Monday, February 27, 2012

These are a few of my favorite (food) things

You're standing in the snack food aisle at the grocery store with a bag of tortilla chips in each hand. Bag A has fabulous packaging and a catchy name. Bag B has an ingredient list that would make Barbara Kingsolver proud. But which chips taste better? A fellow shopper wanders past, "You've gotta try Bag A. They are the best." And she disappears off to frozen foods. 

Was that...an angel? You ask yourself as you promptly pop Bag A into your cart. 

I'm no grocery aisle angel, but I have benefited from the recommendations of strangers on many occasions. I thought the least I could do was share some of my favorite food finds with you. 

Please note: These just happen to be items I enjoy. No one asked me to try them or tell you what I think. This is unsolicited advice, people. Do with it what you will. 

The ultimate salty-sweet snack, the husband and I both go bonkers over these sweet potato chips. We buy a gigantic bag every time we go to Costco. (Should I remind you that only two people live in our house?) Although it would be a stretch to say they're healthy, I do appreciate the short ingredient list: sweet potato, oil, sea salt. No wonder they're so good. 

I like peach. The husband likes blueberry and strawberry. We both like the creamy texture and crazy amount of protein in each serving. (There are 14 grams of protein in 6 ounces of Strawberry Non-fat Chobani. FOURTEEN GRAMS!) Also, this yogurt has ingredients that I can pronounce. Another brand of Greek yogurt I tried had some weird thickening agent that felt funny on my tongue. That may not be a scientific explanation of anything, but I'm not buying that other stuff again. 

Again with the yogurt. As much as I like Chobani, when it comes to vanilla, I'm a Stonyfield girl. The non-fat is good, but the low-fat is even better. Try scooping up your yogurt with apple slices. Or top it with fruit and granola

As you've probably gleaned from my plethora of butternut squash soup recipes, I love the stuff. But sometimes I'm not in the mood to hack up a whole squash. Or I just don't have the time. Or I'm feelin' lazy. Then I pull out this little, green box (yep, box) of soup, and all is well with the world. To add some heft to your meal, dunk some cheesy bread into your soup. Drool. 

I'm a simpleton, but I love Ranch dressing:
Cut-up Veggies with  Ranch Dressing + Pizza  = Well-balanced (just go with me here) Dinner 
Iceberg Lettuce + Sliced Celery + Mandarin Oranges + Ranch Dressing = Heavenly (and easy!) Salad
Many other bottled dressings taste fake and chemical-y. All of the Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Dressings that I've tried taste real. And with 45 calories in 2 tablespoons, I can really load it onto my carrot sticks. Like, really load it on.  

They are chewy. And crunchy. And chocolate-y. I love these granola bars. They have just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy my sugar craving, but with 6 grams of protein, they stick to my ribs, too.
P.S. All photos are sourced from the products' websites. My camera skills are not that hot. 

7 comments:

  1. Great idea! I love Chobani!!

    I will keep my eyes open for some of these other treats as well.

    * I hate these "prove your not a robot" thingys...

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  2. I need to get my hands on those sweet potato chips! Potato Chips have been banned from my house BUT I'm sure this can't be considered junk.... right? Not totally (trying to convince myself) :-)

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  3. I cannot let those sweet potato chips into my house...they are irresistible! Great list!!!

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  4. Love Chobani and those chewy granola bars. Funny- the last time we were at Costco -- last week! -- they were giving out samples of the sweet potato chips. We had just eaten a huge diner meal, but they were so good, we gobbled them up. Since we were visiting the other coast and had to fly back I didn't buy a bag. Now I'm thinking it would probably be a dangerous thing to have a huge Costco bag in our house!

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  5. Ooh I love that Butternut Squash soup too! Especially with a little bit of Parmesan cheese swirled in!

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  6. I definitely love the Chobani! I really want to try that V8 soup, it looks amazing!

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  7. Jen, I love the idea of stirring in Parmesan cheese.

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