Lou Ana Coconut Oil -- $2.76 for 31.5 ounces. $1.40 a pound beats the hell out of paying $6.85 a pound for Spectrum Naturals at the Health Food Store, which BTW Winn-Dixie has now started carrying [on the Diet Aisle.] Its almost as cheap as Lard. Now, I can finally afford to use Coconut Oil exclusively.

"Trans-Fat Free" Shortenings -- Smart Balance has one at Super Wal-Mart...I looked over the ingredients lists and it contains no Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Oils, though it does contain Vegetable Monoglycerides, which is a non-specific term for Monoglycerides of Fat derived from Fruits or Vegetables. That may mean Monostearin, which is fine. But, I hate not knowing exactly what it is. Only other problem is that the first oil is Soy, followed by Palm, Palm Fraction, and Canola if I remember correctly...so it would still be too heavy on the Omega-6s. If they'd have left the Soy [and preferably the Canola also] out, I might have considered buying some. A word of warning, Crisco now has has a Shortening claiming to have No Trans-Fats. Its a FRAUD. One of the ingredients on the list is Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil. They basically reduced the quantity of Hydrogenated Oils to a point where a serving [which is not very much in the first place] has <1g of Trans-Fat...so that they could call it 0g and sell it in tiny cans for a premium price. Same goes for Cool Whip which now boasts "0g Trans Fat," despite the first two ingredients being Hydrogenated Oils.

Low-Carb Special K -- When I went by Winn-Dixie they had a shelf marked for it, but didn't have any in stock...I'm definitely going to keep an eye out to see when they get some more in stock. I'd be really interested to know the ingredients and carb count.

Low-Carb Tortilla Chips -- We don't have the Frito-Lay on the East Coast yet, but Winn-Dixie has some No-Name Brand on their Diet Aisle. I couldn't find any Trans-Fats on the label, but I believe they did contain Sugar.

Mission Low-Carb Wraps -- Unfortunately, these are a fraud. They're made with Partially Hydrogenated Oils, which negates any value you would have got from the low Carb Count [5g net.]

Low-Carb Ice Creams -- There are quite a few new brands out there now. Unfortunately, not all of them quite grasp the concept. Carb Freedom has 5 Flavors, but 3 of them (Butter Pecan, Almond Fudge, and Mint Chocolate Chip) contain Partially Hydrogenated Oils. Mayfield ? The one in the yellow box, has a new LC Ice Cream. I saw it one time at Super Wal-Mart and haven't seen it since. So, I can't say much about it. CarbSmart has now put out Ice Cream Sandwiches. Unfortunately, not only do they contain Fructose [just like the Ice Cream] if I remember correctly, they also contain Partially Hydrogenated Soybean (?) Oil. Carb Solutions now has some "Low-Carb" Ice Creams, but they are made with extreme amounts of Maltitol, Sorbitol, Isomalt, Erythritol, and Glycerine. The last 4 I'm not too worried about, though the quantity is still rather large. But, Maltitol is as far as I'm concerned only marginally better than Sugar. Edy's has some No Sugar Added Ice Creams which are about 8g Net. I haven't read the ingredients labels, though. They are also Lowfat, so the taste may not be there. I have written to CarbSmart and Carb Freedom about their use of Partially Hydrogenated Oils...in products they advertise as useable for Low-Carb Diets.

Low-Carb Bread -- I don't remember the brand name, but there's a new "Low-Carb" Sliced Bread at Super Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, they're using Partially Hydrogenated Oils. One more company without a clue.

Low-Carb Tacos -- Don't remember the brand. It may have been La Tiera, but don't hold me to that. I was looking over the label, and there's a number of problems. For starters, they're made with "Vegetable Shortening," but don't specify WHAT type. I believe Palm and Coconut Oils as well as their Fractions could be considered Vegetable Shortening, BUT most likely it means Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. That's unfortunate because I'd really love to have some LC Taco Shells. The ingredients don't make sense. Its all the Standard ingredients: Corn, Lime, etc...No LC Ingredients at all. But, it says on the box [where it lists the grams per serving] each shell weighs about 1g, a claim I have serious doubts about...seeing as that any shell that light would have to be paper thin. But, then again who knows.

I would be really insterested in the LC Special K. That is one thing I really miss. I especially want to try thier new flavores. If it's like the LC total that contains sugar and sugar alcohols though, no thanks.

CC...is this for virgin coconut oil? If it's not, it's pretty much useless as a "good" oil. If it's not virgin oil, it's made from coconuts that have been allowed to sit for a while and ROT prior to extracting the oil. Check the label, make sure it's Virgin oil. Also check the oil it'self. It should be pure white when solid, clear as water when liquid. (I believe non-virgin oil also requires refridgeration, but not positive on that.) It should also have a faint, but distinctive coconut smell. I paid $15.00 for 1 pound.

My son works for Food Lion, and does 90% of our shopping, so I haven't been to the store recently. They don't carry many LC specific foods, but have labels on their shelves for any "LC" foods (some aren't, but I'm sure this is based on the manufacturers recomendations) I did read an article recently that FL was looking to produce some LC in their store brands. Unfortunately, one of the items they're looking at is "LC Fruit Juices". I'm going to try and write the company, offer recomendations.

As for the content of foods, containing trans-fats.....I'm sure a lot of people who are "doing LC", even those who have actually read a book, are not as concerned about the transfats as we are. Same with soy. Most of the media coverage is LC or not, with little or no mention of buying natural foods, avoiding trans-fats/hydrogenated oils, soy, etc.

I avoid soy whenever possible, but won't refuse a food because it contains some. When it's one of the first few ingredients, fine, but not a primary ingredient. Personally, I don't like the taste of soy, so if I see anything with what appears to be large amounts of soy I avoid it because I figure it will taste nasty. I'm also trying to avoid soy because of the reports it may effect your thyroid, but again, soy is promoted as such a health food....and Atkins at least doesn't dis-allow it.

I read up on teh Smart Balance before I started using it, and am satisfied that the ratio of Omega 6's and 3's are good. My personal opinion, though. I'm not an expert by any stretch, I just like it!

I try to avoid hydrogenated anything where possible, but I don't get nearly as fussy about that as I do HFCS. I figure as long as the majority of fat sources in my diet are healthy, a trace of transfats here and there can be dealt with by my system.

It is discouraging to see unhealthy ingredients in foods that would really be useful, but I also figure if 90% of what I take in is healthy, there's room for a little "junk" on occasion.

so whats wrong with the mission low carb wraps?

I think it is the La Tiara taco shells you refer to. To their credit, nowhere on the box does it say "Low Carb", though the web site from which I ordered them touted the fact that each shell has only 1 net carb.

And by the way, they are paper thin! As well as tiny. Should be labeled "miniature" taco shells. There is no way they will hold any moist filling---in fact, most of them had sort of crumbled in the box before I opened it.

The up side is that they taste just like what they are: Miniature corn taco shells. I used them once as part of a taco salad and enjoyed the crunch. But I only used about four of them, which was probably about the amount in half of one regular sized taco shell.

For what it's worth,

Kay

I don't think companies need a clue (although I wish they had one) - they're banking on customers lacking a clue. They're counting on people failing to read the fine print. Sure, some LC processed food here and there won't kill you, but it seems they're banking on peoples' willingness to believe that "if it's low carb, it must be good, no questions asked." Their bottom line is sales.

Well....I wrote a nice long letter to Food Lion about their plans to come out with LC foods....told them what we want....no flour, HFCS, transfats, clear labeling, etc. Hope it does some good! I'll post a response if I get one.

I think some of the ingredients are BECAUSE of what most consumers want, really. Given the choice, most people I know would pass up natural peanut butter for the kind with a little hydrogenated fat in it because of texture more than anything. I find the natural peanut butters to be gritty, and oily no matter HOW much I stir. I "chance" a little hydrogenated oil sometimes and get the carb options stuff just because it TASTES better. I gave up regular margarine, crisco and a bunch of other hydrogenated things, so I figure a trace here and there isn't going to do me in.

The company could take it OUT, but I think sales would suffer.