Day 114 - Foods that Save Me!

I know that I publish my food diary almost every day, so you can for the most part see exactly what I eat. But I thought that today, instead of the food diary, I would include a list of some of the things that help me survive dieting without feeling deprived. I will preface this list by saying that I KNOW my diet isn't 100% perfect. Some of the things I eat aren't the most healthy or natural (e.g. with artificial sweeteners). BUT, this works for me, and I believe that I balance those things with many things that ARE healthy and natural...

So here is my list (not in any particular order):

1. Unsweetened Almond Milk. I buy the Almond Breeze brand. At 40 calories per cup, it is less than half the calories of skim milk, and I enjoy the taste more. I use this on my cold cereal, and I use it to cook my hot cereal. Because it is thicker than skim milk, it is also good in baking or for making things like french toast or bread puddings.

2. Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges. The ones I buy are 45 calories for 2. What a great way to have your cheese without breaking the calorie bank! I use one wedge almost everyday in my sandwich (which I toast in the toaster oven until the cheese is all melty). I also love these wedges on Ryvita Crisps for a snack, and I've been known to put them on my hamburgers when I don't have calorie room for cheddar or swiss cheese.

3. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Light. This has 35 calories for 10 grams (2 tsp). I love this! It took some getting used to on toast - I guess it has a higher water content, so it makes the toast a little soggier than real butter or margarine does. But it's worth it to me to be able to enjoy my toast (once a week every Sunday morning). I also use 5 grams on my corn on the cob (real butter flavour for only 18 calories!). Sometimes I add 5 grams to steamed veggies, or to steamed rice.

4. Becel, Spray Butter. I'm sure there is nothing nutritionally redeeming about this, but I often add a few squirts and some salt to my steamed veggies. It is also good sprayed on plain air popped popcorn (and it gives the salt something to stick to).

5. Grapefruit. I could never start my day without half a grapefruit. It doesn't matter how expensive it gets off-season. Grapefruit is a must.

6. Splenda. Yes, splenda. I don't have any trouble with headaches or any of those things that some people report. I use a combination of splenda and molasses (2 tsp) in my morning hot cereal. Sometimes I sprinkle some on my grapefruit, if its a tart one.

7. Kozy Shack Tapioca Pudding (or Rice Pudding): I just love these, and they are my "go to" after dinner treat. The tapioca has 90 calories (my fave) and the rice has 70.

8. Angel Food Cake: This is a weekend treat in our house. A 30 gram slice (about 1/8 of a whole cake) has around 75 calories! I buy the chocolate flavour and top it with fat free vanilla ice cream. Or the vanilla flavour and top it with fruit, jam, cool whip... you name it!

9. Weight Watcher Whole Wheat Bagels: I love bagels! My toppings of choice are (1) Peanut Butter and Banana (2) Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge and Mashed Avocado (3) Light Cream Cheese (alone or with smoked salmon). I wouldn't eat a regular bagel (too big and too many calories). The Weight Watchers ones, at 150 calories, allow me to enjoy them. In the beginning I found them very small... but now they are normal to me and the others are HUGE.

10. My CSA Delivery. I know this isn't stictly one food, but my weekly organic farm deliveries are invaluable. The deliveries force us to eat lots of veggies, so nothing goes to waste, and we've tried new veggies that I had never thought to try before (e.g. fiddleheads, garlic scapes, purple potatoes, golden beets, lemon cucumbers etc etc).

11. Peanut Butter. I used to consider this "off limits" when I was losing weight. But I have learned a lot over the years, and I can't make my favorite things off-limits because it will lead to excess! So I portion it out, and eat it only once or twice a week. If I have a craving for peanut butter, I just decide to have it for lunch the next day (I can usually wait that long to have some)... FYI - I don't buy natural... I get the regular stuff, but since I eat (at most) 2 tbsp a week, I don't worry about the added sugar.

12. Fig Newtons: Although I've been on a "Tapioca for dessert" streak for a while, I used to LOVE having 2 Fig Newtons for dessert everynight (90 calories), and since I tend to be "faddish" with my eating, I know they'll come back into favour soon (hmmmm... maybe tonight they'll make a reappearance).

13. Kellogg's Guardian Cereal: This is my absolute favorite cold breakfast cereal. The original maple flavour has 110 calories per serving, and I usually double it, for 220 calories plus 40 calories worth of almond milk. It's filling and delicious!

14. All the other stuff I couldn't live without: Cream of Wheat, Oatbran, Bananas, fresh fruit, yoghurt, avocados, beets, brussel sprouts, granola bars....

Writing this post has made me hungry....