I’ve been posting a lot of healthier alternatives to sweets lately. There is a reason for this.

When I first had surgery, I lost my taste for sweets. It has come back. Full force. There still seem to be rules though. Like I can’t eat a bunch of sweet stuff in succession. If breakfast is sweet (protein shake, oatmeal) lunch has to be savory and so on.

But still, I have been a’craving! So far I’ve kept things under control. I think you guys have a lot to do with that. Thank you!

So last night after I did a kick ass workout at the Y, I was at the grocery store picking up a few things (traditionally after a workout I am NOT hungry, therefore making it the perfect time to grocery shop). In Aisle 10 I happened upon Fiber One brownies.

(Mmmmmmm….brownies….oh…I’m sorry…what were we talking about?)

Yeah. So I like brownies. I like them a lot. These brownies, however, looked just a wee bit too good to be true. Check out the stats:

Calories: 90
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 5g
Sugars:7g
Protein: 1g

Now before the newbies flip out on me, let me put this in perspective. For a brownie, this is damn good stats. For an overall food choice? Ennnnhh…you could do better, you could do worse. As I’ve said ad nauseum, however, food consumed for fiber MUST have carbs. There’s no getting around that. Therefore for a brownie to have 5g of fiber for only 17g of carbs isn’t a bad deal.

The sugar count on it was a bit high. My RNY post-ops, take heed. The sugar in this is actually SUGAR. Like the real stuff. I usually avoid sugar like the plague. In this instance it didn’t bother me, but two or three years ago I don’t know that I could have said that.

Anyhoo, I brought the box home and the vultures divas immediately became aware that there were treats in their orbit. That’s when it hit me: even if I should not eat these, they don’t make a bad lunchbox addition at all (provided I get a coupon cuz they are on the pricey side for my cheapo tastes).

La Grande Diva tried the brownie first. I made the mistake of TELLING her I wanted her feedback for a review as opposed to just noting her reaction. This elicited a full two minutes of “hmmmmmmm….” (bite) “hmmmmmmm…”

I love my children but they are smartasses sometimes, I swear.

My motto always is and continues to be, an empty plate (or continually chewing mouth or empty container) speaks louder than words. Kids have this wonderful ability to reject food simply on the basis that they do not like it. They don’t care if you slaved over it, or if it is good for them or even if it would be more polite to eat it since they are a guest. If they don’t like it, they don’t like it.

Strange beings children are. Strange, indeed.

So after a few moments she’s still chewing so I think this is a good sign. Because she won’t take a second bite of things she doesn’t like. (Not even if I wrestle her down. You don’t want to know how I know that.)

Finally, she opened a still brownie stuffed mouth and said, “Good.” And then trotted off. Gah!

So I decided to try one for myself with lunch today. Curiosity got the best of me. Or some such similar excuse.

So the brownie is fairly small. That’s both good and bad. Good: portion controlled. Bad: the sugar in it remains in the back of my mind. 7g for a little brownie. Hmmmmm….

I ate my lunch and gave this buddy a bite. Hmm. Not bad. Not the greatest brownie ever but not bad just the same. It wasn’t sickly sweet (surprisingly). It also didn’t have that “flaky on the surface, soft gooey underneath” thing going on either.

I will say, for the record, that it did not taste as if it had added fiber. That would be a good thing.

All in all, I like it but I think there are better ways for me to get my fiber. But since the divas liked it I may put these in lunchbox rotation.

My opinion for you? Use your best judgment. Some of us can’t stop at one brownie. Some of us dump on sugar. Some of us are uber-carb conscious. Some of us beat ourselves silly over small indulgences. If you can’t take the heat, stay away from the brownie!

But from an aesthetic standpoint alone I’d say:

(A Qualified) Diva Says: Divine!