I read the label a few years ago and stopped buying it, too. That and it tastes eh.

Most fat free products are filled with corn syrup or even worse, high fructose corn syrup. I think the fat is better for you.

Sally

My motto:
Eat anything you want in moderation!!!
I don't like diet sodas, fat free dressings (to sweet).
Give me the full fat version!!

Linda

Yeah! What lyndaluu2 said! ! !

Rusty

I never buy fat-free either. It was an impulse buy, LOL. Teach me! In this area, Alta Dena dairy makes the best h-a-h. I buy it at the 7-11 near my office.

I tried Trader Joes' because it was much cheaper, but it spoils much more quickly - strangely so. I do love a lot of things about TJs, but they are just not consistent with their products. Another example is their candies. I bought caramel and pecan turtles a couple of times and there were hardly any pecans in them. I never have that consistency problem buying at Costco.

Yeah, thanks to this forum I've become aware that fat free products contain a lot of "stuff" that their fat-full or even low-fat counterparts don't. H-a-H is one that I now stick with the real thing. On the other hand I've got a quick weeknight family-friendly staple that calls for a cup of sour cream. One night it was notably better than usual, really silky creamy. The culprit? Fat free sour cream!

Always good to remember Michael Pollan's advice, in this case, the first part:

Eat food (as opposed to food-like substances)

Gina, thanks to your posts - and many others - there is an 11 yr old boy on the East coast who has become a rather obsessed label reader. (well and thanks to me, too)

We recently visited relatives and when they offered him some frozen pancakes, - he discovered that the "syrup" had HFCS = after she put it on them...so I made some "syrup" with brown sugar, and then he saw that the pancakes themselves had HFCS! I was whispering - telling him it wouldn't hurt just this once - but he refused - LOL. So I made him some french toast with brown sugar...grin. the next day he had a banana.

Stacy

Ditto what lyndaluu2 said.

I could never wrap my brain around the concept of fat free half-n-half, either. I thought that's what one of the "half's" was...fat! LOL

Linda

Gina, are you in southern CA? I seem to remember Alta Dena as being the GOOD dairy when I was a kid.

It is strange the things put in "fat-free" versions of normal foods. My father-in-law (when he was on Atkins and obsessed with carbohydrates) pointed out how the less fat in milk, the more carbs. Gotta make it edible I guess.

It was cute to see him (now he's eating carbs, but obsessed over sodium) making pancakes for his grandkids from a mix and my spouse reading the label to him and telling him how easy it is to make them from scratch. "But Dad! You could add as much salt as you want! And it won't have transfats! And it'll taste good!"

Wouldn't another name for fat-free half and half be skim milk?? How can H&H be fat free?

I finally, after 60 years, read the label on ketchup. High fructose corn syrup. Who knew I've been putting sugar on my hamburger? I switched to an organic variety and it tastes so much better although it still has suger -- just another form. Still, it tastes much more tomatoey.

and then there is low fat mayo and low fat cream cheese.
When I took phone orders at Maytag blue cheese for several Christmas seasons....there were always a couple of twits who would ask.."now that is low fat cheese isn't it?"
I just said..."no"...
And they still ordered...
Next we'll have fat free olive oil...

Also, I thought that milk products were somehow "exempt" from adulterating with stuff like corn syrup. I'm still shaking my head over that. I mean, it's MILK!

I guess if they can shoot meat up with saline solution now, why should milk be sacred? Ugh.

Stacy, that's a cute story. My friend and co-worker gave me some elderberry jelly from Arkansas, because I was happy that my new place in Oklahoma has wild elderberries, and I was thinking of trying my hand at Elderberry wine. Well, I looked at the label, and there in big fancy cursive letters were the ingredients, including high fructose corn syrup. I smiled and said thank you, because it was a very thoughtful gift. I'll try a bite or 2 just so I can tell her I loved it. Well, I did love her thinking of me.

Sally

I know Sally, I felt a bit like a hypocrite asking him to forget the things I had taught him were important - so I didn't argue too much...but I also don't want him to be kind of "fanatical" about things...I know what you mean. a bite or two to be polite won't kill ya...:-) And I have friends with wild elderberries, too...:-)

I always have to laugh when I see "fat free" half and half, it's quite an oxymoron. The whole reason I use half and half in my coffee and oatmeal is for the fat.

Andy Rooney had a rant about fat free half and half a few years ago - said it was awful stuff. I'll take his word for it.

I wouldn't want to tar all low fat products with the same brush.

The non-fat milk in our fridge has the same amount of carbs as whole milk and just has milk and vitamin A and D as ingredients though some times in the past I've had bottles that also had non-fat milk solids added so they have both a bit more protein and sugar than whole milk.

I've also been able to get non-fat yogurt that is just milk and cultures. The one that we get more often has pectin in addition - which I still would class as real food.

Lowfat Triscuits list wheat, soybean or palm oil (kind of an odd pair), and salt. And the sodium is slightly lower than the regular so they didn't pump up the salt when they reduced the fat.

Philadelphia low fat cream cheese (aka Neufchatel) doesn't have any added sugar. It's milk, milkfat, cheese culture, salt and stabilizer (guar, xanthan or carob bean gum). All of that is also in their regular cream cheese. Even there non-fat isn't that bad though it does have a bit of sugar and a longer list of additives such as preservatives. That is for the stuff sold in blocks - I don't buy the whipped stuff so I haven't looked at that.