20-Somethings - Some foods that I have found

So I am starting to love going to the store and searching for new items ( started a thread for snack ideas)- this is what I found today

Mini babybel semi-soft cheese wheels - 50 calories and very yummy

Kiwi - never tried it before until today - yum

Artichokes - I have always always loved these and I have found when I am caving a snack or eat during a movie I just boil one for 45 minutes and use no calorie butter spray for a yummy and very very nutrition packed snack (usually only 40-60 calories depending on size)

Hummus - Never tried it until today - again a great find and very yummy on turkey sandwiches (50 calories for 2 tbs)

Sobe Lean Mango Melon - A sweet drink that's only 10 calories a bottle and helps with sweet tooth cravings

Newmans Asian salad dressing spray - 10 calories a spray and goes amazing with chicken and 1/2 an orange and a tiny handful of sliced raw almonds with salad


Kashi oatmeal packets - 160 calorie breakfast that I pair up with strawberries and a glass of lite tropicana orange juice


I am always looking for new and exciting foods --

Anything new anyone else has found lately???

i love laughing cow light, its a staple
the weight control oatmeal from Quaker
Blue Bunny NSA fudge pops (only 35 calories each!)
FF yogurt from target is my favorite (the archer farms brand)
i have been snacking on red pepper a lot lately with hummus is great!

You should check out the hungry girl book and site...its great stuff with LOTS of good supermarket material. I just bought mini-waffles tonight too, so i'll let you know what i think. I got wheat free and blueberry.

oh and lara bars and luna bars (which now come in snack size)

In Cyprus we eat artichokes raw with lots of lemon and salt. They are very tasty!

I am lovin the apple fiber one bars. I like to have one on the way to work or at first break to get some extra fiber.

carrots with naturally fresh ranch lite...amazing!

apples and almond butter

YUM!

Laughing cow light
grilled red pepper
steamed bok choy
brown rice
Starbucks Iced Skinny Vanilla Latte (Thanks to Taylor)
artichoke heart
oatmeal smoothie (2/3 cup skim milk, 1/3 oatmeal, frozen strawberry, banana in a blender. YUMMY)
Luna bar

BBQ flavored soy crisps! WAY better than a rice cake and they definitely fix my craving for BBQ chips. YUMMY!

Morningstar sausage patties. I LOVE them way more than real meat. 80 cals a patty...little fat...and virtually no grease.

Asparagus. I roast it with some EVOO and lemon...some ground pepper and a little salt. sooo good.

there's so much food i love...haha

OH! The snickers marathon low cal bars. I showed them to my trainer, he was quite impressed. Won't work good for someone who is avoiding sugar alcohols...but overall I think they're pretty good. And they can satisfy a candybar craving. The amount of fiber in them is insane... and they're only like a dollar a bar. Taste is sorta weird at first, but now I love them.

I almost forgot PB2 ---52 cals for a serving of peanut butter. Amazing. I love it. my local grocery store carries it, actually...and I have quite a few people buying it now...

Anything from the farmer's market! I've only as of this summer started to frequent them and make them my primary source of produce. I actually get to enjoy orange bell peppers on a regular basis.

I've also recently (in the past few months) discovered sweet potato "fries" seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper. It's ridiculously satisfying!

Oh yes, Jen, Sweet Potato "Fries" are sooo good. I "cover" them with EVOO and season with salt and pepper and bake them. YUUMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYY

butternut squash works great for fries too!! Same idea, just switch the veggie.

I *love* sweet potato fries. Mmmmm! I think I need to expand my snacking repetoir, so I'm glad you started this thread, Taylor! Now I have some new ideas for next week's shopping list.

I have never had a sweet potato before. And I promised Tara I would try eggplants a looonnng time ago and I have never gotten to it.

I also want to experiment with squashes. They seem so odd shaped and weird at the store though.

As for snacks I am having trouble with those too. I want to cut down on my sodium so that kinda leaves out 100 calorie packs, crackers, a lot of the cheese I buy and deli meat.

I think I am gonna go to whole foods today and look around - I feel really healthy when I shop there and since the boy and I have really stopped eating out (well...most of the time. I am still working on this!) I am willing to pay a bit more on food we have in the house.

If I find anything I will post!

Oh, and about the farmer's market. My produce bill has been cut in HALF. And I get twice the food. Call me the converted.

I hated sweet potatoes with a passion, but once I got the guts to try it out- YUM! Also, you can get some ginormous sweet potatoes for relatively cheap and you can make them stretch into more meals.

The sodium thing is difficult. I love salty foods - generally, when I want a snack, I reach for something salty. I envy the people at 3Chicks who crave veggies instead! Maybe one day...

Haha I don't crave veggies but I have figured out that I can eat MORE (with less sodium) if I eat veggies.

One cup of french cut green beans is 30 calories - add some 0 calorie butter spray and it takes like pasta!

And again, artichokes. These are like candy to me and I have done some research and 1 boiled medium artichoke holds 35 calories and had MORE antioxicdents (wow, spell much Taylor?) than any other vegetable and also contains a ton of fiber!

Also - I want to start carrying some food with me - incase I am in a situation it is me vs. cake or even if I am just out and about and need to eat something. Any ideas of stuff I can stash in my purse? I have thought about raw almonds...

arts I wanna cut my produce bill in half! I am totally gonna make it to that farms market tomorrow! Thank you so much

If you have a sprouts near you they have great produce and its so cheap. I never buy red bell pepper because they sell at the grocery store for 1.99ish...well i got them for .50 each the other day!! Can you guess what i've been eating all week?

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about sprouts! I bet they are great with sandwiches!

Another great snack ideas... 1/2 cup of fat free yogurt with blueberries.
Popcorn with no butter.(of course small portion)

Oh there is so many:
Laughing cow cheese
Eggplant
Spagittai Squash
Chickpeas
Chocolate cool whip
Rice cakes (yes I actually enjoy rice cakes)
Morningstar crumbles
Morningstar bacon
Lentils

And although not a recent discovery I agree with everyone, I love artichocks and sweetpotatos

I have tired that morning star stuff but the sodium is off the charts!

I need to try chick peas, egg plant, and spagetti squash though

Artichokes are amazing! They do, however, make me a tad musical.

If you like hummas then you should like chickpeas. I will throw them in a salad to make it a meal rather then adding chicken. I also like to add them to raw veggies with some salad dresing. I recently tried toasting them with morrocan spices very good.

Since we are talking about trying food I'm trying Quiona today for the first time with dinner. I'll let you know my opinion.

I picked some of that up, too! Tell me what you think!

Are chickpeas raw? Do you buy them canned?

When I need a chocolate fix, which is around TOM or sometimes right after dinner, I LOVE Bear Naked Granola- Heavenly Chocolate Flavor! Just a spoonful fulfills the craving, and I know that it's completely all natural and packed with whole grains, so it's a healthy and beneficial sweet tooth fix!


http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar061/cartoonstar01/lb/245/155/219/.png (http://www.3fatchicks.com/)

I just found this amazing dish at our local Middle Eastern restaurant.

It is called Imam Bayaldi. It is a vegetarian dish and friendly to the diet if you cut back on some olive oil.

It is slices of roasted eggplant in a tidbit of olive oil with roasted red pepper sauce on top.

Let me just say the flavors exploded in my mouth. Too bad I cannot get the chef's recipe!

I picked some of that up, too! Tell me what you think!

Are chickpeas raw? Do you buy them canned?

I buy my chickpeas/garbanzo beans canned because I do not feel like cooking them when they come in a bag lol. I just rinse them off. I put chickpeas in everything especially if I make a healthy curry recipe with lean chicken and veggies and sweet potato bits :)

spaghetti squash!! someone mentioned it above, and i just have to say that last week i baked one and ate on it all week.

for those of you who may not know spaghetti squash is a big ole squash that you slice little holes in and bake for about an hour. when you cut it open you scoop out the seeds and youre left with the "meat" of the squash which is these long strands of squash that look and feel and even taste like angel hair pasta.

SO i sauteed some spinach, onion, mushroom, and zucchini and used about a 1/4 of cup store-bought marinara for every bowl. im doing weight watchers and the whole meal - only 2 points! thats even lower than any salad ive made for myself. and TONS of good for you veggies!!

crazy maybe but i lost 2 lbs last week, and i think eating that spaghetti squash meal 4 times last week played a BIG part in that loss.

You guys have me wanting to try some squash fries!! I think I'm going to do that tomorrow night!

But the zero calorie butter spray...what brand do you use, and where is it in the grocery store? I have the butter flavored cooking spray, but I don't think this is what y'all are talking about?

Thanks! :)

Christy It's from "I can't believe it's not butter" and it is 0 calorie butter spray that taste JUST LIKE BUTTER. It may get some getting use to, but I love it. I found it next to the butter and margarine...kinda next to the eggs in my store.

Taylor - Yes I buy them in a can. I'm another person to lazy to cook them. I open the can and rinse them. Then toss them into food. As I said maybe two weeks ago I toasted them in a toaster oven on 350 for 40 minutes with a bunch of spices. Then eat them.

I just found this amazing dish at our local Middle Eastern restaurant.


Whoa, sounds good. Thanks for the tip. I'm making it right now for dinner tonight. Thank god, that egg plant was about to go bad.

OK girls! I am gonna buy an eggplant tomorrow at the farmers market!! I don't know what do to with it - but I am gonna get it!

In terms of fake meat products (I'm a vegetarian), Boca italian sausage and bratwurst and Morningstar buffalo wings are favorites of mine.

Squash fries sound very interesting. Will definitely have to try those.

Ok, I am probably going to scolded for this :o but I keep hearing people talk about it and I'm really rally curious ! what is hummus:?: *ducks*

hummus is a greek spread which comes in many flavors such as 3 pepper, olive or garlic. It can be used on a lot of different things such as sandwiches, raw veggies, whole wheat crackers, baked with chicken.

It can be found (usually) with the speciality cheeses and meats. It is 50 calories per 2 tbps and it only takes 1 tbps to get enough to put on a sandwich.

hummus is a greek spread which comes in many flavors such as 3 pepper, olive or garlic. It can be used on a lot of different things such as sandwiches, raw veggies, whole wheat crackers, baked with chicken.



Ahem if I may intervene the original hummus is a spreadable mash or dip made with cooked chickpeas, olive-oil, tahini, lemon-juice, garlic and salt. The flavoured ones you get are alternate versions of it. If you go to a Greek restaurant in Greece, you will unlikely find the olive and 3 pepper ones. I know, I am Greek! :D

Hummus is my new crack! LOL. I put a lot of paprika in mine.

I eat it with everything. I like to use cauliflower and raw mushrooms to dip in it. I like to bake some chicken and dip the chicken in the hummus instead of using bbq sauce or my old addiction..ketchup :/

Or use the hummus in a lettuce wrap with some lean chicken :)

Well I was close to what it was

The Weight Watchers ice cream sandwiches are really good. Also, sliced strawberries and blueberries with Fat Free cool whip.

Fiber One chocolate chip bars. 130 calories of deliciousness and 9 grams of fiber.

Water!!!

And Special K fiber drink mixes. 10 grams of fiber, 0 calories (other than fiber provided cals)

Well I was close to what it was

Lol, I think the versions have a nice taste but for Greeks it is not really humus. I went to a supermarket one and my friends and I bought the humus and it had peppers in it! Lol, we were all "Umm this is not hummus". Ok, I think we were pretty hilarious in our reaction but imagine coming from a country where hummus is made in huge amounts to discover there are so many other versions of it. :p

Just a tip for those craving salty foods. I have learnt from experience as well as know that when craving something salty, try to go for something lower in sodium, like crackers - you can get low sodium, chips- low sodium, it will help to fight cravings later on, because it is said that once you grab something salty during your day, you are way more likely to keep going on salty snacks for the remainder of your day! So if you can, avoid salty foods, and if it is ultimitly your worst craving, plan for it once a week!!!

Special K fiber drinks? Never heard of them...are they just at most grocery stores??

Oh and the best snack I found, is Cheecha Krackles potatoe snacks, they are air puffed chips that come in original, sea salt and pepper, and luscious lime... 74 calories and only 240mg of sodium for a 2 cup serving!!! OH and 0gr of fat! and they are actually awsome, dip them in salsa or hummus for a guilt free snack!! Also, Glenny's soy crisps, they come in lots of flavours and taste just like those fatty potato chips! I found these at a local bulk food store.

I want some cheeca krackles snacks! Where did you get them?????

mmmmmm instead of fries I cut a yellow squash into chips. I then dip them into a flour mixture of flour, season salt, garlic and onion salt and ground pepper. I then put a small amount of EVOO in the pan and fry them. They are freaking delicious!! I love them... had them tonight for dinner...and they're great cold too!!

mmmmmm instead of fries I cut a yellow squash into chips. I then dip them into a flour mixture of flour, season salt, garlic and onion salt and ground pepper. I then put a small amount of EVOO in the pan and fry them. They are freaking delicious!! I love them... had them tonight for dinner...and they're great cold too!!


I am gonna try that! good idea and I'm going to eat it with hummus!!! :D thanks guys ! :carrot:

If you decide to try chick peas, definitely get them canned. They're a pain in the butt to cook and smell HORRIBLE when they go bad. They are yummy though.

Chick peas. I loved them whenever it was in the salad or anything but didn't know what they were called. (since I'm a Korean...living in the U.S. lol)

Now that I know what they are, they are one of my main source of protein. YUMMY....

I picked some of that up, too! Tell me what you think!

Are chickpeas raw? Do you buy them canned?

If you buy the canned ones, you can just rinse them and you are good to go. You can heat them up if you want, too... Just make sure to rinse them really good, though, since you are watching your sodium intake. It does have quite some sodium if you get the canned ones.

Chickpeas are going on the list for next week! Yay for trying something new!

ZAsddf (hahah, that was my kitty saying hi! She loves to help mommy type.)

ZAsddf (hahah, that was my kitty saying hi! She loves to help mommy type.)

Haha my cat loves doing that when she gets no attention. She is so spoiled! :D

At my temple they would make this awesome spicy chick pea-tomato curry for lunch on Sundays. I loved it so much my mom dubbed it "temple chick peas" and showed me how to make a healthy version of it. Try out a chick pea curry recipe (usually called "chana masala") from any Indian cook book and you will love chick peas in a new way. Make sure to adapt it to a healthy style by cutting back on the oil and cream called for in the recipes, but they are loaded with spices with a tomato and onion gravy base and that makes it very flavorful.

ortho MMmm that sounds great! My man loves curry! I will look into that!

I was reading about you all saying you like artichokes yesterday and I forgot to post this... with my artichokes I eat a couple tablespoons fat free mayo with a little curry seasoning in it, I dip the artichokes (and hearts) in that... soooooo yummy. And I usually DESPISE mayo.

Skinny Cow Ice-Cream Sandwiches! They're only 1.5 grams a fat per serving and they are so rich and delicious. I have a sweet tooth that won't quit so this has become my savior.

I love those too! I use those on days I feel like having a binge and boy - have they saved my butt! I also like mini babybel cheese wedges!

I am going to add a new food to your list that I rediscovered today.

Couscous

I was very hungry for dinner and thinking about making some rice pilaf to go with the grilled salmon I pillaged from a work picnic last night. I was rifling through my pantry and came across a box of NearEast Couscous Meditteranean Curry that had clearly been forgotten. The instructions said to just boil some water and pour it in and 5 minutes later the couscous is ready to eat. It was much faster than waiting for rice pilaf to cook and it was so light and good! I added in some frozen peas to help bulk it up. The Near East brand is high in carbs and salt if you are watching those items, but they do sell couscous by itself and you could dress it up with other flavors. The best part is that it cooks it really fast and only requires hot water.

Oh I forgot another favorite, chicken sausage. Its way healthier then the pork variety and total fills my sausage desire when I'm making pasta.

Oatmeal (fiberlicious and filling!), brown rice, and veggies (broccoli)! Veggies are awesome b/c they take the place of higher-calorie foods but still make you feel full.

Oh I forgot another favorite, chicken sausage. Its way healthier then the pork variety and total fills my sausage desire when I'm making pasta.

Absolutely agree. I keep this on hand in my freezer as a quick meat fix, just crisp it up in a pan or microwave in a pinch and it is tasty protein in an instant. Just be sure to read the labels because some of those varieties and flavors can sneak in extra calories and fat compared to other sausage versions in the same brand.

OOOoo maybe I should take some of those camping when I go...