Let's face it, corndogs are not haute cuisine...a weiner on a stick, some batter, a fryer, a grocer's freezer, a toaster oven....and lots of mustard...

So, I thought one day...as a huge corndog fan...if the mustard and the mouth-feel are the dominant aspects of the corndog experience, are their decent low fat alternatives?

Enter Trader Joe's and their meatless corndog...

A true skeptic, I bought the 4 pack and took them home...22-3 minutes in the toaster oven on 350 (ignore what they tell you about 20 minutes...not crunchy enough at 20), a glop of my favorite deli mustard...and I took a bite...The breading is more substantial than my State Fair dogs, but not gummy...and the tofu weiner's mouthfeel is as nondescriptly weineresque as at least my turkeydogs, and not too far off the beef one's. The weiner is clearly smaller than the beef one's, which probably accounts for the difference. Overall verdict: THEM'S GOOD EATIN'!

I wanted to decide first if they were any good before I made comparisons....so now, finding I liked them just fine, I thought I'd do a side by side...comparing the State Fair corndogs I bought last month with the tofu treasures from TJ's....

Here goes...(tofu is first in each list)--per dog.
Calories: 150 vs. 180
Cal. from fat: 25 vs. 100
Fat: 3g vs. 12g
Sat. Fat: 0 vs. 4g
Cholesteral: 0 vs. 15 mg
Sodium: 570mg vs. 560mg
Carbs: 18g vs. 21g
Fiber: 15g vs. 2g
Protein: 10g vs. 4g
Portion: 71g vs. 76g

Clearly they add salt to the tofu to give it flavor, hence the higher sodium level...but otherwise...this is a no-brainer. If fat is your concern, the tofu dog kicks major but...if carbs are your concern, you shouldn't be eating a corn dog anyway...and if protein to fat ratio is your issue, you should invest in the company.

My food reviewing for the month (or year?) is now at an end...