Yay Photochick! From one Southerner to another, many foods are fine in moderation. I try to eat fat free refried beans too, but that's impossible in many Mexican restaurants. That is wild that there aren't any in your part of Canada. Here we can't swing a dead cat without hitting one.
Luvja, where are you in Ontario? I can buy them (fat free) in any Independent, Loblaws or Freshmart and I'm in the Eastern Ontario boonies! The brand is "old El Paso" at 100 cals per ½ cup and only .5 grams of fat. It's also really easy to just zap some drained beans in the food processor, adding chilies if you want more zip.
They are usually with the salsa and packaged tortillas.
I was in "Food Basics". It's a cheap grocery store and usually don't shop there, but I was in the area. I live in Hamilton Ontario. I'm going to take a look next week at Fortino's or Sobeys!
On the lard subject, my father was raised on a farm, and the butter was saved for "special" occasions like Sunday supper, and lard was used to "butter" bread at the dinner table during the week.
As Emeril says, "pork fat rules."
My husband still mourns the loss of his great grandma's sugar cookies. His mom says "that's the recipe I use," and hubby tells her "it's not the same when you use butter or Crisco, they've got to be made with the lard, greatgrandma used."
His mother tells him "that's disgusting," and hubby says that the texture isn't the same. That with the lard, the cookies were crisp and melted away in your mouth smoothly, and that with butter or Crisco the cookies actually seem "greasier."
If you've had any type of mexican food, you've probably have had lard, from tortillas to beans to tamales. I remember making tamales when I was young and large amounts of lard went into the vat of masa.
I don't eat lard now but I know I've eaten it many, many times.
