Low Calorie Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Cheese sandwiches can have *a lot* of calories and fat, especially when they are grilled with tons of oil and butter.  But, you don't actually have to give up on grilled cheese sandwiches just because you are dieting! If you make some modifications you can easily enjoy a low calorie cheese sandwich, and not just as a special treat. All you need is some low calorie bread, some cheese, a bit of olive oil or low calorie butter, and a George Foreman grill or panini maker if you really want to make it fancy (but totally not required).

Here is an example of how to make a low calorie grilled cheese using my favorite low calorie bread (100 calories per 2 slices) and low calorie cheese (40 calories per serving):

(1) Using just a toaster/microwave: Take two slices of your  low calorie bread. Toast them in your toaster. Place a slice (yes, just one - I promise it'll still be really good) of low calorie cheese in between the two slices of bread, and microwave for 20 seconds. Yep, it's that easy.

(2) Using a George Foreman grill or panini maker (for fancy sandwiches): Take two slices of your low calorie bread and put a slice of low calorie cheese in between them. Using a cooking brush, brush a bit of oil oil on the top and bottom of the sandwich, or alternatively spread a serving of low calorie butter on both sides of the bread. Then, place in your George Foreman grill (also good for cooking garden burgers and chicken), a pan on the stove, or your panini maker until it is cooked to your liking.

I hope you enjoy your low calorie grilled cheese!

Juliet

Healthy and Yummy Coconut Milk

If you’ve been following my blog, you likely recall that I often sing the praises of low calorie almond milk because it is a very healthy (and extremely tasty) alternative to cow’s milk. Now I present you with another choice that is almost as good – coconut milk from SoDelicious. SoDelicious recently started selling three varieties of coconut milk for your taste buds to wrap around – original, unsweetened, and vanilla. (I actually prefer the vanilla, but the unsweetened is great for recipes).

A big selling point for Turtle Mountain’s coconut milk is what it doesn’t have – no dairy, no lactose, no soy, no gluten, no cholesterol, and no trans-fats. Coconut milk is a great source of Vitamin B12, is vegan/vegetarian friendly, and is formulated to allow for maximum calcium absorption while being rich in medium-chain fatty acids. You can use this yummy new product in your cereal or coffee, or blend it up in a banana smoothie or low calorie pina colada smoothie.

Although I can’t say that I like this new product more than almond milk, it is a good choice for those folks who don’t like almond milk or who love coconut. If you’re looking for a low calorie drink, this is a tasty choice, especially if you’re getting bored with water! You can actually pick this up in most Wal-Mart Super Centers, or even Whole Foods (both refrigerated and boxed).

The unsweetened version has 50 calories, 5 grams of healthy fat (so 1 weight watchers point), and 1 gram of protein. The sweeter flavor has 80 calories and 5 grams of healthy fat (2 weight watchers points).  In fact, many people believe that the fat in coconut heals promote weight maintenance without affecting cholesterol levels. Pretty cool!

Enjoy!
Juliet

Health Benefits of Having Avocado in Your Diet

An avocado a day just might keep the doctor away! Research over the years on the avocado has given us a great number of reasons to consider this pear-shaped fruit (sometimes confused with a veggie) as a good part of a healthy diet. Avocados have been shown to lower cholesterol, protect against macular degeneration and cataracts, and provide a rich source of folate, which has been shown to lower the incidence of heart disease. But the benefits to be reaped from adding avocados to your diet don’t stop there. These super-fruits have also been show to prevent certain types of cancer, including breast, prostate and oral cancers, and to protect against stroke.

What’s more, a diet that includes avocados is one that is rich in vitamin E; in fact, avocados are the number one best source of vitamin E among all fruits. Vitamin E protects against a plethora of diseases and is very beneficial in helping to maintain good health. And since avocados are a great source of glutathione, an antioxidant that prevents aging, this little misunderstood fruit may be the key to looking younger, longer.

Getting your dose of avocado may be as easy as enjoying a healthful guacamole dip. The following guacamole dip recipe is super healthy:
- 3 ripe, medium Avocados (you can use an Avocado Slicer and Pitter if you are in a hurry to pull them together)
- juice from 1 fresh lime (rich in potassium to strengthen your immune system)

- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (contains antioxidants that relieve UTIs and indigestion)

- ½ tsp organic extra virgin olive oil

-1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar (rich in enzymes that help to lower cholesterol and expel toxins from the body)
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 cloves garlic

- ¼ cup finely chopped onion (lowers high blood pressure and may help fight cancer)
Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

You can eat guacamole on you favorite sandwich (one of my favs: boca chicken patty), on salads, or as a dip with low calorie chips.

I also personally also love to get avocado into my diet by drinking avocado smoothies, but you really need to adore avocado if you are going to drink one.

From a calorie perspective, 2 ounces of avocado have about 91 calories, 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein. The fat content may seem high, but it is made up of healthy mono-unsaturated fat, aka good, healthy fat.

Enjoy!
Juliet

Dr. Oz Diet and Weight Loss Advice

Dr. Oz (made famous by Oprah!) has become well known for his diet plan which focuses on how to stay healthy and fit even if you have hectic office hours and can't exercise regularly.

Dr. Oz divided his weight loss plan in to 6 categories of nutrition which include 6 mini-meals consisting of 1) Protein: yogurt, fish, nuts, beans 2) Healthy Fats: walnuts, olives, canned salmon, seeds 3) Whole Grains: Brown rice, oatmeal, pasta, breads 4) Fiber: Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts and seeds 5) Metabolism Booster: Salad and hot green peppers 6) Healthy Sweets: dark chocolates, a vitamin D supplement, and a multi-vitamin.

Breakfast is a key component to Dr. Oz's diet plan as he has found that people who eat breakfast tend to have less fat than those who do not. As are fresh fruits and vegetable which are naturally healthy, low in calories, and low in fat.  

Apart from the food diet, Dr. Oz also gives some tips to people who rarely exercise. He suggests parking at the far end of the parking lot when grocery shopping, going to the mall etc., using bathrooms on different floors, and always taking the stairs instead of taking the elevator. He also recommends that people walk at least 30 minutes a day stating that "walking is the foundation for all other exercises because it increases your stamina and prepares your body for strength training."

Dr. Oz tells people to avoid hydrogenated oils (which I avoid posting about), sugar, high fructose syrups (also on the Yummy Diet food no post list), enriched flour, and bleached flour.

Dr. Oz published these two great books that I love and highly recommend:  

• YOU: The Owner's Manual, An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger
• YOU: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management

Enjoy!
Juliet

Fast Food Low Calorie and Low Fat Options Aren’t Always Healthy (or Low Calorie)

Many dieters get mislead into thinking they are having a low calorie lunch by ordering a salad when dining at a fast food restaurant. While fast food restaurant salads still help you integrate healthy vegetables into your diet, on the whole, the salads can be surprisingly high in calories due to other ingredients, like croutons and dressing.

Soups are another food might seem like a filling low calorie fast lunch option. Beware, though, as soups can contain more calories and fat than expected, especially if they are very cheesy or creamy.

Sadly, sandwiches can *also* have jaw dropping amounts of calories. Even the typically considered lean and healthy protein of turkey can be used with other ingredients to create a sandwich with more than 1,000 calories!

What should you do? Well here are some tips to help you eat less calories and fast while dining out:

(1) Stick with lower calorie dressings for salads, and get the dressing on the side. And remember, a little bit of dressing goes a long way. Try dipping your fork into the dressing before each bite to get the minimal possible dressing to make your salad taste better.

(2) Skip add-ons like croutons, tortilla strips, or other crunchy items in soups and salads. Skipping these can save 100-200 calories! That would be 1400 calories a week if you were eating these every day.

(3) Pick soups that are not creamy (aka skip soups called bisque). Good choices are tomato based or broth based.

(4) Skip cheese and dressing on your sandwiches. Or, opt for light dressing or a low fat cheese alternative (or even less slices of cheese)!
 Or, add avocado instead of cheese. And, consider eating the sandwich open face -- aka with just one slice of bread. Tastes the same, and you'll save a ton of calories.

Enjoy!

Juliet

Refrigerated Almond Milk from Almond Breeze

I have been a huge fan of using low calorie almond milk as a healthy  alternative to cow’s milk for a *long* time. I think that almond milk tastes great as a drink on its own (particularly when I’m bored with water), or it works wonderfully in low calorie smoothie recipes or even on breakfast cereal. So I was very intrigued when I recently discovered a newer, delicious-looking refrigerated version of Almond Breeze near the milk cartons at my local Whole foods. 

Refrigerated almond breeze comes in 4 flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Original, and Unsweetened vanilla which range from 40-120 calories per cup. My local Whole Foods carries the Original flavor (at 60 calories, and still only 1 weight watchers point!), so I now drink that rather than the 40 calorie unsweetened vanilla flavor of almond milk that used to be my staple. I think the refrigerated original Almond Breeze tastes really fresh, sweet and wonderful. It is also convenient in that it is cold and ready to use right when you bring it home from the grocery store. This is especially useful if you want to drink some right away or use it on cereal (like the yummy low calorie Organic Krispy Brown Rice cereal).

If you cannot find the refrigerated or non-refrigerated Almond Breeze at your local store, you might want to look for the low calorie Pacific Almond Milk. All the almond milks are soy-free, lactose-free, and high in Vitamin E.

Enjoy!

Juliet

Yummy Diet Food is back!

Hello loyal Yummy Diet Food fans! I wanted to let you know that after a one year hiatus due to some personal stuff (all good stuff!), I'm back. I'm very excited to breathe life back into this site and to provide you with great dieting advice and new food recommendations.

Please email me about any foods that you'd like me to review! I have several ideas for food, recipes, and other food-related postings in my head, but would love to hear your ideas as well. Very excited to hear from all of you. And, if you signed up for my email list, I'm working on getting it going again... but it might be wise to sign up again, just in case. Looking forward to starting again. :)

Thank you to everyone for all of your kind and encouraging emails over the last year. They are the reason I've decided to get started again.

I will begin posting regularly again within a day or two.

Best,
Juliet

Organic Rice Divine Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream Cups

I'm always on the lookout for new ice creams to try (I love ice cream, probably a little too much). For whatever reason, I prefer ice creams that come in individually sized serving cups (especially when they are on the big side). It is kind of weird but there's something about eating the ice cream out of the cup that I find more pleasing than a bowl. So, when I recently discovered these unique rice milk ice cream cups made by Organic Rice Divine at Whole Foods, I decided to give them a try.

The flavor of ice cream cups I purchased is called Strawberry Swirl. Each cup contains strawberry flavored ice cream with strawberry swirl sauce (kind of like a sundae, which is an added plus!). The ice cream cups also come in a Vanilla Fudge Swirl flavor that I bet is great, but I have yet to try them. In terms of taste, the ice cream has a unique rice-milk taste to them which I find pleasing, however, if you aren't into the taste of rice milk products, these probably aren't for you.

The organic rice divine ice cream cups are organic, lactose free, dairy free, gluten free and also vegan. At 160 calories, with 6 grams of fat and 1 gram of fiber, they aren't the lowest calorie ice cream in the world, but I think they are a nice treat for an occasional splurge.

Enjoy!
Juliet

PS. If you aren't into rice milk products or can't find rice divine at your local supermarket, I highly recommend these Eating Right low calorie ice cream cups which you can buy at Safeway or Julie's Ice Cream Sandwiches which you can buy at Whole Foods.

Hersheys All Natural Extra Dark Chocolate (1 WW point!)

I was at Costco last weekend and I walked past a large bag of Hershey's individually wrapped chocolates that were calling my name. The Hershey's chocolates were (1) all natural (2) dark and (3) came in a really interesting assortment (pure dark chocolate with pomegranate flavored pieces, pure dark chocolate, and pure dark chocolate with cranberries, blueberries and almonds). I ended up buying the bag, and I have to say that the one with the cranberries, blueberries and almonds is by far my favorite since it is so crunchy and delicious.

I'm a huge fan of dark chocolate -- it contains more of the cacao bean's antioxidants than milk chocolate, and they are known to help lower blood pressure and protect against heart disease. Each of the 10 gram chocolates (a convenient one or two bite size -- much bigger (although flatter) than a Hershey's miniature) in the assortment is only one weight watchers point, at 42.5 calories, 3.25 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber, 3.5 grams of sugar and slightly less than 1 gram of protein.

These chocolates should be very accessible either at your local grocery store, or at Costco, Walmart or Sam's club. If you like dark chocolate they are definitely worth checking out!

Enjoy!
Juliet

Frozen Grapes

I've started to notice that various types of grapes have become available at my local supermarket, and that means that grape season is on its way! I absolutely love grapes -- I think they are both the perfect sweet snack as well as the perfect desert (when frozen, we'll get to that in a few).

Not only are grapes tasty, but they are *very* good for you as well! Grapes are full of vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Folic Acid. They are also full of antioxidants and flavonoids which help protect our bodies from things we don't like such as aging, heart disease, neurological disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.

If you've never had them, frozen grapes are an amazingly sweet, healthy snack. Eating them is a lot like eating candy (not kidding!). To make frozen grapes, simply buy a bunch of any type of seedless grape that you like, remove the individual grapes from their stems, wash in a strainer, and the bag them in single serving ziplock bags. Place the bags in the freezer for at least a few hours, and then enjoy one serving at a time!

Enjoy!
Juliet

Low Calorie Soda

As you may or may not have picked up from my previous posts, I tend to have a love hate relationship with water. Some days I love it, and I can drink my 8 glasses without even thinking about it. Other days I have trouble drinking even a glass, and I find the plain taste of water incredibly unappealing. I like to keep some more exciting drinks around for days that I have this issue, so I'm always on the lookout for low calorie drinks (without artificial sweeteners) that have an interesting flavor (like hint water), health value (like herbal tea, or zenergize), or bubbles (like carbonated water).

I recently found a line of all-natural bottled sodas at Whole Foods called DRY Soda that are relatively low calorie and pretty tasty. The flavor I like is called Lemongrass (which is subtly sweet in a really refreshing way), but the soda also comes in Vanilla Bean, Juniper Berry, Lavender, Kumquat and Rhubarb. The sodas vary from 50-70 calories per bottle (which are 12 ounces so 1.5 cups), depending on which flavor you buy.

As I mentioned, I found this soda at Whole Foods, but I read on their website that it is also available at Bev Mo as well as various other retailers.

Enjoy!
Juliet

PS. In the non-water drink department, I'm also a big fan of low calorie Izze Esque soda, Mint water, and Fizzit, as well as making my own fruity flavored water using real fruit like they do at the spa.

Low Calorie Mozzarella Sticks

As you know, mozzarella sticks are delicious! If you've never had one, a mozzarella stick is fried breaded cheese that is available as an appetizer at most Italian restaurants. They are usually served with a side of marinara sauce for dipping. And, as you can imagine, since they are breaded, fried, and cheese based, they are very high in both calories and fat.

A few weeks ago, I realized that I had the perfect ingredients to make low calorie mozzarella sticks in my kitchen, so I decided to go for it. I've actually written about most of the ingredients separately, so now it is time to just combine them together!

Ingredients (makes 2 servings):
- Two low calorie mozzarella string cheese sticks
- A quarter cup of egg beaters or egg whites (you'll only end up using about half)
- One quarter cup of your favorite Italian bread crumbs or whole wheat breadcrumbs (you'll only end up using about 1 tablespoon per serving, so regular Italian breadcrumbs are okay)
- Two tablespoons of your favorite low calorie pizza sauce

Instructions:
(1) Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
(2) Cut two mozzarella sticks in half and set aside
(3) In a shallow bowl, pour 3 tablespoons of egg beaters or egg whites
(4) In a separate shallow bowl, weigh out a quarter of a cup of whole wheat or Italian breadcrumbs using your food scale
(5) Dip each individual cheese stick into your egg beaters so that it is completely coated
(6) Once cheese stick is coated, roll it in your breadcrumbs until it is coated
(7) Place cheese stick into oven safe bowl
(8) Repeat for the other three cheese sticks
(9) Lightly spray each of your cheese sticks with a bit more oil
(10) Put oven save pan with cheese sticks into the oven for about 7 minutes -- keep your eye on them, you want to take them out right before they begin to flatten and melt
(11) Put two tablespoons of your favorite pizza sauce in a separate bowl for dipping!

Okay, so in the calorie department, each serving (two breaded halves of a string cheese) comes out to approximately 110-120 calories (depending on what ingredients you use), with 3-5 grams of fat (depending on your string cheese) and approximately a gram of fiber.

Enjoy!
Juliet

Oil Sprays and Propellant

As much as I love the ease and convenience of PAM ("no calorie" oil spray), I recently stopped using it when I found out that it contained propellant (a chemical used to produce thrust). Propellant is used in all aerosol cans, but in most cases it is not cause for alarm, since most aerosol can don't produce something that we end up eating. Even worse, I've read that propellant, when combined with Teflon (the chemical used to make non-stick pans), causes a chemical reaction that is not good for your non-stick pan.

Luckily for us, there are other ways to achieve the same effect as Pam in our cooking by using non-propellant oil misters that produce the same output. Oil misters aren't quite as slick as aerosol pans, because you have to manually pump them each time that you want to grease a pan. But, the benefit to using them is (1) the lack of propellant and (2) the ability to pick your own oil to grease your pans with!

There is one spray mister on Amazon that I personally use called the Norpro Stainless Steel Sprayer Mister. But, any manual spray mister that you find and buy at your local store should work as a sufficient Pam substitute.

I'll be referring to manually greasing pans in future recipes on Yummy Diet Food, so now you'll know what I mean. :)

Enjoy!

Juliet

Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs

Do you like crunchy, breaded, or fried food, but don't like the calories in bread? Have you tried some of the diet recipes that recommend using Fiber One cereal as a breading substitute, but don't like the fact that Fiber One has aspartame in it? If so, then this is the post for you!

About a month ago, I was thrilled to discover these Whole Wheat Panko bread crumbs made by Ian's ( the company that makes low calorie cheeze-it like crackers, and 100 calorie packs of cookie buttons ) at my local Whole Foods. The bread crumbs are made entirely from unbleached whole wheat flour, malt extract, yeast, and salt and contain only 70 calories, half a gram of fat, 2 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein per quarter of a cup serving (so only one weight watchers point!).

The bread crumbs are tasty and versatile and I will be leveraging them in upcoming recipes, so I'm excited to introduce them. If you can't find them, don't lose hope, however. You can still toast your favorite low calorie whole wheat bread and then chop it into little bread crumb pieces in your mini Cuisinart.

Enjoy!
Juliet

Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks

I have a pretty big sweet tooth, and every once in a while I like to eat something fruity and sweet. A while ago I discovered Annie's little packets of fruit bunnies which, at 70 calories (1 weight watchers point) per portion-controlled 23 gram bag, are a perfect solution! Annie's little bunnies taste a lot like gummy bears but, because they are flavored with real fruit juice, are actually quite a bit tastier and fruitier than real gummy bears.

To quote the box, the Annie's bunny fruits have "no icky additives or pesky preservatives in them," and are all-natural and organic. They also have going for them that each packet has 100% daily value of Vitamin C! Each packet is also fat free. They come in a "Berry Patch" flavor -- with strawberry, cherry and raspberry bunnies and a "Tropical" flavor -- with mango-peach, tropical punch and orange flavored bunnies. They are both available at Whole Foods.

I keep a few little bags of the bunnies in my desk at work. I don't eat them that often, but every once in a while I do get a sugar craving at about 4:00, and I find this hits the spot (vs. the other foods that are readily available).

Enjoy!
Juliet

Low Calorie Pina Colada Like Smoothie Recipe

I absolutely love the taste of coconut! So, when I found a open can of light coconut milk in my refrigerator today (leftover from a Thai stir-fry that I still need to post about!), I just had to make something with it. So, I decided to use it to make a non-alcoholic "Pina Colada-like" Smoothie (leveraging frozen banana instead of frozen pineapple, although either would work). The smoothie turned out really delicious -- I actually thought it was much better than a regular pina colada which tend to be much more icy in consistency. So, I thought I'd share the recipe here!

Ingredients:
- One cup almond milk (you can substitute reduced fat or non-fat milk if you prefer)
- One quarter cup of light coconut milk (I'll blog specifically about this in the future)
- One frozen banana
- Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions:
- Measure and pour one cup of almond milk into your blender
- Add one quarter of a cup of light coconut milk (it is available in cans in the Asian aisle -- make sure you buy the light kind)
- Add a small frozen banana broken into several pieces to your blender
Note: Here are instructions for creating your own frozen bananas. You might want to cut them into several pieces depending on how powerful your blender is. Also, if you prefer pineapple you can substitute frozen pineapple for the banana, or half a serving of each.
- Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
- (Optional) Add some crushed ice if you want an icy texture
- Blend, transfer to cup, drink and enjoy!

In terms of calories, it is variable (so make sure you check based on your ingredients), but if you use almond milk, a small-ish banana, and light coconut milk, it comes out to approximately 170 calories, 6 grams of fat (primarily from the coconut), and 3 grams of fiber -- so 3 weight watchers points.

I hope you enjoy the smoothie!

Here are some other coconut filled foods I've posted about: Coconut Milk Yogurt, So Delicious Ice Cream Sandwiches, Coconut Ginger Soup, and Nada Moo Ice Cream.


Juliet

Trader Joe's Gone Bananas

Hello and Happy Monday!

First of all Congratulations to the winner of my Yummy Diet Food Snack Pack giveaway: Laurel from Bake Me More! Congrats! If you didn't win, no worries, as I will be hosting more exciting Yummy Diet Food giveaways in coming weeks based on the foods you told me were difficult for you to find! However, if you are anxious to find and purchase a particular food or set of foods that I've featured on Yummy Diet Food (non perishable please), you can email me at yummydietfood@yummydietfood.com, and I'll see what I can do to get you what you are looking for! Now, onto today's regular food programming...

I thought today I'd post about one of my favorite desserts (and favorite childhood treats) from Trader Joe's -- Chocolate Dipped Bananas (since some of you have written in to tell me that you don't have a Whole Foods nearby, which is a huge bummer).

So, first of all, why eat bananas? Well, bananas are a great energy source, and are believed to help regulate a person's mood, thereby helping with anxiety and stress. They are also a great natural source of fiber, protein, and potassium which is believed to help cellular growth in addition to helping to control blood pressure. Also full of antioxidants like beta-carotene, bananas help boost our immune systems, protecting our bodies from infections, which is always a good thing!

If you like bananas, and want to eat an occasional one dipped in chocolate (bananas go so well with chocolate!) -- Trader Joe's makes a delicious chocolate covered banana called "Gone Bananas" which you can find in their freezer section. Inside the box you'll find four individually wrapped chocolate covered bananas (of small but not extra small size in my opinion). The ingredients for each one are: banana, chocolate (cocoa paste, cocoa butter, sugar, soy lecithin), and sunflower oil. Each chocolate covered banana is 160 calories and 8 grams of fat, so 4 weight watchers points.

PS. In case you aren't interested in eating chocolate covered bananas, remember, you can always freeze and eat bananas on your own - frozen bananas make a totally delicious snack or addition to your yogurt or oatmeal. My posting on frozen bananas has instructions on how to properly freeze your bananas!

Enjoy!
Juliet

Just Blueberries! Just Bananas! Just Tomatoes!

A company called "Just Tomatoes" makes delicious little two-ish serving tubs of dried fruits and vegetables, with no added ingredients (so in the case of Just Blueberries, the only ingredient is blueberries). I've actually been eating fruits and veggies out of these little tubs for many years now!

You can buy little tubs of dried apples, bananas, apricots, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, carrots, corn, peas, green onions, amongst other fruits and vegetables. As you know fruit (especially dark fruits like blueberries and blackberries) is full of healthy antioxidants that help protect our bodies from things we don't like such as aging, heart disease, neurological disease, diabetes, and cancer.

The dried fruit and vegetable pieces are great toppings for your low calorie oatmeal, fage or other yogurts, to eat with almond milk (almond milk makes dried fruit taste really sweet!), or to snack on dry throughout the day at work (I keep a tub of Just Bananas in my desk so I can reach for dried bananas rather than the other kinds of snacks available in the workplace).

In terms of calories, they vary based on which fruit or vegetable you buy (overall they vary from about 1-3 weight watchers points per serving). The just blueberries are 100 calories per 28 gram serving, with .5 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber (so 2 weight watchers points), and the tomatoes are 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 2 grams of fiber (also 2 weight watchers points). You can buy them at Whole Foods!

How do you eat your dried fruit?

Enjoy!
Juliet

Horizon Organic String Cheese -- Say Cheese!

I remember thinking I'd have to eliminate cheese back when I started watching my calories and what I ate. But, that didn't turn out to be true at all! While some cheese is high fat and not good for you, there are tons of cheese options out there that are actually really great diet and healthy food options. I've written about cheese before on Yummy Diet Food including posts on goat cheese, the best fat free cheese I've found (multiple flavors and it melts!), as well as cooking with low fat and non fat cheese. But, I've never written about string cheese, so today I thought I'd dedicate a posting to it (also in anticipation for an upcoming recipe that uses it)!

String cheese is by far one of my favorite snacks. It is low calorie, fun to eat, easy to transport, and is full of protein, healthy fat, and Calcium. There are tons of string cheeses on the market. I happen to eat Horizon Organic which I buy at Whole Foods, but any low moisture, part-skim mozzarella string cheese is likely going to be less than 100 calories (most are around 80, although I've found some for 50-60 calories in the past) and 5 or less grams of fat, and 5-8 grams of protein. Depending on the calories, each cheese stick ranges from 1-2 weight watchers points.

If you like string cheese, you'll love my recipe for healthy breaded cheese sticks. That is coming next week or the week after (I need to snap a good picture).

What is your favorite brand of string cheese or even any cheese? Or, if you don't like cheese, what do you eat instead?

Enjoy!
Juliet

Yummy Diet Food Snack Pack Giveaway

Hello and Happy Tuesday! So, I've been blogging now for about 10 wonderful months, and since then I've received several emails from you about having difficulty finding some of the foods that I blog about about in your local area. So, I thought today I'd do something different and hold my own giveaway in an effort to send a package of five yummy snacks that I've featured on the blog to a loyal reader! :)

So, what's in the Yummy Diet Food Snack Pack? Some of my favorite snacks of course!

(1) One large bag of Snikiddy Grilled Cheese Puffs: On top of being healthy, these organic cheese puffs are a perfect blend of cheese flavor and crunch, making them a really fun and satisfying treat/snack to eat. One portion is only 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 1 gram of fiber, and 3 weight watchers points (I know, I wish it was 2, but just not enough fiber). And, they are gluten free!


(2) One bag Bananamon Flavor Funky Monkey Freeze Dried Fruit: We all know that we are supposed to integrate several servings of fruits and vegetables into our diets every day. Dried fruit is definitely very portable, so I'm always on the lookout for interesting dried fruit options at the store. Funky Monkey distinguishes itself from many dried fruit options in two important ways: (1) the fruit has no added sugar so it is low calorie, and (2) the fruit is combined with other natural flavors (like cinnamon, lime juice, acai) that make it extremely yummy!


(3) One Milk Chocolate Qbel Chocolate Wafer Roll: QBel Wafers are like pirouline rolls (round crispy/flaky wafers), except these are coated inside with a thin layer of chocolate and then covered with an even more perfect layer of dark chocolate around the outside.



(4) One Cucumber flavored Hint Flavored Water: If you are too busy to make your own naturally flavored water, I have to say Hint water is a very close substitute. The fruit flavor is very subtle, but yummy enough to help me easily drink my 8 cups of water per day. I really like drinking Hint water when it is refrigerated versus warm.


(5) One canister of flavor "65" Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs: The sweet riot chocolate covered cocoa nibs are really fabulous, and as much as I adore the other dark chocolate cocoa nibs I've blogged about, I have to say the one serving size container these come in also makes them really cool! What's also cool about the container is that you can re-use it by filling it with small one size servings of nuts, other treats, or even more coca nibs.

The giveaway is very simple. Just leave a comment on this posting about a food (or foods) that you wanted to try but you could not find, *or* a food that I've blogged about that you love. If you leave your comment on this posting between now and Sunday March 29th at 8:00pm, you will be eligible to win the package of the 5 snacks that I've pictured at the top of this posting! I'll choose a winner at random next Monday, March 30th.

Good luck!

Enjoy!
Juliet