A Few of My (New) Favorite Things

A Few of My (New) Favorite Things:

Admittedly, I have not been to the grocery store in 4 months! My wonderful fiance has been doing all the grocery shopping as I have been working very long hours and very late days, and we always seem to travel during the summer weekends. I broke this trend on Sunday with a couple's trip to the food store. Fiance and I stocked up on stuff for dinner and snacks. Since I hadn't personally been going to the food store, fiance was picking up the usual snacks for me- rice cakes, cheese sticks, granola bars, fruit, etc. But, there are constantly new snack products popping up, so I decided to pick up a few this week and was pleasantly surprised!

Oikos Greek Yogurt with Honey

I have always been a firm believer in Dannon Lite and Fit creamy vanilla. I detest yogurt with "chunks" as I un-affectionately call those foreign particles of fruit that ruin the smoothness that I love about yogurt. I also tended towards sweetened yogurts out of habit. I saw some people seemed to love this Oikos yogurt for some reason and I saw it in the food store and thought I'd give it a whirl. I picked up the honey on the bottom version. The yogurt is perfectly tart and seriously creamy and heavy-bodied compared to the watery Dannon I was consuming. The honey adds the perfect balance of sweetness (aka, not too much honey), but the honey somehow lacks the usual floral taste that I love from honey.

Special K Crackers

I have purchased many different types of crackers in my time as a WW. I thought why not give another cracker a shot. These crackers remind me of Wheat Thins, but they are less "greasy". Something about Wheat Thins was oily, always leaving oil spots on a napkin or a nice greasy film on your hands. I haven't had Wheat Thins in a long time so it's nice to have a cracker that reminds me of them- salty and wheat filled!

I have also been discovering new "out to lunch" places because I am in a new work location (New York City). I had Chipotle for the first time last month. Don't freak out, I may have never had Chiptole before, but I have been to Q-doba several times, and it is just like Chipotle. At any rate, I have figured out how to build a healthy and tasty burrito at Chipotle so I can eat out with my co-workers and not feel like someone on a diet.

Chipotle vegetarian burrito bowl

See Carlos, it is possible to continue eating at Chipotle! This bad boy only sets me back 5 WW points (290 calories, 5g fat, 53g carbs, 13g fiber, 11g protein)

Falafel

Throughout the weightloss journey, I have gradually added foods that I never thought would pass my lips: all sorts of seafood, veggies, fruits, legumes, and beans. I was a very picky eater growing up, so it has taken a long time, but I continue to expand my food horizon. One of the latest foods I have tried, thanks to an awesome place in the city called Crisp, is falafel! I get a beautiful salad from Crisp with humus, falafel, salsa, mixed greens, pine nuts, and wheat pita on the side- yum! It does set me back a lot of points, but it is so delicious and healthful.

I encourage everyone to expand their food horizons- continue to try new things! It'll add variety to your diet in terms of nutrients and keeping things interesting. Also, continue to frequent the places you love, but take some time and consideration when ordering. I know it's hard not to order your "usual", but you'll never break a bad habit if you don't try.