Low Fat... Low Expectations...

Last week I mistakenly purchased some "Low Fat" Strawberry Frosted Pop-Tarts. I'd never had this variety before and I have to tell you, I wasn't too excited about trying them. After all, the words "low fat" and "great taste" usually only go together in marketing campaigns, right? Well, before I get into how they tasted, let's take a look at how these low fatties stack up against some "full fat" Blueberry Frosted tarts.

The Tale of the Tape

Right off the bat, you'll notice that the blueberries have 10 more calories per serving, with the blueberries at 200/servingand the strawberries at 190/serving. That really only equates to 20 more calories per package so, in my opinion, you're notreally saving yourself much there. The next thing you'll notice is the total grams of fat with the blueberries weighing inat 5g and the strawberries weighing in at a mere 3g. This is to be expected. After all, it's why they stamp "Low Fat" on the box! So far, it's looking like the strawberries are a little "healthier" than their blueberry brethren. Ah, but wait, this is where things get interesting. If you keep reading, you’ll see that the low fat strawberries have more sodium and carbohydrates than the blueberries. Specifically, the strawberries have 20g of sugars to the blueberry's 18g and 210mg to 170mg of sodium respectively. Very interesting...

Enough already! How do they taste?

So the 2 grams of fat we saved were replaced by 2 extra grams of sugar and 40mg of sodium. The result… Pure unadulterated deliciousness! I'm no nutritionist so I can't tell you if the trade off makes the low fat strawberries any healthier for you than the regular blueberries. What I can tell you is that when you bite into the strawberries, you'll never miss the fat! I enjoyed mine untoasted (as I was a bit late for work) but they seemed to have a slightly different consistency. They were softer, a bit moister and seemed a little denser. I'm not saying the low fat varieties will have a permanent place on my shelf but who knows, by the end of the box, I may have changed my mind.

Cheers,
Jason