Thursday, June 25, 2009

New Summer Food Finds + Reviews

  I’m off for my little vaca—right now I will already be on my way! We had to cut our time a day short due to the fact that I will be attending the Rhubarb Fest to have my contending recipe tested. I will also be posting a segment on how I pack snacks and food when I travel. I am pretty high-maintenance I would say, but not in a bad way! I just always like being prepared and who says a cooler loaded with healthy goods is a bad thing? So definitely stay tuned for that!

  Now that summer time is here, I find myself on the lookout for lighter fare and basically just tend to lean towards the “summery” foods. Here’s a couple I’ve recently tried out & had to share!

  • Fiber Gourmet Mac and Cheese & Light Fettuccine

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CIMG0070 Usually pastas and mac and cheese would be categorized as comfort food which I would associate with winter eats, but Fiber Gourmet has really done a great job of lightening up these dishes while still keeping that comforting taste! I love mac and cheese, but after countless Kraft boxes consumed as a kid(c’mon, you know you did too!), I finally realized how unhealthy they are with preservatives and such—plus there is so many other healthy options now like Fiber Gourmet, Annie’s, Tofu Shirataki, etc. So what did I think? Well first off, the Light Fettuccine was super! No difference whatsoever from real pasta! Plus I noticed just a little bit made you full vs. times when you eat a giant plate of regular noodles and still don’t feel satisfied. The Mac and Cheese is a new staple on my shelves(I just ordered another batch of boxes!). Creamy, cheesy, the whole nine yards. You get a whopping serving for only 170 calories. It feels so sinful, yet it’s not! All you have to add is milk—I added unsweetened Almond Breeze instead of skim milk which made it creamy and delish! More about all the products here.

  • Swiss Premium Diet Iced Tea With Lemon

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Normally, this is not a product I would buy because it’s much cheaper to buy iced tea mix and make your own, but I had a BOGO coupon, so I couldn’t pass it up! If you are a Splenda hater, beware this does contain it! Iced tea totally screams summer and this was perfect in a glass with a big ol’ lemon wedge. Not too sweet and not too tart. Perfect thirst quencher for 0 calories! Cheers to that =) Find out more health benefits of this product here.

  • Imagine Creamy Red Bliss Potato & Roasted Garlic Soup

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In the winter months, I love sitting down to a steaming bowl of soup that is nice and thick—in the summertime, not so much. That’s why this soup is a staple May-September here because it’s light, yet filling, creamy, yet flavorful. All the goodness of a thick potato soup condensed! I actually love eating this chilled along with a bunch of other Imagine soups! Check out the whole line here.

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  • Kellog’s All Bran Strawberry Medley Cereal

I’ve never been too big of an oatmeal fan—although all the blogger’s out there with there wonderful bowls of goodness do make it tempting, I am still a cold cereal girl at heart. But it’s definitely not a bad thing when companies keep doling out yummy kinds! I got a sample of this in the mail along with a coupon. I loved it so much mixed with some Kamut puffs, that I immediately went and bought another box! It has many various “pieces” in it. Check out the pic!CIMG0081

Got to love variety, right?! This has dried strawberries, some flakes, some puffs, and some waffle looking things. It stays great in milk, doesn’t get soggy, and has a taste that has me hooked—way to go Kellog’s! Find out all about it here.

And now I would just like to share a summery lunch I have been having a lot lately—so good!

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A Joseph’s Pita fried in a dry skillet until crispy—topped with egg whites mixed with pineapple and topped with some turkey. On the side some grilled squash fries in parm cheese with a juicy peach on the side. (Excuse the fork BTW, I just finished stirring up my Fiber Gourmet mac & cheese!) And for dessert we have—>

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Banana yogurt, crumbled Corn Vitamuffin topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and blueberries. This times about 3 was consumed!

7 comments:

Krista said...

I tried the Fiber Gourmet and really liked it too. I find that regular pasta sits really heavy in my stomach, but this brand did not. Major brownie points over here!

Also love the strawberry medley cereal.....

Jenny said...

yum.. mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food -- that brand sounds amazing! did you find it in the grocery store?!

happy thursday, pretty!

katecooks said...

good luck at the contest! cant wait to hear how it goes!!!

Peanut Butter Swirl said...

ahah as an 8 year old I lived off of Kraft Mac 'N Cheese :) it was so good.
i will have to try out the fiber gourmet stuff!

Erica said...

Hey girl! Have so much fun on your vaca and at the festival (best of luck!!) I took put a lot of time/effort into packing (both clothes and food) and its totally worth it

Anonymous said...

Oh, I have heard a lot of good things abt that Fiber Gourmet pasta...I might just try it once I reach maintenance stage.
Have a great, fantastic trip, my dear!

Anonymous said...

ahhh thankyou so much for sharing these food finds!!! I am sold on the cereal for sure!!

Hope you have fun on the vacation! :)