MY FAVORITE FOODS

Here’s where you’ll find lists of foods that I’VE TRIED and wouldn’t do without, sort of staples in my home. They’ll always be listed in the FAVORITE FOODS category on the right so check them out.  They help me stay at my goal weight and, for the most part, are healthy foods that will contribute to a healthy and longer life!  Send me your favorites and I’ll try them and add them to the list.  This list will continually change as I find new foods.  So, just check the category you’re interested in and, this week, try some new foods!

FROZEN MEALS/FOODS

1. Kashi Chicken Florentine
2. Lean Cuisine Sante Fe Style Rice and Beans
3. Smart Ones Sante Fe Style Rice and Beans
4. Quorn Cranberry and Goat cheese Chik’n Cutlets
5. All Quorn Products!
6. Amy’s Rice Pasta Macaroni and Cheese
7. Kashi Mushroom Trio & Spinach Thin Crust Pizza!! Yummm!
8. Trader Joe’s Garden Vegetable Lasagne (more TJ’s under TJ’s foods)
9. Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers
10. Healthy Choice Frozen Meals
11. CHECK UNDER FROZEN/VEGETARIAN SINCE I END UP THERE A LOT
12. I’LL ADD MORE HERE LATER – SEND ME YOURS!!!

TRADER JOE’S FOODS

1. Frozen BBQ Chicken Pizza
2. Frozen Biryani Curried Rice
3. Frozen Cherries
4. Frozen Chicken Orange Mandarin (my fav)
5. Frozen Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions
6. Frozen French Green Beans – their best seller
7. Frozen Haas Avocado Halves – what a great idea!
8. Frozen Italiano Stir Fry
9. Frozen Mahi Mahi Fish – very mild
10. Frozen Mango Fruit Chunks – great snach
11. Frozen Meatless Meatballs
12. Frozen Melange a Trois Vegetables (strips of peppers for stir frys)
13. Frozen Nouveaux Meatless Patties – the best yet
14. Frozen Organic Brown Rice (in packets)
15. Frozen Pasta Italiano with Eggpant & Zucchini – 1/2 bag 240 calories – another fav!
16. Frozen Pineapple Fruit Tidbits
17. Frozen Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas – 130 calories (260 calories for the whole container)
18. Frozen Shrimp
19. Frozen Shrimp Egg Rolls
20. Frozen Sweet Potato French Fries
21. Frozen Potato Pancakes
22. Frozen White Ruffy Fish
23. Frozen Breaded ChickenLESS Nuggets
24. Frozen Garden Vegetable Lasagne
25. Frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables
26. TJ’s meringues (like Miss Meringues, only cheaper)
27. TJ’s Multiseed flatbread crackers
28. TJ’s organic blueberry fruit spread – to die for!
29. TJ’s pumpkin butter -seasonal
30. Refrigerated – Fancy Brand String Cheese
31. Refrigerated – Applegate sliced herbed turkey
32. Refrigerated – BBQ Shredded White meat chicken
33. Refrigerated – Goat cheese log w/cranberries – yummm (great on salads) – seasonal
34. Refrigerated – Monterrey Jack Snack Sticks (real cheese in portion size sticks)
35. Refrigerated – Shredded Soy 3 cheese blend
36. Refrigerated – Vermont Goat Cheese Log (melts on burgers)
37. Refrigerated – chicken tenders
38. Refrigerated – Corman Light Spreadable Butter
39. Refrigerated – Red Pepper Hummus
40. Refrigerated – Spinach/Fontina Chicken Sausage
41. Refrigerated – Sushi Rolls
42. Refrigerated – Santorini Style Egg White Salad w/spinach, feta & parmesan cheese
43. Refrigerated – Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad
44. Refrigerated – Eggless Egg Salad (tofu)
45. Refrigerated – Chicken-less Pulled Chicken
46. Refrigerated – Chicken-less Strips
47. Refrigerated – Just of Leaves of Lettuce
48. Shelf – Apricot Sauce
49. Shelf – Better ‘n Peanut Butter – 2 1/2 grams fat compared to 16 in regular!!!
50. Shelf – Bombay Indian Potatoes
51. Shelf – Four cheese Lasagna (nuke for a minute or so) Filling!
52. Shelf – Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup – my VERY favorite soup!!
53. Shelf – Creamy Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup (1/09 – my NEW fav!)
54. Shelf – Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
55. Shelf – Raisin Bran Cluster Cereal
56. Shelf – Fruit Salsas
57. Shelf – 94% natural butter flavor Microwave Popcorn (130 calories a bag!)
58. Shelf – Peach Sauce (my fav)
59. Shelf – Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
60. Shelf – Blueberry Fiber Mini Cakes (12 g. fiber – 80 calories)
61. Shelf – Meringues, regular and mini (1 cal. each for mini)
62. Shelf – Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Meatballs – 1 1/2 min. in microwave for a really great dish
63. Shelf – Fully Cooked Roast Beef Hash

As you can see we shop a lot at Trader Joe’s.  Some items are “come and go”, some may not be available in your state but there’s enough here to give you a sample of different foods.  Send me your favorites to try!

BEANS, SOUPS, NUT BUTTERS, SALAD DRESSINGS

Okay, so it’s a dumb grouping but I didn’t have enough of any of these to make their own category.  

BEANS:  I use canned!

 

1. Black Beans
2. Pinto Beans
3. Garbonzo Beans
4. Kidney Beans
5. Baked Beans (watch the calories)
6. Edamame (soy beansw)
7. Fat Free Refried Beans
8. Hummus (refrigerated section)

 

SOUPS:  canned soups are high in sodium so be careful

 

1. Campbell’s Select Harvest Light
2. Progresso Light
3. Amy’s Light (sodium)
4. Campbell’s Low Fat Cream of…..
5. Kitchen Basics or Swanson’s Chicken Broth (low sodium, low fat)
6. Trader Joe’s ROASTED TOMATO SOUP – my VERY favorite!!
7. Trader Joe’s Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup – my NEW very favorite!

 

NUT BUTTERS

 

1. IM HEALTHY Peanut Butter
2. Better ‘n Peanut Butter (we got at Trader Joe’s – 100 calories for 2 tablespoons and LOW fat!!!)
3. Almond Butter
4. and to go with them….Polaner Fruit Spreads!

 

SALAD DRESSINGS

 

1. Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers – only one calorie a spray!  I like the Balsamic Breeaze and Caesar Delight
2. Newman’s Salad Spritzers
3. Ken’s Steak House Fat Free Raspberry Pecan – 50 calories for 2 T. SO MEASURE
4. EATING RIGHT (Safeway’s Brand) Poppyseed & Caramelizer Onion – 60 calories for 2 T. but my fav!!
5. EATING RIGHT Fresh Garlic Caesar – 40 calories for 2 T.

MY FAVORITE FRUITS

Fruit is probably the best snack you can get and, since you need 3 to 5 servings a day…..enjoy!

1. Asian Pears
2. Cantaloupe
3. Clementines
4. Fuji Apples, Gala’s – those are MY favorites but try all different varieties – if you don’t like one you may like another as in….I don’t think delicious are delicious!
5. Grapes – try them frozen for a great snack.  Just clean, take off the stem, stick in a ziploc bag and freeze.  Kids love them!
6. Honeydew
7. Oranges
8. Pineapple, fresh 
9. Pluots (plum/apricot)
10. Watermelon (with salt!!)
11. Frozen Strawberries and Frozen Bananas are ALWAYS in my freezer for protein shakes
12. Canned Pumpkin (for crustless pumpkin pie!)
13. Canned crushed pineapple and pineapple chunks (drain and freeze the chunks for a snack)
14. Canned mandarin oranges

MY FAVORITE MEATS, SEAFOOD, POULTRY

I’m not a big meat eater but there are some I like a lot.  

1. Skinless, boneless, chicken breast – we barbeque a lot here in Tucson!  Make a bunch, measure, put in freezer bags and freeze for when you’re too busy to cook!
2. Pork tenderloin – really the other “white meat”.  Costco’s is 4 oz. for 110 calories.  You can’t beat that.
3. Aidell’s or Kirkland Chicken and Turkey Sausage
4. Jenny’Os Ground Turkey BREAST – the regular ground turkey can have as much fat as ground beef!  Always read the labels.  Forget the turkey breast in the freezer section in the “tubes”
5. Turkey Breast (it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to buy turkey but we just get the frozen breast, cook it, take off the skin and……go for it!
6. Gorton’s grilled fish fillets
7. Imitation Crab Meat (with cocktail sauce and rice crackers, yummm)
8. Salmon Steaks, frozen or fresh
9. Salmon, Canned, Red
10. Starkist Tuna in the packages – seasoned and great as  ”take to work or school for lunch” 
11. Frozen cooked shrimp (for stir-frys)

MY FAVORITE VEGETARIAN – FROZEN

You won’t see lots of meats in that category on my list since we eat a lot of vegetarian foods.  In some cases I’ll just list some of my favorite products and the the brand so you can check the rest of the products in that brand  yourself. Also check under the category TRADER JOE’S since we get a lot of our vegetarian food there.

1. Amy’s –  check them out
2. Amy’s Breakfast Burritos
3. Amy’s Cheese Free Pizza
4. Amy’s Wheat Free Pizza
5. Amy’s Rice Macaroni and Cheese
6. Boca – frozen – check them out
7. Boca Breakfast Patty’s
8. Boca Burger
9. Boca Ground Burger – use in place of ground beef
10. Boca Pizza
11. Gardenburger – Flame Grilled Burgers – some of the best burgers!
12. Gardenburger Meatless Meatballs
13. Gardenburger Meatless Riblet
14. Green Giant Harvest Burger for Recipes
15. Health is Wealth Munchees
16. Smart Ones Vegetarian Lasagna
17. Morning Star Farms Buffalo Wings
18. Wholesome and Hearty Gardenburger
19. Smart Ones Sante Fe Style Rice and Beans (nuke and then put over a big bowl of lettuce and top with salsa for a whole lot of food with about 300 calories)
20. Lean Cuisine Sante Fe Style Rice and Beans
21. Amy’s Bowls – Brown Rice and Vegetables
22. Amy’s Pocket Sandwich – Roasted Vegetables
23. Boca Meatless Lasagna
24. Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips

MY FAVORITE VEGETABLES

You’ll see by this list that most of the vegetables I eat are fresh or frozen.  Some vegetables you have to get in a can (like diced tomatoes) but, for the most part, I stay away from them.  I might use a couple in stew recipes but…..they don’t taste as good or have the nutrition fresh or frozen has.

1. Broccoli
2. Del Monte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes/garlic and olive ol
3. Edamame (soy beans) I buy them frozen or dried for a snack
4. Grape Tomato
5. Peppers (all colors!!)
6. Yukon Gold Potatoes – they’re the best baked!
7. Romaine Lettuce, Leaf Lettuce (any DARK lettuce – the darker, the more nutrition)
8. Snow Peas
9. Spaghetti Squash (sounds silly but it’s great with cottage cheese!)
10. String beans , fresh or frozen
11. Sugar Snap Peas – you can eat them raw!
12. Sweet Potatoes – more nutritious them white potatoes
13. Vadalia Onions (or other sweet onion)
14. Yellow Onions
15. Butternut Squash
16. Acorn Squash
17. artichoke hearts in water (canned)
18. black olives (canned)
19. Roasted Peppers (jar)
20. Rotel Diced Tomatoes (canned)
21. Alexia Yukon Gold Julienne Fries w/sea salt (frozen)
22. Pepper Stir Fry (frozen)
23. Spinach (frozen)
24. String Beans (frozen)
25. Stir Fry Mix (frozen)
26. Broccoli (frozen)
27. Dr Praeger’s Sweet Potato Pancakes (freezer) plus all his others!

MY FAVORITE BREADS, CRACKERS, GRAINS

This covers a lot of ground.  I look for whole grain or whole wheat as the first ingredient when choosing grains.  Sometimes I choose things that aren’t perfect but better than others.  (Hey, I never said I WAS perfect! Remember though, if it says ENRICHED you’ve been robbed!  So, MOST OF THE TIMES choose whole grains!

1. Kashi Whole Wheat Crackers
2. Rye Krisp, sesame flavored
3. Wasa Rye Crackers
4. Whole Wheat Pita
5. Whole Wheat Tortilla
6. Sara Lee 45 calorie whole wheat bread
7. Rudy’s Spelt Bread
8. Trader Joe’s Rice Crackers  Savory Thin Mini – in a bowl with Laughing Cow cheese and Peach Salsa, yummmm, and low calorie
9. Crunchmaster Rice Crackers – I’ve only seen these at Costco
10. Ronzoni Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti (it’s a white pasta (not enriched) with 3x the fiber and calcium)
11. AkMak crackers
12. Trader Joe’s Sprouted Barley Bread
13. Brown Rice (I make a giant pot and freeze in freezer bags of one cup each for a quick additin to a meal) or..
14. Brown Basmati Rice (smells like popcorn while it’s cooking)
15. Wehani Rice (dark brown, terrific)
16. Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes
17. Trader Joe’s Risotto
18. Bella Terra Whole Wheat Pasta
19. Trader Joe’s FROZEN Brown Rice – just microwave
20. Trader Joe’s FROZEN Steel Cut Oatmeal – just microwave
21. Ezekiel Sprouted hamburger and hot dog buns (freezer section usually)
22. LA TORTILLA FACTORY SONOMA CARB CUTTING TORTILLAS – ONLY 60 CALORIES!
23. LA TORTILLA FACTORY WHOLE WHEAT SMART&DELICIOUS HIGH FIBER TORTILLA – 7 GM. FIBER – 50 CALORIES – 5 GM.PROTEIN (SPROUTS)
24. DAMASCUS BAKERIES ALL NATURAL GOLDEN FLAX ROLL UP – HUGE! 100 CALORIES – 7 GM. FIBER – 100 CALORIES – 9 GM. PROTEIN (SPROUTS)
25. LA TORTILLA FACTORY SMART & DELICIOUS SOFT WRAP – WHOLE GRAIN RYE -13 GM. FIBER  100 CALORIES  8 GM. PROTEIN (SAFEWAY)
26. TRADER JOE’S Blueberry fiber mini cakes (12 g fiber – 80 calories)
27. Dr. Krackers SEEDED SPELT flatbread (at Sprouts)

MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST FOODS

A lot of times breakfast is a protein shake made with a scoop of powdered protein (we get ours at Trader Joe’s), 6 large frozen strawberries, 1/2 a banana, 4 oz. chocolate soy milk, 1 1/2 to 2 cups water, Splenda to taste – and whirl in blender!!   I like mine good and thick so I don’t add as much water.  For less calories you can leave out the soy milk (or use white milk if you like that better).  We buy bananas on sale and freeze them.  The shake is thicker if you use all frozen fruit.  Other breakfast suggestions:

1. Amy’s Breakfast Burritos – freezer section
2. Boca Breakfast patty’s – freezer section
3. Egg Beaters
4. Eggs (I mix one egg with 1/2 cup egg beaters because I want SOME fat but not a lot)
5. Kashi Cereals 
6. Nature-s Path OPTIMA cereal w/flax,soy and blueberries – terrific!!
7. Fiber One cereal – the original
8. McCann’s Irish Oatmeal (I make a big batch and freeze in sandwich bags – 1 cup in each)
9. Van’s whole grain or wheat free waffles (I do wheat free since I’m allergic to too much wheat)
10. Trader Joe’s twigs, flakes and cluster cereal (Sounds great, huh?)  I mix 1/2 cup of this with 1/2 cup of Fiber One for PLENTY fiber – I use plain yogurt instead of milk – sweeten with a Splenda packet)
11. Lo-Fat Greek Yogurt (so much richer than regular)
12. Lo-Carb Tortilla with low-fat cheese – wrap and nuke
13. Egg Beaters and 1 square Laughing Cow Cheese (cut up) – mix and nuke 1 min.