We all have them. Those items that make lower calorie meals easier,more convenient, or way tastier. What are your "can't make it without them" items?

Mine are

La Tortilla factory high fiber low carb tortillas- 50 calories for taco and 80 calories for a large wrap sized one.

GOOD quality high end cheese.- I know, I know there are low fat low calorie cheeses out there for half the calories but I'd rather use half as much and have AMAZING cheese. It has so much flavor that just a little bit adds a TON of flavour to a meal.

Herbs. SO much flavor. so little calories

Cantaloupe- I feel like i'm cheating

my grocery stores mini angel food cakes- 120 calories for a HUGE portion controlled cake. Add some strawberries and coolwhip free and yummy

Progresso Light soups I know I know lots of sodium but they are fast, hot easy, and filling

Roasted Veggies.

You picked some great ones ie the wraps and canteloupe.

Shrimp uncooked-cooks up quick and tossed with herbs and olive oil-very low cal dinner.

Mixed berries, Raspberries,blueberries and blackberries. Frozen bag. I eat them half frozen as dessert treat.

Tea and my chocolate calcium supplements -chewy little treats.

fat free Total greek yogurt
Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats
turkey deli meat
Progresso Soup
skim milk
Kraft Fat Free shredded cheese
berries
Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches
grilled fish
carrot sticks & cherry tomatoes
squash

Flatout qraps
Activia light yogurt w/ frozen berries mixed in
frozen grapes
roasted brussel sprouts
Arnold's sandwich thins (similar to the Pepperidge Farm flats)
shrimp

My herb garden - fresh herbs at a whim is so valuable!

FiberGourmet pasta - high fiber, lower calorie, lower glycemic. LOVE IT and use it in lieu of any standard pasta.

Small corn tortillas - we found some for 30 calories each. A nice easy thing to toast up and sprinkle on top of tortilla soups, taco salads, etc.

Alvarado Essential Flax bread - 50 cals a slice, so good, very good ingredient list in my opinion.

Naturally More PB - PB, but with more omega-3s from added flax. Love it.

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. 40 cals a cup, and great to put on cereal, in protein shakes, or my favorite, half a cup heated up with a little...

Sugar Free Oregon Chai - NO calories, delicious cold or hot with a little almond milk, feels super-indulgent with hardly any caloric impact. I also use it in place of water when making pancakes, making delicious spiced pancakes.

Low sodium chicken broth! I use this instead of oil everywhere - to saute, in salad dressings, to pour on the bottom of a roasting pan to prevent the drippings from scorching in lieu of adding a lot of oil, to replace most of the oil in marinades...not to mention as a base for homemade soups. We buy it in bulk, particularly during the winter when we're eating a lot of soups.

Mandalinn what brand are those corn tortilla's? I will have to try the chicken broth trick. Thank you

see this is exactly why i love this site! always picking up the best ideas.....would have never thought to use chicken broth instead of oil.....AWESOME IDEAS guess i'll be trying ALL of the above!
THANKS

You know, I'm not sure! They were with the regular tortillas, and are labeled only "Taco Sliders". Two are 60 calories. They're quite small, but I use them places where you don't need much. Or, our latest go to meal: Toast 4 on a cookie sheet until crisp. Top with lean ground beef, a dollop of fat free refried beans, olives, romaine lettuce, a small amount of sour cream, salsa, and if we have avocado, a little guac for healthy fat. Result - gorgeous tostadas delicious enough to cure any Mexican craving.

I also use the chicken broth in sauces. Pesto with olive oil can be heavy, calorie-wise - use basil, garlic, and chicken broth instead of the oil, and you can still use small amounts of parmesan and nuts without blowing your calorie counts out of the water. I also make hummus this way...a tsp of olive oil for mouthfeel, the rest with broth.

People will argue with this, but for me: aspartame. I have a terrible sweet tooth, and aspartame lets me indulge it.

Cottage cheese. SO easy to get enough protein if I am eating plenty of cottage cheese.

There are TONS of cooked and prepared foods that make adhering to my lifestyle easier and incredibly enjoyable - and that's the key for me - getting pleasure from the foods that I eat, but here I'll just list the ready made ones

-Danon Light and Fit yogurt - I eat it partially frozen with 1/4 cup of Fiber One mixed in for crunch
-70 calorie bag of already popped popcorn - Sunrise is the brand
-20 calorie Nestle Fat Free Hot Chocolate
-Garden Goodness Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette - 25 calories for 2 tbsp
-Costo Peach Mango Salasa - 25 calories for 2 tbsp. SO good. Great with veggies, great with chicken breasts or salmon
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Rice Vinegar
-Hunts 5 calorie jello
-canned tomatoes - stewed, petite diced, whole
-Non-stick cooking spray
-Schwarma seasoning - so good on grilled cutlets (and there are other spices that I rely heavily on as well)

I'm sure there are others, but that's what's coming to my head now.

So many GREAT ideas. There are several things I am going to look for. Thanks for this thread!

Here is a similar thread from the 100 pound forum:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/100-...your-plan.html

It's not quite a food but it's a huge staple for me is the combination of a blender set and little storage pots. I got tired of giant blenders that you had to use once and then wash straight out, made so much washing up and if you wanted to use it more than once in a recipe then it was really tricky. This set has 6 blender cups in different sizes so you can blend a single portion of fruit for a yoghurt or a big family soup, and you take the blades off and you can put a lid, a shaker lid or a cover for the screw top that means you can drink straight from the blender so you can run up a smoothie and drink it straight down.

The small pots are the ones I used to use for my daughter's baby food and it means I can get a 20oz tub of yoghurt and stir in any flavours I want to (usually fruit out of my blender) and then pop the lid on for portability.

OK they aren't foods, but if you can get the equipment right to motivate you to use your foods then you are more likely to eat the foods, right?

Mmm, definitely.

Greek yogurt
homemade almond butter
Things made with homemade almond butter.
Winter squash