July 21, 2009

Recent healthy finds and favorites

I think anyone who watches what they eat goes through phases filled with new ideas and snacks they discovered recently. I think there's also always that re-discovery phase too... you know, when you finally rediscover why you loved a food or flavor that you burnt yourself out on a couple months prior.

So, here are some of the things I've been eating and craving lately. Some aren't that revolutionary by any means, but I just think it's helpful to see what other healthy people are eating because it inspires me to switch it up. I hope some of these give you some new ideas, too :)
  • Cantaloupe and cottage cheese: Such a classic... I've always LOVED melon more than any other fruit, and cottage cheese is rich enough that it makes eating fruit feel more indulgent than just biting into an apple. If you're getting burnt out on snacking on fruit - put some cottage cheese on top and see what you think. (1 cup of melon is 1 point, 1/2 a cup of fat-free cottage cheese is about 1 point too.)
  • Diet lemonades from Chick-fil-A: A large (and I mean large) sized diet lemonade is only 30 calories. It's really tasty, and can really curb my craving for other snacks in the afternoon.
  • Wine and cheese crumbles: I actually saw my friend Libby crumble up cheese to eat while sipping wine once, and it inspired me to find a healthy way to enjoy cheese with my wine, since it is by far one of my favorite, favorite things. Instead of braking off cubes or slices of your favorite cheese, breaking it up into crumbles allows you to "taste" the cheese as you sip, rather than chowing down larger portions as you go. It worked really well for me!
  • Chicken Caesar wraps: Kind of like these chicken pesto wraps I wrote about. Wrap up some mixed greens, a bit of shredded Parmesan and some chicken in a whole wheat tortilla and put some low fat Caesar on the side for dipping. Extremely flavorful and satisfying.
  • Biscotti: I rediscovered how satisfying biscotti is, when I was frequenting GreenBerry's for latte's while packing for the move. Nonni's Biscotti is in grocery stores, and each one is 2 points.
  • Roasted green beans and peppers: This is my new favorite combination of roasted vegetables for small meals, side dishes or snacks. Get a package of pre-washed / trimmed french cut green beans and slice up some red bell pepper, drizzle sparingly with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 until slightly charred or roasted. I use frozen green beans and peppers and to me it's just as good, and super easy.
  • Good old lean cuisines: An oldie, but goodie. I've certainly gotten tired of lean cuisines in years past; both of eating the same meals over and over again, as well as becoming painfully aware that the meal is over as soon as the tray is empty. While generally I do best when I can look forward to several low-calorie meals and snacks throughout the day, there's something to be said for sitting down to a meal. Lean cuisines may not be a hearty meal for some, but for someone dieting, they are just right if you are craving some pasta or a real entree.
Anyone have any other ideas? Anything that's helping you push through cravings lately?

1 comment:

  1. I love your green bean and pepper idea, I love roasted vegetables but always have the same old. Have you tried roasted broccoli with garlic? That is yum too!

    I am not a huge fan of frozen meals, but recently I picked up a couple of the Kashi ones to keep on hand, they have been useful at lunchtime when I don't have time to really prepare anything healthy.

    Also, lately my "dessert" had been Greek yogurt with blueberries, sliced almonds and drizzle of agave nectar!!

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