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6 Miraculous Diet Food Finds

Posted Tue, Jan 13, 2009, 6:56 pm PST

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Whether you want '09 to be the year you finally drop those extra pounds or you're just looking for amazing low-calorie foods to add to your rotation, you MUST check out these incredible food finds from Hungry Girl...

Fiber One Bran Cereal (Original) - "Faux-Fry" ANYTHING

In case you've been living under a rock, you need to know that Fiber One is no longer your grandma's breakfast cereal. Toss it in a blender, and you'll have low-calorie "breadcrumbs" that are PERFECT for baking up foods that taste exactly like your fried favorites. Just season the crumbs with spices like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, etc. Then dip your food in an egg substitute, coat it in the crumbs, and bake it at a high temperature until crispy. Voila! Faux-fried goodies that are good for you! Check out Hungry Girl's recipes for chicken strips, onion rings, eggplant parm, and boneless Buffalo wings!

Powdered Peanut Butter - Whip Up Super-Low-Fat Peanut Butter

Even reduced-fat peanut butter still packs close to 200 calories and 12g fat into 2 tablespoons. That's why powdered peanut butter -- like PB2 and FitNutz Butter -- is the breakout food find of the century. It's made with defatted peanuts, so there's hardly any fat at all, and it's super-low in calories. Just mix 2 tablespoons of the powder with a little water, and you'll have creamy peanut butter with just around 50 calories and 2g fat. Use it as a spread or in recipes. It's a fantastic way to get peanut butter flavor you crave without a lot of calories or fat.

House Foods Tofu Shirataki - Low-Calorie Noodles

If you haven't discovered this brilliant noodle swap yet, you need to! An entire 2-serving bag of Tofu Shirataki has just 40 calories and 1g fat! It comes in 3 shapes -- Fettuccine, Angel Hair, and Spaghetti. And while it doesn't taste exactly like ordinary pasta (it's a bit chewier and a little more "slippery"), it's a total calorie bargain and a great way to enjoy your favorite noodle dishes. Check out some of our favorite Tofu Shirataki recipes here, here, and here! And look for it in the fridge section of the supermarket, near the tofu and wonton wrappers.

The Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges - Low-Fat Soft Cheese

Hasta la vista, Velveeta. So long, cream cheese. The Laughing Cow is taking over the world, one wedge at a time! These individually wrapped creamy cheese hunks come in three light flavors -- Original Swiss, French Onion, and Garlic & Herb. Each piece has just 35 calories and 2g fat. It's amazing as a spread, as a dip, and as an ingredient for creamy sauces. This cheese CAN in fact change your life.

Broccoli Cole Slaw - The Good-In-Everything Ingredient

This one's brilliant and a no-brainer at the same time. These broccoli, carrot, and purple cabbage shreds will help make boring foods more fun. This stuff is perfect for making side salads, stir-frys, veggie-packed tuna salad, and lots more. It's even good steamed or stir-fried with chunky low-fat marinara sauce and a little reduced-fat Parmesan (it almost tastes like pasta that way!).

Vitalicious VitaTops - Decadent High-Fiber Cake 'n' Muffin Swaps

Everyone knows the TOP is the best part of the muffin. Not only do these nutritional snacks come in crazy-good flavors (like Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip, Banana Nut, and Triple Chocolate Chunk!), but they're also a calorie-counter's dream. Each VitaTop contains 100 (or less!) high-fiber calories of vitamins, minerals, and other good stuff. These are the perfect way to kick all your carb cravings to the curb this year -- much better than eating 400-calorie muffins and fat-packed brownies! You can find them in the freezer section at select supermarkets or order 'em online. (Pssst... sign up for Hungry Girl's free daily emails, and you'll get exclusive access to special deals!)

Hungry for More?

Check out Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World. The book's a New York Times bestseller, and it's packed with 165 super-easy and delicious recipes, survival guides for eating out, and so much more!

For a daily dose of guilt-free tips, tricks, food finds, recipes and more, visit hungry-girl.com and sign up for free daily emails!

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387 Comments

1. Posted by joni on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 6:01 am PST

"Laughing Cow" can change my life! I'm out the door to get now. I need a job!
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2. Posted by x16star16x on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 7:33 am PST

Those noodles seriously make me want to vomit. Love the PB2, love the vitatops, love the cow cheese! But those noodles definitely don't need any more press than they've had. As for the Fiber One, I love it as a cereal, or even to mix in yogurt and foods, but it's WAY too sweet to be used for 'faux fried' anything. Bleh.
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3. Posted by JimmyK on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 9:33 am PST

Trader Joes makes a less-sweet high fiber cereal that is VERY good for faux-frying. No artificial sweeteners, either.
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4. Posted by Shelly Chrisman on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 11:30 am PST

They do add sugar to PB2. It is too sweet for me.
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5. Posted by poeticchick33@sbcglobal.net on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 3:21 pm PST

I love Shirataki noodles! I make HG's fettucine recipe and throw in some frozen shrimp and have it with veggies.
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6. Posted by koolio_26 on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 7:20 pm PST

i think this really kool!!!!!!!!!=)
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7. Posted by joe_n_ter1976 on Thu, Jan 15, 2009, 7:30 am PST

I thought this wasn't a diet.. it's a lifestyle...
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8. Posted by menpink43 on Thu, Jan 15, 2009, 2:40 pm PST

I like the cereal without milk as an afternoon pick me up snack, and the cookies are good to, but them noodles, I agree withis 16 star, they can keep them.
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9. Posted by fartygirl.blogspot.com on Fri, Jan 16, 2009, 2:08 am PST

Everyone who's tried those noodles, who I know, has said that they give them diarrhea!
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10. Posted by Liz on Fri, Jan 16, 2009, 12:00 pm PST

Love Hungry Girl and most of her suggestions except for the Shirataki noodles. They are slimy and taste like fish (I haaaaaate fish). Fiber Gourmet pasta is super good though. And it comes in convenient little nests for portion control.
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11. Posted by Natalie T on Fri, Jan 16, 2009, 12:49 pm PST

Laughing Cow cheese is great. I use it in place or cream cheese on my bagels...
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12. Posted by silancedogz on Sat, Jan 17, 2009, 8:08 pm PST

The noodles are actually not bad as long as you rinse the bejeezus out of them, drain them really, really well (I blot with paper towels), and use a thick, chunky marinara on them. Out of the package - yes, they are pretty nasty.
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13. Posted by MissAmy on Wed, Jan 21, 2009, 5:09 am PST

Has it ever occurred to anyone that there was once a time in our lives that we ate "normal", WHOLE, HEALTHY foods and didn't have a weight problem?? What ever happened to natural foods i.e. fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein?? As far as the PB2, any nutritionist will tell you that the fat found in peanut butter is a healthy fat and as long as you watch your portions (2T) there is nothing wrong with it. Why are we resorting to astronaut food? Don't we have enough processed junk in our grocery stores??
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14. Posted by angela m on Wed, Jan 21, 2009, 7:26 am PST

I totally agree with MissAmy! Come on people just eat less and natural foods, why do we spend so much time trying to change the foods from its natural form. Buy or make real peanut butter without salt, sugar or extra fat added.
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15. Posted by P F on Wed, Jan 21, 2009, 12:55 pm PST

The Noodles are horrible...uugghh! I like the Vita Muffins and the Cheese and you can get a small sample of the Powdered PNut Butter....I can't wait to try it....But the noodles I do not recommend!
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16. Posted by fairlady1212 on Wed, Jan 21, 2009, 6:31 pm PST

umm, i added hg to may yahoo page in hopes of getting some great tips and recipes. Unfortunatly, it seems that all I'm getting is a bunch for marketing for products. Nice, :o(
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17. Posted by slrocksmysocks41 on Thu, Jan 22, 2009, 1:26 pm PST

The points that MissAmy and AngelaM made are somewhat valid in that there would be fewer health issues if people ate smaller portions and ate whole foods. However what they don't realize is that unless you started out doing this in life it is VERY difficult to change. Ever tried to teach an old dog new tricks? Asked a smoker to quit? Told an alcoholic to cut out the booze? It's possible but it's not easy. The same principle goes for changing dietary lifestyles. If someone is used to eating processed and packaged foods, they are not all of a sudden going to be able to switch to only natural, whole foods. Changing is very difficult and one must ease into it by making small changes that are easy to stick to for the rest of your life. HG's articles help with that. Way to go HG!
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18. Posted by janice32tp on Thu, Jan 22, 2009, 7:19 pm PST

I had the noodles for supper with spagatti sauce and spinish and added parmasean cheese and I thought it was good. Do rinse them well though.
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19. Posted by ericsmcl70 on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:02 am PST

I like how joni said all the way above, how she needs a job. don't laugh thou cuz i need one to, and its ashame reading how many people dont have jobs. o and somethign about this article? uhh, i try to eat healthy now, butthis stuff, nah i couldnt do this
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20. Posted by amy l on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:07 am PST

I eat the broccoli slaw with a small can of sliced black olives, cherry tomatoes, green pepper cut up and a small onion with a bottle of low fat ranch dressing, and a cup of shell pasta cooked....very good!
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21. Posted by jobob on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:08 am PST

to miss amy: you nailed it on the head!! 'nuf said!!
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22. Posted by sam_i_am_blond on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:08 am PST

I LOVE the Fiber One onion rings!!! They are so easy and delicious...i dip them in balsamic vinegar instead of ranch or BBQ sauce for even less calories.
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23. Posted by jedkristy on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:10 am PST

Ms. slrocksmysocks41. Anything that is hard is usally worth trying to accomplish. You can change your metabolism, tastebuds and likes and dislikes. Just ask anyone who has quit smoking, stopped drinking and lost weight. :)
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24. Posted by Dee Dee on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:12 am PST

Powdered Peanut Butter - BLECCCH!!!!!! Laughing Cow Cheese is really good spread on a bagel
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25. Posted by oneazwild1 on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:12 am PST

They all suck...I want my sugar and fat!
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26. Posted by cmurphy20011 on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:12 am PST

why would you take the fat out of peanut butter? First of all its good fat and its natural, secondly essential fats are critical for biochemical functions in your body including proper metabolism and LOSING WEIGHT.. your not supposed to alter the form of natural foods anyways. people are so stupid.
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27. Posted by i_am_the_bobo on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:12 am PST

The fat in peanut butter is NOT BAD FOR YOU. It's monounsaturated fat. Do your research
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28. Posted by kingofchimps on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:12 am PST

two words: CORPORATE SHILL .
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29. Posted by MrsFavre on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:15 am PST

I'm down with the FiberOne "frying", the Laughing Cow is THE BEST, and the broccoli slaw is pretty good. Haven't tried the PB, so I'll reserve judgment, but I'm suspicious of powdered food. Bottom line, though, HG - no matter how many times you say "blot them dry" and "doesn't taste exactly like ordinary pasta", those Shirataki noodles are a crime against food.
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30. Posted by cass on Fri, Jan 23, 2009, 10:16 am PST

Substitute eggs are worse for you than regular eggs. Do use regular eggs whenever possible. Just make sure that they are cage-free, range grazing, hormone-free eggs. Trust me you will be able to tell the difference.
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