There are certain foods for which “low fat” should be forbidden. Cream cheese is one example. Lately, I have seen low fat cream cheese in our refrigerator. They don’t call it low fat. They call it “light” cream cheese. The purpose of light cream cheese is lost on me. What is one supposed to do with it? Certainly not spread it on a toasted bagel. Light cream cheese has all the flavor of dried Elmer’s glue. Spreading light cream cheese on a bagel ruins the bagel.
Egg nog is another example where “low fat” makes no sense. The whole point of egg nog is the fat. I could see an “extra fat” egg nog variety. But low fat? Where is the fun in that?
Milk comes in a variety of fat and fat-free states. I prefer “whole” milk. Whole milk contains 4% fat. Next rung down on the ladder is “low fat” milk, which contains half he fat of whole milk, or 2% fat. I can tolerate low fat milk, especially since I am usually outvoted by everyone else in the family. Another step down and you have 1% milk. This works in a pinch. For instance, if I wake up in the middle of the night with heartburn and the only milk available is 1% milk, I’ll drink it to sooth the burn. Finally, there is non-fat milk. As a kid, I called this water milk, because it taste more like water than milk. Worse, it tastes like watered down milk, which tastes terrible. If I wake up with heartburn and all that is in the refrigerator is nonfat milk, I suffer through the heartburn. It is better than the taste of nonfat milk.
Of cream cheese, egg nog, and milk, the only one I partake of regularly is the latter. There’s nothing quite like a tall glass of cold milk. There’s nothing quite as bad as a tall glass of cold non-fat milk. I’m reconciled to drinking “low fat” milk because I have milk almost every day. Egg nog is seasonal. Cream cheese is occasional. They are infrequent enough where the full fat versions are called for.
There are certain foods where low fat would come in handy, if it didn’t alter the flavor. Low fat bread would be good. I eat a lot of bread. Low fat bacon, on the other hand, makes absolutely no sense. The best part of bacon is the fat. Low fat butter isn’t worth it to me. I don’t use butter often, but when I do, it is usually to add flavor to the bread I am eating. Less fat always seems to mean less flavor, at least to my taste buds.
I’m not sure where I was going with all of this. Mostly, I think I was annoyed by the low fat cream cheese in the refrigerator. Not only does it taste like dried Elmer’s glue, but it doesn’t spread well, either.
Did you enjoy this post?
If so, consider subscribing to the blog using the form below or clicking on the button below to follow the blog. And consider telling a friend about it. Already a reader or subscriber to the blog? Thanks for reading!
RSS - Posts
I know where you’re going with this. What you’re trying to say is that there are some foods where creating a low-fat or fat-free option doesn’t make sense to you because for you the joy and taste in such food is taken away. You’re saying that if you need a low-fat diet, you’re going to choose foods that are naturally low in fat rather than ones that normally use fat for the taste but that have been altered.
It’s like someone saying that decaf coffee makes no sense to them if the point of the coffee is to be a caffeine delivery system for them.
The one thing you’re missing, though, is that for some people, these foods provide the taste they want, or enough of it, even if they don’t work for you. It’s like people drinking Diet Coke who needed to reduce the sugar in their diets. They could just drink water or seltzer but something in the cola and sugar substitute still works for them, even as they acknowledge that the taste is not really the same.
Either that, or you’re channeling one of your favorites, the great Andy Rooney. 🙂
I get the Diet Coke thing and the caffeine thing. I gave up both caffeine and (for the most part) sugared soft drinks. For the former there is no flavor difference that I can tell. For the latter, I discovered that there was really no discernible flavor difference between regular A&W Root Beer and A&E Zero Sugar Root Beer. And I understand the necessity for health reasons as well. But seriously, light cream cheese?
Also, coffee never made sense to me, even as a caffeine delivery system. Coca Cola was so much better! I still miss it, still feel those cravings, especially in a restaurant serving tall glasses of ice-choked Coca-Cola. Ahhhhh!
Channeling Andy Rooney is my default when I can’t think of anything else to write about. 🙂
The low-fat Andy Rooney doesn’t make much sense either. 🙂
I have to stir up some occasional controversy (such as it is) to keep things interesting, right?
Depends. Will you stir the fat into the controversy so it tastes better? 🙂
Do you recall the Seinfeld episode about the low-fat frozen yogurt?