Thursday 20 February 2014

Choosing the Lighter Options



As I have been on a bit of health kick recently and whilst shopping I decided I would put the lighter options of my favourite foods to the taste test. I wanted to see if there is really that much difference in the full fat option compared to the lighter options in terms of taste and texture.

My favourite from the entire lot is the Elmlea double light, I use this when I am making my pollo pesto pasta which is a twice weekly ritual for me as I just adore it! Cream can be really fattening and you need a thick cream for this recipe, a single cream just does not create the same texture as it needs to be thick. The double light option is so much better for you and makes eating cream that little bit less calorific and it tastes exactly the same. The shelf life is also three days longer than the double cream, so you don't have to rush to use it before it goes off. It works just as well when you are cooking with it, and I am converted to this for life now! Win, win situation I think.The lighter version contains 40 calories per 15ml serving and contains 50% less fat than the full fat version.

When you have a hot chocolate, you just have to have squishy cream it is just an essential. It also doesn't make my feel as bad to pile it up into a mountain on the top of my drink knowing that it has that few less calories and fat in it. The calorie content of this is 24 calories and 2g of fat per 12.5g serving. Whereas, the full dairy cream contains 43 calories and 4g of fat.

I am not a huge butter fan, its just one of those things I have in the fridge as you will need to use it whilst cooking but I do not really use it massively and on a daily basis. I am not a toast and butter lover, I can't actually remember the last time I had toast! Although, I have used it on sandwiches and I have not noticed a change in anything about the taste of the butter, its still smooth and has that silky texture. Maybe I am not being as fair as the other products putting this to the taste but I can safely say it tastes identical to me. The lighter Flora version calorie content is 40 calories per 10g serving, compared to the original version containing 65 calories per serving. Also in terms of fat content differences the original contains 2.5 more grams of fat in each serving.

Now, I am a huge fan of toasted bagels and philadelphia, it is a recurrent breakfast and supper favourite. I was reluctant to change my favourite little combo which I love so much and eat so often. Philadelphia is expensive at the best of times in my Tesco Metro is £1.85 for all the different types of philadephia, which I think is really expensive. So being tight, I chose to go for the Tesco's cream cheese lighter. Now, the boat is still out on this product and I think it is the only product I think might not be as good as the full fat version. Although I think this may be due to the brand change as its just not as smooth in texture, but its still nice and creamy. This Tesco version of philadelphia of each 30g serving contains 49 calories. The original Kraft philadelphia contains 97 calories in the same serving size, the difference in fat content is huge in the original it is 10g in the lighter version its 3.3g.

As well as these products I have been putting the Hellmann's lighter mayonnaise to the taste as mayonnaise is seriously so bad for you, but I love the taste so much and eat it very frequently. It actually tastes nicer if I am honest its a bit less stodgy and feels a bit more creamier when I mix it with my sandwich fillings.

If you just think about the amount of calories you will save when eating your favourite foods it is definitely worth taking the lighter option. The 'lighter option' quest has proven very worthwhile and will definitely be taking the lighter options on this food products in the future. Go try and see if you see much of a difference between the full fat and lighter options to food products you love. We all hate to see that god dam nutritional information packaging that they stick for all eyes to see, this could make that just a little bit easier!

Other posts from this week: Neutrogena Duo / Morning Freshness / Wishlist Update

Lucy
xoxo


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