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Check out the newest trends in the world of better-for-you bites...
Freeze-Dried Fruit - Dried fruit once meant super-shriveled snacks containing lots of calories in each itty-bitty portion. But the newer, hipper dried fruit comes in the form of crispy snacks that have been zapped of their moisture through a fancy freeze-drying process, leaving much more of the fruit's original size and shape intact. So you can enjoy a huge serving of sweet good-for-you stuff (it's often all natural and free of added sugars) without taking in tons of calories. HG's fave freeze-dried fruit company is Crispy Green, which offers individual packs in pineapple, apple, apricot, and peach (sooo gooood!). HG Tip: If you don't feel like ordering online or scouring natural foods stores, just head to the baby-food aisle of your local market. Gerber Mini Fruits may be aimed at infants, but they're an easy-to-find freeze-dried fruit snack that food lovers of all ages will enjoy. Other supermarket standouts (from aisles of food not aimed at toddlers) include baked fruit snacks like Nature Valley Fruit Crisps and General Mills Fruit Ripples.
Steam-Ready Vegetables - Steaming veggies is one of the absolutely healthiest ways to prepare 'em. There's no need to add extra fat and calories with butter or oil, and steaming the stuff makes the most of the nutrients they deliver. But not everyone's about to go out and purchase a stovetop steamer, break it out and put it to use on a daily basis. Well, Birds Eye has come up with an ingenious alternative with their Steamfresh line. The special baggies puff up when you nuke 'em and automatically vent all by themselves (you don't even need to slit the frozen bag with a knife -- something we've always found to be somewhat dangerous for the klutzy!). The result is moist, perfectly steamed veggies that couldn't be more convenient. Plus, in addition to the original varieties, Birds Eye recently added Specially Seasoned ones (flavor built in!) and Premium Selects (for those with high-class tastebuds). Hot on the heels of Birds Eye's success are oodles of similar options by Green Giant (dubbed Simply Steam) and a soon-to-be-released line of steamable frozen entrees from Healthy Choice called Cafe Steamers. Steam-tastic!
Omega-3s are EVERYWHERE - We all know that foods like salmon and walnuts are SWIMMING with those good-for-you fats known as Omega-3s. But folks trying to keep their daily fat intake down often miss out on this heart-healthy stuff. Enter the latest crop of low-fat items infused with it. We're talking yogurt (Yoplait Kids, with Omega-3 DHA), orange juice (Tropicana Healthy Heart, with Omega-3 EPA and DHA), soymilk (Silk Plus Omega-3 DHA) and more! But HG's fave Omega-happy hot food is definitely Gardenburger's insanely delicious California Burger Veggie Patties, which have just 90 calories and 3.5 grams of fat each. Pssst... GardenB's Flame Grilled Soy Burgers (90 calories, 4g fat) also offer Omegas, and those may be easier to find (too bad they're not quite as delicious).
Slow-Melting Ice Pops - This is just plain cool (literally)! Popsicle's new Slow Melt pops promise less mess due to their "special recipe", which keeps the pops from dripping all over and causing rainbow-colored stains on your summer duds. (Sounds so futuristic, doesn't it?) Wondering why this treat is on our list of better-for-you food trends? Well, it's made with fruit juice, and each one serves up 10% the RDA of vitamin C. And each of these snacks has just 40 calories and is fat-free. So while we wouldn't recommend swapping your afternoon apple for it, it's definitely a better icy option than many frozen treats. Yippee!
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