I'm working hard trying to learn what I can about healthy foods. I found something new today at Trader Joes and it just seems like there must be something wrong with it!
It is called Fiberful. It was .59 cents. The only flavor I saw was apricot, but if you like apricot, it is delicious. It's like a fruit leather.
The fiber comes from the combo of the fruit and added fibers (inulin and psyllium). No added sugars, which is a plus.
Negatives, for me, would be the fairly low volume for the 60 calories. 60 calories gets you two cups of broccoli, and that'd have 5 grams of fiber (and there's two cups of food there, rather than a thin little sheet of dried fruit).
2 cups of broccoli aren't as portable as that, though, and raw veggies aren't to everyones taste.
I eat these a couple of tiems a week as a "dessert" after lunch. I like them. I eat these mostly to get the extra fiber. I cannot digest raw fruits or veggies, so this works out well for me as a fiber supplement
I like the berry one best myself.
pssst, beth, if you're in the market to boost your fiber and looking for grab and go solutions, next time you're at Trader Joe's, you might also want to check out Gnu Fiber & Flavor bars. They're pretty friggin' tasty for bars, about 130 calories and have 12 grams of fiber. Obviously bars aren't a great idea for an everyday nosh, but I always keep one or two of these in my car in case I hit bad traffic and am starving. They're my favorite go-to car-or-purse-stash snack.
The inulin would be a negative for me. According to the July/August 2008 issue of Nutrition Action Newsletter, inulin isn't a great source of fiber. Inulin is one of a whole bunch of fiber additives that are included in food to boost the fiber content while adding minimal calories, but none of these additives have been shown to have the same benefits as eating food that is naturally high in fiber. But the psyllium husk and flaxseed meal (and maybe the soy grit) are also adding fiber and are higher on the ingredient list than the inulin, so the Fiberful might still be a good source of fiber, despite the inulin.
And I agree with Mandalinn that volume of food for my calorie buck would be another negative, for me at least. I like my snacks to be bigger.
I think it would make a great sweet treat when you just needed something like that. I'm with Manda, though, in that it wouldn't be enough volume to satisfy me for a full snack.
I think it would make a good treat for you when you are on the run, but I also like to eat in more filling portions. Might be able to bring something in a zip lock bag that is easy to carry too.