New Product

It have been looking for a low calorie protein drink so I couldn't believe my luck when I ran across these new protein shakes from Dannon. At 140 calories I can fit one in everyday.  In addition to Banana and Mixed Berry they have a Vanilla, but of course my favorite would be sold out. Hopefully I can find a coupon for these but I can't wait to try these. 

New Product

I'm not really sold on Weight Watchers candy but some people love them. Here are some of their new offerings I found in Walmart. 

Do HIIT Workouts really work?

I recently started lifting free weights and I absolutely love it. I can actually see a change in my body, most of all my arms and shoulders. Most of the lifting I do right now is upper body and it is absolutely been life changing. I have grown bored with the treadmill and elliptical, plus I wanted to take my weight loss up a notch. After a little research I discovered HIIT Workouts. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It's goal is to maximize fat burning and muscle building. The workouts last anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes. When doing this you do a series of exercises full effort with a minimum of 10 second to a maximum of 30 second breaks. By having the rest intervals, you spend more time at a higher level of aerobic capacity. Unfortunately they are not offered in my gym but I found two great ones on YouTube that I love.


I have only been doing these a week and not really consistently. I plan to get back on schedule soon doing these four days a week. I'll keep ya'll updated on my progress. Has anyone tried this? What do you think? n

Marketside's Yogurt Parfait with Diced Apples

I think I found my new guilty pleasure. While perusing the aisles at Walmart I ran across a tasty looking treat. The combination of vanilla yogurt, apples and sweetened granola just sounded like it tasted amazing! Plus it was a big serving that could be divided if I so desired. I shelled out the $2.74 for this dairy delight and I must say I am beyond impressed! The yogurt was just the right creaminess and mixed with the tart apples and sweet granola it was seriously addictive. Any one of the toppings could be eaten separately but something about that combination mad me feel like I was being a bad, yet slightly healthy girl. Now I will say that the 330 calories seems high for me to eat in one sitting but I usually save this for a day I lifted my heavy weights and I don't feel live I've really fallen off of the wagon. There was one week where I purchased one every day but I have since scaled back. I saw today that they now have a pineapple parfait, but I'm going to stick with the apple.

New Products

Cape Cod offers their Kettle Corn at just 40 calories a cup - not bad at all.              

I'm not a fan of any type of jerky plus these have sodium nitrates but some people don't mind. At 60 calories per piece takes could be a good snack. 

New Product: Aquafina FlavorSplash

Aquafina's new offering in flavored water beverages doesn't seem to offer anything out of the ordinary but if I catch these on sale again at my local Food Lion I may pick some up. 

New Product: Ready To Go Snacks

Chips have been my downfall in my journey to better health. Even with the best intentions I start with just a few and go way beyond my limit.

 

I love the fact that these Baked Ruffles and Three Cheese Pretzel Thins are available in smaller sizes. These were at Walmart and I didn't see a price but I'll definitely go back to pick these up. 

New Jimmy Dean Delights.

I have been trying to move away from processed food and meat but I was really intrigued by this new Jimmy Dean meals. I picked up the Southwest Style Grilled Chicken so I'll be posting a review soon. Have you seen these or tried them?

Review: Emerald Vanilla Roast Almonds 100 Calorie Pack

Somewhere along the line for whatever reason I decided I wanted to try 100 calorie almonds. I'm sure there was a health benefit tied to it but between the Paleo Diet, clean eating and IIFYM, I am on overload. Anywho, I was seriously pumped when I ran across Emerald's 100 calorie Vanilla Roast almond packs with extra Vanilla Bean Flavor. If you ever want me to try a new food just throw Vanilla Bean in there and I am sold. I'm also obsessed with anything that smells like Vanilla Bean. Now that I think about it, it's all kind of weird. I digress, but I just knew that these almonds would cure my bouts of hunger at work, give me clear skin and shiny hair and provide world peace. Well I'm 0 for 4. These almonds were sickingly sweet. Like way too sweet.  I also feel bamboozled because in know way did I detect vanilla bean. *Shaking fist*. You fooled me Emerald! 

I've been researching ways to make my own amazing almonds in the flavor of my choice so I'm going to try that.  At 3.49 a box for these for seven bags, and given the way these tasted, that might be a better deal. Have you tried these or any other flavor of the 100 calorie packs?  If so, let me know what you thought. 

Adjusted Agenda

*Image Courtesy Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos.Net*

I'm changing fitness goals. When I first began my weight loss journey many moons ago all I wanted was to lose weight. I didn't care about anything else as long as the number on the scale went down. Now as I have gotten older and lost most of the initial weight I wanted to lose I have found that my goals are changing. I'm still on that journey but it's not as intense and I have decided I really want to keep my curves. At one point in my life I hated being pear shaped but now I love it. I love the fact that I have hips and thighs. Unfortunately for me, when I lose weight, I lose those hips and thighs. After researching and finding fit women with my body type I have decided to start lifting heavy weights. I'm going to stick with cardio, but cut down. My goal is to start lifting three times a week. I’m also researching as to how my diet should change. I'm really excited to start this next phase of my fitness journey and I would love to hear from those who lift heavy weight and may have any pointers. It would be great to hear from those who are interested in changing their fitness routine as well. Hopefully we can all learn from each other.

New Product: Flavored French Fries

I absolutely love salty snacks. Add hot, fresh, crispy ones and there you have my love affair with french fries.  I always add salt, hot sauce and ketchup.  Well imagine my excitement when I found these Great Value fries in the frozen aisle at Walmart. 

They carry BBQ, Sour Cream& Onion, Ranch and Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt. I love the fact that they're only 150 calories per one ounce serving. At a price tag of $1.50 a bag I'll be trying these very soon. Have you seen these at your local Walmart?

New Lunchables

So these aren't technically that low calorie or particularly healthy but I'm a firm believer in enjoying things in moderation. Occasionally I buy Lunchables from Oscar Mayer for my son. I'm not too much of a fan but I may check these out for myself. Walmart is carrying this new variety - Kabobbles. There is one with pepperoni and one with chicken poppers. The objective is to stick the meat and cheese on a small pretzel stick. They both have Capri Suns while the chicken has Hershey Kisses and is 350 calories. The pepperoni has a small Hershey Bar and is 340 calories. You could always replace the Capri Sun with water and add fruit. They were at Walmart for $3.49. I'm waiting on a coupon or sale. Would you try these?

 

New Products

I found these new drinks in Walmart that look really tasty. They are naturally sweetened and only 5 calories per serving. They are also Gluten Free and good for you in other ways. Next time I'm in Walmart I'll grab a couple and give a review. 

New Product

Food Lion's Taste of Inspirations brand now has frozen Greek Yogurt. I have never tried any brand of frozen Greek Yogurt but some people swear by it. It comes in Strawberry, Pomegranate & Blueberry, and  Black Raspberry. If you've tried it let me know what you think. 

New Products!!

While doing my weekly shopping at Walmart I team across these new frozen treats. Since I am an ice cream connoisseur, I'll have to try these at some point. 

Review: Cookies & Cream Quest Bar

So on my quest (no pun intended) to begin a clean diet, I have been running across many who swear by high protein Quest Bars. Not only do they eat them straight out of the wrapper, but they also bake them, and cover them with a variety of high protein frosting and other toppings. They always look so delicious and they have such a following, I was so excited when I found I didn't have to order a case of them from their website. I found where they sell them locally for around $3.00. After a couple of moments of trying to decide between Cookies & Cream and Cinnamon Bun I finally decided on the former. The wrapper makes the bar look a lot more appetizing than it does when you take it out. Unfortunately I ran out of room before I could take a good picture but I wasn't impressed to say the least. I overlooked the appearance because that really means nothing when it comes to taste, but then when I took my first bite I was a tad bit disappointed. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but it was not at all what I expected. There appeared to be bits of "cookies" so it made me feel as if I were indulging in a way. And I guess if you have been eating clean and not taking in a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners I can see how this would be a treat. I'm not going to give up on the bar quite yet. I still need to try Cinnamon Bun and Cookie Dough. They also have a number of other flavors. I also want to try using the bar in different recipes. It's 180 calories per bar so it's not something I would have on a regular basis but it would work as a meal replacement with some type of fruit. Have you tried the Quest Bar? Did you like it? Which is your favorite?

Oscar Mayer P3 Portable Protein Packs on Good Morning America

I recently reviewed the new Oscar Mayer Portable Protein Packs and was not impressed to say the least. Good Morning America aired a segment on them this morning. The experts agreed the snacks were high in protein and low in calories but no one mentioned the taste. I wasn't able to embed the video but here's a link.

Skinny Cow Salted Caramel Pretzel Bars

Slowly but surely I'm becoming enamored with anything salted caramel. Lucky for me, that's a flavor that is growing in popularity. I'm not a huge fan of Skinny Cow. I find their products to be overpriced and usually stick with Edy's Slow Churned ice cream which I find absolutely delicious. I must admit when I passed by these Skinny Cow Salted Caramel Pretzel bars I was immediately intrigued. I've fallen off the wagon quite a bit in the past month, so the thought of being able to enjoy my sweet treats and not compromise my weight loss journey was extremely appealing to me. The fact that I was going to pay almost $4.00 for five ice cream bars was a bit disturbing to me but I decided to throw caution to the wind and take a walk on the wild side. When I tried the first bar I was a bit disappointed. The ice cream had no taste and the only redeeming thing was the combination of sweet, gooey caramel and salty pretzel. I certainly did not want to waste my money so I continued to eat them. By the third bar I decided I really liked them. For some reason the caramel and pretzel were really, really good. The cold, vanilla ice cream meshed perfectly with the crunchy salted, caramel pretzel. They were not big, but just enough to satisfy my urge for a sweet, junky snack. There were a couple of drawbacks - the price for instance. Next time I will definitely search for a coupon and/or a sale before I purchase these. Also, 160 calories per bar is a bit much for me to eat on a regular day. I would prefer something much more filling. I would give these ice cream bars a 7 out of 10.

 

Oscar Mayer P3 Portable Protein Packs

While I was on my high protein kick I ran across these brand new Oscar Meyer P3 Portable Protein Packs in Walmart. They're basically small packs of nuts, meat, and cheese - I guess that's where the P3 comes from. I live the convenience of being able to grab my food out of the refrigerator and head out. I have been trying to cut out processed foods but I do slip up every once in a while. 

They have three different varieties and average 170 calories per pack with 11 grams of fat and 14 grams of protein. I tried the dry roasted peanuts, cheddar cheese and turkey breast. I also had the one with almonds, cheddar cheese and ham. To be quite honest, I wasn't too impressed. The nuts and cheese were okay but the meat was slimy and left me with a sick feeling. I would have rather had a stick of mozzarella cheese and a handful of almonds. The entire thing seemed like a waste of calories. They were $1.68 each so it's not like they broke the bank but it just seemed like a gimmick. I have no interest in purchasing these again - I'll just make my own snacks.

Soda with no artificial sweetners?! Say it ain't so!

Since I have been on my weight loss journey I really hate drinking my calories. I would much rather save them for something tasty and salty I can snack on. I absolutely love pineapple juice but it isn't the lowest calorie beverage. Unfortunately most sodas, (or pop if you're in the Midwest), have some type of artificial sweetener. The only one that doesn't is Diet Rite and I like them, but I get tired of regular cola or orange. I have to admit I got really excited when I ran across a coupon for Zevia zero calorie soda. They claim there is no sugar and no artificial sweeteners - and this includes the controversial Aspartame. So what do they use as a sweetener? Stevia. They also have a number of neat flavors. *photo courtesy of Amazon.com*
It will probably be better for me in the long run if I cut down on my soda consumption but in the meantime, these sound like a nice alternative.