Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Refried Beans Face-Off

Some people find it easy to determine what is healthy. What criteria do you use to decide which one is healthier? Will you help us with our debate?

We have two contestants. Your challenge is to choose the one which is healthier. They are both 15 ounces and both say "Refried Beans" on the front. I am only going to list the lines that are different from each other.














On this side, we have the Kroger brand. It says "Fat Free" on the front.
The nutrition facts are as follows:
Serving size 1/2 cup (125g)
Servings Per Container about 3.5
Calories 110
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0%
Sodium 350mg 15%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Diegary Fiber 6g
Sugars 1g
Protein 7g
It also says it provides 15% of Iron
Note the ingredient label on this one says it has partially hydrogenated soybean oil with a footnote that says adds a trivial amount of fat


On the other side we have Old El Paso. It says "Vegetarian" on the front.
The nutrition facts are as follows:
Serving size 1/2 cup (118g)
Servings Per Container about 4
Calories 90
Calories from Fat 5
Total Fat 0.5g 1%
Sodium 570mg 24%
Total Carbohydrate 16g 5%
Diegary Fiber 5g
Sugars 0g
Protein 5g
Provides 6% Iron
It is made out of soybean oil with no footnotes.

Which one would you choose and why?
No I don't know the answer, that's why I'm asking.

8 comments:

QuiltinLibraryLady said...

There is no hard & fast answer. It all depends on what you want more of or less of in YOUR diet. As far as I'm concerned they both have way too much carbohydrate. Otherwise I'd prefer the one with less sodium.

Donna said...

I'd choose the Kroeger -- there are more calories (likely from the sugar), there's waaaaaay less salt, more iron and fiber. Since I use refried beans as a protien, the fact it has more protien is good too :-)

The Old El Paso has fewer calories and carb. per serving going for it, but that can be compensated easily by serving size in my opinion (I'd add more onions, peppers and other veggies to the recipe perhaps to achieve this)

Paula, the quilter said...

For me, it is a moot point: neither. Why? Because both are processed (canned) and both contain soy. I am highly sensitive to soy and have to avoid it. I cook from scratch, so I make my own refried beans. Not much help, am I/

Allie said...

I'd say Kroger brand just for the sodium. Neither one is really "healthy" simply because they're canned. If I could, I'd eat all my foods as close to their natural state as possible [except meat, lol].

Beena said...

I'd pick the Kroger if all I had was the info you've given us. It is slightly higher in calories, but for the same serving size has a higher fiber and protein content, as well as being lower in sodium and fat.

As a good rule of thumb, the less ingredients an item has, the healthier it tends to be. That can't be applied to every food, but a lot. There are way to many unhealthy additives in most foods.

Tanya said...

I guess I'd choose Kroger (though for some reason the brand name El Paso sounds tastier). Anything with less calories. Anything with 0 fat. And whater the fiber content is I go for the high content. I don't yet worry about sugar and sodium content but maybe I should...

limpingalong said...

Don't let the name "Old El Paso" fool you -- this is owned by some major brand -- Pet, I believe.
I lived in El Paso for years and I like the El Paso brand. I'd probably choose it because I'm familiar with those products.
The amount of sodium is an issue, however, so if I did do a "health" check on different brands I might go with the Kroger. Another factor might be the price.

Kim said...

If it contains hydrogenated ingredients leave it on the shelf! Wouldn't take much to prepare your own refried beans? I would leave both of these products on the shelf.