Grocery List

katielouhoo

i try to keep a variety of different kinds & different calorie snacks in the house, it helps keep me out of things i shouldn't have. i like many that have been named already and 15 calorie fruit popsicles & 40 calorie fudgesicles.

my new discovery this year was last month, i saw joy bauer on the today show and she talked about roasted kale chips. i was intrigued and looked it up. it is really, really easy to make. and it totally satisfies the craving for potato chips; and is only 43 calories for a full cup (as opposed to 10 potato chips for 120 calories!!) also kale is a super green veg with lots of fiber, iron, vitamins A & C, etc. (good for you)

(by the way, good housekeeping had this recipe a couple of years ago) Anyway,
take a bunch of kale, remove the heavy stems
cut or tear into 2 inch size pieces
lay on a baking sheet
spray generously with an olive oil spray (like Pam olive oil)
sprinkle with salt (i like using sea salt or kosher salt - my husband likes using chipotle pepper seasoning, so it is spicy)
bake 400 degrees for 10 minutes

it will brown slightly. it is crispy, salty and just a hint of oil (which is why we want chips)
a cup full with a favorite diet soda and you will totally feel like you've indulged, honest.
-katie

lkchris

Just discovered the yummiest bread, pepperidge farms whole grain deli flats!
I use them for turkey sandwiches, but my new fave is toasting them, spraying 5 squirts of spray butter on each one, then topping with just a little splenda. 100 calories for 2 pieces plus the minimal calories in the spray butter and splenda. YUM!

sportsqueen32

I love hummus. I get the roasted garlic flavor as my body doesn't digest spicy anything very well. Usually I dip carrots or celery into it depending on my sugars for the day. When I run out of hummus or need the extra calories I use whipped cream cheese. YUMMMMY if I wasn't headed to bed I would raid the fridge for celery and hummus. I never tried mushrooms with it. Mental note to self buy a lot more mushrooms, they are my fave.

irismoon

I like to get things like:

bananas
apples
grapes
nature's own brand bagels
nature's own whole wheat whole-grain bread
light yogurt (I like yoplait brand, but my mom likes the fiber one brand because of the fiber)
fiber one muffins (mix or frozen) (high in fiber and other things!)
fiber one pancake mix
wheat germ (add to things you cook to make them healthier)
flaxseed (add to things you cook to make them healthier)
whole wheat whole-grain crackers
low fat cheese
popcorn (low in butter)
boost or ensure drinks (great for after a workout when you need protein. Get regular and not the one for gaining wreight!)
Protien snack bars (check the labels to make sure it isn't loaded with fat. Some have like 40% saturated fat.)
Powder fiber like benefiber (great to add to food. Doesn't taste good in drinks though)


You may also want to see what your local health food store has. My mom and I started getting healthy junk food from ours. They have things like chips, cheese puffs, and cookies that are better for you than the regular brands. Sure they are still filler, but at least it is healthier. Normally they are low calorie and fewer preservatives.

melissaovadare

mini popcorn bags - 100 cal
extra gum!! - 5 cal
sugar free jello

this is a weird one - yogurt melts from gerber. it's my son's (9 months), but i tasted it and its delicious... offhand i think its about 30 cal for a dozen or more pieces. (they r freeze-dried yogurt bits and u know its healthy because its targeted for babies!)

Yogurt melts ROCK!!!!!! I ate more that my son did lol

teirney

I've noticed that Babybel or Laughing Cow light cheese is on a lot of lists but I can't figure out what kind of cheese it is! I don't care for cheddar or swiss cheese.

Raphi

I've noticed that Babybel or Laughing Cow light cheese is on a lot of lists but I can't figure out what kind of cheese it is! I don't care for cheddar or swiss cheese.
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Laughing cow is sold in round cartboard containers: it's cream cheese. mmmm

imagymrat

I freeze the jello chocolate fat free pudding cups, they taste just like a fudgesicle! and only 60 calories :noway:

Claudina

[To imagymrat] I never would have thought to freeze pudding pops. Nice tip, thanks! I can find those pretty cheapley too, so that's a plus.

[To Iorns78] I LOVE whole natural almonds (& used to gorge out on them when I was on Adkins a few years ago), so I'm glad you added it here.

Thanks to everyone posting these grocery staple tips. I can't think of anything right now to add (you've covered so much) but will keep this post as a help. Much appreciated.

SuzMcH

my new discovery this year was last month, i saw joy bauer on the today show and she talked about roasted kale chips. i was intrigued and looked it up. it is really, really easy to make. and it totally satisfies the craving for potato chips; and is only 43 calories for a full cup (as opposed to 10 potato chips for 120 calories!!) also kale is a super green veg with lots of fiber, iron, vitamins A & C, etc. (good for you)

(by the way, good housekeeping had this recipe a couple of years ago) Anyway,
take a bunch of kale, remove the heavy stems
cut or tear into 2 inch size pieces
lay on a baking sheet
spray generously with an olive oil spray (like Pam olive oil)
sprinkle with salt (i like using sea salt or kosher salt - my husband likes using chipotle pepper seasoning, so it is spicy)
bake 400 degrees for 10 minutes

it will brown slightly. it is crispy, salty and just a hint of oil (which is why we want chips)
a cup full with a favorite diet soda and you will totally feel like you've indulged, honest.
-katie

Sounds great. I'm definitely going to give this a try. thanks.

muth3rluvx2

1 Bell pepper contains as much Vit. C as - I think - a lb. of oranges, and I *think* it's way super high in A (betakerotene) as well. Dunno about cals - haven't checked yet.

Any suggestions for a hummus alternative? I'm not a hummus fan at all. Don't like tofu either. People *say* it absorbs the flavor of whatever you're cooking with - I have yet to find that to be the case no matter what. However, what I have discovered is super yummy seafood (crab, shrimp, clam, fish... ) are all FAR lower in cals than I would have ever guessed. I LOOOVVVEEEE scrimpies (hehehe), and my other half is the one that got me to eat fish, period. So, I think I'll be investigating those recipes far more actively.

I do a ton of experimental cooking and tonight, I'm going to attempt a home-made tomatoe based vegetable soup with wheat rotini. Contents: whole tomatoes (fresh) to get my base, water, spices (no idea what yet), red potatoes (few), carrots, lima beans (dry) split green and yellow peas (dry - beans are in a bean soup mix bag which we'll never use for a soup - but I'll be happy to ADD to another soup that I like better!), onion I'm iffy on, canned corn (too much of a pain to deal with fresh)... I think that's it. I may need a little bit of sugar to cut the acid level of the tomatos, but if I do, I generally cook with brown sugar, so its a *little* better - and I don't use alot - just enough to cut the bite.

If this works, I'll post a general recipe. I've heard alot of people mention sodium as a concern. I don't do ANYTHING with salt. If I have to use butter, I use real sweet cream unsalted. Generally, I try to stick with olive oil. But.. what I * am * really really really bad about is snacking.. I am a carb addict, I think. I have tried soooo hard to avoid major carbs today and I've done pretty darn well, generally, until about 4:30..... then broke down and had a 250 cal bagel with 90 cal cream cheese. DOH!!!!

I need a replacement!!!!!!!!!!!!! but I don't like hummus OR cottage cheese (love cream cheese and sour cream). :-( So.. any additional suggestions on that one??

irismoon

How about if you are going to eat cream cheese at least getting the low-fat kind or fat free? Fat free cream cheese though tastes funny on it's own. Heard it isn't bad when used in cooking or mixed with something else. I get the 1/3 less fat cream cheese and just watch the amount I eat with my snack crackers. I've been trying to measure everything so I don't eat too much of anything.

irismoon

Oh, almost forgot that if you like sour cream they have a low-fat version of that too, I really like the light sour cream. I can't tell the difference. I'm yet to try the completely fat free sour cream though.

becabunny

I LOVE hardboiled eggs, esp since I only like the white. Thanks for mentioning that because I forgot about that for a snack!

muth3rluvx2

Oooh - thank you for sharing that the light sour cream doesn't taste any different to you! My tastebuds are soooo picky - I generally avoid "light", "fat free" and fake sweeteners. I just don't dig artificial, much. Which is why I've been trying to avoid these kinds of things since I've started all this. I figure, once I get where I want to be, my overall habits and health will be ingrained enough that I can splurge a little more... but until then, I've got to keep myself in serious check. I gain 5 lbs driving by the bakery.... going in the opposite direction!!!!

So any TRUE "tastes just like the real thing" I'm all for. :-) Especially when it comes to the beloved high fat, high calorie heavy duty creamy yummy gooey sloppy droolie things that we all just don't really want to live without!!! LOL

muth3rluvx2

I LOVE hardboiled eggs, esp since I only like the white. Thanks for mentioning that because I forgot about that for a snack!

I love eggs (not all the time because I forget how much I like them!) AND they are just not the same w/o the yolk. I tried the eggs in a carton (you know.. the egg white stuff...) and yeah.. can't quite get into those either. But, I have high cholesterol AND I've set my daily calorie count pretty dang low because of my sedentary life-style (for now - it'll be better when my heart & lung health has improved)... do you have any ideas or suggestions on this? I don't think the once a week I have them is too bad but they sure do kill my calorie count awful early!

Thoughts?

kimhurt

bump