Posted on: Wednesday, February 2, 2005

QUICK BITES
Tour farms, get your fill at Merriman's

Advertiser Staff

Peter Merriman, right, and the Big Island Farm Bureau have launched a joint project: weekly farm tours followed by a four-course dinner at Merriman's Restaurant in Waimea on the Big Island, prepared from locally produced ingredients. Tours take place every Tuesday, departing from Waimea at noon and returning to Merriman's for dinner by 5:15 p.m.

Guests will stop at Long Ears Coffee, Hamakua Mushroom, Kahua Ranch and Honopua Farm. Price for the tour/dinner combination is $115 per person. For information and bookings call Kate Ralston, (808) 885-6822 or 937-0555. For more on Big Island agro-tourism, call Stacy Davis, Big Island Farm Bureau, (808) 882-7084.

Oroweat introduces bread free of sugar, trans fats

Oroweat brand has a new sugar-free bread aimed at diabetics and others concerned about sugar intake. The thin-sliced bread contains 100 calories for a 2-slice serving (45 grams), no trans fats, saturated fat or cholesterol, and offers 4 grams of fiber per serving. It contains no artificial sweeteners.

Most packaged commercial whole-wheat breads have between 120 and 160 calories for a 2-slice serving, but it should be noted that the slices are generally a bit thicker (about 60 grams per 2-slice serving). Most list multiple forms of sweetener (high-fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses, white sugar, raisin juice) fairly high up in the ingredient list. Most have a similar fat (1-3 grams per 2-slice serving) and fiber content to Oroweat SugarFree but may contain saturated and trans fats. Read labels and compare.