I just saw an article on Z Trim and wondered.....does this have trans fats or is it really a healthy alternative? Sounds almost too good to be true.

Z Trim is a calorie-free fat replacer, so it doesn't have trans fats. From what I understand, it can be used to replace other ingredients in foods, so it reduces the calories in the end product.

It sounds promising!

Thanks for the reply. It does sound promising. The article was about a school district somewhere that was using it in place of regular fats in salad dressings and such. It was "causing" the kids to eat more salads because the dressing was so much better than they could get at home. I found a website where you can buy a few products, but I think I'll look for it locally first.

First use: while making fish tacos last night, I discovered I had only 2 T of sour cream left. Not wanting to run to the store, I decided to mix 2 T of Z Trim in the sour cream. None of us could tell the difference. It did not affect the taste or the texture.

It looks a bit disgusting though--kind of resembles vaseline.

Next, I'll be making a dip for Super Bowl Sunday that I will substitute 4 oz cream cheese and 4 oz Z Trim for the recipe's 8 oz cream cheese. And after that, I'm going to try it in a Bechamel sauce as a base for macaroni and cheese (I need to find some ww elbow macaroni first!)

Where did you get it? I saw that you mentioned it in one of my other posts and asked there as well.

Can it be mixed with melted butter or ICINB and stuff like that?

How does it taste by itself?

What size containers does it come in?

Do I have to take the pink slip to my car in to buy it?

This sounds VERY promising.

I hope that helps!

Sure does. Thanks. I emailed them and asked if I can get it locally.

If not, then I guess I have to order it online.

Does it present the same "difficulties" as some of the other fat substitutes like Olestra for example?

No, supposedly there are no side effects like Olestra gave us. No bloating, diarrhea or anything.

What are the ingredients?

Water and the bran of corn, oats and soybeans (I think).

This looks great - would it cost any WW points?

I can't imagine that it would be any points. It seems to be mostly water.

My second use of it last night was Ranch dip. 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup Z Trim and 1/2 a packed of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix. Served with carrots and celery. No one could tell the difference.

Wow, I just got an email from the folks at Z Trim. It is loaded with more recipes--these geared toward Super Bowl Sunday! Things like Appetizer Pizza, cole slaw, chili, brownies, dips like veggie dip and nacho cheese dip. Each recipe also tells how many calories and mg's of cholesterol you save--anywhere from 200 calories to over 800 calories (for the whole recipe).

I just checked their order page and see that they not only sell the fat replacement product used in baking, but they also sell an appetite control capsule. It costs $29.95 for one bottle of 120 capsules. They recommend one or two capsules per 100lb of your body weight, though they don't say if it's a once per day dosage or if you take it before meals. There is only one ingredient - bran. Each capsule only contains 0.2 grams of fiber. You can buy fiber supplements at any store (target, walgreens, etc) for a fraction of the cost. Also, a serving of bran cereal usually has at least 8 grams of fiber.

I don't know if that's worth it, but at least the baking product looks promising!