Fiber One Chocolate Pudding

When I first saw the Fiber One Chocolate Pudding pop up on my local grocery stores shelves I purchased it (and the vanilla) right away. I enjoy Fiber One products and due to the nutrition facts I decided to give it a try.

The pouch houses 2 servings of pudding and it’s recommended to set it with skim milk.  After combining the two ingredients together, the instructions call for them to be beat together for 2-minutes. Usually with Jell-O pudding you can see the pudding thickening up before your eyes. But with the Fiber One pudding the pudding stays at a liquidy consistency after mixing for 2-minutes. After mixing, it calls to allow the pudding to set in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. I admit, I was a little skeptical … but low and behold after 10 minutes the pudding was completely set. It’s a lot smoother pudding in comparison to Jell-O pudding, but mixing it with a spoon and serving it up you can’t really tell a difference. The pudding itself is sweet, chocolaty and quite filling. I enjoyed mine over sliced banana, while my boyfriend had his inside of a miniature graham cracker pie crust.

A serving (as packaged) is ½ the container which is 40 calories or 1 points plus value, or as prepared with skim milk a serving is 90 calories or 2 points plus values.

Kidz Zone Perfect Yellow Cupcake

I picked up a box of the Kidz Zone Perfect Yellow Cupcake nutrition bars at Target. I’m a fan of Zone Perfect nutrition bars … so when I saw a bar in a cupcake flavor, I had to give it a go. Sure, it’s marketed towards kids and I am not a kid, but alls fair in the cupcake war.

The bars are pretty decent size especially for being marketed towards kids.  The bars are encased in a thin fudge-like coating.  The bars themselves are chewy as some nutrition bars tend to be. There is a vanilla flavor which is far more prominent in flavor than a cupcake, but it’s doable, passable and not bad. I also found them to be satisfying, especially when in comparison to other snack size bars.

Each bar is 140 calories or 4 points plus values.

Angie’s Tutti Frutti Flavored Kettle Corn

There are hidden treasures and jewels scattered throughout Target stores around major holidays. For this Valentine’s Day there are flavored kettle corns being sold in Targets Valentine’s Day section.  There are two flavors available (if you can find them, they’re selling out quickly) and on of them is Angie’s Tutti Frutti Flavored Kettle Cornb.

The popcorn is packaged in small single serve bags (0.5oz) and are bundled in a large plastic carry bag, holding at least 20 bags of popcorn.  These are limited edition for Target stores and are selling for $4.99.  Granted if these are available after Valentine’s Day at your Target location they will be sold for a reduced price – typically 30-50% off. Great snacks for kids and adults alike, and they’re especially great because they come portioned which eliminated any thinking or temptation that might loom with a full sized bag of flavored kettle corn.

You’re probably wondering, what exactly does Tutti Frutti taste like? Well … the only thing I can rightfully compare it to would be Fruit Loops. If Fruit Loops cereal and kettle corn had a baby … it would be named Tutti Frutti. It’s lightly sweet, it’s salty, and it’s fruity which makes it all rather delicious. Each popcorn mound has a little bit of a pink hue to it, which I assume to be the tutti frutti flavoring.

Each individual bag is 70 calories or 2 points plus values.

Weight Watchers Good Deal Cookbook Haul

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … I’m a sucker for new Weight Watchers cookbooks. So of course when I walked into my meeting, I noticed there was a new cookbook on the shelf. Initially I didn’t purchase it, but after my meeting was over I picked up the cookbook, started to browse through it and because I was sold on trying out a few recipes I decided to purchase it.

The Weight Watchers Good Deal Cookbook is selling for $9.95 each which is quite a deal. Each recipe has the points plus values associated with it, along with the recommended serving size for those members who are still counting points and not following simple start.  The whole premise behind this cookbook is to provide tasty meals at a fraction of the cost. Frankly, it sounded good because cooking healthy can and does get costly. Plus, it’s always nice to get new meal ideas.

AquaFina Flavorsplash Sparkling Berry Loco

I’m always on the hunt for a new flavorful zero calorie beverage. I enjoy water, but sometimes it can get plain old boring … so I picked up the new AquaFina Flavorsplash Sparkling Berry Loco which is a four berry blended sparkling water. I’m not the biggest fan of sparkling waters, but there are a handful that I truly enjoy … and since this was a different flavor I had high hopes.

Unfortunately those high hopes were smashed to smithereens after the second sip. The first sip I thought it tasted okay … the second sip brought on a wave of complete and utter disgust.  It’s mildly bubbly carbonated water with disgusting artificial flavoring. It was so bad I screwed the cap back on the bottle and threw it right into the garbage.  I’m glad I only purchased 1 bottle to try because I won’t be wasting money buying any more flavors.

Of course a bottle of 0 calorie or 0 points plus.

Sautéed Banana topped French Toast, Eggs & Sausage

French toast is one of my favorite breakfast dishes, but it’s also a breakfast dish I don’t have very often. Typically I make it when I’m craving it … and one night I decided to make French toast for dinner for my boyfriend and I. I of course, make my French toast using lighter ingredients (light bread and egg substitute).  It comes out perfectly, is delicious and is filling.

I placed a little more than 1/3 cup of egg substitute in a bowl, added in 2 tablespoons of skim milk, a dash of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Beat it together, then dipped three slices of light bread and cooked it up in a nonstick skillet.  Since I had a banana that was well past ripe, I decided to make myself a quick sautéed banana cooked in a non-stick skillet with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Once done I layered that over my French toast.

The remaining egg mixture (I used ½ cup total) I decided to make myself a little scrambled eggs and served the dish alongside 3 turkey sausage links.

It was a delicious meal which was only 7 points plus. Quite a bang for my buck!

Rotisserie Turkey Dinner

I had a Shady Brook Farms Rotisserie Turkey Breast Tenderloin in the freezer that I had picked up at the grocery store. While meal planning for the week I decided it’d be a great opportunity to give the turkey tenderloin a try. Granted, I had never tried it before, but since I enjoy the brands turkey sausages I figured this couldn’t be bad. It turned out to be quite delicious!

The packaging listed it could be put onto the grill or baked in the oven. Since I had a few cooking bags on hand, I decided to cook the tenderloins in a cooking bag to keep as much moisture in the turkey as I could. It turned out absolutely perfect. The turkey browned, it was flavorful and it was very moist.

As with most turkeys it was very low in points. A 4 ounce serving was 3 points plus, or a 5 ounce serving for 4 points plus.

Here’s what I had for dinner (which might I add was delicious, filling and a homerun):

5 ounces Rotisserie Turkey Tenderloin (4ppv)

½ cup garlic mashed potatoes (3ppv)

¼ cup Heinz fat free turkey gravy (0ppv)

2 tbsp cranberry sauce (1ppv)

French cut green beans

Steamed Brussels sprouts

Dannon Light & Fit Greek Blends Strawberry Cheesecake

After trying the Yoplait Light Greek Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt, I was asked if I had tried the Dannon. I had seen it at Wal-Mart but it was in a 6-pack with a flavor I wasn’t quite sure I’d enjoy so I passed up on it. After I had finished up a lot of my yogurts, I decided to swing by Wal-Mart to get a few groceries I can only get there and picked up the pack.  Dannon is one of my favorite light Greek yogurt brands and it’s the one I typically reach for at the super market.

I have to say the Dannon Light & Fit Greek Blends Strawberry Cheesecake really takes the cake on this flavor.  It’s very reminiscent of strawberry cheesecake, it’s nice and thick, and it’s just delicious. I didn’t pick up on any “crust” flavor but the yogurt itself reminds me of a strawberry cheesecake filling. Having this alongside some strawberries is just a delicious snack to rave about. So far I have only seen these sold at Wal-Mart, but I’m sure it’ll be popping up on grocery shelves elsewhere.

A serving is 80 calories or 2 points plus values.

Cascadian Farm Organic Oatmeal Raisin Kid-Sized Bars

I spotted these Cascadian Farm Organic Oatmeal Raisin Kid-Sized Bars while out at the store and decided to pick them up. I figured they’d be good to have on hand whenever my sweet tooth showed itself or if I was looking for an alternative to oatmeal raisin cookies.  I haven’t tried any Cascadian Farm products in the past, but I’ve always heard rave reviews so I hoped for deliciousness … and deliciousness is what I got.

The oatmeal raisin bars are kid-sized which is just a way of saying “snack size”.  They’re good for a small snack if you’re looking for something sweet, but they’re certainly not a filling type of snack. They’re soft, chewy, sweet and overall quite delicious. They are one of the best oatmeal raisin snack bars I have tried and I was quite pleased with them.

Each bar is 80 calories or 2 points plus values.

Garden Lites Southwestern Soufflé

Last week I made a special trip to Target to pick up a few Garden Lites, While there, I decided to buy a few soufflés I haven’t tried in the past. One of the “newbies” I picked up was the Garden Lites Southwestern Soufflé. What truly sold me was the photo on the front of the box.

According to the box, the soufflé is a blend of vegetables, black beans, corn and spiced with a chipotle spice blend. The soufflé makeup is food items I typically enjoy, so I had high hopes for this … and it played out to be exceptionally good. The soufflé itself was light, but the outside crust has a bit of bite to it. It’s not watery or soft, it’s baked perfectly on the outside and the inside is still airy and delicious. Flavor wise it’s your classic southwestern flavor, mildly spiced but not overwhelming with the chipotle seasoning.  It’s filling, flavorful and made for a delicious breakfast, but it would also be a great lunch with a small side salad.

A container is 180 calories or 4 points plus values.