WHAT: Pearls Olives to Go
STATS: Varies by olive. Three Kalamata olives contain 34 calories and 3.5 fat, zero carbohydrate, 0.24 protein and zero fiber grams. There are three servings of olives per cup; there are four cups per pack.
THE SKINNY: Pearls, a pearl of wisdom: These Olives to Go have got to go — at least back to the drawing board.
Yes, they are pitted, individually portioned (more on that in a minute) and come with an “e-z peel lid.” Yes, tart, tasty olives can be a quality snack, containing “good fat.”
But I take exception to your “No liquid!” brag on the packaging. There is a visible dribble of fluid in each container, and each cup spit salty droplets when opened. Particularly messy were the Pimento Stuffed Spanish Green Olives (other varieties: Pitted Kalamata, Pitted Black, Sliced Black) with pimento fragments everywhere.
And another thing, a serving size is a mere three olives, but each cup contains three servings. So one is not eating 25 calories when she’s eating a container of green olives. She’s eating 75 (but then the label says 80 calories per cup?). No wait, we counted 10 green olives in a cup, so at 8.3 calories per olive, that’s 83 calories per cup. There are even more of the more caloric Kalamatas — 11 — per cup. So at 11.3 calories per olive, that’s more like 124.3 per cup — not the 100 calories the packaging claims.
While I might not love the execution, I must say “olive” the idea.
— Jennifer Christman
Slim Pickings is a weekly review of light foods. Email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com