Greatpilgrim's Full Review: No Pudge Fat Free Fudge Brownie Mix Cappuccino 13....
Brownies delight my heart, especially when married to their soul mate vanilla ice cream, but they’re not exactly good for you…unless they’re No Pudge Fudge Brownies that is! I might just have to make this the fifth food group….
~What you get and where to get it~
Don’t bother looking for No Pudge Fat Free Fudge Brownie Mix Cappuccino along with all the other brownie mixes on the baking aisle. Nope, you gotta go to either the “healthy” section of your grocery store or find a dedicated health food store to find this 13.7oz box of conscience-easing goodness. I’m not sure if you’re able to see the picture (Epinions likes to hide it when people are actually READING the review), but the box is a tall, thin rectangle of tan cardboard (printed with soy-based inks on recycled cardboard), with a little piggie at the top (just noticed he had a measuring tape around his waist) and a white contrasting label. I usually don’t care what the box looks like, but I figured you might want to know in case it’s hard to find.
The pay-off, though, is worth it. This powdery mix proclaims on the box “just add yogurt!” to the natural pre-blended ingredients and stir well, then pour into a sprayed metal baking pan (we use glass) and pop in the oven for 34 minutes. Could NOT get easier, right? Even if you don’t have yogurt on hand, the side of the box gives notes on substitutions you can make (applesauce, fat free sour cream, tofu or soy yogurt) and other variants on the recipe (egg white, flour, perfect way to cut the brownies, etc.).
I was skeptical about the claim of natural ingredients…but it’s true, and they even look HEALTHY. See for yourself: pure cane sugar, unbleached wheat flour, dutch cocoas, dark coffee, egg whites, cornstarch, wheat gluten, salt & baking soda.
Not a single unpronounceable or incomprehensible additive, just regular old things that you might even have in your cupboard. Okay, so maybe pure cane sugar isn’t *healthy* - what, you expect brownies to be sugar-free AND fat-free? Don’t push it, bub.
In any case, the claim of fat-free is true as well, with other impressive nutritional facts:
Calories: 110
Calories from fat: 0
Total fat: 0g
Cholestoral: 0mg
Sodium: 100mg
Total carbohydrates: 28g
Dietary fiber: 1g
Sugars: 22g
Protein: 2g
This isn’t necessarily a low-calorie food – so don’t eat the whole pan at one sitting – but it’s also much more reasonable than regular brownie mixes.
~I don’t care! I don’t care! HOW DOES IT TASTE????~
Very yummy! I’ve prepared No Pudge Brownies in a variety of ways, and they always turn out delicious. When mixed with yogurt and cooked the traditional way, the brownies turn out thick and chewy with a fudge-like consistency – not as flakey and crumbly as Betty Crocker brownies, but quite rich and moist. They’re easy to cut, especially when you follow the instructions of using a hot knife, and the 12 servings can be stretched to more if you use a larger baking pan beforehand and spread out the mixture.
They definitely don’t have a diet taste, thanks to the lack of sugar substitutes or really any altered or artificial ingredients. The cappuccino flavor is subtle and seductive, more sweet and savory than a strong coffee note. Chocolate still prevails as the dominant flavor in this brownie, and I’m not complaining about the intense cocoa-meets-sweetness taste that No Pudge delivers. Most assuredly not complaining.
And when clinches the deal is that this mix takes all of the effort out of baking for me. The stove method is easy enough – just one added ingredient – BUT the box helpfully suggests a single-serving microwave method that is out-of-this-world convenient! You mix 2 tbsp of the brownie mix with 1 tbsp of vanilla yogurt (I usually use more) and stick in the microwave for 1 minute. It’s not like a regular brownie, but I think it tastes like the cake-like batter of a Chili’s Molten Lava Volcano dessert….particularly when topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce!
~Bottom line~
Though $3.50 is a little expensive for a brownie mix, these No Pudge Cappuccino Brownies turn out soooooo good and are so convenient and so non-fattening that I continue to buy them without a single hesitation. Take a look at the health food section of your local supermarket and see if these appear on the shelves…then grab 6 boxes for yourself!
Pack of 6 13.7-ounce boxes of fat-free, all-natural cappuccino-flavored brownie mix (219.2 total ounces) Made with 100% natural, certified Kosher ingr...More at Amazon Marketplace
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