Any good food out there???

I find dried fruit very convienent. I just recently discovered dried Kiwis and I love them! Nuts also make great snacks. Just pre measure them out ( same for the fruit they will push up your carb levels). I usually pack up whatever leftovers I have from supper the night before for lunch the next day, and each week, I make up a big bowl of romaine, spinach, and other greens. Then all you have to do is chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, onion or whatever for an instant salad. I even have mini containers to put my dressing in on the side. Good luck

I had trouble at first.....I'm still in the process of getting more variety in my diet....the suggestion on the message boards here were a great thing for me...

This is super-easy! I replace the chicken thighs with boneless chicken breasts to improve the nutritional values (haven't plugged that into the recipe calculator here yet though).

http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Rosemary-Baked-Chicken-with-Potatoes.aspx

Like you, I'm not much of a cook. McCormick makes these little cards that have all the spices in the quantities you'd need to make a dish one time, and the back of the package is a punch-out recipe card. I've tried a few of them now and they're all pretty tasty!

However, they have most of the recipes on their website as well.

If you don't have a full array of spices at home, you may want to buy a couple of the cards to try out a few recipes without buying $30 of spices. Once you get a sense of what dishes and seasonings you like, you can just buy the right spices and keep on making them!

I just discovered Chobani greek yogurt. It's low-cal, fat-free, and it has 14g of natural (non-soy) protein, which is amazing for yogurt! It also tastes great! I mean greek yogurt has it's own flavor and is much thicker than the dannon you'd be used to, but for me it helps me hit that protein mark easily. And I agree with others... try to stay as close to natural food as possible...fruits, veggies, etc, and the biggest things is plan out your meals ahead of time so you are less likely to just grab whatever is in front of you.

Just an FYI...keep an eye out on the sugar and sodium count of the foods you just mentioned. The only item on your list that I would touch is the oatmeal.

I recommend trying to find a replacement for the chips. I understand that they're fat-free, but they offer absolutely NO substance. Popcorn would probably be a better alternative. I understand the snacking is tough to cut. The Snickers marathon bars have been a lifesaver. Fresh fruit wasn't doing it for me, so I bought the popcorn.

For yogurt, try using Greek yogurt. If you're working out, then the protein is much better and I actually think it tastes better. I also use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream (in everything).

Have you tried the Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers? My girlfriend doesn't like them as much as I do, but me and her mother really like them. In that one area of the freezer section, you'll find several choices of meals that are each about 300 calories. You can find similar calorie counts in other items (pf changs, tgiFridays, etc), but the fat content on those items is through the roof.

The other thing I've done is put soups in my diet. I buy smart salad, bread and sandwich ingredients (mustard, no mayo......turkey, no roast beef........sugar free preserves, not jelly) and pair them with soups for lunch. Soup is full of vegetables and water. It is a great filler. For soup, I still like Healthy Choice, but you can't really go wrong on that isle unless you're getting New England Clam Chowder or those extra hearty Chunky-type soups.

Hey, I'm no expert. These are just some of the things that have been passed on to me. Good Luck.

Well, I think cooking is half the battle--there is so much sodium and other stuff in pre-packaged foods. That's not to say I don't eat pre-packaged foods, but I try to cook (or assemble) at least one meal per day. My favorite bread is Arnold Dutch Country Whole Wheat--it's not low in calories, but it tastes good and is a complex carb so it's better for you. A low cal option is Pepperidge Farms Light Breads (the pieces are thinner and a little smaller so it helps keep the carb levels down). My favorite healthy meal lately is Tuna Salad Sandwiches. You can put whatever you want in them, but I use
-1 can of Starkist Tuna in water (drained)
-1 hard boiled egg white (cut the egg in half and discard the yolk), chopped
-10 slices of dill pickles, chopped
-1.5 tablespoons of Miracle Whip
Everyone makes their tuna salad differently and mine is very dry so you can add more Miricle Whip if you want. If you use mayo, I would suggest a light mayo as mayo is VERY high in fat. Anyway, I just eat about 2/3 of my tuna salad on 2 pieces of bread and eat the rest with some Baked Lay's.

The most healthy meal is baked chicken, though. I made it taste good my marinating the chicken for at least 30 minutes prior to baking. I get Perdue Fit & Easy Chicken Breast as it is healthier than most and tastes better. As for marinades, experiment to see what you like, but I like A1 Chicago Steakhouse, A1 Cajun, Lawry's Louisinana Red Pepper, and Lawry's Sun Dried Tomato. My husband likes Lawry's Teriyaki. Marinading your chicken breasts--I just use a gallon sized storage bag, pour in a bunch of marinade and squish it around to make sure all is covered, then put in in fridge until ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When you're ready to bake, put reynolds wrap on a baking sheet (easier to clean up) and place the chicken on the sheet, then pop in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. When you take it out, make sure you either use a meat thermometer or cut open the chicken to make sure it is white (not pink) as you don't want to eat raw chicken. As a side, I generally just make Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice, or steam some veggies (or get a can if you're in a pinch).

Hope you find these two helpful!

Holy cow that's alot of sugar! One thing that has helped me kick my weight loss into high gear was to keep it simple. I try to eat foods as close to their natral state as possible. I find my self way more hungry if I eat a lean cuisine over a grilled chicken breast on a bed of fresh vegies. Hope this helps!

- greek yogurt with fruit
- laughing cow cheese wedges for crackers, wraps, sandwiches, etc.
- veggies and dip or hummus
- scrambled eggs.. on a wrap with salsa and avocado.. It looks weird but it is so good!
- spaghetti squash in place of pasta for spaghetti
- stir fry -- careful with rice, be sure to read how much an actual serving is, if you fill it with lots of veggies though it will fill you up without overloading on carbs from the rice

Now I'm hungry!

Emerald and Blue Diamond have flavor roasted almonds that make great snack or I add mine to yogurt or my oatmeal. Popcorn is a great suggestion I saw mentioned. I like string cheese too.

Perdue makes those Short Cuts are already made and easy to add to a wrap, salad, or bed of veggies! They have come in handy when I need something quick. When I have time I like to fry 'em up in EVOO and some grillin' seasoning. I love the turkey and original chicken.