Why nutritional facts not always as easy as pie to notice

Tumultuous times seem to elevate our desire for comfort food. I don't know of a comfort food that's low in fat and calories, which is why I had a recent problem with pie; a classic, all-American comfort-food.

A recent dinner guest told me that she had been down in the dumps and for dessert really wanted a slice of real apple pie, the kind with the crumbly top.

"Dutch apple?" I asked,

"That's' the one," she said.

Since I never got the homemade pie thing down, off to the supermarket I went and browsed the bakery's selection of pies. No Dutch apple.

The freezer section yielded a world of pies, including two brands of Dutch apple: Mrs. Smith's and Marie Callender's. I pulled one of each out and looked at pictures on the boxes. The Marie Callender's pie looked incredible; tightly packed with apples and topped with a thick crumbly topping. Mmm! I returned the other pie to the freezer and headed back home.

I baked the Marie Callender's pie and served it, still warm, with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream. Marie sure knows how to make a pie: decent crust, not too much cinnamon in the filling; perfect for my palate.

I picked up the box to compare the picture to my prepared pie and decided it didn't look nearly as apple filled and the topping looked rougher. Still, it had a classic flavor.

Then, I turned the box over to casually read the nutrition facts and nearly choked. The label assumes that a serving size is one-tenth of the pie. Most pies get cut into six or eight pieces, but 10? Then I saw how many calories that one tiny slice contained: 320 - about what I'd assume a standard pie slice would have. I cut that pie into six pieces, each slice would deliver a hefty 533 calories.

A surprise, for sure, but I could live with it since that slice was a rare treat for me and my guest. Then I scanned the rest of the nutrition facts: 16 grams for that same small serving. A sixth of the pie would have delivered 26.6 fat grams, the same as 2 tablespoons of oil. No wonder the crust was so flaky.

More astonishing was the 4.5 trans fat grams; or 7.5 grams for the more reasonably sized slice. Unbelievable!

While many food manufacturers have eliminated trans fat, Marie Callender hadn't reformed her ways, and that meant more than 25 percent of the fat in my slice was trans fat. What was she thinking?

Later that week, I headed back to the store and took a look at the Mrs. Smith's pie. One serving, one-sixth of a pie, delivered 340 calories, about the same as that tiny piece of the other brand. There were two fewer fat grams as well, but the biggest difference was that it had zero trans fat. Nice goin' Mrs. Smith!

I've since retrained myself to ignore the tempting pictures on packages and to pay much closer attention to the food fact label, as well as the ingredient list. I won't be fooled again.

Try this recipe: If you want to make an apple dessert with Dutch apple pie's comforting qualities but without the high calories, high fat and trans fats, give my Apple Oatmeal Crumble a try. It's easier to make than a from-scratch pie and bakes in half the time of a frozen pie.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, recipes and makeover requests for your favorite dishes. Address them to Don Mauer, Daily Herald Food section, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or don@theleanwizard.com.

Summer's coming and with it comes summer entertaining. If you have a favorite picnic potluck recipe you'd like lightened up, send it to Don Mauer at don@theleanwizard.com. Recipe makeover requests will be considered for an upcoming column.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Recipe</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=289703">Apple Oatmeal Crumble</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>