No Pudge Fat-Free Fudge Brownie Mix
Paul and I have been dieting, and oh what a sad household we are. We’ve significantly upped our feelings of righteousness, but AT WHAT PRICE? We used to have a pan of brownies at least once a week, and now here we are eating sugar-free fat-free pudding.
Last night we tried a box of No Pudge Fudge Brownie Mix. Our expectations were low: when you take a product that is yummy because of the fat and sugar, and you take out either the fat or the sugar, you are dealing with a Compromised Product.
Furthermore, another of the selling points of No Pudge brownies is that they’re “all natural.” The ingredient list is sparse and easy to understand: pure cane sugar, unbleached wheat flour, Dutch cocoas, egg whites, cornstarch, wheat gluten, salt, and baking soda. To that, you add 2/3rds cup fat-free yogurt (or applesauce, or silken tofu, or soy yogurt). Sounds grim, yes? All natural, plus no fat. Sigh.
Here is our report. Paul says: “If it were between these and nothing, I would definitely choose these. But if it was between these and real brownies, there’d be no contest.” I love Paul, and so will refrain from adding “Um, DUH.” The brownies are better than I’d expected, especially after trying a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin instead of the oil and eggs (we each had one bite, and the rest of the pan went into the trash, and then we had to take the trash outside because we couldn’t stand the smell).
The No Pudge brownies are the brownie equivalent of the sugar-free fat-free pudding: if you’re expecting utter nastiness, or if you haven’t been eating sugar or fat for awhile, you will be pleasantly surprised. If you have, on the other hand, had a little slip earlier in the week and so have recently tasted the sweet, sweet heaven that is brownies made with butter, you will have the feeling that what you are eating is the black-and-white version of what used to be in color.
Our overall opinion is that we recommend them: They give much of the satisfaction of Eating Brownies, but without the dangerous deliciousness that can cause a person to spiral out of control entirely. Bonus: the box includes instructions for making just one single serving’s worth at a time, in the microwave. —Swistle
Link: No Pudge Brownie Mix on Amazon.com (or many grocery stores carry it)
Ballpark price: about $3 per box
Posted: February 18th, 2008 under Cooking/Food, Diet/Fitness.
Comments: 15
Comments
Comment from Corey
Time: February 18, 2008, 7:37 am
I was pleasantly surprised when I made these. They also come in mint too.
Comment from Cass
Time: February 18, 2008, 7:50 am
I totally agree with Paul these mixes are better then nothing…but nothing in comparison to say the goddess of all brownie mixes: Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix.
Have you tried them in the microwave? I haven’t and wondered if it was actually tasty or the equivalent of warm brownie batter.
Comment from Stephanie
Time: February 18, 2008, 8:35 am
In response to Cass, I actually only make it in the microwave. My damn skinny husband refuses to eat low fat items such as brownies, so I eat them in the microwave. I err on the side of under microwaving and put a blob of cool whip lite stuff on top for good measure!
Comment from Mrs. Who
Time: February 18, 2008, 9:58 am
These really are pretty good, if you just totally forget about regular brownies. They also come in Cappuchino flavor, as well as Raspberry (and Mint as mentioned above) and there are lots of recipes on the website. You can change the flavor a lot, based on what flavor of yogurt you use.
Comment from samantha jo campen
Time: February 18, 2008, 11:24 am
I actually love these more than ‘real’ brownies. Does that make me a freak?
Comment from michelle
Time: February 18, 2008, 1:30 pm
i do like them (a sad comment on my ww-affected tastebuds, perhaps). i’ve made them with cherry FF yogurt, and baked them in a mini-muffin pan, inserting a frozen black cherry into the center of each. yum!
Comment from Jenny
Time: February 18, 2008, 3:26 pm
I’m kind of excited to try these, what with the rampant heart disease in my husband’s family and my own recently discovered cholesterol issues (bah! I say). I’ve tried making brownies with applesauce — bleeccch. No brownies = better than applesauce “brownies.”
(BTW — after raving about turkey bacon, I got the Jennie-O super-extra-lean turkey bacon and damn it — I had to ADD fat to get them to cook properly. So I have come to the conclusion that my previous horrible experiences substituting turkey for other meats was because I had gone TOO lean with the turkey. Apparently there IS such a thing as too lean — for us carnivores, anyway.)
Comment from superblondgirl
Time: February 18, 2008, 6:52 pm
I really liked these when I made them - I used vanilla fat-free yogurt. But I’ve also made whole-wheat applesauce brownies and then eaten the whole pan because they were so awesome, so I might be a poor judge.
Comment from Swistle
Time: February 18, 2008, 7:10 pm
Comment from Quiana
Time: February 19, 2008, 11:57 am
I know that this is contrary to the idea of no pudge, but I add chocolate or butterscotch chips. It is just a little kick.
Comment from slynnro
Time: February 19, 2008, 5:18 pm
I add peanut butter chips. It makes ALL the difference. The best Fat Free brownies are made by Krusteaz. They are hard to find though.
Comment from Marie Green
Time: February 19, 2008, 5:34 pm
Next you need to try adding a can of diet coke to a cake/brownie mix and baking that up. Or maybe I’ll try it and let you know… =)
Comment from dianne
Time: February 20, 2008, 7:57 am
you could also try a box of brownie mix and a can of black beans. dump the black beans in the food processor or blender without draining (or, to avoid some sodium, drain and rinse then add back as much water) and blend until smooth. mix this into the box mix and bake. its a pretty stiff batter. this are pretty good (again, no side by side comparison to the real thing please) and you get fiber and protein too. not sugar free though.
Comment from Dina
Time: February 20, 2008, 9:07 am
Dianne, I want to be open-minded, but I just can’t stomach the thought of black beans in my brownies.
The No Pudge aren’t bad, but I’d rather have a square or two of really good dark chocolate to assuage my brownie craving than an imitation of the real thing.
Comment from pseudostoops
Time: February 21, 2008, 8:49 am
The concept of black bean brownies freaks me out a little, but generally I’m with Sam- maybe it’s my brain lying to me, but I’ve got myself pretty much convinced that I prefer no pudge to regular brownies. Leaves more room for full-butter full-fat homemade cookies.
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