Low(er)-calorie foods that we couldn't live without...

Great post idea!:flowerforyou:
nut thins crackers and the new mini tubs of strawberry cream cheese as an occasional treat.

As I've been adjusting my eating habits over the past few months, I've been looking at nutrition information more carefully and as a result have tried some new foods that now I couldn't live without! These are the weekly "staples" at the grocery store that really help us stay on track while fulfilling the random cravings that might normally kill an otherwise healthy day. So... I wanted to share mine and get some ideas from others that maybe I've missed but should add to my list! I realize it's all prepackage and processed, but since I never have time to cook I'm doing the best I can.

My staples:
Jello Mousse Temptations (helps with chocolate cravings, especially during TOM...)
Wheat Thins Flatbreads, Tuscan Herb (for when I need a cracker-like crunch)
Laughing Cow Light Cheese wedges
Chobani Greek Yogurts and Breyer's Light yogurts
100 Calorie packs of crackers or cookies (great for lunches at work)
Fiber One Bars

What are your favorites?

I think pandalady is my twin. I use all of those, plus sun-dried tomatoes, apples, and romaine lettuce. At least one of the things mentioned seems to work its way into my daily menu.

I agree with Arnold's and laughing Cow - I also go in spurts (mostly in winter) when I eat tons of spaghetti squash and homemade tomato sauce. Yummy fun-textured veggies and almost no calories. Gotta love that!

Low fat fudge bars....110 calories of pure chocolate bliss and little guilt

100 calorie Ritz and a wedge of Laughing Cow low fat cheese spread.

And lots and lots of water.

Love the chocolate chip idea thanks!! I recently found Dippin' Sticks they make apple slices with caramel and nuts or apple slices with caramel or carrot sticks with ranch they also make apple sticks with yogurt. I love that my two year old thinks they are a real treat!!! Yea!! He is growing up right His favorite is the apple with yogurt and of course he cant have the one with the nuts. Also I have learned that 4-8 oz of Orange juice depending on how many calories I need that day really fills me up...I have it as an actual snack with a bananna MMM! I have also learned that the low fat food with sweetners just makes me hungry so I have cut the low fat from my diet for the most part. If I want PB I have regular but just watch the calorie count and serving size. I also am in love with Stacy's Simply Naked Pita chips dipped in Laughing Cow Swiss oh and lets see... I make fruit salad with Strawberries blueberries bannanas and unsweetened coconut very filling and very low fat!!!! Hope this wasnt too wordy here is a run down for those who do not want to read all this :laugh:
Dippin Sticks (Apple with Yogurt, Carrots with Ranch Apple with Caramel)
4-8 Oz Orange Juice
banana
Fruit salad with Blueberries bananas strawberries and unsweetened coconut
Stacy's Simply Nakes Pita Chips with Laughing cow

White Rice
Franks Red Hot
Heinz Ketchup
Jello Mousse Temptations
Quaker True Delights Quakes Rice Snacks
Kudos 100 cal granola bar.

All these can be found in my house.

As I've been adjusting my eating habits over the past few months, I've been looking at nutrition information more carefully and as a result have tried some new foods that now I couldn't live without! These are the weekly "staples" at the grocery store that really help us stay on track while fulfilling the random cravings that might normally kill an otherwise healthy day. So... I wanted to share mine and get some ideas from others that maybe I've missed but should add to my list! I realize it's all prepackage and processed, but since I never have time to cook I'm doing the best I can.

My staples:
Jello Mousse Temptations (helps with chocolate cravings, especially during TOM...)
Wheat Thins Flatbreads, Tuscan Herb (for when I need a cracker-like crunch)
Laughing Cow Light Cheese wedges
Chobani Greek Yogurts and Breyer's Light yogurts
100 Calorie packs of crackers or cookies (great for lunches at work)
Fiber One Bars

What are your favorites?

Wow you got almost all my favorites on there! I just recently discovered the Laughing Cow cheese wedges and they are amazing. I'm also a huge fan of the Arnold's 100-calorie "thins" which are great for that sandwich craving. Also on my "can't-live-without-them" list are: summer fruits (peaches!), light cottage cheese, raw almonds, raw cashews, and anything with greek yogurt.

Poached eggs for breakfast! Seems to fill me up Waaaaay longer than anything else.
Peppermint tea - after every meal, also redbush with vanilla tea too.
Aldi's Del Rio orange and mango smoothie
Blackberries - plundered off the bush at the side of my cycle track home.
Paul Newman light balsamic vinagarette
Butterkist microwave popcorn
Iceland Choc Ices

whole tomatoes from costco,

rice cakes from Ralphs, 5 cal less than Quaker and fairly good quality, only 30 cal each,

Fiber One original cereal,

nonfat milk,

nonfat cottage cheese,

Starkist Albacore Tuna in pouch-low sodium water pack,

apples,

pb2,

bananas,

Crystal Lite, tub makes 8 glasses, make fresh pitcher each night, nice and cold for next day, just need to drink whole pitcher to get my 8,

Equal, in my instant coffee--easy, will not give up my 2TBS of half and half, my 'treat"

hard boiled egg yolks

LCC of course,

Tofu Shirataki! A whole bag is amazingly filling and costs practically nothing!

No Pudge Brownie Mix....yummy warm brownies made with the mix and no-fat yogurt. I add nuts and some fat free whipped cream....to die for!

Popcorn for the crunch attacks!!!

Whole Almonds for crunch too...plus they are an essential daily food group and they curb the appetite too!

A guy at work is also dieting, though in a more extreme way than me - he did the whole 7 days with nothing passing his lips except meat...I worry for his liver but it seemed to help kickstart his loss! Anyway, it's been good to have someone else in my staff room resisting all the temptations at morning tea and lunchtime - I would describe the women in my staffroom as group emotional eaters, the kind the are always talking about the diets that they're on (boring!) but then go and buy a huge parcel of hot chips and eat nothing else for lunch!!

Anyway, my fellow dieter and I have laughing cow cheese as a staple in the fridge - we jokingly call it "fat person" cheese. Love it.

I also just got turned onto skinny cow ice cream bars..

I love cows!

Shirataki noodles sound interesting, I hope someone has some feedback on them! Though I'm not sure if I could find them here anyway!

Must have snacks in our house:

Organic yogurt
Kiwis (only 42 calories each!)
a glass of flavored milk (bad, I know! Sorry!)

Has anyone found greek yogourt in Canada, I even went to a Greek market and they had no idea what I was after. It sounds like something I would really like.

Dencrossgirl,

I came across Liberte plain greek yogurt, 0% fat at Sobey's in Alberta yesterday. I tried it, and couldn't tell the difference between that and the Balkan style yogurt I had been buying. It was good, though! I like to serve the plain yogurt with salmon as a 'sauce' with no add-ins.

Another low fat snack I can't live without: Bles-Wold flavoured yogurts! So incredibly yummy! I think they are only available in AB, and hard to find at that! I can get it at our local Sobey's, but tried one in Edmonton and they didn't carry it!