Favorite food products?
 

Hi,

I am new to WW. I am curious if people could share their favorite products. I am planning on shopping this weekend and want to be sure I have everything I need to get off to a good start. I would love some product brands for these items specifically since I know some can be better (taste and point wise) then others

Bread's
Bagels
Rice (any of the quick micro packets a good choice?)
Oatmeal (are any low points that come in a packet?)
Cream Cheese
Yogurts
Cereals
Salad Dressing
Butter
Marinades
Jelly
Frozen Meals (for when I do not have time to cook)
Dessert products

rice is 4-5 points... i've yet to eat any of what i had in the cupboard, pre- WW (whole grain)..

one i personally like, i found it in walmart in front of the deli counter. Called Joseph's whole wheat oat bran flax seed wrap. 1/2 a wrap (the portion size- big enough) is 1point.
fiber one individual packs (very small - very tasty) are also 1 point each.
cheerios are relatively low (plain, original)... 3points for 1 cup. 5 points for 2.
dressing: i use sugar free raspberry vinegerette... its 0 points.
Use your calculator at the store on the labels, look at the portion sizes and see if its realistic to you.

I'm going to assume that you are starting Points Plus and not the old Momentum plan; is this correct?
We use Nature's own light wheat bread for sandwiches. It is 1 PP per slice. The light english muffins are 3 PP and most other light breads are 3 PP for 2 slices (at least in my experience).
Don't eat bagels.
Rice we use brown rice or a brown and wild rice mix, it is 5 PP per cup. Really any kind of rice is the same points value so it depends what you like. I try not to use processed, quick cooking foods so we have traditional rice and throw it in the rice cooker as needed.
Oatmeal is not low points. I have old fashioned oats and I believe they are 4 PP for 1/2 cup dry oats (which I make with 1 cup of skim milk plus whatever I add in there).
Don't use cream cheese.
I like greek yogurt because it has more protein. It is not the lowest point yogurt out there, though. I eat chobani which is between 3-4 PP each.
Cereal: my favorite is Special K red berries. It is 3 PP for 1 cup.
Salad dressing: I have full fat organic green goddess dressing which is 3 PP for 2 T and I also have light ranch which is 2 PP for 2 T. I count the goddess dressing as my healthy oils when I use it.
I actually don't eat a lot of butter. I think any situation that calls for butter can also be satisfied by oil and it is one of your good health guidelines.
We make our own marinades, don't use jelly/jam/preserves unless it's for a recipe.
Ready meals: I like lean cuisines and the new healthy choice steamers. My favorite steamers are the chicken verde and the mushroom risotto. I also just tried the lean cuisine spring rolls yesterday and they are AWESOME. Most of them still have momentum points on the packages so you'll have to calculate them to get the points plus values.
Dessert: I'm an ice cream girl. We usually get Edy's light ice cream which is either 3 or 4 PP per 1/2 cup depending on variety. We also right now have WW chocolate covered raspberry cheesecake bars which are good (3 PP). I usually have dark chocolate in the house, the points will depend on what kind you buy.

Really, though, we can say what we like but it might not be what you will like. You can probably continue to eat everything you eat now and fit it into the WW plan. Try a few new things and see if any of them strike your fancy.

I also really like popchips. They come in different flavors and are only 3 PP for about 27 of them. So good! You can find them with the potato chips.

spook. You said you use green goddess organic... so not kraft seven seas?

No, I use Annie's Naturals brand. Delicious. Is the seven seas the same point value?

dont know :( i thought i had a bottle in the fridge, but it appears i dont

For bagels (the one food I could not live without), Kim's or Stop & Shop/Giant Brand Lite. Both are 3 points each.

Thanks for all the feedback, it is helpful

I was really just curious of what most other lik/buy so I could narrow in on those instead of manually checking the points for everything in the store LOL

Bread's - Deli Thins by Arnold or Pepperidge Farm

Bagels - Arnold's Bagel Thins (half thickness, 3PP) Regular bagels are too high IMO.

Rice - I eat brown rice for the fiber (And I think short grain is tastier)

Oatmeal - Steel cut, if at all (better glycemic value)

Cream Cheese - I usually skip and eat Laughing Cow - much lower points

Yogurts - Usually FF Greek. Occasionally WW brand vanilla.

Cereals - Kashi Go Lean

Salad Dressing - Maple Grove Farms Cranberry Balsamic. Or I cash in my daily olive oil and have two teaspoons with some balsamic vinegar.

Butter - I try to avoid real butter if I can use olive oil. For veggies, I use Parkay Butter Spray, or Smart Squeeze.

Marinades - Wine, or Earth and Vine Pineapple Sake Teriyaki

Jelly - For me, not worth the points

Frozen Meals - If you look at Lean Cuisine or WW dinners that have points listed on the box, make sure it says Points PLUS. My store still has old points value on many of them. Overall, I think values went up by 1-2 points per dinner.

Dessert products - I can usually be satisfied with yogurt or SF hot cocoa or SF hot apple cider, and try my best to avoid other desserts because it's really hard to stop sometimes. It's better to just avoid it all together. But if I go nuts for something sweet, my guilty pleasure is cotton candy. My grocery store has these little plastic cartons of it that are 3 PP for the carton. I'd rather spend my points on something my body needs, though.

If you love cream cheese, try Philly's fat free! It's 0 points for 1 serving, but I usually eat 2 servings (2tbsp), so it's 1-2pts.

Not on WW...but I love and ADORE these wraps. They're lavash bread, and they're heavenly. You can bake them up into chips, use them as actual wraps, burrito wraps or bake them on a form into taco shell bowls. Joseph's also has whole wheat oat bran flax seed pita bread that's 60 calories per piece...yummy. I use them for tacos and with cream cheese (fat free) and bananas for breakfast a lot of time.

yeah i had a brain fart to the lavash bread part.. ^_^ they're good. I use them alot O_O - less points than bread.. and i cant help but feel like im getting more (at least i can fit more on them)

Thanks for the info on the lavash bread...I'll have to check this out.

Couple favorites include

Skinny Cows_individual ice cream servings are 4 PP (decadent treat!)

Frozen breakfast - love the WW quessadilla - 1 = 5 PP; add an apple and you have a pretty good balance (considering it's processed food, which I know I should avoid, but, sadly, I don't)

WW vanilla yogurt with Fiber One cereal added is another favorite....

Snap peas....

Kashi GO Lean Crunch! Honey Almond and Flax is my every-morning cereal. I mix 1/2 cup (3PP) with a container of yogurt (2 PP for WW brand, 3PP for Yoplait light or Chobani vanilla).

Rice... I just buy the big bags of plain BROWN rice. Same PP for white rice, but it's better for you and I just like the taste better. I eat a lot of rice.

I haven't touched bread since I've been on WW. I like bread, but not enough to spend the points on it when I am so much more satisfied by other carbs. I do use junior-sized regular hamburger buns for my veggie burgers though.

Hmm... I don't use salad dressing, make my own preserves but don't use jelly for much... I use House of Tsang Korean Teriyaki for marinade and stir fry sauce, it's one PP for 2 tablespoons.

As for frozen meals, to be honest the first 4 weeks on WW I relied heavily on Smart Ones products. It was extremely comforting and simple for me to know exactly what I was eating and not have to measure or calculate anything. My favorites are the Pasta Primavera, the meatloaf with mashed potatoes, the potatoes with cheese and broccoli, and the Teriyaki chicken one. I still take one to work with me for lunch every day.

For dessert products, I'm a Smart Ones girl here too. I budget 4-5 PP for a Smart Ones frozen dessert every single night. It's something to look forward to and I can think about it all day to help me pass by sweets and extras because I KNOW I am having chocolate cake or a peanut butter cup sundae in X hours!

One thing I have noticed when going to WW. "Light" or "Reduced Fat" isn't always the way to go. Before picking the modified version, grab your calculator (there are apps for Android and iPhone) and see if the modified version actually saves you any points. Most times, the reduced fat is countered by increased carbs and the points are the same so you can enjoy the (more satisfying) full version without having extra points. Cheese and other dairy products are an exception to this rule though. Going low fat or fat-free on these will save you serious points.

Good luck, you're going to love it!