[tampagirlcmb]

I've been in one once...a long time ago. I think I bought the fruit rollup thingees that are made from real fruit. I want to go again and get healthy low cal good tasting snacks and staples. Can anyone give me some clues on what are the best things there that possibly won't break the bank? (Is that asking too much!!!) I'm a calorie counter so low on those will work out great. Thanks! The Natural Food Store is like a foreign country to me, but I don't want it to be.

[Suzanne 3FC]

I don't shop at the natural food store as often as I should, partly because of something you bring up - $$$. Processed food manufacturers sure know how to cut costs with cheap fillers so we can afford junk, lol.

I would suggest reading the labels carefully, because natural doesn't always mean it fits in our weight loss routines. Some foods may be high in fat or sugars.

I buy herbs and spices at our natural foods store. They are sold loose, not in spice jars, so you can buy just what you need, and it's always super fresh and cheap. For example, I can buy a tin of old, stale herbs at the supermarket for a few bucks, or buy a baggie full for under a buck and fill my own jars. Plus it tastes better. If I don't shop locally, then I order them online from a good spicer (such as World Merchants Spice) and still save a bundle. Stocking your shelves with a lot of different herbs and spices is a great way to experiment with flavoring your foods without adding calories.

[susie]

What I find worthwhile are fresh organic produce, free-range eggs, organic meats (and excellent lunch meats), Amy's Organic frozen convenience meals (especially tamale pie and breakfast burritos), and organic dairy. In particular on the dairy - greek style yogurts are incredible. One way that I justify the cost is that I can't afford to overeat . Kidding aside - I shop smarter when I'm shopping at Whole Foods or my local Co-op. There isn't as much junk to buy. I also find that whole foods always has some super special on in season produce. To achieve organic goals at a lower cost - I try to buy my cereal and dairy at Trader Joe's when I can - it is so much more reasonably priced. I also LOVE TJ's prepackaged and washed green beans and cut up squash.

Oh - one last thing - if I'm buying canned beans - I always buy organic. Westbrae is my favorite but Eden brand is the only organic version I can get of my favorite canned beans - Adzuki's.

Oh - the really last thing I should mention is - veggie burgers and veggie chicken patties. They usullay are cheaper at the regular grocery store - but if your regular store doesn't carry them - there is always a good variety at natural food stores.

[tampagirlcmb]

thank you for the suggestions. I didnt know about the spices -suzanne- that is pretty cool! I finally have a wide variety of spices in my cupboards and it's definately taken awhile since I can only afford to buy one per wk! I still havent went to the natural food store, but when I do amy's frozen meals are on my list and some other things that I found on the hungry-girl.com website. Thanks again.

[Suzanne 3FC]

For best flavor, you should replace your herbs and spices every six months. I replace mine in the spring and fall when the clocks change

I love Amy's frozen dinners, particularly the cheese enchilada dinner I was really surprised, though, to read an article in a recent issue of Nutrition Action Newsletter that basically said some of these natural frozen dinners may not be any better than their highly processed clones at the supermarket.
The article can be found at http://www.cspinet.org/nah/06_05/frozenpromises.pdf (It's a pdf file)

In particular, they mentioned the higher than usual amount of saturated fats in some of the dinners. They also pointed out that many Cedarlane dinners list the nutrition data, which seems reasonably balanced, until you learn that each package actually contains two servings, so you should double what the lable says. Who eats half of a frozen dinner? They are the same size as Lean Cuisine or other single serving dinners.