WW Food and Point Issues - Fabulous Low Point Snack finds!

Greetings all! This morning was my first trip to the grocery store with my Pointsfinder, and what an experience it was!

I made some interesting snack discoveries and thought I'd share them with the group.
(FYI - I'm in Canada, but these things should be available everywhere)

1 - Quaker Crispie Mini ricecakes. The cheddar cheese flavor worked out to be 1 pt for 8 crackers

2- Ritz mini crackers (regular - i.e. not low fat or low salt - didn't see those in mini). It worked out to be 4 pts for a whopping 43 mini crackers!

3 - Snackwells Potato Thins (sour cream flavour). It was 2 pts for 15 crackers

4 - Rold Gold Pretzels (straight ones). Worked out to be 2 pts for 48 pretzels!!!

I was so surprised when I got there and started figuring out that I could still have all the things I liked - so long as I measured out the portions correctly!

Christine

Hi Christine, I am in Ontario also, here are some of my favourite "safe" treats:

Rice Krispie Squares, Peanut Butter Chocolate and the new Caramel Chocolate, 2 pts each

Good Humour Fat Free Fudgesicles, 1pt each,

Snackwells Bite Size Chocolate Chip Cookies, 13 for
3 pts

Sara Lee Free and Light Carrot Cake(with a cream chees frosting!!) 1/10 of cake for 2pts

I also top alot of things with Light Cool Whip, 1 pt for 1/4cup

Hope you enjoy them:)
Stephanie

I went to my first meeting yesterday and the first thing the leader did was hold up a package from a brownie mix called No Pudge Brownies - I've seen tons of people raving about them, and when I found out they were available at Loblaws, I knew that the only way I'd be able to stick with this decision was to find snack foods and fast foods that I would still be able to enjoy.

I know enough about myself to know that I can't give up all those 'unhealthy' things and subsist only on fruits and veggies. In the right portions I know that I can fit in just about anything and I think that's going to help me make it. Whenever I find more goodies, I will be sure to pass the info along!

Christine

One of my favorite sweet treats are the Sara Lee Cheesecake bites. Each one is only 2 points and they really satisfy the craving.

I've wondered how many points those little SL cheesecakes had in them. They are incredible!

At the low low cost of .5 pts: Dole No Sugar Added Fruit Bars. 25 calories each, 0 fat = .5 pts! The tropicana ones are also .5 pts, but the Dole ones are much more tastey!

Have 2 if you're REALLY hankering for something sweet!

-Misu

I'm a salty snacker. Chips in particular.

Wow Doritos are only 1 pt for a serving.

Love WW!

You'll love this one. It is three points but counts as two calcium products.

Toast a low fat (calcium fortified) blueberry eggo. Dip in a fat free blueberry yogurt. Yummy!!!!!

Misu-

Can you tell were you find the fruit bars in the grocery store? What does the package look like? I take it they are basically dried fruit- is that it? I really hope so- I can't have anything with artificial sweetners or corn based sweetners either so I am petty limited. I bought some fruit bars a while back but I got them at the outlet store of a chain of grocery stores here in the Midwest. What is the price of the bars? Are they like 'fruit leather'?- I remember that from camping with Girl Scouts as a kid- I always loved it though it takes a lot to prepare it and dehydrate it.

Thanks so much...I love finding out about new snacks to try- so many I would never even know they existed until I read about them here.

One snack I use are Soy Crisp- they are basically rice cakes made primarily with soy. Since so many of the rice cakes have corn/corn syrup/carmel food coloring in them they are off limits to me with my allergies- I am also suppose to limit my rice intake as it shows up as a sensativity to me also though I can use it in moderation without any ill affects. The soy crisp have varrying nutritional info depending on the manufacture.

Glenny's Apple Cinnamon has 77 cal, 1 gram fat, 1.5 gr fiber, 5 gr protien for a little over a 1/2 ounce serving (14 crisp)- they typically run about $1 per package with 2 serving per bag- not bad in comparison to some of the protien bars- you could eat an entire bag for 3 points and have a good serving of protien to boot. The apple cinnimon also are very low sodium- I don't have any of the other flavors from them right now to check the sodium in the Lightly Salted or Onion & Garlic.

The other brand I buy- GeniSoy- has a serving size of 1 ounce (25 crisp), 100 calories, 2 gr fat, 2 grams fiber, 7 grams protien- they are a little higher in sodium but I am looking at the creamy ranch flavor and lighlty salted ones so that could be part of it- both are about 300mg sodium or 11-14% of daily recomended value. They come in a 3.5 ounce bag, 3.5 servings per bag for $2-2.50 per bag- it figures out to 2 points per serving with the entire bag being 6-7 points (though I don't think I could eat that much as the protien level is very filling to me). I can't remember if they come in any other flavors or not- I know this brand does not have an apple cinnamon one- believe me, I have begged.

I buy both of them at health food stores though I have occasionally seen them at grocery stores in the health food section. I think they make a great 'salty & crunchy' snack with a good boost of protien. They are actually pretty balanced with the carbs/fat/protien- I truely believe in eating accross the carb/fat/protein with everything in moderation- with just having found out I only have one functioning kidney I am lucky I never went on the Atkins diet craze- that would have been very detrimental to my kidney and overall health. As far as other ingrediants- they are pretty basic with soy flour, rice peices, a littl oil, sugar cane syrup, and seasonings- all of which I recognize and can pronounce :) I also love the sweatness of the apple cinnamon- I keep an unopened bag in my car as they hold up to heat/cold and getting smushed (I just get smaller peices then-lol)- they make a great on the run snack or even a light meal substitute with a glass of water or two.

Christine

Just wanted to share this. If you are like me and are afraid to make the whole package of no pudge because you know you can't stay away from the leftovers, try this. Take 2 tablespoons of the no pudge mix and mix it with 1 tablespoon of fat free yogurt in a small custard dish or teacup, whatever. Put it in the microwave for exactly 1 minute and you have one yummy 2 pt brownie whenever you want with no leftovers.

Brenda

Brenda..

that is a brillant idea!

the only reason reason I've never bought them is because I was afraid to eat the whole package.
(happened to me with a bag of licorce last week :( )

Dana
www.digitalsara.com

Punky,
What a great idea! I agree that it doesn't do me any good to make a LF SF dessert if I have lots of it left over.
I'm pretty suseptible to eating things like that.
Thanks!
:cool:

Brenda,

I just wanted you to know what a lifesaver you are. I bought the brownie mix and it is wonderful making just one serving.
MY only question is how did you figure this out? Can I apply this to other mixes where you just add fluid?

Punky,

Just wanted to let you know that I shared your little tip with my leader at my meeting last week and she thought it was great! She read it out to everyone - and they all agreed!

Thanks!

Christine

I'm with everyone else . i love the no pudge brownies , but quit making them . I couldn't stop at one or two . Thanks alot ! Kathy

My new snack find is Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip hard candies. Three for 1 point. Taste just like the ice cream (my favorite) and I find one hits the spot after lunch! I don't count them unless I eat at least two, and using this method, I always seem to be able to "eat just one".

Punky,

can't wait to try the No Pudge brownie trick you mentioned. I am a chocloholic and have no ability to stop at just one if I make the whole pan but this is the greatest idea - how did you figure this out??

Thanks everyone - I'm not currently a WW member but I have been and still have all the point books etc. It was a nice system and all the snack ideas I've seen are great.

Can't wait to go shopping,

Thanks,
Elisa

I am so glad that the no pudge for one idea makes you all so happy. I would love to take the credit for figuring it out but I can't. My leader told me about it. I don't know if you can do it with other things but it is worth a try I guess. I am actually wondering if you can use a regular brownie mix the same way, it sure would be alot cheaper. If anyone tries it let me know.

Brenda

Can't you just divide everything up? I frequently split recipes because there's only my husband and myself. I don't see why you could measure the contents of the box by measuring spoonfuls and do the same with the liquid add. Maybe add the liquid in gradually in case it's too much. I certainly know the right consistency of a box of brownie mix, I've eaten enough boxes of them!

HI! I tried the regular Betty Crocker Brownie mix I had in the house--2T of it and 1T of nonfat yogurt in microwave. I used the point slide and came up with 2 points for this size serving. I thought it was great. A little tangy, but still chocolatey and I didn't have to worry about the rest of the pan of brownies.
Thanks so much for the information!

234/205/thinner

One of the receptionists at my WW meeting passed this on to me and I like it a lot!
Keebler makes a chocolate rimmed ice cream cone. Put two tablespoons LF Cool Whip in it and you have a one point snack that tastes great.
You can freeze the cone with Cool Whip in it, or eat the Cool Whip refrigerated but not frozen. Either way it's yummy.

234/206/thinner

These "No pudge brownies" sound awesome! Does anyone know if their available in Canada or maybe know of an alternative brand that I could use??:^:

These "No pudge brownies" sound awesome! Does anyone know if their available in Canada or maybe know of an alternative brand that I could use??:^:

According to www.nopudge.com (http://www.nopudge.com) , you can call:

CANADA: Distributor in Canada: Gourmet Trading Co in Ontario. Call them at 1-888-482-3278 for a store location near you.

Or, perhaps you could order right from the website.

S

I use the Sweet Rewards brownie mix and it works fine.