After my husband's heart attack two years ago, he decided that he wanted to work really hard at changing his diet. We make a lot of our food from scratch anyway, so we looked for ways to adapt recipes to make them more healthy.
One of the products that really helped with this goal was Smart Balance Vegetable Shortening, which we used for baking. It was more expensive than Crisco, at $3.29 for a 3 pound can, but we felt that it was worth it. With 110 calories per T, 12g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, and 350mg Omega-3, it helped make any baked item much more compatible with his daily diet goals.
So when the cans I had in the pantry were gone, I went looking for more in September of this year. There was none to be found. I sent an email to the company, and they did have the courtesy to answer me. But the news was not good. They have discontinued making the shortening. Instead they suggested that we try Earth Balance Shortening (sold in 15 oz blocks of 4 1/2c sticks), which they also make but only sell at natural foods stores. I have no ability to buy this product locally, and I wasn't able to find its price.
Nutrition values for the Earth Balance Shortening (not pictured) are for 1 tablespoon, calories 130, total fat 14g, cholesterol 0mg, sodium 0mg. It is not fortified with Omega-3. This product is suitable for vegan diets (although we are not vegans or even vegetarian).
However, we have tried some recipes with the Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, and it has worked well. Nutritionally it's a mixed bag comparison. The calories in one tablespoon are 100, total fat 11g, cholesterol 15mg, sodium 100mg, and 352mg Omega-3. For people watching sodium and cholesterol these values are pretty bad.
This is one of my pet peeves at the worst! Just when I find a product that works REALLY well for me, it is dropped.
SeeEarth Balance Foods
SeeSmart Balance Foods
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