Its all in the sauce

And we aint talkin' 'bout BBQ baby.

Kraft Sandwich Shop Chipotle Flavored Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

Where purchased: Super Walmart
Price: $2.00
Overall rating: 4.5/5

I used to be quite the expert on the Panera sandwich line. I always found it interesting that our special “Signature Sandwiches” really weren’t much different from the regular café sandwiches. The main thing distinguishing the signature sandwich from its café counterpart was its unique sauce. Whether a creamy thousand island or a spicy horseradish, the sauce gave people that “wow” factor that the regular mayo and mustard couldn’t quite touch.

Today I created my own signature sandwich with Kraft Sandwich Shop Chipotle Mayo Spread. But I think Kraft’s sauce was even better than many of the sauces found in actual sandwich shops. Why? It was loaded with flavor, but not with fat and calories. Kraft’s chipotle mayo has only 40 calories and 4 grams of fat per tablespoon. And you might not even use the whole tablespoon serving. It has so much flavor that you only need to spread a thin layer on your sandwich.

I found the flavor of the sauce delicious, with just the right amount of heat. I like the convenient squeeze bottle with its unique straight edged tip that works perfectly for distributing an even layer on your bread. And picking this up for only $2.00 was a great deal – I’m not sure whether that was a promotional price, but I wouldn’t have a problem paying twice that.

This product is highly recommended and gets a 4.5 out of 5 rating for great taste, great value, and a great job at keeping the mayo low fat and low calorie. I’m definitely planning on trying their other new flavors in this new Sandwich Shop line – Garlic & Herb and Horseradish-Dijon.

Gobble gobble 'em up

I should totally run Hillshire Farms’ marketing campaign.

Hillshire Farms Turkey Lit’l Smokies

Where purchased: Meijer
Price: $3.89
Overall rating: 4/5

Lit’l smokies have been a potluck staple for years. Who doesn’t love mini sausages covered in a delicious sauce? Or wrapped up in Pillsbury crescent rolls? And in our house, we actually like to brown them up in the skillet and serve them as breakfast sausage.

I should start out by saying that this product isn’t brand new to me – I first noticed these turkey smokies a few months ago, and I have purchased them about 3 or 4 times since. Hillshire Farms did a great job with the turkey variety of this traditional favorite. It has great taste that is very close to the original but is MUCH healthier with only 4 grams of fat and 80 calories per 5 link serving, compared with 14 grams of fat and 160 calories in the original. You will notice that they are a bit drier (no surprise there) and don’t have the same juicy “pop” in your mouth of the traditional ones. But honestly, put these in a crockpot with some sauce and few people will notice the difference.

I give these guys a 4 out of 5 rating for an overall good flavor and excellent job at cutting way down on the fat and calories from the regular version. You might want to wait to pick these up on sale – I have gotten them a couple times at Meijer for $2.00, which definitely makes them seem like a better value.

If you do decide to try these, here’s a tasty crockpot sauce (adapted from Robin Miller’s Sweet-N-Sour Turkey Meatballs) you might want to try. Just mix together and heat!

2 pkgs turkey lit’l smokies
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 c chicken broth
½ c chili sauce
¼ c cider vinegar
¼ c brown sugar
1 tsp dried thyme
Cornstarch/water for thickening (optional)

It's ok to be choosy

Jif says so.

Jif Natural Peanut Butter

Where purchased: Meijer
Cost: $2.22 (18 oz)
Overall rating: 2.5/5

My husband, Noah, is a Jif Man. Growing up his family had generic brand everything – except peanut butter. And they took it even further than that. No Peter Pan, no Skippy – only Jif. So, you can imagine my surprise when he suggested trying the new Natural Jif peanut butter…

Natural Jif has almost identical nutritional information to traditional Jif. There are 2 differences:
1) Natural JIF has 140 Calories from Fat, and Regular has 130.
2) Natural JIF has 75 mg of sodium, and Regular has 150 mg.

So, let me be clear. According to the nutrition label, we’re not reducing fat intake, we’re not reducing calorie intake, and we’re not reducing sugar intake by choosing Jif Natural. Only salt intake. The other differences appear when looking at the ingredients:
Jif Natural                      Regular Jif
     Peanuts                            Peanuts and sugar
     Sugar                               (is this different from peanuts, sugar?)
Less than 2% of:               Less than 2% of:
       Palm oil                         Molasses
       Salt                               Fully hydrogenated veg. oils
       Molasses                       (rapeseed and soybean)
                                            Mono- and diglycerides
                                            Salt

To be able to give a fair rating to this product, I felt I had to do somewhat of a cost/benefit analysis. Namely: does the substitution of palm oil for the fully hydrogenated vegetable oils and mono and diglycerides give me a large enough health benefit to sacrifice the taste/texture that I love about regular JIF peanut butter?

For me, the answer is no. The answer might be different for you. But here’s my reasoning (and this is where some of you might just want to skip to the next paragraph!). First, let’s take a step back and look at what we are dealing with. We are talking about ingredients that make up less than 2% of the finished product. The primary ingredient here is still peanuts, which we know are a good source of protein and more desirable fats. And even though Jif Natural boasts "Made of 90% peanuts!" on the label, Jif itself says on its Web site that all peanut butters are required by law to be at least 90% peanuts. Which means Jif regular is, too. Second, we know that the regular peanut butter contains less than 0.5 g of trans fat, because the ingredient list shows 0 grams trans fat. Further, after some research, I discovered that FULLY hydrogenated oil (as opposed to partially hydrogenated oil) has NO trans fat. So… IF there are traceable amounts of trans fat in the regular peanut butter, it would only be coming from the mono and diglycerides (fats that act as emulsifiers to provide consistent texture and prevent separation). Also, let’s look at what we are comparing it to. Palm oil – not olive oil, or canola oil, or another oil high in unsaturated fats. No, palm oil is actually very rich in saturated fat, and therefore not considered one of the more “desirable” oils to have in your diet.

I have the same complaint about Jif Natural as most people do about natural peanut butters in general – the consistency is just weird. It feels dry in the mouth and doesn’t spread as well as I’d like it to. Now, don’t get me wrong. I do think Jif made a good effort and tried to keep this product as close to the regular version as possible. It doesn’t separate at all, and it is still spreadable – just not AS spreadable. The taste was a little off for me as well – it actually had a stronger dry-roasted peanut taste. Not sure if that comes from the difference in when they add the sugar, or the reduction of salt, or the different oil? Maybe a combination.

In any case, I won’t be making the switch. Jif made a worthy attempt with this one, but I’m just not ready to give up that creamy deliciousness of the regular  Jif peanut butter I love. So, I am giving it a rating of 2.5 out of 5 – I liked that it was the same price as the regular Jif, it kept some of the classic JIF qualities, and had lower sodium, but I don’t think the flavor and texture sacrifice is worth the slight health benefit.

Dressed for... average

I wanted so badly to be able to name this "Dressed for success." Wouldn't that have been the perfect name for an entry about salad dressing? 

Hidden Valley Farmhouse Originals Roasted Onion Parmesan

Where purchased: Super Walmart
Price: $2.68 
Overall rating: 3/5

I eat salad nearly every day, so I often find myself looking for new and different dressings to stay out of salad ruts. I picked up this dressing as a possible alternative to the traditional ranch we always have in our house - and that's exactly what it is.

I imagine those highly concerned with finding healthy dressings wouldn't be looking for a creamy one anyway, but do be warned that this will set you back 12 grams of fat and 120 calories per serving. Most of these fat/calories seem to come from soybean oil as well, which isn't as desirable as the olive, canola, or other oils with the high "good" fats and Omega 3s. But, it does have very low sugar (1 gram) and as long as you are ok with choosing a higher fat/calorie-based dressing for variety's sake (which I am!) this could be worth a try.

I found the flavor to be nice and fairly mild - somewhere between a ranch and caesar. Nothing that would blow your socks off, but nice if you are looking for something just a bit different than your usuals. I'm giving this dressing a rating of 3 out of 5 - good taste, reasonable price, and worth a try - but not something I would see becoming a mainstay in our house.

Bunnies aren't just for Easter

Not if you're talking about Blue Bunny, anyway.

Blue Bunny Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Where purchased: Super Walmart
Price: $3.00 on sale
Overall rating: 5/5

Those who know me well know that I love my ice cream. In fact, I have some sort of ice cream treat nearly every night. So naturally, I am always on the search for new, fun things to try. But, don't go thinking that just because I love ice cream I am going to give every ice cream treat a 5 point rating. I am actually quite picky about what I want in an after-dinner dessert. I want something that is around 200 calories or less, I want something that is delicious and satisfying and won’t leave me wanting more and more sugar, and I want something that is a good value – in general, I don’t want to pay more than $.50/treat.

These triple chocolate ice cream sandwiches got top marks across the board. Though they have only 160 calories and 3.5 g of fat per delicious sandwich, you would never know it. The ice cream is rich, and I find the variety of flavors within the sandwich refreshing – my favorite is the white chocolate in the middle, although the milk chocolate and dark chocolate are also both delicious. I also love that it is an “inside-out”  version of the classic ice cream sandwich with the vanilla cookie outside and chocolate ice cream inside.

Finding these for $3.00 was a bargain, as I would pay up to about $4.50 for the 10 sandwiches. Blue Bunny always does a great job with their ice cream treats, and this is certainly no exception. This product receives a 5 out of 5 rating from me – great taste, great value, and a great treat that won’t break your diet.