A Peek into My Pantry and My Favorite Brands
Everyone asks me what foods I keep on hand and what brands I use. There are lots of good products on the grocery shelves today--many more than we dreamed about even a year or two ago. And I can't wait to see what's out there twice months from now. The following are my staples and, where appropriate, my favorites at this time. I feel these products are healthier, tastier, easy to get--and deliver the most flavor for the least amount of fat, sugar, or calories. If you find others you like as well or better, please use them. This is only a guide to make your grocery shopping and cooking easier.
Fat-free plain yogurt (Yoplait)
Nonfat dry skim milk powder (Carnation)
Evaporated skim milk (Carnation)
Skim milk
Fat-free cottage cheese
Fat-free cream cheese (Philadelphia)
Fat-free mayonnaise (Kraft)
Fat-free salad dressings (Kraft)
Fat-free sour cream (Land O Lakes)
Reduced-calorie margarine (Weight Watchers, Promise, or Smart Beat)
Cooking spray:
Olive oil-flavored and regular (Pam)
Butter-flavored for sauteing (Weight Watchers)
Butter-flavored for spritzing after cooking (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!)
Vegetable oil (Puritan Canola Oil)
Reduced-calorie whipped topping (Cool Whip Lite)
Sugar Substitute:
If no heating is involved (Equal)
If heating is required:
white (Sugar Twin or Splenda)
brown (Brown Sugar Twin or Splenda)
Sugar-free gelatin and pudding mixes (JELL-O)
Baking mix (Bisquick Reduced Fat)
Pancake mix (Aunt Jemima Reduced Calorie)
Reduced-calorie pancake syrup (Cary's Sugar Free)
Parmesan cheese (Kraft Fat-Free or Weight Watchers Fat Free)
Reduced-fat cheese (Kraft 1/3 Less Fat and Weight Watchers)
Shredded frozen potatoes (Mr. Dell's)
Spreadable fruit spread (Smucker's, Welch's, or Sorrell Ridge)
Peanut butter (Peter Pan Reduced Fat, Jiff Reduced Fat, or Skippy Reduced Fat)
Chicken broth (Healthy Request)
Beef broth (Swanson)
Tomato sauce (Hunts-Chunky and Regular)
Canned soups (Healthy Request)
Tomato juice (Campbell's Reduced Sodium)
Ketchup (Heinz Light Harvest or Healthy Choice)
Purchased piecrust:
unbaked (Pillsbury--from dairy case)
graham cracker, shortcake, or chocolate (Keebler)
Pastrami and corned beef (Carl Buddig Lean)
Luncheon meats (Healthy Choice or Oscar Mayer)
Ham (Dubuque Extra-Lean Reduced Sodium or Healthy Choice)
Frankfurters and Kielbasa sausage (Healthy Choice)
Canned white chicken, packed in water (Swanson)
Canned tuna, packed in water (Starkist)
90-percent-lean ground turkey and beef
Soda crackers (Nabisco Fat Free)
Reduced-calorie bread--40 calories per slice or less
Hamburger buns--80 calories each (Colonial Old Fashion or Less)
Rice--instant, regular, brown and wild
Instant potato flakes (Betty Crocker Potato Buds)
Noodles, spaghetti, and macaroni
Salsa (Chi-Chi's Mild)
Pickle relish--dill, sweet, and hot dog
Mustard--Dijon, prepared, and spicy
Unsweetened apple juice
Unsweetened applesauce
Fruit-fresh, frozen (no sugar added) or canned in juice
Vegetables-fresh, frozen, or canned
Spices--JO's Spices or any preferred brand
Lemon and lime juice (in small plastic fruit-shaped bottles found in produce section)
Instant fruit beverage mixes (Crystal Light)
Dry dairy beverage mixes (Nestle's Quick and Swiss Miss)
"Ice Cream" (Well's Blue Bunny Healthy Beat Fat and Sugar Free or any fat-and sugar-free brand)
The items on my shopping list are everyday foods found in just about any grocery store in America. But all are as low in fat, sugar, calories, and sodium that I can find--and that still taste good! I can make any recipe in my cookbooks and newsletters as long as I have my cupboards and refrigerator stocked with these items. Whenever I use the last of any one item, I just make sure I pick up another supply the next time I'm at the store.
If your grocer does not stock these items, why not ask if they can be ordered on a trial basis? If the store agrees to do so, be sure to tell your friends to stop by, so that sales are good enough to warrant restocking the new products. Competition for shelf space is fierce, so only products that sell well stay around.
Fat-free plain yogurt (Yoplait)
Nonfat dry skim milk powder (Carnation)
Evaporated skim milk (Carnation)
Skim milk
Fat-free cottage cheese
Fat-free cream cheese (Philadelphia)
Fat-free mayonnaise (Kraft)
Fat-free salad dressings (Kraft)
Fat-free sour cream (Land O Lakes)
Reduced-calorie margarine (Weight Watchers, Promise, or Smart Beat)
Cooking spray:
Olive oil-flavored and regular (Pam)
Butter-flavored for sauteing (Weight Watchers)
Butter-flavored for spritzing after cooking (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!)
Vegetable oil (Puritan Canola Oil)
Reduced-calorie whipped topping (Cool Whip Lite)
Sugar Substitute:
If no heating is involved (Equal)
If heating is required:
white (Sugar Twin or Splenda)
brown (Brown Sugar Twin or Splenda)
Sugar-free gelatin and pudding mixes (JELL-O)
Baking mix (Bisquick Reduced Fat)
Pancake mix (Aunt Jemima Reduced Calorie)
Reduced-calorie pancake syrup (Cary's Sugar Free)
Parmesan cheese (Kraft Fat-Free or Weight Watchers Fat Free)
Reduced-fat cheese (Kraft 1/3 Less Fat and Weight Watchers)
Shredded frozen potatoes (Mr. Dell's)
Spreadable fruit spread (Smucker's, Welch's, or Sorrell Ridge)
Peanut butter (Peter Pan Reduced Fat, Jiff Reduced Fat, or Skippy Reduced Fat)
Chicken broth (Healthy Request)
Beef broth (Swanson)
Tomato sauce (Hunts-Chunky and Regular)
Canned soups (Healthy Request)
Tomato juice (Campbell's Reduced Sodium)
Ketchup (Heinz Light Harvest or Healthy Choice)
Purchased piecrust:
unbaked (Pillsbury--from dairy case)
graham cracker, shortcake, or chocolate (Keebler)
Pastrami and corned beef (Carl Buddig Lean)
Luncheon meats (Healthy Choice or Oscar Mayer)
Ham (Dubuque Extra-Lean Reduced Sodium or Healthy Choice)
Frankfurters and Kielbasa sausage (Healthy Choice)
Canned white chicken, packed in water (Swanson)
Canned tuna, packed in water (Starkist)
90-percent-lean ground turkey and beef
Soda crackers (Nabisco Fat Free)
Reduced-calorie bread--40 calories per slice or less
Hamburger buns--80 calories each (Colonial Old Fashion or Less)
Rice--instant, regular, brown and wild
Instant potato flakes (Betty Crocker Potato Buds)
Noodles, spaghetti, and macaroni
Salsa (Chi-Chi's Mild)
Pickle relish--dill, sweet, and hot dog
Mustard--Dijon, prepared, and spicy
Unsweetened apple juice
Unsweetened applesauce
Fruit-fresh, frozen (no sugar added) or canned in juice
Vegetables-fresh, frozen, or canned
Spices--JO's Spices or any preferred brand
Lemon and lime juice (in small plastic fruit-shaped bottles found in produce section)
Instant fruit beverage mixes (Crystal Light)
Dry dairy beverage mixes (Nestle's Quick and Swiss Miss)
"Ice Cream" (Well's Blue Bunny Healthy Beat Fat and Sugar Free or any fat-and sugar-free brand)
The items on my shopping list are everyday foods found in just about any grocery store in America. But all are as low in fat, sugar, calories, and sodium that I can find--and that still taste good! I can make any recipe in my cookbooks and newsletters as long as I have my cupboards and refrigerator stocked with these items. Whenever I use the last of any one item, I just make sure I pick up another supply the next time I'm at the store.
If your grocer does not stock these items, why not ask if they can be ordered on a trial basis? If the store agrees to do so, be sure to tell your friends to stop by, so that sales are good enough to warrant restocking the new products. Competition for shelf space is fierce, so only products that sell well stay around.
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