Mayonnaise
 

When I was a kid, I didn't like mayonnaise at all. (Now there's a big revelation: I might as well say I didn't like brussels sprouts, homework, or "give him a haircut just like mine.") One day, when I was in my teens, I recall my cousin making a sandwich and spreading mayonnaise all over the bread. "Ew!" I exclaimed. In utter disbelief I asked, "You like mayonnaise!?" "No," she replied, "but it's the only thing that makes the pepper stick." It wasn't until years later (and by that I mean, "just now") that I realized she wasn't serious.

Despite not enjoying mayo, I did have a certain fondness for deviled eggs. Apparently mayonnaise is a primary ingredient. One day while I was still in college I called up my mom. "Mom! How do you make deviled eggs?" (Ahhh... life before the internet as we know it.) "Eggs, mayo, mustard, relish, salt, pepper," she shot back. "How much of each?" "No idea. Just what looks right." Fair enough.

I boiled eggs, peeled them, cut them, and separated the yokes. Into the yokes I put two teaspoons of mayo, a quart of mustard, two whole pickles (didn't have any relish) plus a cup of salt and a cup of pepper.

Just kidding. I did it right. But when I was done, the spoon still had mayonnaise on it. I was about to rinse it off when a thought occurred to me. Hmmm... I wonder... Before I could talk myself out of it, I popped the spoon in my mouth and cleaned it off the old fashioned way. "Hey, that wasn't half bad." Maybe there is a reason it exists.

After that, I found many new and wonderful things I could put mayonnaise on: sandwiches, cheeseburgers, fettuccine, corn flakes, marshmallows, Pop-Tarts, stray dogs, roommates faces while they were asleep, ... the possibilities were endless. I couldn't believe I'd gone so long denying this wonderful substance.

So what's my point today? Well, if you happen to like mayonnaise, just eat it. Don't worry about the fat, the calories, or all the stuff we've been brainwashed to condemn over the last few decades. It's not like you're going to put a gallon of it on your sandwich. A tablespoon, tops, I would guess. Maybe even half that. You've probably added, what, fifty calories to your sandwich? (Plus a whole lotta taste.) And in return you haven't added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cellulose gel, xanthan gum, artificial colors, or calcium disodium. Is all that gunk really worth a couple dozen calories?

Eat the real stuff. In the long run you're probably better off both physically and psychologically. Just don't spread it on your friends while they're asleep. Some people apparently don't like that at all.

I've always LOVED mayo, especially Hellman's, but hated all of the reduced calorie kind. I finally decided I was going to stop trying to find a good reduced calorie mayo, and just come to grips with the idea of learning to "use mayo responsibly."

Recently visiting my parents in Illinois, (because it was the only mayo in their house) I tried Hellman's Canola mayonaise (50 calories instead of 100 per tablespoon). I really liked it, so now I buy that.

It reminded me of what I've been telling my nephews (they're only 4 and 7), that taste buds can change, and things you "don't like," can become things you do, so they should try things they know they don't like, every once in a while to make sure they still don't like them. Their mother (a dietitian) tells them the same thing - and they are surprisingly willing to "keep tasting" things they don't like, but it reminded me that it's just as true for me.

I recently discovered that I like a life-long enemy - brussel sprouts, if they're very fresh and I roast them with oil and ranch dressing powder.

It's not enough to inspire me to eat brussel sprouts weekly, but it reminds me how easily and often, tastes really can change.

I like your delivery of humour.

p.s. mayo kicks a$s bro.

I'm glad you posted this, because I've been looking at the fake mayo in my fridge for the last week thinking "It tastes like ***...but it's only 10 calories." Out it goes.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Thanks for posting... you make some good points!

Also, Mmmm.... deviled eggs. :hun:

I liked mayo well enough when I was younger but I don't think it tastes all that good for the calories it adds. I think there are other things I rather have (like dark chocolate) for the same calories.

For many years, I used substitutes like yogurt and such for things that called for mayo. Mustard is my favorite thing to add to sandwiches for lots of flavor and very minimal calories.

I'm more of a mustard person than a mayo person, but I agree that the no-fat mayos taste like crap.

I will use light mayo if I'm making tuna/chicken salad or deviled eggs, just because the mayo is more of a binder than a flavor component. But if I'm making a sandwich, it's real mayo all the way! :)

.

I like that. :)

Please tell me by that you don't mean that you're favorite sandwich is now a turkey, swiss, and dark chocolate on rye.

:)

I'm weird when it comes to mayo. I love it on TOASTED sandwhiches and burgers. But as soon as I taste/smell/see it on BREAD(not toasted) I gag and can't eat the sandwhich. That includes buns as well. It HAS to be toasted. I have NO idea why. I also refuse to switch to miracle whip, that crap is gross. I do eat low calorie hellman's mayo.

I'll use mayo if I feel like it, but it's not my favorite, and I've never been one to like it slathered on. I almost always think avocado sounds so much tastier on a sandwich or as a dip base.

Recently I discovered that I LOVE a quarter avocado sliced onto a piece of hearty toasted bread, and a touch of salt. Nothing else. LOVE.

While maintaining, I don't mind being judicious with mayo. When I'm actively trying to lose I don't eat mayo much, if at all. It's just not worth the 100 calories per Tablespoon to me (1T is not that much when you measure it out.) I'd rather have 1/4 of an avocado (57 calories) or 2T of hummus (50 calories) on my sandwiches instead. More flavor, less calories.

I do think mayo should be made with a healthy fat though (olive oil or canola) and homemade is even better.

No but you can always have a sandwich with dark chocolate on the side :) Also, someone mentioned avocado which I absolutely LOVE and that is another thing I rather use than mayo.

I don't think I've ever liked mayo. I use the fake stuff, but only in moderation. I prefer mustard on my sandwiches, but the mayo does help if things are too dry (although pickle slices work, too).

A deli near here does a BLT with avocado and they don't do any dressing at all--the avocado is more than enough creaminess!

I've recently started using the Kraft Olive Oil mayo and I think it's pretty good. 45 cals/tbsp. It's got a mix of olive and canola oils for the bulk of it, and so I use it frequently since I actually had a problem of not eating enough fat in my diet.. haha.

Someone elsewhere mentioned the olive oil stuff with half the calories. I decided to look it up (because I couldn't see how going from one oil to another would cut calories in half: oil is oil). Turns out it's a "mayonnaise dressing" and not "mayonnaise." Therefore, it comes with all the usual sugars and gums and odd things things they use to replace oil.

Still, everyone I've heard has raved about it. So I may have to check it out myself.

Miracle Whip still makes the better turkey sandwich. ™

:p

From my first WW meeting in 1974 (I was 8), I associate weight loss clubs with talking about "fake" foods. Even in my TOPS meeting, a good part of the meeting is on "food finds," some of them diet "frankenfoods," but, at least it seems that in recent years, the balance has been shifting from 95% "imitation" diet products to more of a balance between manmade and natural foods being discussed.

I'm not a whole foods purist by any definition, but I do favor quality over quantity, and have a "more often than not," progress over perfection, philosophy. I do have some "barely" foods that I do keep on hand, and eat occasionally, but I'm not going to pretend that sugar free jello or mayo/salad dressings are "health foods," (regardless of any one particular ingredient).

If I ate a lot of mayo, I'd probably be more concerned with some preservative and filler ingredients, but at a tablespoon or two a week, I'm not too worried about it. I do know how to make homemade "real" mayonaise from egg yolk and heart-healthy oil, but for two tablespoons a week, I'll sacrifice nutrion/quality for convenience/shelf-life.

Mmmm - This sounds goooood! :D (Never liked mayo, still don't ;))

When I was growing up, my mom and dad were Miracle Whip fanatics. But they always called it mayonnaise, and I detested it. I thought Miracle Whip was the brand name of mayonnaise, like Jello is for gelatin. Anyway, so I hated this mayonnaise/miracle whip stuff, Just, blech. Seriously. a deal breaker for me. Put a smidge of Miracle Whip on the most beautiful sandwich ever, I will toss it in the trash and not even think twice.

So I was always convinced I hated mayo until I went to Burger King and got a chicken sandwich once and was raving about this white sauce they mixed. A girlfriend said, All I ever get is mayonnaise. What are you ordering??? So I checked and sure enough, it was mayonnaise. I was about 19!:o I felt so stupid.

But now I LOVE it and buy it, althouugh I'm like luvja, it has to be on toasted hamburger buns, bread, (toasted BLTs especially) I don't care for it much on regular bread. Since I'm low carb, regular fat mayo is encouraged. I've tried the olive oil, but I always end up going back to Hellman's. Can't beat it!

Grew up with Miracle Whip. Never could tell the difference. Except that Mayo always looks yellow. As far as I'm concerned they're the same thing.

Hellman's is the best! It's so c-r-e-a-m-y!!! :D

Miracle Whip is way too sweet for me. I don't "hate it" with the passion that my mother does, but I much prefer Hellman's/Best Foods mayonaise. I know that Kroger mayonaise, at least at one time, was Hellman's (the label said made by Best Foods for Kroger, or something like that), and I wonder if Aldi's brand isn't (if not, it's pretty close).

Gasp! Blasphemy!

OMG! Mom? is that you? :D My mom swears they are the exact same thing, but to me, Miracle Whip is waaaay too sweet and I don't understand how she can't taste the difference. It's white, and sort of the same texture, and that's about it. Even a hint of Miracle whip on a sandwich, or in devilled egs, or tuna salad will end up with the food in the garbage. It is only fit for that one time when you get your ring stuck on your finger and the butter isn't soft enough to smear all over your hand and you're starting to panic so you get into your husband's Miracle Whip and just stick your entire hand in the jar and HALLELUJAH it works!! It works!! And you feel a little teeny bit guilty about hating miracle whip when it obviously performed a miracle but not enough to, you know, EAT it on anything.

But I will lick the mayo off the wrapper of a burger or chicken sandwich. Yes, I admitted to that. :o

mmm- mayo. i try to limit it to one little squirt out of the bottle. less then a tablespoon. my fave for sandwiches of any kind is smashed up avocado mixed w/ about a teaspoon or so of mayo to make it more spreadable. yum!!

I was at the store the other day and ran across something unusual that I'd never heard of before. I don't know if it is new or what. Heinz Salad Cream. It claims to have half the fat of mayo and be pourable (due to the water, I'm sure). Has anyone tried this?

I've seen it in import shops before. I think it's common in other countries.

I was thinking it looked "English." Perhaps because it wasn't with the regular stuff, and was with some other canned and bottled things that were quite unusual, but not unheard of.

Anglophile that I am, I tried the Heinz Salad Cream once myself (some of the big supermarkets around here have it in the import sections: now if they'd only get curry sauce again ...): AFAICT it's just the Brit equivalent of Miracle Whip, I didn't notice any difference between the two in consistency (I didn't think it was more pourable than MW, even though it comes in a squeezy bottle rather than a wide-mouth jar) or taste. My mom used to get MW when I was a kid, and still mostly does, so I grew up with it and when I had mayo on a sandwich I didn't like the mayo; later on I did develop more of a taste for real mayo and lost the taste for MW. Now I guess I don't care either way, but I don't put either one on sandwiches, just use them as a filler for pasta salad or tuna salad. I should take the advice of some of you and throw in a little plain fat-free yogurt: darn, our local supermarket was getting Greek-style 'gurt for a while, I like that, but they didn't have it last time I was there

I am a mayo junkie. I've read this thread in it's entirety, and the only thing I can keep thinking is mayo and marshmallows??? Really? lol

I've gotten used to the lower fat/cal mayo. It took some time getting used to (same with skim milk), but now I don't notice it.

I'm in the Anti-Miracle Whip camp. EWWWW! I like Hellman's light mayo, but typically I stick to mustard.
In high school, I did have a friend who liked to eat peanut butter and mayo sandwiches......

I, too, grew up with Miracle Whip being used as "mayo". So, I have never noticed a lot of difference but do prefer mayo. I like the light or fat free even and will have to look for the mix with olive or canola oil. However, I mostly use it in things like tuna salad or deviled eggs. I only want mayo on a sandwich if the sandwich has cheese. So, if I am doing a hamburger, I use mustard and skip the cheese. I actually like that better anyway. I guess it comes from growing up in Oklahoma with a #2 Sonic hamburger as my fav - lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and onion (and, of course, mustard - #1 burger had mayo). Nothing compares! I still forget and order by the old #2 even though they changed their menu years ago.

I used to love Miracle Whip. But then a few months ago I tried Hellman's Mayo for the first time and fell in love. :D It is literally finger lickin' good! Now I can't stand the fake stuff.. it's just like gross sugary chemicals. Now I'm finding I have little to no self control when it comes to how much I slop the real mayo onto my sammiches, so I HAVE to get the 1/2 fat kind because I don't like it as much so naturally I put less.

Well, Sandi, on the one hand, I'm glad you came back from the dark side. On the other, sorry about the self-control issues. :)

lol

I still prefer mustard :)

I've got a cold or sinus issue going on, and hubby did the shopping yesterday. He forgot the list he saw I had been making, but was so proud that he'd remembered everything, including the mayo (I didn't even realize he was going shopping, or I would have given him the exact type and brand I wanted).

A few hours later, I looked in the fridge and saw (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek) Aldi's "salad dressing." Now Aldi's mayo is decent (though not reduced calorie), so that wouldn't have been a problem. I asked Hubby if he knew that he picked up salad dressing (a store brand Miracle Whip, I'm guessing) instead of mayo, and (sweet guy) offered to go back out and get mayo for me.

I haven't decided whether we're taking the salad dressing back to the store to exchange, or whether I'll just buck up and use this instead. I have to admit that if I decide not to buy mayo until this jar of evil stuff is empty, it will be a very long time without mayo.

Definitely not worth eating a whole jar of fattening stuff you don't even like.

Amazingly (miraculously) I've never really liked mayo. :shrug:

Ugh, Miracle Whip makes me want to vomit.

It's Hellmans all the way baby!

Mayo is not the evil gunk in a jar that a lot of people consider it to be. It has healthy fat in it, if you limit yourself to a serving and don't overdo it. Midday lunch of a can of tuna mixed with chopped celery, onion, and a tablespoon of mayo served on greens? Perfect. There's the healthy protein and omega fats in the tuna, and the perfect serving size of the healthy appetite supressing fat found in mayo. Now what's not to love?

Hahahah, has anyone seen that girl on Dr Phil who had an insane fear of mayo? She had a mayo phobia. When forced to confront the evil mayo, she shrieked in terror and literally cringed.

At least to my recollection. :p