Making a decision in the supermarket these days is an exercise in patience.
There are an ever-increasing number of packaged products—all marketed to people who don’t have a lot of time to be closely doing the math on nutrition facts panels. (So if there are 280 calories per serving, and the bag says there are about 4 1/2 servings per bag, then…)
So you grab something that looks somewhat good and also good-for-you. But then later you take a closer look and wonder: “Is this even healthy?”
Cheese curls, for example, probably don’t come to mind when you think about healthy food. But grain-free, egg white cheese curls sound like a Paleo dieter’s dream snack.
I tried Lesser Evil’s Egg White Curls in Himalayan Salt, Huevos Rancheros, and Egg + Cheese. Here’s how they fared:
The Product: Lesser Evil’s Egg White Curls
The Nutrition: Per 14 curls (4 servings per bag) 130 calories, 6g protein, 14g carbs (0g fiber, 0g sugar), 5g fat
The Ingredients: Organic cassava flour, cage free non-gmo dried egg whites, organic avocado oil, organic tapioca starch, Himalayan salt.
Is This Good?
Taste: I expected these to taste like egg flavored chips, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they actually reminded me more of Pirate’s Booty. I pushed them onto my coworkers, and one remarked, “It tastes like a Cheerio with salt.” Out of the three flavors, I enjoyed Egg + Cheese the most. I kept searching for some sort of egg-y aftertaste, but really detected none.
Texture: Crispy, firm, and less airy than traditional cheese curls. These seem much heartier and denser, but I still found myself mindlessly snacking as if they were as light as Cheetos.
Aftertaste: You definitely don’t want to kiss someone after eating the Huevos Rancheros, which contains onion powder, bell pepper, garlic powder, and jalapeno pepper powder. My breath reeked of spice and I wish I hadn’t chewed my last piece of gum earlier that morning.
Is This Even Healthy?
“Sure, they’re higher in protein than normal cheese curls, but calorie-wise they look about the same,” says Abby Langer, R.D., a dietitian based in Toronto. Eat the entire bag, and you’ve gulped down more than 500 calories with little nutritional value.
Compared to other snacks, they do have a few selling points, says Langer.
“I guess when you hold them up against Cheetos, the one edge they have is their protein Content and non-fluorescent color,” she says. “But who eats cheese curls for the protein?”
Final Verdict
If you have a hankering for cheese curls and follow a Paleo diet, these will probably satisfy the craving.
Source: Read Full Article