Hi all!

I was just thinking that we could all share some diet foods, or healthy foods that you just adore, and maybe get the word out about some really great alternatives and healthy/diet foods!
Maybe even a favorite recipe?!

Mine would have to be laughing cow cheese with a few reduced fat wheat thins, skinny cow mint chocolate ice cream bars, or morning star veggie burgers (I ate these before dieting, but they are still great and healthy!)

-Aly

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter buttery spray. I couldn't do it without it--for cooked veggies and toast especially.

Sorry, I find diet food products, almost without exception, are frankenfood junk with ingredients that are awful for our bodies. Not worth the minimal calories spent on them, IMO.

That said, one food item I love that is considered diet by some is stevia drops and powders. It is a delicious, excellent sweetener, especially the glycerite preparations. No calories, no chemicals, which is more than ANY lean cuisine type product can claim. Icky!

Ditto on that for sure!!

Also, the Fiber One Brownies, sooo yummy and satisfy the sweet craving while only consuming 90 calories and getting the fiber that most of us lack

The spray butter really is great! I always use just a little bit on asparagus before I grill it! Yummy!

I agree with Arctic that most diet foods are just full of junk and crap. That said, here's my list of healthy foods I can't live without:

Quinoa, fat free cottage cheese, tangerines, spinach, sparkling water, tomatoes, boiled eggs, steel cut oatmeal, roasted boneless skinless chicken breasts, and raw unsalted mixed nuts.

I could agree that some "diet foods" can be bad for you. I would especially agree to diet soda. But to each their own. That's why I specified "diet foods, or healthy foods". Whatever keeps cravings down healthy options in power!

double ditto on the butter spray and brownies!

I am obsessed with PB2 which is all natural peanut butter but the fat has been removed so all that's left is a powder (if you're not familiar with it) to which you add water. I think some people follow the directions and don't like it because it is too thick. I don't pay attention to the directions and just add the amount of water I need until I get a creamy result that is almost unparalleled! If I have it with some celery, I feel very satisfied that I had a good snack.

Another diet food I'm dependent on is Arctic Zero "ice cream." I'm not sure it's like ice cream, but it's nice that it has 150 calories for the whole pint. I usually have some after lunch, after dinner and then another 1/3 of it after my kids go to sleep. The downside is that it's very expensive. I don't think the ingredients are bad at all.

I love Kale Chips. I buy them dry at my local health food store. The whole big bag has 150 calories and that makes it good in my book. As you can tell, I like to consume a lot of volume and love to finish a product. I tried making this at home but failed miserably!

Gum isn't all that great for me, but very necessary, given my food addiction.

I hope that helps someone. I appreciate you posting this thread. I get that you didn't ask for whole food items but of course there are some whole food items that are healthy (e.g. kale chips).

Kale and spinach chips are awesome, I agree! Pumpkin with spices and a little of the aforementioned stevia is also amazing, and I eat it with a bit of heavy cream for dessert. Like pumpkin pie, but a nutrient blast with good fat, to boot.

Skinny Cow ice cream cones ... having a couple a week have really helped me feel like I can still treat myself and not feel disgusted with myself.

Gonna have to agree on the Fiber One brownies. Also 100-cal packs of cinnamon almonds, yummmmmmy. and Laughing Cow wedges are very handy.

Other than that, I would rather have 1/4 cup of real ice cream for about 100 cal than a skinny cow or other diet ice cream. It just tastes fake to me.

Lauging Cow Cheese Wedges at 35 calories have a permanetn place in my refrigerator.

Agreed on the first bit, whole-heartedly! A lot of diet foods replace sugars for fats, which y'know; isn't really saving anybody's heart or anything.

As for the second bit, I'd like to say I have a similar-type "luv;" it's a sweetener called Lakanto. All it is is non-GMO erythritol with a wee bit of the extract of this super-sweet Chinese fruit called Luo Han...somethin' er other. Anyway, it's super-expensive but the only thing I've found (sorry, stevia's terrible to me) that is just like sugar, even in baking. I also like erythritol in general, as it's a little cheaper and suitable for most of my rare sweetening needs.

The only "diet" food that I eat extensively is PB2. I love it, but I only use it for my protein shakes. It's a powder so it mixes in SOOOO much better than regular peanut butter. I love having a drink that is pretty much just peanut butter flavored. It's because of PB2 that I don't have to worry about the flavor of protein powder I use.

Otherwise I just have regular peanut butter.