New Food Finds-Part 2

A few months ago, I posted a blog entry about food finds that help me on my weight loss journey.  I also mentioned that I have been trying to phase out so many processed non-organic foods.  Although I am not perfect with this, I do feel like I am pretty successful with eating whole food with little to no processing.  I need to take some pictures so you can see, because I have created a shelving system in my kitchen that is all beans, grains and flours.  Over a year ago, I couldn't even imagine needing a shelving system to house only beans and grains!  I think that is a testament to successfully eating foods that are not processed.  But with that being said, there are still some foods that I eat are processed and are not organic.  I feel like as long as 75% or more of my foods are whole unprocessed foods, then that's a success for me.  I do my best, and I know that in order for me to be successful right now, I am still going to eat a few convenience foods that might not be the most healthy or nutritious.  Progress not perfection!  :)  Here are some of my more recent food finds that I am enjoying:

Ghiradelli 72% Dark Chocolate Squares-Not all of these little Ghiradelli squares are vegan.  Usually the higher cocoa content, the more likely it is for the chocolate to be vegan.  However, with the Ghiradelli squares, the 72% variety is vegan but the 80% (I think it was 80%) was not vegan.  Tricky, tricky!  If you eat just one of these squares, it's 1 point, but if you eat 2, it goes up to 3 points.  This is good for me, because it helps me practice portion control.  I only eat one because I don't want it to go up to 3 points if I eat two. 

PB2-I did a post not too long ago about peanut butter vs. PB2 vs. Better'n Peanut Butter.  Truth be told, I LOVE real peanut butter.  NOTHING will ever take the place of it.  However, I know I cannot eat a whole lot of peanut butter and still be successful with weight loss.  So, sometimes I will eat 2 teaspoons of peanut butter to get the taste of it but when I want more substantial amounts of peanut butter, I eat PB2 and PB2 chocolate.  You can have 4 TBSP of PB2 for 1 point and you can have 6 TBSP of the chocolate PB2 for 2 points.  What I like about this product is that it still has a lot of protein in it.  So when I eat an english muffin (5 grams of protein) with 4 TBSP of PB2, I get 15 grams of protein for 2 points.  Not too bad!  I have found that ordering this product from Netrition.com is the best deal. 

Nature's Own 100 Calorie Multigrain English Muffins-Yes, I agree, not the healthiest of products.  It's the bread products that are really hard to get away from.....Thomas Bagel Thins, Arnold's Sandwich Thins, etc.  These are definitely a convenience food.  But right now, I am just not willing to give them up.  These english muffins are 1 point.  I often eat peanut butter or PB2 on these.  They make a good snack and it's pretty filling.  Unfortunately, the only place I have been able to find these is Wal-Mart.  I try to avoid Wal-Mart but I find myself going there just for these. 

New Tree Chocolate Bars-There are a couple of these dark chocolate bars that are vegan and excellent.  Because of the added fiber, you can have 1/2 of the chocolate bar for 3 points.  That's a substantial amount of chocolate for not a lot of points.  I am not sure of the names of the two bars I buy, but one have goji berries and other "super fruit" and the other has flax seeds in it.  Buyer beware: not all varieties are vegan, they are expensive and I have only been able to find them at Wal-Mart and Target. 

Wax Orchard Chocolate Fudge Sauce-I LOVE this stuff!  However, it's also expensive and very hard to find.  I went to Atlanta in August and I found some, but before that, I hadn't had any in a few years.  This stuff is very Weight Watchers friendly, it's sweetened with fruit and not some other crazy sugar substitute product and it's vegan!  It's wonderful.  If you can find it, I would highly suggest trying it on your vegan ice cream.  :)

Daiya Vegan Cheese-There was a lot of hype surrounding Daiya "cheese" but I had to wait quite a while b/c there are just not a lot of places that cater to vegans where I live.  Finally, the closest Whole Foods (1 1/2 hours away) started carrying it and then my local Earth Fare started carrying it too.  Mostly we make pizza and quesadillas with the Daiya cheese but I am sure you could make so many other things too.  Here's a recipe for the quesadillas, if you are interested. 

We Can't Say It's Cheese-This product is more like a cream cheese spread than an actual cheese.  It's delicious spread on a bagel or even melted over nachos.  What I found is that once this product gets hot, it melts.  So that makes it ideal for a melty, cheesy product.  I have tried this product 3 ways.  I spread it over a bagel, I melted about 1/4 of a cup and poured it over nachos and I used it instead of mustard or Reduced Fat Vegenaise on a sandwich.  I love the way this "cheese" tastes, however, I have struggled to find a lot of uses for it.  It's a good Weight Watchers find though.  You can have 2 TBSPs for 1 pt.  At least with the kind I tried-so I would be careful with the nutritional information when you buy this product. 

Reduced Fat Vegenaise-I LOVE this product!!  I am definitely a fan of Vegenaise, however, it's way too high in fat for Weight Watchers.  All of the other vegan mayos I have tried have been disappointing to me.  I had almost given up on low/reduced fat vegan mayo until Reduced Fat Vegenaise came along.  In my opinion, it tastes just like the original Vegenaise but with a lot less fat.  I make my vegan ranch with the Reduced Fat Vegenaise and also spread it on my Tempeh Bacon Tomato and Vegenaise sandwiches. 

Organic Zero Sweetener-I use this for baking a lot.  It's a great replacement for sugar.  I have tried to read as much as I can find on Erythritol and everything I have read is positive.  It's also used in Truvia which is another sugar substitute that I use.  Organic Zero is definitely expensive though.  I order it from Amazon and do the "Subscribe and Save" option but it is still expensive. 

Flat Out Wraps-I don't use these a whole lot, but I love to have one when I make a hummus wrap.  They are high in fiber and most varieties come out to be just one point on Weight Watchers.  With my two point hummus and zero point veggies, I can have a hummus and veggies wrap for just 3 points.  It's very filling and can be a snack or a meal.  Flat out wraps can also be used for pizza or quesadillas. 

I love discovering new foods and products.  It makes the weight loss journey much more exciting when you are constantly trying new foods and products.  My goal is to not get bored with the food I am eating.  I feel like that can be one of the reasons for people to be unsuccessful with weight loss.  It's also easy to get stuck in a rut when you are eating the same foods all of the time.  If you have any products and/or foods that you live and they are vegan, let me know!  I have recently started reading the Bitch Cakes blog and I LOVE it!  She posted something about trying Gnu Bars.  I have not been able to locate these yet, but I can't wait to try them.