Hi everyone,
I have been on phase 1 for 11 days and have lost 7lbs so far. I am loving the diet and enjoying feeling very healthy. As with other people I have found the Peanut Butter Cup to be a life-saver. My question is that it has hydrogenated vegetable oil in it which I thought was to be avoided like the plague
Can anyone help me out on this one?

When I read the ingredients, I noticed the corn syrup which is the reason I don't eat it. I'm not sure why it is allowed but I guess since it is only 2tbsp/day, that it is ok? I don't know.

Cool Whip FREE is OK but only 2 Tablespoons per day, that'd be just a little blob. The regular and light are NOT allowed.

Sootie -

I loooove cool whip, but I won't use it anymore because of the trans fats. And yes, they should be avoided like the plague. Unfortunately, they are in nearly every processed food out there.

Dagny

I love the PB cup as well, but I try to only have it two times a week or so. In an extreme emergency!

Lauren

I agree that this is a logical puzzle--it's called Cool Whip Free, meaning fat free, and yet it has hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is fat, on the ingredients list. This must mean that it has so little hydrogenated oil--less than 1g--that they can legally call it fat free. So I think that Cool Whip (Free or otherwise) is not good for you, but just a little bit is not very bad for you.

Still, it's not exactly a health food--check out the list of chemicals on the label!

One solution, not as easy as opening a tub of Cool Whip, but better for you, would be to whip a small amount of actual heavy cream with Splenda. This sounds like the Atkins diet, but I mean a SMALL amount of cream. Two tablespoons of heavy cream beats up into at least a half-cup of whipped cream, which would yield four 2-Tb servings that each have 25 calories, 1.5g of natural butterfat, and no sugar. (Make sure your cream is cold, and chill a metal bowl to whip it in for maximum volume.) OR, use Splenda-sweetened fat-free sour cream--a Tb has 15 calories, no fat, and no sugar, and the fat-free kind doesn't have the tanginess of full-fat sour cream, so it would work in the peanut-butter/fudgesicle recipe.

Sour cream?? Ewww!

Thanks for that, especially BellyDancer's ideas. You are right that as it is supposedly fat free the amount of transfats should be really tiny. I succumbed today and bought a new tub but next time I think I'll try the heavy cream idea.

By the way, I have been making the PB Cup with just 1tbsp of peanut butter and to me it is just as delicious. Yay for the PBC!!!!

Sootie

I'm including a link about Kraft's South Beach products http://www.kraftfoods.com/South_Beac...c_productinfo/

I think it is interesting that they say both Cool Whip Free and Lite are allowed. There are some inconsistencies since in one place they say pudding is phase 2 & 3 only and in other places it says it is also allowed in Phase 1.

Here is something from the Kraft/South Beach page about transfats

Q: How can this product be labeled 0 grams trans fat when it still contains partially hydrogenated oil?
A: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the final authority regarding information that appears on food labels. The FDA has determined that amounts of less than 0.5g per serving are dietetically insignificant for all fats, including trans fat, and should be declared as 0g on the Nutrition Facts panel.

As a result, consumers may see a product that lists 0 gram trans fat on the label, while the ingredient list may have "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" on it. This means the food contains very small amounts (less than 0.5 g) of trans fat per serving. (Fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fat.)

If you're watching calories and fats in your diet, use the serving size listed on the package label to manage your dietary goals. For a nutritionally balanced diet, select a variety of foods and beverages from the major food groups. Other foods high in sugar and fat can be eaten in small amounts.

BellyDancer, I like that suggestion about using real whipped cream. Thanks.