Sunday, May 3, 2009

Here's the Skinny- Skinny Cow Review



Back in my teen years, I didn't worry about things like "calories", "fiber", "fat". Looking back now, I, like most teenage girls, thought I was fat. I wasn't. I wore a size 1 in jeans. Thinking I was fat didn't alter my eating habits back then. I consumed what I wanted, when I wanted..calories be damned and pass the nachos. Exercise was a foreign concept. What? Me run? Sweat? My least favorite class in high school was gym. I faked my period more times than was humanly possible in order to avoid having to suit up, get sweaty, shower in public and ruin my hair; I'm sure my gym teacher thought my condition needed medical attention.

Then I had children and got older and evil things happened to my body. No longer could I consume half a Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Cake for breakfast and be able to button my jeans without great personal discomfort later. The pounds crept on and the clothes got bigger and bigger until I was finally forced to start doing my clothes shopping at the dreaded Lane Bryant, AKA Lame Giant. Yes Virginia, I bought jeans with an elastic waistband because if I didn't I'd be sporting a red ring around my waist that always reminded me of Saturn except with a lot more pain and discomfort. I avoided shopping and especially disrobing in front of mirrors. There were times when I'd catch a glimpse of myself in a store window and think "Who the f&*k is that fat woman wearing my clothes?".

Last year I joined Weight Watchers and within 8 months I lost 30 pounds. That's not my goal weight and I'm not actively going to meetings anymore. I do, however, watch what I eat because I don't want to go back to where I was..207 pounds when I stepped on the scale at my first meeting. Tears fell from my eyes because I couldn't believe I'd gotten that heavy. Now I avoid things that were always my pitfalls over the years: white bread and cheese for one, known to me as "Satan and his demon". But I can't give up the sweets, not totally. Ice cream has always been one of my favorite snacks, especially when I was in search of some "comfort" food. Bad day? Come to Papa Ice Cream, he'll make it all better..and how about a hug from Mama Hot Fudge? During those eight months, I avoided ice cream because diet ice cream tasted like cardboard to me. I'd rather go without than have something that doesn't taste like real ice cream.

Imagine my surprise when I bought a box of Skinny Cow French Vanilla Truffle Ice Cream Bars the other day. I was given a coupon to purchase any Skinny Cow product I wished and those caught my eye. I'd like to give you a blow-by-blow of all six bars in the box, but I only managed to scavenge one for myself. By the time I dug into the box my children, whom my husband and I refer to as "the locusts", had managed to scarf down five bars. I consider myself lucky that they left me one.

I have to say it was good bordering on excellent. I would have never guessed it was diet ice cream if I didn't know any better. The French vanilla was creamy and full of flavor and the chocolate covering the bar tasted just like regular milk chocolate. The only nasty taste was when I was sucking on the wooden stick trying to get every last bit of the ice cream off it. The only thing small about these Skinny Cow bars are the calories, this is a full size bar of ice cream..more than enough when you're looking to quiet your sweet tooth.
Serving Size: 1 Bar
Calories 100
Calories from Fat 25
Total Fat 2g
Dietary Fiber 3g

Take a look at those stats. Pretty Weight Watchers friendly, no? I didn't realize until I was looking at the Skinny Cow website that they also sell Chocolate Truffle Bars, be still my heart. Obviously my local grocer didn't have them when I was there or they'd have been in my freezer for this review. I'm planning on confronting the store manager on my next visit if those babies aren't in the store cooler; it could get ugly.