#10. Being Healthy!

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Being healthy isn't a hobby, it's a way of life. But keeping it interesting and not boring definitely is a hobby of mine. I love to eat, and I like to find new foods I can enjoy without feeling guilty. So I thought I would share with you my favorite snacking staples of the moment! I get all of them at Cub Foods or SuperTarget in Shoreview, which means you can probably get them at most grocery stores (nothing is hard to find).

Fuze Slenderize juices: I have to have something sweet to start my day, and when I started Weight Watchers, I was sad that an 8 oz glass of orange juice is 2 points. Even with all that Vitamin C, I can’t waste my points on liquid! So now I usually drink Crystal Light, diet pop (not for breakfast of course), or Fuze juices. One serving of the Slenderize flavors is only 5 to 10 calories. One 18.5 oz bottle is two servings, so I usually drink half for breakfast and put it back in the fridge, or take the bottle with me to drink on the go. I like all the flavors: Strawberry Melon, Pomegranate Acai Berry, Cranberry Raspberry, and Tropical Punch are shown here (8 flavors total shown on their website). Usually they are $1.79 at Cub or $1.49 at Target; recently they’ve been on sale for $1 so I stock up, plus I had a coupon last week for $1 off 5! (Coupons kind of ARE a hobby of mine.)

MultiGrain Cheerios: The idea that Cheerios are good for you is nothing new (take the non-challenge!). My historic flavor of choice has been Honey Nut Cheerios, but I've switch to MultiGrain because a serving size of MGC is 1 cup, which has 110 calories, 1 g fat, and 3 g fiber; a serving size of HNC is 3/4 cup, with 110 calories, 1.5 g fat, and 2 g fiber. Both are 2 WW points, so not that much in the end, but i can make my bowl a little fuller with the MGC, and they are still a little sweet. But I can't forget to mention new Chocolate Cheerios!! seriously General Mills, what took you so long to come out with those?? Three-fourths of a cup of those is only 100 cals! more sugar of course, and less fiber, but it's like grown-up, healthy CocoaPuffs. awesomeness in a bowl.

Fuji Apple: My off-season apple of choice! They are consistently $1.49 a pound, and they are sweet and firm and big. My favorite even before I became a fan of Hungry Girl, who worships Fujis like...well i don't know like what. But there is an entire chapter in her second book devoted to recipes featuring Fujis. During the summer, I go for local creations Honeycrisps, especially if they are cheap.

Baby carrots: The candy bar of the veggie world? probably. I have to have a bag of these on hand to snack on while I'm preparing dinner (so I don't go for cookies or chips or something). I usually bite a stick in half and give my dog the other half! She goes crazy when she hears the plastic bag russling.

Special K crackers: Great with soup for lunch or dinner! Show here is the Italian Tomato and Herb, which I prefer, but the Multi-Grain are good too. 24 crackers has 120 cals, 2 g fiber, and 2 WW points. I always thought it was dumb that crackers claiming to be "whole grain" didn't have much fiber in them, or more fat than necessary. So these have replaced WheatThins and even Triscuits in my cupboard.

Garden of Eatin' Baked Blue Tortilla chips: Love these! not greasy, and just the right amount of salt. they happen to be organic, so they are in the special organic foods section, not with the chips. right now on the website you can get a coupon for a dollar off! I just printed it! I hope it doesn't expire soon because as you can see, the bag I have isn't even open yet! oh well, the Super Bowl is in 2 weeks, i'll need chips and dip then. Best with tortilla chips? Salsa. no Points. forget cheese, put it on a quesadilla or something.

Airborne Health Supplements: My dad left these at my house once, and i kept them for a long time before I tried them. you drop the pill in a glass of water (like an Alka-Seltzer) and it fizzes like pop and makes it yummy. sometimes it is my morning juice. It's an easy way to get extra vitamins and minerals to prevent illness, and it doesn't upset my tummy like my multivitamin does if i don't take it with food. The flavors I've tried are original orange and lemon-lime; i like both. Also out there is pink grapefruit.

Banana: you've probably seen these before! I used to get the biggest ones i could find, but those are 2 WW points, so now i get small-to-medium sized, so i can count them as 1 point. If they get too ripe, i toss 'em in the freezer to keep on hand for bread or muffins!

Newer snackies:

Smartfood popcorn clusters: i noticed these near the Baked Lays in the chip/cookie/cracker aisle at Cub today (they are also made by FritoLay) and gave them a look-see, and after calculating the points, i was IN! One "purse pouch" of the Honey flavor has 110 cals and 5 grams of fiber = 1 point!!! and they taste good too!

WeightWatchers lemon creme cakes: Okay, they aren't exactly "nutritious," but they are portion-controlled cakes for when i'm craving cake! This is my second box; i took most of the first to work as part of my snack stash (along with chocolate-roasted almonds, i should have put those in this picture!).

JollyTime popcorn: I had a coupon! and they put the points value right on the front! although, it is kind of universally accepted that if it's a light microwave popcorn, you can pretty much eat the entire bag for like 2 points. corn's a VEGETABLE, people. So it's a very good snack when i want to eat a lot of something (as long as i don't burn the bag, stupid tiny microwave...).

So those are just a few foods i enjoy! Try 'em, you'll like 'em!