pure De-Lite Chocolate Truffles (86¢ and about 1
gram apiece) and the buttery Judy's Sugar-Free Caramels (about $1; 1g
each). For movie munchies, pick up Russell Stover's Low Carb Toffee
Squares and Sugar Free Mint Patties ($1.95 and 1g per serving). But
avoid the new Reese's Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups ($2.25 a bag; 3g)
unless you really enjoy that bathroom time.

We may all scream for ice cream, but Atkins Endulge Ice Cream ($10 a
box; 4g) will leave you yawning. Instead, browbeat your local grocery
store into carrying the delicious LeCarb Frozen Desserts (about $3.25
a pint; 4g), which come in flavors like lemon and cinnamon, and are
very low in those pesky sugar alcohols. Feeling indulgent? Top things
off with a spoonful of chocolate-hazelnut Twist spread ($6.29; 2g), a
dead ringer for Nutella.

When it comes to low-carb baked goods, you're better off hitting the
kitchen yourself. We loved the creamily lush Low Carb Cheesecake from
Cheesecake Aly ($11.95 per cake; 3g a slice), but other treats we
tried ranged from dull to dreadful. Synergy Diet's Cake Rolls ($15 per
cake; about 5g) manage to be salty, bitter and greasy at the same
time, and the Pure De-Lite High Protein Peanut Butter Chew cookies
($2.60 a package; no carbs) have a texture like modeling clay and a
uniquely repulsive aroma.

Breakfast
Bacon and eggs are all very well, but eventually a person needs
pancakes. Both mixes we tried -- Atkins ($7 a box; 3g per serving) and
Carbsense ($7.50; 3g) -- produced tasty flapjacks that teamed nicely
with maple-flavored Keto Syrup ($5; 2g).

While neither Keto Old Fashioned Oatmeal Hot Cereal ($7; 3g) nor
Atkins Sweet Maple Hot Cereal ($7; 3g) will remind you of steel-cut
Irish porridge oats, either would be fine on a cold winter morning,
especially with a few berries mixed in.

But even the dog refused to eat Synergy Diet's weird and gummy Better
Powdered Doughnuts ($6 a package; 2.5g per disgusting doughnut). We
couldn't think of anything they were better than.

Bread
Bread, like chocolate, is one of low-carbing's real success stories.
Irene's Health Bakery Low Carb Bread ($6 a loaf; 4g a slice) and
Atkins Sliced Bread ($5; 3g) both are boring taken straight, but they
toast well and provide a nifty grilled-cheese delivery system.

Synergy Diet's CarbXtract French Bread ($6.50; about 4.5g) has good
texture and flavor, though slices are only slightly bigger than a
postage stamp. For a splurge, top a slice with one of the fabulous
sugar-free fruit spreads from La Nouba ($5.50; 1.6g per serving) or
Colac ($6; 1g), both of which knock the pants off many full-sugar
preserves.

In the low-carb world, cheeseburgers are diet food, but for the true
experience you'll need a bun. Both Synergy Diet ($6.50 a pack and a
whopping 18g per bun) and Irene's Health Bakery ($7; 5g) come to the
rescue, and we'd add a dollop of the nicely spicy Keto Ketchup ($6; 1g
per serving).

You prefer Mexican? Synergy Diet's Adios Carbs Tortillas ($4 a
package; 6g per tortilla) make tasty enchiladas, but La Tortilla
Factory Fat-Free Tortillas ($4.25; 3g) get the job done with fewer
carbs.

Snacks
Happily, low-carb snacks have come a long way since the introduction
of the hideous Keto Chips ($4 for a bag you will never finish; 3g per
serving), which smell terrible and taste worse. Carbsense Tortilla
Chips ($3.89; 8g) are a nice toasty option, but Atkins Crunchers
($2.50; 4g) have actual corn flavor and a good chomp, with half the
carbs.

When it comes to crackers, we're big fans of Cheeters Diet Treats
($6.30; 2g) and Andre's CarboSave Crackerbread ($5.95; 3g), both of
which are sturdy enough to stand up to a hunk of cheese and taste
swell even on their own.

Pasta and pizza
Now that bread has been conquered, pasta is the Holy Grail of
low-carbdom. And like the cup in question, it remains elusive. Dieters
would love to bed their stews on a nest of noodles, but all the brands
we tried, including Pastalia Low Carb Original Fettuccine ($7 a bag;
7g per serving) and Keto Spaghetti ($5; 5g), were unpleasantly rubbery
-- with a flavor that can only be described as grassy. And there isn't
enough cheddar in the world to save the ghastly Keto Low Carb Macaroni
& Cheese ($5; 5g).

If you're thinking about nuking a little low-carb Italian lunch in the
office microwave, think again. Atkins Frozen Cheese Pizzas ($17 a
package; 20g per pizza) are simultaneously mushy and tough, and the
Atkins Italian Frozen Entrees (price and carb counts vary) taste like
low-rent airplane food.

Furthermore, the folks at Domino's have nothing to fear from either
the LowCarbolicious Pizza Kit ($9 a box; roughly 4g a slice) or the
Low Carb Chef Pizza Kit ($17; 3g), both of which produce something
resembling a baked, tomato-flavored paper towel. Synergy Diet's
pre-baked Better Pizza Crusts ($4; 18g per pizza) taste much better
and provide enough heft to make a meal, but the equally hefty carb
count puts them beyond the reach of many low-carbers, particularly
since sauce and cheese add carbohydrates of their own.

By and large, dieters at dinnertime probably will be best served by
avoiding the packaged products and chowing down instead on protein and
fresh veggies. There's always room for dessert.

  #2  
Old December 2nd, 2003, 04:30 AM
Roger Zoul
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Default CNN Moneyline - The lowdown on low carb

From:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/25/pf/m...ex.htm?cnn=yes

:: By and large, dieters at dinnertime probably will be best served by
:: avoiding the packaged products and chowing down instead on protein
:: and fresh veggies. There's always room for dessert.

wow. Amazing insight for someone doing an article on LCing. Must be a
LCer. Of course, this person forgot about the fat!


  #3  
Old December 2nd, 2003, 04:44 AM
Jumping Bomb Angel
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Default CNN Moneyline - The lowdown on low carb

Kalish wrote in
:


Find this article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/25/pf/m...ex.htm?cnn=yes


This is a really informative piece! Still...after reading it, I feel even
more convinced that the "original" LC foods (meats, cheeses, oils, etc) are
the best way to go. Less costly and you get more bang for your buck, IMO.

JBA
  #4  
Old December 2nd, 2003, 05:54 AM
Lorelei
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Default CNN Moneyline - The lowdown on low carb

Kalish wrote:
Find this article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/25/pf/m...ex.htm?cnn=yes

snip
The only "LC" premade stuff I buy is Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom SF Pops. they
are the best. and Atkin's Endulge Chocolate Bars. I saved a copy of this to
print to maybe venture out into LC land to add a little variety. I do
believe that my palate has changed and I may be able to actually try some
new foods.
So thank you for posting this. It widened my perspective a little bit. This
really IS how we are supposed to feed out bodies. Whole foods that are low
in carbs, high in fiber and are essentially "natural" foods.
JMO

--
Peace,
Lori
220/145/135
LC since 1/17/03
Dec Challenge 145/140
http://community.webshots.com/album/99840928pOTLCx


 




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