(Fiber) One and Done

I am all about tricking myself into eating food that is good for me.

It is rare that I find a "good for me" food that is so genuinely good that I have to slam on the brakes before I do a "good for me" bit of damage.

This is the case with Fiber One's Oats & Chocolate bars. These bars are chewy, chocolaty, and substantial!

Of course, when I find something yummy - I want to eat as much as I possibly can!

NOT THE CASE WITH FIBER ONE!

I've learned through negative reinforcement that overdoing it with Fiber One is a big fat NO NO! Oh, the bloating and the intestinal strain... ohhhhhhh!

Although, I only tried my first Oats & Chocolate bar this morning (and looked longingly into the box of the others staring at me - begging me to gobble them up), but I've learned this lesson with other Fiber One products.

I have yet to meet a Fiber One product that I don't LOVE - but I know that I need to limit myself to one serving a day.

Moderation is key with these little goodies!!

Sun Chips - when it's more than the chip that is crunchy

I love Sun Chips. They are mulit-grain alternative to potato chips.

(Yes, folks, I'm from Indiana and know that there is no "e" at the end of "potato")

Dan Quayle sucks.

My new favorite flavor (relegating Harvest Cheddar to a safe #2) is Garden Salsa. The sweet tomato (also, no "e," D.Q.) flavor keeps me coming back for more and more and more...

I can eat an entire bag of Sun Chips in a sitting.

What keeps me from doing it?

The bag.

The new Sun Chips bag is 100% vegetable-based and compostable.

This is good! Go green!

But why does it keep me from eating an entire bag late in the evening as I veg out on the couch???

The bag is TERRIBLY LOUD! Like, obscenely loud!

Think tissue paper on steriods.

If I so much as reach past a bag of Sun Chips while my baby is asleep in her room, she's shaken awake by the noise.

Pick a bag up the next time you're in the chip isle, and you'll see exactly what I mean (then put that baby in your cart!!).

Don't get me wrong - I need food that screams (literally) DON'T EAT ME LATE AT NIGHT!!

I have plenty of other times during the day to stuff my face. For now, I will stare longingly at the bag perched safely on the top shelf of my pantry.

Fruit Chillers - the BEST alternative to frozen colored sugar water

In the endless quest to find healthy food to feed my 11 month old daughter, I was spending quite a bit of time in the canned fruit isle. I love to buy the fruit cups - light syrup, NOT sugar-free Splenda - to dump on her high chair tray as I fix dinner. It's quick and easy.

While perusing my citrusy options, I noticed that quietly sitting beside the mandarin oranges and diced peaches were boxes of freezer pops.

Del Monte Fruit Chiller Tubes, to be exact. (These come in cups as well, but I have not tried them.)
I grab a box.

"Made from 1lb of Fruit" "Rich source of Vitamin C. No Artificial Flavors. No corn syrup." Huh.

Flip. box. over.

FACT: 1 Tube is 55 Calories and 0g Fat. 10mg Sodium. 13g carbs. 11g of sugar.

(Granted, the no-name sugar-water pops in my freezer now have only 5 calories more per serving and 13g of sugar. BUT this is made from real fruit - so I'm convinced that the sugars in this are fairy dust sugars that your body recognizes as ones from fruit -- and they just tickle your tummy and are burned off by the resulting giggles)

ANYWAY - they're not a substitute for REAL fruit, but they're a yummy, satisfying treat on a hot summer day.

You throw the box in the freezer, and they come out about the texture of a frozen margarita.

They come in grape and strawberry flavors. My lips are a luscious purpley shade right now because I needed the box to give you facts.

FACT: These things are fantastic!

(P.S. Del Monte - if you could drop a few bits of tequila in these and market them for adults only - you'd make a killing. Just sayin'.)