Diet With a Conscience: Save the Planet and Your Waistline at the Same Time

Posted Wed, May 28, 2008, 4:59 pm PDT

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Help the environment and your diet? Woohoo! Check out some of Hungry Girl's favorite nature-friendly food brands and some of our favorite stuff they offer...

Amy's Kitchen

As a natural foods company, Amy's prevents harmful effects on the environment by not allowing chemicals in their food supply. Plus, over 50% of their veggies are grown within a 200-mile radius of where their products are made -- and the less food travels, the less environmental impact it has. Some of our favorites from Amy's are the Mexican Tamale Pie (150 calories, 3g fat, 4g fiber), Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque (1 cup = 120 calories, 3.5g fat, 2g fiber), and Cheese Pizza Toaster Pops (1 Pop = 150 calories, 5g fat, 1g fiber). Mmmm!

Crystal Light

Crystal Light recently teamed up with Brita and Nalgene for the FilterforGood program, which is helping to reduce plastic water bottle waste. In fact, for just a few bucks, you can get their Refreshingly Eco-Friendly Kit, featuring a reusable water bottle, 10 Crystal Light On The Go packets (only 5 calories per serving, and so good!), and special offers like a $5-off coupon for a Brita water filtration system. Kool-Aid and Country Time are also in on this one, but we prefer the low-cal Crystal Light, especially their Lemonade and Strawberry-Orange-Banana!

Kashi

Kashi has an entire online community that share ideas for living an eco-friendly lifestyle. Find articles full of info and "challenges" (ways you can make a difference). Topics include energy savers, recycling, volunteering, and more. Our latest favorites from Kashi are the Thin Crust Pizzas (1/3rd pizza = 250 - 260 calories, 9g fat, 4g fiber) and their 7 Whole Grain Puffs cereal (1 cup = 70 calories, 0.5g fat, 1g fiber), a Hungry Girl supermarket staple.

Silk

This soymilk company offsets all of their energy consumption with wind power (saving 16,000 tons of greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere)! For four years running, Silk has been honored with the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partner of the Year Award, and the company consistently makes the EPA's Top 25 list. We love Silk's Light Vanilla Soymilk (1 cup = 80 calories, 2g fat, 1g fiber) and seasonal low-fat Nog (1/2 cup = 90 calories, 2g fat, 0g fiber). Plus, those cow commercials are pretty cute.

HG Heads Up! We're not suggesting that buying packaged foods in general is 100% Earth-friendly. We're merely giving credit to those companies who make the extra effort. To improve your own eco impact, recycle whenever possible (no matter what foods you buy).

For more diet-friendly food finds, plus recipes, tips, tricks and more, visit hungry-girl.com and sign up for free daily emails!

In Stores Now! Check out Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World. The book's a New York Times Best Seller, and it's packed with 165 recipes and so much more!

For more green eats click here.

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32 Comments

1. Posted by kayanne_young on Thu, May 29, 2008, 6:11 am PDT

The Amy's products are good, but they cost a fortune. And I refuse to pay an average of $1 more to get the Silk name on my soy milk. Other brands (Naturally Preferred, for example) are just as good, organic, and way cheaper. Green may be better for the environment, but in terms of the pocketbook, it's a loser. A big consideration as we head into a recession, with food prices already high.
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2. Posted by Coach Jessica on Thu, May 29, 2008, 6:45 am PDT

I try to buy items that are concentrated so there is less packaging. Items like LOC and SA8 have been around for over 50 years and have always been highly concentrated and cost less per use than most other products. I usally get them from mooresolutions.biz
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3. Posted by jezusisafundie on Thu, May 29, 2008, 10:59 am PDT

Thats a peaches and rainbows if Amy's brand uses ingredients grown less that 200 miles from the plant, but what about the transportation of the finished product from the plant to your grocery market? I don't think I live close to one. Actually if you base how "green" your food is by this everything on this list is a carbon nightmare. Also add to the sum the paper made for the box, plastic wrap, printing process, food processing... you might have made the carbon equivalent of cooking by scratch for month by eating these things only one time. You need to use a microwave to heat it up too? Ouch, you made Al Gore cry.
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4. Posted by silancedogz on Fri, May 30, 2008, 10:04 am PDT

The Kashi 7-Grains puff cereal has NO flavor. The air in your mouth tastes better.
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5. Posted by James D on Fri, May 30, 2008, 10:40 am PDT

Does anyone know if Hungry Girl is a paid advertisement for the products she promotes?
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6. Posted by mayabless on Sun, Jun 01, 2008, 4:37 pm PDT

I would appreciate seeing more articles on this topic. Also I wonder if some people are wre that they can actually recycle most of the packaging of foods? Those thin cardboard boxes are definitely in my blue bin for Recycling.
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7. Posted by Katt on Sun, Jun 01, 2008, 8:08 pm PDT

i think it could be worth the try but what do i have to go w/ out during the month to do this?
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8. Posted by Katt on Sun, Jun 01, 2008, 8:09 pm PDT

i think it could be worth the try but what do i have to go w/ out during the month to do this?
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9. Posted by lainemmitchell on Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 4:31 pm PDT

Given the health risks associated with Nalgene bottles (BPA), I can't believe that HG would recommend that we use them.
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10. Posted by djstokes238 on Thu, Jun 12, 2008, 1:13 pm PDT

Nick Name: Slim do not use my e-mail
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11. Posted by djstokes238 on Thu, Jun 12, 2008, 1:15 pm PDT

Nick Name: Slim do not use my e-mail
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12. Posted by John K on Thu, Jun 12, 2008, 2:02 pm PDT

What a bunch of crap. Diet with a conscience and save the planet? Thsi is just another propaganda method for getting one into feeling guilty about just enjoying life.
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13. Posted by dejavu2u13 on Thu, Jun 12, 2008, 8:53 pm PDT

I think it will be good to try this method out for a chance... Iam gonna try it
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14. Posted by sweta_rajgarhia2002 on Mon, Jun 16, 2008, 11:05 pm PDT

drink skimmed milk.....take out the cream after keeping the milk overnight....in the refrigirator...,in the morning....
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15. Posted by angela.studer@att.net on Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 8:48 am PDT

Yeah, it might be worth a try. I get all of my household products delivered monthly because they are just as cheap as shopping anywhere else and it's green. Of course, I recycle all of the boxes. If anyone wants to know about that, it's www.melaleuka.com. Feel free to email me and ask questions about it, too. It's really awesome. I think I'm going to investigate Amy's a little more, too.
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16. Posted by wyndhamwood on Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 9:51 am PDT

I'm a huge fan of all of the above brands, all of which make it into my cart just about every week. One of my favorite favor splurges is Amy's Mac and Cheese, which has REAL cheese in it and tastes other-worldly. Although it takes longer, I HIGHLY recommend heating it in the oven, not the microwave and then broiling the cheese very briefly at the end so the bubbly cheese gets ever-so-slightly browned. At 410 calories, it's diet-savvy and very filling! Amy's soups are also great -- black bean (around 250 - 300 calories for the whole can) and lentil (around 300 cal for the whole can) are my favorites. Mmmmm... getting hungry!
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17. Posted by ahsatnevres on Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 6:07 pm PDT

YEa this was helpful
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18. Posted by Veronica on Wed, Jun 18, 2008, 12:54 am PDT

OMG! Like Yeah, uh huh...shake it baby, shake it.
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19. Posted by Miriam on Wed, Jun 18, 2008, 7:33 am PDT

That's good to know about these companies....so I can boycott them. We need less tree huggers, not more.
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20. Posted by sharma.jyoti87 on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 1:10 am PDT

my stomach is very fat so hel me
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21. Posted by lachhmighosh on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 3:01 am PDT

I wish I shall be seen as a sweet lady of 52kgs.
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22. Posted by lachhmighosh on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 3:02 am PDT

Minti
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23. Posted by c_stoppa01 on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 1:06 pm PDT

For all of these products comeing out advertised as "all natural" we need to ask ourselves, what is in the original recipe, what were we eating for it not to be natural?
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24. Posted by Lillit on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 2:07 pm PDT

Hungry Girl doesn't know anything about nutrition. Yes, Amy's food tastes good but Crystal Light is garbage, full of chemicals. Check out the ingredients: CITRIC ACID (PROVIDES TARTNESS), POTASSIUM AND SODIUM CITRATE (CONTROL ACIDITY), ASPARTAME (SWEETENER), MAGNESIUM OXIDE (PREVENTS CAKING), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF NATURAL FLAVOR, LEMON JUICE SOLIDS, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (SWEETENER), ARTIFICIAL COLOR, YELLOW 5 LAKE, BHA (PRESERVES FRESHNESS).
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25. Posted by dcamdw on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 3:56 pm PDT

I buy organic if it's a few cents more but not way more. The stress of not having enough money to eat outwieghts the organic beifits.
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26. Posted by dragondigitalartist on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 11:12 pm PDT

I want to try the Kashi Pizza...I love Amy's, I tried the lasangia and it comes in a paper tray rather than plastic, and is really good but does have a few extra calories compared to Lean Cuisine. But it's worth it. I wouldn't try crystal light, it has aspartame, which I am only willing to drink sparingly. A better choice is a having a pitcher of cold brewed tea in the fridge. I live in California, and apparently a lot of organic brands that we have here are also from California, which is good, but not so good for those far from California.
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27. Posted by dragondigitalartist on Thu, Jun 19, 2008, 11:14 pm PDT

I can find Silk sold in pairs, which is cheaper. It costs less than cow milk too, which does save money if you have dairy milk as a staple.
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28. Posted by Kat on Fri, Jun 20, 2008, 12:36 am PDT

Why would you recommend Crystal light? That stuff is poison! Its not even in the same catagory as Amys. Has any one tried her coconut milk soup? I added left over baked chicken to it and it was deeeeeeeelish!
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29. Posted by Dora R on Sat, Jun 21, 2008, 11:14 am PDT

Hungry girl got it partly right this time. Local is good. Our food supply, even so called organic (more like industrial organic) is floating on a lake of petroleum and it's not sustainable. Meaning we can't keep it up indefinitely, something has to change. Part of the solution is that more people have to decide to eat local...support CSAs, go to your farmers market. Read Omnivore's Dilemma to learn more, definitely a life changing book.
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30. Posted by Healthykick on Wed, Jun 25, 2008, 12:11 pm PDT

If you are concerned about your weight and your health check out this New Healthy Energy Drink that burns 100 calories a can and curbs your appetite. It is a great way to make extra money too!! go to www.healthykick.org for a video tour. We are launching a new healthy weight loss drink packet next week!! Health and blessings.
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