A Few of My Favorite Things

This post is devoted to products I am recommending based on past use or considering purchasing based on stated criteria. I do not have any financial interest with any specified vendor, and readers are invited to consider alternative products using relevant criteria or other sources. The Center for Science in the Public Interest publishes the Nutrition Action Health Letter, which often recommends or criticizes food products by name, and Men's Health (cited below) publishes an annual list of best grocery buys, not to mention Rodale's "Eat This, Not That" franchise. (I regularly review these and other sources.)


Diet Foods

As a dieter, I find that I'm turned off by gimmicky flavored nutrition bars (e.g.,apple cinnamon, s'mores, chocolate chip, cookie dough, rocky road, or caramel)  or shakes, especially as a meal substitute for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Whereas I don't mind varying simple flavors to make a food more interesting, I don't like food manufacturers trying to pass off nutritious food as junk food or candy; it sends the wrong message. Under my current diet regimen of up to 6 small meals daily, I do consider them as a lighter meal.

There are a number of criteria I look for in consideration of these foods, including protein, fiber (especially soluble fiber), and vitamins and minerals, preferably lower in carbohydrates (particularly sugars) and calories. I also like to look for a blend of whole grains, seeds and proteins where applicable.

One of the nutrition shakes I have purchased is EAS Myoplex Lite powder mix. Under 200 calories (when mixed with water), these shakes provides a potent 25 grams of protein (whey and soy blend) and is fortified with 30% or more of the recommended daily requirements of a long list of vitamins and minerals. I'm also a big fan of Gnu Food bars, which pack 12 grams of blended fiber in up to 140-calorie bar.

Salad Dressing
This is one of those things which really irritates me about eating salads in restaurants (especially fast food). I have mixed preferences in this area: I prefer extra virgin olive oil if available, but otherwise I want a low-calorie substitute. [I have found at least one website which specializes in single-serve or travel-sized condiments (including salad dressings, olive oil and picante sauce) and other items: Minimus.] Walden Farms, which I discovered during my low-carb phase, sells a number of no-calorie flavored dressings, syrups, sauces and spreads--including single-serving packets (which are also carried by Minimus).

Breads, Tortillas,  Pasta/Noodles, Crackers

Food for Life is an interesting vendor with Biblical theme products; I originally found some of their organically grown sprouted grain breads (e.g., Ezekiel 4:9) in the frozen food section of my local Safeway. I have written of my fondness for Arnold's Select Multigrain Sandwich Thins, and as I write, my current loaf of bread is Arnold Natural Flax & Fiber; Arnold's products have no high fructose corn syrup. Healthy Life Breads is a vendor that I discovered during my low-carb period (whole wheat bread, about 35 calories a thin slice), but has often been hard to find and is a little pricey.   I have also purchased twin packs of Roman Meal Superseed when available at Sam's Club (watch the calories).

As a born Texan whom attended high school and college and Texas, I have eaten tortillas, tacos and burritos all my adult life. But I think my fondness to the concept of a wrap dates back to when I was a Coopers & Lybrand consultant based out of  the Chicago suburbs; I had an incredible tuna salad wrap at a ground-level small sandwich cafe. [I have pleaded with McDonald's for years to consider chicken salad or tuna salad wraps.and Subway, in my experience, allows one to substitute tortillas in place of their fresh-baked bread.] To this day, one of my favorite meals to make is to mix some water-packed tuna, no-sugar-added relish, low-fat mayonnaise or salad dressing, boiled egg, and a dollop of hot sauce to flavor, and wrap the mixture in a warmed low-carb tortilla. I have enjoyed a number of different lower-carb tortillas and lavash/flatbreads. In particular, three brands I like are: La Tortilla Factory, Tumaros, and Flatout Flatbreads.

One of the problems a lower-carb dieter faces is a suitable pasta; Dreamfields Pasta contains just 5 grams of digestible carbs per serving. (I'm particularly partial to the linguine product.) I have also tried Shirataki  konjac flour noodles, which are zero calorie and high in soluble fiber, e.g., Miracle Noodle or Konjac Foods. (One of my favorite light meals was to eat some Bela-Olhão sardines [see below] (hot sauce variety) with konjac noodles.)

I recently mentioned some whole-grain cracker products I've purchased at Sam's Club (i.e., Special K and Crunchmaster Multi-Grain crackers). One brand I became aware of due to a Men's Health 2009 nutrition award is Dr. Kracker. I'm intrigued by the Klassic 3-Seed, Pumpkin Seed, and Seeded Spelt varieties, with a blend of whole grains and seeds, yielding decent amounts of protein and fiber grams.

Meat/Fish


I love SmartChicken; I first tried the air-chilled, veg-fed whole chickens when my Columbia Safeway carried them. I haven't found them stocked lately, at least in more local supermarkets, but I have placed an occasional online order. A periodic item on my Sam's Club shopping list is a box of Morey's marinated, seasoned wild Alaskan salmon fillets. I have been a regular customer of Laura's Lean Beef. When I was a member of BJ's Wholesale Club, I was a regular purchaser of their ground buffalo 2-lb. packages; my local Safeway is now carrying buffalo (although at a stiff $7/lb). I've occasionally been able to find venison at Trader Joe's.

Eggs are a wonderful source of protein, and I eat at least one a day. I'm a frequent purchaser of Eggland's Best (which have more Omega 3's, fewer calories, less saturated fat and cholesterol, and more vitamin E than regular eggs.) I'll occasionally fry a couple of eggs in olive oil over easy, accompanied by a whole wheat bagel.

I'm also interested in grass-fed meats, which are a little pricey. I did have a positive transaction with a small business delivering locally to the Baltimore/DC suburbs. Tropical Traditions, an online vendor from which I've purchased virgin coconut oil during my low-carb days, has family-farm suppliers for grass-fed beef, bison, and lamb and pastured poultry, but I have not placed a transaction yet. The big issues with these often nutritionally-superior meats (e.g., more CLA and Omega 3's, lower saturated fat) are high prices reflecting limited production capacity and availability, not to mention shipping charges. When Safeway recently put 90% lean ground beef on sale for under $3/lb or regular whole fryers at just under 60 cents a pound, it's hard to justify justify the purchase of premium meats on an incremental nutrition/cost basis.


I'm a big believer in cold-water fish, so you'll find my pantry well-stocked with canned fish (tuna, sardines, salmon, and mackerel). There are a few things I particularly check for: the source/age of the fish, the nature of the packing (e.g., water or oil) and the sodium level. I generally prefer younger, smaller fish (less exposure to mercury contamination), wild-caught, water-packed cans (or anything other than polyunsaturated vegetable oils, e.g., olive oil, tomato/hot sauce, and mustard), and lower sodium.There are two brands I have purchased, prefer and highly recommend: Bela-Olhão sardines and Wild Planet tuna. [For some reason, the Bela products seem out of stock; Blue Galleon, the parent company, has not posted an explanation, and my own emails have gone unacknowledged. As I write, their Facebook page is still up (with a last posting in early mid-December 2008). I found a blog posting from a coop in late July saying the product was back in stock, noting unconfirmed rumors of insolvency and bankruptcy. However, I've only seen one vendor through Google Products claiming to take orders.]

Additives and Sweeteners

I've on a number of occasions purchased green foods like chlorella and spirulina, e.g., adding a serving  to V-8 juice. I like the idea of blended superfoods, and one such product I've recently purchased is Garden of Life Perfect Food, which include not only the above algae, but other source extracts, including grasses and veggie juices. Another Garden of Life product I'm using, e.g., to supplement my breakfast cereal,  is Super Seed, a high-fiber blend of chia and flaxseed and various sprouted grains, legumes, and other seeds.

I mentioned in a previous post that I'm a frequent purchaser of stevia extract powder, which I use primarily to sweeten my iced tea blend of black, green and decaffeinated teas. One of the interesting new trends I've seen recently is combining soluble fiber with a naturally low- or zero-calorie sweetener. One such product I recently purchased is Sweet Fiber, which combines the fiber of inulin (from chicory roots) and the no-calorie sweetner from monk fruit; the company claims that the soluble fiber in 3 servings of Sweet Fiber is equal to the amount of soluble fiber in a bowl of oatmeal. I've been sweetening every other cup of coffee with Sweet Fiber.

Miscellaneous Items

As an IT professional, I've had more pizza than I care to remember working evenings or weekends (although during my low-carb phase, I turned it down on a number of occasions). I'm intrigued by newer introductions like whole wheat or flatbread crusts (which cut down on an obscene number of carbs). South Beach brand individual pizzas have a whole wheat blended crust yielding about 25 net carb grams; my principal complaint is a limited variety. My favorite frozen pizza has to be the Lean Cuisine Margherita Pizza, with tomato bits and sauce, extra virgin olive oil, basil, and lower-fat cheese. (I would prefer a thinner, whole grain crust, especially with net carbs peaking 40, but the toppings make this pizza glorious.)

I have mentioned elsewhere that (like most lower-carb dieters) I really like Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds. Almonds are an amazing food, packed with protein, vitamin E,  a variety of important minerals like calcium and potassium, and a good source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, i.e., lowers LDL cholesterol. Macadamia nuts are also a good source of monounsaturated fat, walnuts are known as a source of ALA (Omega-3), and Brazil nuts are re-nown as a source of selenium. So quite often I prefer to purchase or blend a variety of raw/unsalted nuts. However, one must carefully ration his or her portion of nuts because of the caloric density. I'm also a purchaser of a variety of nut butters, preferring more natural brands with a minimal number of additional ingredients.

A key ingredient of the Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds, of course, is dark chocolate, another health-healthy food. I have been a repeat purchaser of Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa bars, although I restrict myself to 2 squares per serving.