So what do you think about "diet"/ "lowcarb" foods

[Sheryl]

My opinion, is that there is a place for them, especially to use to wean off junky food addictions. You know, kinda like a nicotine patch.

In the beginning, I was doing TV dinners for lunch, those 100 calorie snack packs in the afternoon etc and they really helped me. For the most part now, I have moved away from these products because I love food and I like real homemade food much better then preprocessed. I am having fruits more for snacks and popcorn to munch on.... no need for fake cheetos...lol. I also found that those foods aren't as satisfying or filling. They satisfy that need to munch, but left me hungry so I do better with real, whole grain type foods. I am also concerned with sodium content and general nutrition.

So, having said that, I have found a some products that I really like and are very "point" friendly.

Squirrelly bread from Costco - no flour, made from sprouted grains. Very low cal and low carb, but is normal sized and doesn't taste like cardboard diet bread. Needs to be toasted though.

Better then Peanut Butter from Trader Joes - I love the stuff. It is a low fat peanut butter, to me very sweet and satisfying.

Organic, skim milk. This stuff tastes so good i don't even mis the extra fat that the 2% had.

Sugar free pudding - don't have it often, but it tastes good to me made with skim milk

Sugar Free flavorings to go in coffee drinks and smoothies (Da Vinci brand for example). The Kahlua is wonderful - as my kid says "coffee flavored coffee flavoriing"

Light coconut milk, fat free evaporated milk - both work great in recipes to substitute for the real thing. To me, tastes just as good.

Sausage Crumbles from Morning star - textured vegetable protein. Mix those suckers with some egg beaters and I love it.

Vegetable/garden burgers. I am very choosey about the brand, but the good ones are delicious.

Oatmeal - what a great food!

Brown rice - you can buy it already cooked in the freezer section of trader joes. Just microwave for a nice nutty tasting steamed rice.

Salsa - my all around condiment!

Have the rest of you found low cal/low fat/low carb or whatever products that actually taste GOOD and contribute to good health?

[Marci]

Oh yeah, I LOVE them. They make it so easy to diet. I can't imagine how hard it must have been before all the diet products. Oh one thing I figured out is low carb doesnt mean low calorie. Bummer that since I LOVED the low carb candies, but I have to watch that maltitol, I'm sensitive to its "effects" Course I guess you can't gain if it goes right thru you.

[MJ]

Baked Tostito Scoops are good. We use them for chili and soup and sometimes even nachos.

For WW, I can't find my slider so her goes Calories 120, Fat 3g, Fiber 2g for 15 chips.

[ride4fun]

And a lot of the low-carb candy is really 'complexer carb' Those sugar alcohols don't spike the blood sugar, but they are the same calories as sugar. The benefit is if they satisfy the sweet tooth w/o rebound hunger --they don't work for all people.
My favorite diet food is sugar-free fat-free hot cocoa. --Actually I don't like the pre-mixes that well but I'll mix in my cup non-fat dry milk, cocao powder, some splenda or stevia and vanilla. Thats 70 calories that satisfies so much better than a 70 calorie fraction of a candy bar.

[DorothyB]

sheryl said:

Organic, skim milk. This stuff tastes so good i don't even mis the extra fat that the 2% had.

In the past I had a hard time going under the 2% (except in cooking & smoothies). I switched to organic milk, but still pastuerized, several weeks ago and couldn't really tell a difference. Is the skim organic "better tasting" than the regular skim??

[Mary Ann]

Years ago we used to have a dairy cow, a lovely Jersey who gave us wonderful raw milk. When we had to sell all the cows due to hubby's high cholesterol (this was before statin drugs) I had a very hard time for a long time drinking store bought milk; it tasted cooked to me. Once in a while I can find real Jersey milk, but I generally have to go to Whole Foods to get it. But the Horizon Organic available at Walmart is a very good close second. I don't care for most other dairys or store brands. And thanks to my Jersey girls, I prefer skim. But the Jersey makes a milk with a higher percentage of milk solids, so it's richer milk.

Quite a few of the products you mention, Sheryl, aren't diet to me. They're just all around good healthy eating. Like the veggie burgers and the brown rice, and the salsa.

I don't much care for most of the packaged diet stuff like Lean Cuisine or the WW red boxes, but I do like the Kashi ones. I prefer whole grains in my food, and I loff a bit of convenience from time to time!

[LoriB]

I think that to be successful, one has to think of it as a life change, not a diet.

I don't think that ANY diet works, because they just can't handle the long haul.

I know that I find that when I am really exercizing, I gravitate towards the healthy foods, and have no desire whatsoever for the bad stuff.

I don't make anything off limits, and in doing so, don't get into the "forbidden" foods...gotta have it mode, LOL!

I don't eat any diet foods, I don't like the artificial ingredients, and things I can't even pronounce.

No low fat dressing, no low fat cheese, etc.

I find that when I "detox", by eating mostly fruits and veggies for a couple of days, the bad cravings go away, and I can buckle down.

[Trailpal]

I do like a lot of the Morning Star Farms fake meats, but I really have to read to get a sense of the protien and fat they have. I am sensitive to food texture, and normal ground meats can wreck my entire meal if I run into gristle or bone. I think I once went a year or two not eating any sausage or buger - then I discovered a home meat grinder LOL.

Except when it's really hot, I normally eat the walmart oatmeal in a box (not the pre-flavored packets) for breakfast. I dress mine with a squirt of honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a little butter with some 2% milk to cool it.

Many of the special foods have too much of something else... when the big thing was "fat free" they just put in more sugar (or sugar substitutes.) As far as I can, I try for the least processing I can find. If my body needs some fat, I use butter or olive oil. If I use margarine or whatever, I keep the craving and end up over-eating.

[Deleted]

I really do like a lot of the reduced fat/reduced suger products out there. Especially the ones that only count as a point! LOL

That said - I don't like the WW yogurt. Bleck! But Jello's sugar free pudding cups are yummy! We stick with 1% milk (I just can't bring myself to drink the blue milk), and overall are doing much better. Heck, I ate four of my five fruits and veggies today. It's a miracle!! LOL

[Newfygirl]

I don't like fake meat. eeew. But I am spoiled by having cows in my freezer that my in-laws "grow". The meat is so much leaner than store bought, and there are no preservatives or hormones in it. Have you ever looked at the ingredients of an Atkins bar? OMG! I have a friend who eats those in place of meals because she feels they are healthier. Those bars have animal "parts" in them, and all kinds of preservatives and gross stuff in them. I like the Kashi brand for certain things. I like Cascade Farms organic food. (I buy the Cascade Farms chocolate chip granola bars for the kids). All in all, I think moderation is the key. My Grandfather lived to be 98 and he lived on a farm his whole life. Up until he was about 88, most of his cooking was done with lard. He had oatmeal every day for breakfast and a glass of red wine every night. His big meal was at lunch time and at dinner they had a smaller meal - like a sandwich or something. He never developed cancer, never had any major health problems - just old age took him. I wonder what the key is to a healthy long life - is it the oatmeal? The red wine? Moderation, hard physcial work?

[Mary Ann]

I agree with you Newfygirl, but I think genetics also plays a big part. Hubby has to be on a statin drug to keep his cholesterol in the 170+ range. He also has high blood pressure, and needs to be medicated for it. Me? I have unusually low cholesterol, total cholesterol at 139 my last check (and I was fat then) and 98 the time before that. My HDLs were 84 this last time, and 42 the time before that. I have unusually low blood pressure, too. And we eat at the same table. *shrug*

I don't care for most of the bars, either. Many of them are full of trans fats, HFCS and sugar, and refined grain carbohydrates like puffed white rice (cheap filler, gives lots of crunch.) Being hypoglycemic, they do me more harm than good. There are some good ones out there, but I don't make them a regular part of my diet. I'd rather have fruit and string cheese.