Nutrition Action Healthletter - Right Stuff vs. Food Porn|weightloss explained



	October 2000 U.S. Edition

Theres something about a steamy bowl of chilithe velvety beans and spicy saucethat tastes just right in the fall. And theres something about a can of chilithe oddly spiced beans or the borderline lethal dose of sodiumthat tastes just wrong any time of year.

Health Valley to the rescue. Its Mild Vegetarian, Burrito, Three Bean, Lentil, and Spicy (no joke) Black Bean canned vegetarian chilies are deliciously rich-tasting. The company clearly knows what to do with tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, herbs, and beans. (The companys No Salt Added flavors fall flat, but you can perk them up with garlic, ground cumin, cayenne, and chili powder.)

Just heat and eat...in a bowl, spooned over pasta or a baked potato, as a dip for baked chips, or rolled in a tortilla with a sprinkle of shredded low-fat cheese.

Theyre 99 percent fat-free, theyre low in calories (160), and theyre loaded with protein (13 grams per cup), fiber (12 gramshalf a days worth), vitamin A (a days worth), and vitamin C and iron (20 percent of a days worth).

What sets Health Valley apart is that, unlike much of the competition, it relies on good cooking, not salt, for flavor. With 65 to 320 milligrams of sodium per cup, Health Valley runs rings around Hormel chilies like Vegetarian with Beans (780 mg) and Less Sodium with Beans (930 mg).

Health Valley: (800) 423-4846.

Ever notice how companies use loveable or comforting characters to push their outrageous foods?

Take Keebler. Its mischievous little elves tout some of the most nutritionally reckless cookies you can buy (three of their Fudge Stripes or Deluxe Grahams contain a quarter of a days saturated fatmore than twice what youd get from three Oreos). Then theres Mrs. Smith, that pretend lady whose fatty frozen pies may explain why you never hear about Mr. Smith.

Put the elves and the missus together (and we mean that in a family-magazine sort of way) and youve got Mrs. Smiths Cookies & Cream Piesa new line of cool desserts teaming up uncommonly good Keebler cookies with Mrs. Smiths rich and creamy pie fillings, as the box puts it.

Name your poison. Mrs. S. lets you clog your arteries in any of five flavors: ChocoMint, Droxies, LemonyLemon, Smores, or Strawbanana.

One slicea sixth of a pie, packs about 400 calories and about 20 grams of fathalf of them saturated. Thats half a days sat fat...and it doesnt even include the trans fat in the pies shortening.

The boxes offer some helpful suggestions for when to eat the sweets: after school, after dinner, and (our favorite) after midnight.

How about after never?

Mrs. Smiths: (678) 482-3000.