Food FindsTag Archives

A New Look & A New Food

I decided since I’ve really been working on getting a new attitude about my weight loss journey lately that it was time for a new look around here, too. I love the new theme I found! Let me know what you think.

As long as I’m posting, I also wanted to share about a new food I found. It’s called Quinoa Duo with Vegetable Melange and I tried it last night for the first time. It’s realllly tasty!

It can be found in the freezer section at my beloved Trader Joe’s. I don’t remember how much it cost, but it wasn’t that much, if memory serves. It contains both white quinoa and red quinoa, hence the “duo” name, as well as zucchini and sweet potato for the vegetable melange. There are a few other ingredients on the list, but it’s mostly spices and such, so I won’t list them all out. The thing I liked best is that everything is a recognizable name and not some chemical. Well, actually, there was one ingredient that I didn’t recognize. Have you ever heard of Galangal? Well, I hadn’t. It turns out it’s a root that’s related to ginger.

As for preparation, it can be heated in either the microwave or a saucepan. The cooking time is about 6-7 minutes regardless of which preparation method you choose.

Here are the nutritional stats:

Serving Size: 1 cup (140g)
Servings per container: about 3
Calories: 220
Total Fat: 6g (saturated fat: 1g – trans fat: 0g)
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 260mg
Total Carbohydrates: 36g
Dietary Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 6g

I really enjoyed this one. It’s definitely something I will be purchasing again. It’s nice to have a grain option that’s quick and easy to prepare that’s also a healthy choice.

Until next time …

24 May 2010

Cooking, Misc.

0 comments

blog stuff, Food Finds, grains, Trader Joe's

Cookie Giveaway

Cookies? On a diet? Yes, yes you can! The ladies over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans are giving away some of the awesome breakfast cookies from Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods. I’ve been eating these cookies for about 10 years. If you would like a chance to win some of these goodies, head over and check out all the details on the Sisterhood site.

Even if you don’t win the giveaway, check out the cookies on the Baker’s site anyway. They’re wonderful! Some of their products are also available on Amazon which is where I normally order mine.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

I went to my WW meeting today and I was down 2.8 pounds. I also picked up some new goodies after the meeting. All the thumbnails are clickable for a larger view.

Comfort Classics cookbook:

White Chocolate Peppermint smoothie mix:

Red Velvet mini snack bars:

Cappuccino Cream Melts candy:

I haven’t tried the smoothie yet, but did try the Red Velvet bars and the candy. They were both great! The candy is 1 point for the entire pack, so if you eat them sparingly, they’ll be 0 points since they are only 6 calories each. I only ate 1 today, so I didn’t bother putting it in my journal.

Speaking of which ….

Breakfast:

Iced coffee – 2
Banana – 2

Lunch:

Leftover TJ’s BBQ chicken teriyaki – 5.5
Large salad – 0

Snack:

WW Red Velvet mini bar – 1

Dinner:

Kashi Moroccan Curry pilaf – 9
Grape tomatoes – 0
Fudge bar – 1

Snack:

Nonfat milk – 3.5
Snack bar – 4

Total Points: 28
Exercise: Wii EA Sports Active – 2 AP
WPA Balance: 2
AP Balance: 35
Water: 80 oz

23 August 2009

Misc., Weigh In

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Cookbooks, Food Finds, Food Journal, Weigh In

Kashi Moroccan Curry

I just had to share about a new food item I tried today. It’s Moroccan Curry from the folks at Kashi and it is CRAZY good, IMO! Here’s a pic of the prepared product:

The base for this pilaf is Kashi’s original whole grain pilaf mix which consists of oats, long grain brown rice, rye, hard winter red wheat, triticale (wheat/rye hybrid), barley, buckwheat, and sesame seeds. For this particular variety, they have also added carrots, coconut puree, currants, lentils, curry powder, cilantro, and a hint of ginger.

As for the nutritional information, per 1 cup serving, there are 220 calories, 5g fat, and 7g fiber which works out to 4 points for those of us on Weight Watchers. There is also only 400mg of sodium per serving which is generally pretty low for this type of convenience food. There are two (2) servings per bag.

I had this with a piece of grilled chicken for lunch and it was wonderful! It only took 60 seconds in the microwave, so it’s fast & easy to make. I could definitely see having this as just an entree as well since the combination of grains & lentils would provide a complete protein.

I found this at my local Ralphs supermarket which is owned by Kroger. It was regularly $2.69 per package, but I got it on sale buy one get one free. I liked it enough that it’s something I would buy again even at regular price.

They also have another new variety called Fiery Fiesta, but I’ve not tried it yet. It starts with the same whole grain base, and then includes roasted corn, tomatoes, red bell peppers, black beans, cilantro, and poblano chilies. As much as I love southwestern food, I definitely want to give it a try, too!

Until next time …

25 July 2009

Stitching

8 comments

Food Finds, Kashi, Weight Watchers

Holey Donuts, Batman!

Ok, so I’m very excited! My order of Holey Donuts arrived today. I’ve been wanting to try these for a while after reading Heather rave about them several times on her blog. So, when I saw they were offering free shipping last week, I decided to give them a try.

I was very impressed with how they arrived. Each variety pack of six donuts were packed in individual boxes. Those boxes were then packed into a Styrofoam cooler with dry ice. Once unpacked (& photographed ), I kept a couple out to try and the rest went immediately into the freezer per the directions. When I want to have a donut in the future, the directions indicate to microwave them in 5-10 second intervals until they are thawed and just slightly warmed, but not hot. Of course, since the ones I received today were cool, but not frozen, I popped them into the microwave for about 10 seconds just to warm them. I then settled down with the donuts and a nice cuppa.

Holey crap! These things are good! It’s so hard to believe they are low-fat/low calorie. All of the varieties I ordered range from 145-158 calories and are 3 points each on Weight Watchers which I find pretty impressive given they are a traditional full-size donut and not some miniature version.

Here are pics & nutritional information of what I ordered. All of these are from their low-fat line of products:

Original Glazed
158 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber

Classic Vanilla Frosted
148 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber

From left to right: Caramel Crumb, Vanilla Crumb, Chocolate Crumb
148 calories (Chocolate are 149 calories), 3g fat, 1g fiber

From left to right: Vanilla Coconut, Cinnamon Strudel, Toasted Coconut
145 calories (Cinnamon are 148 calories), 3.5g fat (Cinnamon are 3g fat), 1g fiber

Ok, now I will admit these are a bit spendy. It worked out to roughly $2 per donut. They would have been even more if I had to pay for the shipping. Since they were delivered 2nd day air from Brooklyn, it normally would have been $22 for shipping. So, economically speaking, I will definitely only be able to order these during free shipping promotions. Even though they are expensive, I figured they weren’t any more expensive than getting a muffin at Starbucks and such. Besides, it will keep me out of Krispy Krack and satisfy my donut tooth.

Until next time …

29 May 2009

Weight Loss/Fitness

5 comments

Food Finds, Holey Donuts, Weight Watchers

New Food Finds

Well, since I’m back on Weight Watchers, that naturally means being on the lookout again for healthier food choices, especially when it comes to snacking. Sadly, just grabbing a spoon and a jar of peanut butter just isn’t an option any longer.

I did stumble across a couple of new foods during my recent shopping soirée. I thought I would share them here in case others haven’t seen them or aren’t aware of them either.

The first item is from Sugar-Free Jell-O Pudding. I stumbled across their newest flavor — Boston Cream Pie. Now I also have a Banana Fudge Supreme in the photo. While it’s not necessarily new, it’s still new-ish and very tasty! As for the Boston Cream Pie flavor, they were just OK in my opinion. There are other flavors I like much better. For those on Weight Watchers, they are both only 1 point per snack cup. For calorie counters, both flavors are 60 calories per snack cup.

The next item is the new Fiber Plus bars from the folks at Kellogg’s. They come in two varieties — Chocolate Chip and Dark Chocolate Almond. I bought one of each to try. I definitely enjoyed the dark chocolate almond flavor more, but they’re both good. For those on Weight Watchers, they are both only 2 points per bar. For calorie counters, the Chocolate Chip flavor is 120 calories and the Dark Chocolate Almond flavor is 130 calories.

Ok, off to watch the finale of The Biggest Loser off my DVR. Until next time …