A new 'square meal' for carb counters
KansasCity.com

LaMar's says its reduced carb doughnut tastes so much like the original that it had to be square to make it distinguishable.

LaMar's Donuts isn't claiming to have created a diet doughnut, but the company does hope to get in on the low-carb craze with a “reduced-carb” one.

With just 15 grams of net carbs, the reduced-carb doughnut — dubbed the Fifteener — is so close to the original in taste, the company claims, that it had to make it square to make it distinguishable. It was recently introduced in the shops and retails for $1.19.

Anthony Bonelli, chief executive officer of LaMar's in Denver, said the trick wasn't making a low-carb doughnut, it was making a low-carb doughnut that tastes good. One difference: soy isolate replaces the flour. The rest of the formula is a secret.

The original doughnut has 31 grams of net carbs but only 200 to 220 calories, as opposed to the Fifteener's 260 calories.

LaMar's sales for the first six months of the year increased 15 percent over the same period in 2003, and customer traffic was up 2.5 percent over the same period, according to Bonelli.

LaMar's was founded in Kansas City in 1960 by Ray Lamar. LaMar's began franchising in the early 1990s and now has 24 shops in seven states.