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Tis the season for crawfish! And – who knew there was so much variation among crawfish boil seasoning blends – not only taste-wise, but nutritionally, as well. In today’s Love it, Like it, Hate it, we’re Getting the Skinny with Molly on the best and worst seasoning blends – nutritionally speaking, of course.

Notes: Nutrition Facts are per ¼ teaspoon serving

 

LOVE IT!

Creative Cajun Cooking Seafood Boil

  • 22 mg sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients: salt, monosodium glutamate, red pepper, garlic, paprika, black pepper, crab spice, oleoresin paprika (an oil-soluble extract from sweet red pepper), lemon oil

 

LIKE IT!

Cajun Land Complete Crab, Shrimp & Crawfish Boil

  • 230 mg sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients: Salt, red pepper, dextrose, paprika, dehydrated garlic, mustard bran, onion, natural flavors & artificial color

Zatarain’s Pro Boil

  • 240 mg sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients: Salt, spices (including red pepper), dextrose, natural flavor, soy lecithin, extractives of paprika, lemon juice solids

Geaux Creole Seafood Boil

  • 250 mg sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients: Salt, cayenne pepper, citric acid, pure cane sugar, orange peel, dried garlic, spices, black pepper, monosodium glutamate, lemon oil

Zatarain’s Shrimp & Crab Boil Concentrate & Louisiana Fry Crawfish, Crab & Shrimp Liquid Boil

  • 0 sodium per serving; Use 1 tablespoon per 5# crawfish or shrimp
  • Ingredients include: Water, polysorbate 80, spice extractives, including capsicum, natural & artificial flavor, caramel color, paprika extracts
  • Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier that’s generally considered safe, but some research has linked to negative effects like anaphylacticreactions, and disrupted gastrointestinal microflora.

 

 

HATE IT!

Louisiana Fish Fry Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Powdered Boil

  • 300 mg sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients:Salt, Spices, Dextrose, Paprika, Dried Onion, Dried Garlic, Natural Flavors, Monosodium Glutamate, Natural Lemon Oil Flavor, Citric Acid.

Zatarain’s Extra Spicy Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil

  • 380 mg sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients: Salt, spices (including red pepper), dextrose, natural flavor, extractives of paprika, monosodium glutamate, lemon juice solids

Zatarain’s Complete Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil

  • 480 sodium per ¼ teaspoon
  • Ingredients: Salt, dextrose, spices (including red pepper), natural flavor, extractives of paprika, monosodium glutamate, lemon puree, sugar, lemon juice.

 

Coming up next: Molly has the inside scoop on the many health benefits of crawfish, so you can truly indulge, guilt free!

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Want more from Molly?  Click here to sign up for Nutrition Bites, her weekly e-newsletter with links to her Get the Skinny TV segments here on WGNO, and her weekly column in NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune!  And you can follow Molly on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram:  @MollyKimballRD