Some of the Best foods

Frozen or fresh veggies, canned have extra sodium. I like the Ronzini smart taste. Wheat pasta is ok, but the thicker ones stay kind of chewy. I like the thin wheat spaghetti noodles. Crystal light depends on what you think about artificial sweeteners

Crystal light - try to get the one with the natural sweetener and not the original one with artificial sweetener. It is a lower-impact option to juices and other drinks. And if this is a way to get you to drink more water .. it's better than not.

Fresh fruit is always a good thing. Nature's candy - in moderation of course. Not that you will gain weight from it but sugar in general may spike hunger and cravings for other not so healthy things.

Fresh is always going to be better than frozen. Although I have seen some recent studies that have shown that the methods of freezing vegetables has greatly improved and the difference is small. I personally feel the frozen ones because it is more economical. I try to buy fresh but often I can't eat it fast enough because it's only me .. so I used to throw away a lot of it. Now I buy the those steam bags and it has worked out a lot better. The other thing is that steaming is better at keeping the nutrients of the vegetables over boiling it in water. Canned veggies I'm not a huge fan of. The additives, preservatives, and taste is really not my cup of tea. I suppose some of them are okay, but I prefer to stay away from boxed and canned when possible.

As for pasta I have no recommendations other than try a whole wheat pasta. I heard this can be tricky because some of them can taste gummy. I can't really help you here because I haven't bought or ate pasta in a long time. lol

I second the water with lemon

Fresh isn't always better than frozen nutrient wise.

The frozen produce is often frozen within hours or days of being picked and fresh sometimes takes days or weeks to get to its destination. All depends on where it is coming from. As for canned, yeah, you've gotta watch the sodium for sure and I don't know about you guys but the low sodium stuff tastes awful to me. Canned tomatoes, however, are actually more nutritous then fresh, and are great to have in the pantry for recipe add ins. Ahh, the complexities of science!

A local farmer is going to have the best fresh produce and you'd be supporting your area, but this isn't always an option unfortunately.

I might reorganize it to:

local fresh ----> frozen

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> fresh

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> canned

I always seem to have a mix of all, depends on what it is.

I sometimes drink the walmart brand of crystal lite. (I drink alot of water, so its almost like a little treat for me at lunch besides water) I eat all kinds of veggies.... (usually whatever is on sale) I take care of kids, so I need to be cheap I try not to eat a ton of pasta any more, but I do buy the wheat kind. spagetti squash is yummy. I add lots of veggies (mushrooms onions green peppers tomatoes, and sauce ~ taste just like spagetti) When I feel like putting meat in it I use ground turkey.

Oh, yeah I forgot about spaghetti squash, my favorite dish right now, had some last night. LOVE IT. It's still in season too, I don't know what I'll do when it goes out

Ditch the pasta and get that!

Fresh is best, frozen is next and canned is better than none....I heard that once from an older gal and it has stuck with me forever. When I do buy canned, I try to get low sodium and I also rinse well. I actually like the taste of certain items canned over fresh like green beans or peas for instance.......but I am weird ........I think the convenience of frozen veggies/fruits makes them a better option for a lot of people. I eat a ton and it breaks my heart if I have to throw them away because they have spoiled.

As far as pasta, eat whatever you want as long as you can fit it into your macros. I don't eat it often because it is such a calorie dense food. I want more to eat so I stick with spaghetti squash or zucchini. If I do eat the real deal, I like the barilla with extra protein.

As to crystal light....it is full of chemicals. I am not saying I don't drink it but I try to limit it to one a day. I also like the flavored benefiber packets and at least they have fiber (cherry pomegranate is awesome!).....Trader Joes also has drink mix similar to crystal light that is sweetened with stevia.

Your best bet is buy fresh veggies and then steam them. Frozen is next best thing. NO canned veggies, they may be cheaper and last longer, but I think that's not a good option at all.