Cream cheese and imitation crab meat, a puree made from fish meat such as pollack, pair in several dishes, including dips and crab Rangoon. Both ingredients have their nutritional benefits, but combined they pack a heavy punch of fat and sodium.
Calories
Imitation crab is denser in calories than cream cheese, with 396 calories per 3.5 oz., compared with cream cheese's 342 calories. Cream cheese, however, has more calories from fat. A 3.5-oz. serving of cream cheese contains about 34 g of fat, compared with only 0.46 g in imitation crab.
Nutrients
A 3.5-oz. serving of cream cheese contains more than 19 g of saturated fat, but it is also high in vitamin A, which promotes healthy vision and aids your immune system. Imitation crab is higher in healthier unsaturated fats and is high in selenium, an antioxidant that can regulate thyroid function. It also is high in sodium, which can lead to high blood pressure; it has 841 mg of sodium per 3.5-oz. serving.
Considerations
Using a low-fat version of cream cheese cuts the calories per 3.5-oz. serving down to 201 calories and cuts the saturated fat in about half. Splurging to use real canned blue crab instead of imitation crab does not significantly change the number of calories but lowers the amount of sodium you consume by about half.
Member Comments