And I guess I should clarify by what I mean by "fat-free foods." I'm not talking about foods that are naturally fat-free, such as celery or water (those are the first two examples that come to mind). I mean foods that usually have a fat version but also have a fat-free version. On to the list (and yes, I'm well aware that fat-free doesn't necessarily mean healthy and can often be higher in sugar).
1. Fat-Free Milk: If you had asked me ten years ago that today I'd be drinking fat-free milk instead of whole milk, I would have thought you were crazy. But I love it, and in fact, can't even drink whole milk anymore. Tastes too thick and heavy for me.
2. Fat-Free Mayo: I think the reason I like it so much is because I don't have it on sandwiches, I only mix it with tuna fish, and I think the flavor is covered up by the tuna, onion, and celery I add. I think I go more for the binding that mayo provides and the consistency than anything else, and it does its job.
3. Fat-Free Pretzels: I'm not sure how much fat "regular" pretzels have, but fat free ones taste just fine.
4. Fat-Free Fig Newtons: I hardly ever eat Fig Newtons, but I've tried these and they're quite good (all flavors).
5. Fat-Free Salad Dressing: If it's flavorful and the salad is packed with a variety of veggies and lettuce, I don't even notice the difference.
6. Fat-Free Jam and Jelly: I think I put jam on my toast maybe once every 2.5 years, and the fat-free versions are just as good as the others to me (though the sugar...).
7. Fat-Free Yogurt: If I'm going to eat this stuff, I might as well have the ones that are fat-free, so I know I'm not eating it for nothing.
8. Fat-Free Ice Cream: This is especially good if you add a lot of fudge sauce and nuts to it.








Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-26-2007 @ 9:30AM
Jon said...
There's jam that isn't fat-free?
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4-26-2007 @ 10:09AM
Liz Newcomb said...
Are you putting fat-free fudge sauce and lower fat nuts on that ice cream? Because if not, well, what's the point? It's like having a diet soda with the double cheeseburger. I'm not a big fan of fat-free anything and would rather have the full-fat equivalent infrequently than the fat-free version all the time.
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4-26-2007 @ 10:23AM
Kaylen said...
I guess this list is pretty personal to the writer, but my response to most of them is 'yuck' (fat-free yoghurt, fat-free ice cream) or 'that's not food' (fat-free mayo, fat-free salad dressing).
Labelling jams and jellies as fat-free is marketing nonsense -- they're fat-free to begin with.
Plain, whole-milk yoghurt is delicious.
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4-26-2007 @ 10:39AM
lindseyQuinn said...
Fat-free Fig Newtons have a deal more sugar and calories than the original version (which is a relatively low-fat not-cookie, anyway.) As someone who used to avidly count my daily calorie / fat intake, even I would opt for the original.
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4-26-2007 @ 11:02AM
Amy Z said...
Rather than critisize, I thought I'd list some of my favorite fat free items, but then couldn't think of any others. I mostly use "low fat" if I'm going to reduce the fat in an item, but I agree with the mayo milk, and yogurt items. I just can't do fat free salad dressing though. I find it too think and icky and often tastes odd.
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4-26-2007 @ 11:20AM
Nancy said...
I drank fat free milk until I traveled to other countries and tried REAL milk. It was then that I began to truly appreciate the milkfat and creaminess of the texture. As for things like fat-free pretzels and fat-free jam, I think its pretty silly to list them as "fat free" foods as they are generally as such anyway. I completely support people eating the foods that they want, whether fat free or not, but I'd highly suggest alternatives like eating smaller portions rather than eating more of "fat free" simply for the false peace of mind that it wouldn't make them fat. After all, that fat is there for a reason---so that you can actually enjoy the food.
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4-26-2007 @ 11:37AM
Anon. said...
This is pretty ridiculous, if you want to go with healthful fat free products, then skim milk and fat free yogurt are good. Ok, low fat ice cream and frozen yogurt.
The name of this site is slash food, and I would say that fat free mayo and salad dressing is not food, nor is all the stuff they put in the fig newtons to make them fat free.
As for naturally fat free or low fat items, like jam and pretzels, what about apples, grapes, pears, artichokes, asparagus, spinach, oranges, beets, honey, berries, mushrooms some types of bread (like a baguette), corn, zucchini... You know, food?
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4-26-2007 @ 12:18PM
Amy Z said...
Anon - did you read the posting. Because the 2nd sentence explicitly states "I'm not talking about foods that are naturally fat-free, such as celery or water..." so your third paragraph is irrelevant.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:08PM
corrin said...
you know what i like? fat-free cottage cheese. yumyum.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:15PM
Alex said...
I'm not sure why many people assume that some of us make the choice between moderate portions of full fat foods infrequently and large portions of no fat food all the time. For myself, in many categories it's moderate portions of low-fat/no fat foods or no portions of full fat foods. I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one.
Some of these things I eat because I like them better. I think whole and low-fat milk are gross and only drink skim. I think regular crackers and chips are too greasy and prefer low-fat or baked versions. I've only ever had regular mayo on the very rare occasions I forget to ask restaurants to leave it off and I'm not a fan of how gelatinous it is. I eat low fat sour cream and ice cream because I am so accustomed to them that the regular versions make me feel ill.
If you choose to eat full fat versions of food and are able to attain your health goals while doing so that is great. But I think it's pretty ignorant to knock those who choose to eat differently when you don't understand the reasons behind their choices.
As for pretzels and jam, they don't belong on this list.
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4-26-2007 @ 2:37PM
Mike said...
It's hard to call fat-free mayo by its name, just like you shouldn't call cocoa power and margarine "chocolate".
But no need to pick on Anon, he/she is right, jam and pretzels are normally fat free.
How can you miss fat free bread? Most of the best breads are fat free.
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4-26-2007 @ 3:44PM
lindseyQuinn said...
"I'm not talking about foods that are naturally fat-free, such as celery or water..."
Very true, Amy Z, so please refer to post #1, which points out that jam is naturally fat-free.
The quality of the content of this blog has fallen so fast in the past year or so, it's ridiculous.
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4-26-2007 @ 3:59PM
Amy Z said...
lindseyQuinn and Mike - I wasn't referring to post #1 or the first part of Anon's post. That's why I was specific in stating I was replying to Anon's *3rd* paragraph. The one that listed a bunch of fruits and veggies, which was indicated to be not of interest. Therefore making it moot, irrelevant, whatever your word of choice is. I think we all know fruits and veggies are good for you, low in fact, higher in fiber, etc, etc, etc. I wasn't disagreeing with anything else, or commenting on anything else. I thought the question posed what about what other types of fat free foods do we like.
I can't believe I forgot about crackers and chips. I, like Alex, prefer them to their counterparts, which are greasy to me and just sit in my stomach.
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4-26-2007 @ 4:48PM
Ivan Turkovic said...
This sounds pretty much ridiculous. Why all has to be fat free. If you eat moderate and enjoy what you eat, this does not mean you can eat large portions of it. I have really really slow metabolism and i like to eat different varieties of food. And i mean real kind of food not labeled with this and that makes you consume less calories. But i do lot of sport activities every day to keep me fit. Usually i eat lot of vegetables, but this does not mean i am obsessed with healthy food, maybe i don't go to eat hamburger every day, but i always have some in freezer, cause sometimes i don't have time to prepare full meal :). But i like do BBQ and summer is coming so i cant wait to start :). And biggest nonsense for me is fat free milk :). Maybe they can start sell also fat free water
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4-26-2007 @ 5:38PM
monica said...
Pretzels and jam are fat free (or extremely low fat) by nature. As are fig newtons. Also, skim milk and fat free yogurt are completely "natural", and possibly the only thing worth keeping around in the entire list. Everything else can be just as bad for you as their fatful counterparts. Take mayo, for example. Real mayo is made simply from egg yolks, oil, salt and vinegar - at least the yolks have some nutritional value. I'd rather eat that than the crud they put in fat-free "mayo": modified food starch, sugar, high fructose corn syrup ,cellulose gel, xanthan gum, lactic acid, cellulose gum, phosphoric acid...
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4-29-2007 @ 7:02PM
zac.ashbaugh said...
I agree with all the people who are saying some of those foods; dispite the disclaimer that you aren't talking about "Naturally fat free" foods, 3 out of 7 of the ones you listed ARE usually fat free. I am of the mind that these "low fat" versions are just overmarketed/overpriced swipes at the American obese. Eat a vegetable once in a while instead of a half gallon of haagen daas "light" yeh lazy, overly wealthy whores.
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5-02-2007 @ 10:34PM
kelbell said...
I think egg beaters are one of the best fat free items around. Obviously not to always be used in substitute for eggs (like in baking) but in making a filling omelet maybe. They're a little pricey, but it beats the wasteful feeling of straining the whites from the yolks and throwing the yolks away.
Other than those and yogurt and milk.. all other items should be full fat! (half the time the calories are the same anyway, so you might as well eat the one that will make you feel satisfied)
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