Weight Watchers and the grocery store. Need suggestions.

[sherry7]

Hello all. I've done Weight Watchers a few times in the past, with varying degrees of success depending on how I followed the plan. I've picked up some weight over the last year or so, and I need to lose around 20 lbs.

I stopped by my WW center and bought the books, calculator, etc and I'm also signing up for the online program. (I have no time to attend meetings, so I'll be doing this from home.) I'm making a stop at the grocery store tomorrow to stock up on some "friendly" food. I know that lean meats, fruits, veggies, etc are the main part of the program. But I need some suggestions on brands/types of bread, wraps, crackers, snack foods, etc please.

Carbs are my weakness in life. I know that I'm going to need to cut back on them majorly, so it would be nice to know which ones give me the most "bang for my buck". Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[loislane]

Here are some food and snack staples I always have in my house.

I like the WW bread and the Pepperidge Farms sandwich thins. Both are 2 pts per serving, which is one thin or 2 slices of bread.

For my pasta cravings, I go with Barilla Plus. This tastes more like regular pasta than straight whole wheat, and the "plus" elements (more fiber, etc.) make it very points friendly for when you just have to have some pasta.

Greek yogurt. Some people are not yogurt fans or can't stomach the Greek yogurt, which is thicker and tangier than Americanized yogurt (which is usually FULL of sugar) but if you like to eat yogurt, Greek gives you the most bang for your points. It has double and sometimes even triple the protein compared with regular yogurt, which means it is points friendly and fills you up. I really love the Chobani brand.

Lowfat string cheese and/or light Babybel. Good for a quick protein boost.

Light microwave popcorn - a filling, points-friendly whole grain snack. I jazz it up by hitting it with a blast of canola cooking spray and then flavoring it up with Seasons Kernels sprinkles. White cheddar is my favorite. This is often my nightly TV snack.

And finally, for the sweet tooth, the WW brand snack size fudge bars. 1 point, 45 calories, all chocolatey goodness.

 

[loislane]

Oh, I should add that any carb that is whole grain and brown vs. white (like brown rice) is going to be more points friendly.

 

[sherry7]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm making a trip to the grocery store this evening, so it's a lot easier to know some specific name brands than than checking the points on a gazillion items before I buy them.

Oh, and I loooovvvvve Greek yogurt. My breakfast this morning was a small tub of plain 0% Greek yogurt, mixed together with a handful of fresh raspberries and a packet of Splenda. Only 2 points, and very filling.

 

[loislane]

Just remembered something else! LOL

There is a great website for WW friendly recipes that are REALLY yummy!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Her crockpot chicken taco chili is delicious!

 

[disbabyndaddy]

Here are some food and snack staples I always have in my house.

I like the WW bread and the Pepperidge Farms sandwich thins. Both are 2 pts per serving, which is one thin or 2 slices of bread.

For my pasta cravings, I go with Barilla Plus. This tastes more like regular pasta than straight whole wheat, and the "plus" elements (more fiber, etc.) make it very points friendly for when you just have to have some pasta.

Greek yogurt. Some people are not yogurt fans or can't stomach the Greek yogurt, which is thicker and tangier than Americanized yogurt (which is usually FULL of sugar) but if you like to eat yogurt, Greek gives you the most bang for your points. It has double and sometimes even triple the protein compared with regular yogurt, which means it is points friendly and fills you up. I really love the Chobani brand.

Lowfat string cheese and/or light Babybel. Good for a quick protein boost.

Light microwave popcorn - a filling, points-friendly whole grain snack. I jazz it up by hitting it with a blast of canola cooking spray and then flavoring it up with Seasons Kernels sprinkles. White cheddar is my favorite. This is often my nightly TV snack.

And finally, for the sweet tooth, the WW brand snack size fudge bars. 1 point, 45 calories, all chocolatey goodness.

I enjoy most all of these too! I bought my first small container of Greek yogurt on Sunday...haven't tried it yet.

I, too, like Barilla Plus pasta! Very good and filling.

I've tried the sandwich thins too -- Nature's Own Sandwich Rounds, though these tend break apart easily if eating them with a hamburger. (I usually just go plain with a burger.) If I'm having a deli sandwich, my favorite is Koeplinger's All Natural Whole Wheat bread: 3g fiber and 2g protein per slice (1pt).

I eat a stick of Frigo Light String Cheese almost every day for a snack or with lunch. 1pt

For snacks, I LOVE Special K cracker chips!! Only 3pts for 30 chips (30g); so many, that sometimes I pack 20g (2pts) for lunch to save a point, and that's plenty. They come in sea salt and sour cream & onion (my favorite).

I also really like Special K multi-grain crackers: 24 crackers (30g, 3pts). Again, I sometimes have 17 crackers (20g, 2pts) and save a point. I love these with Laughing Cow Light cheese wedges (1pt per wedge)...lots of great flavors!

I keep a box of Special K cereal bars at work: 2pts each (3g fiber). They're not big but taste good and do as a mid-morning snack before lunch.

My local grocery store brand has a fat-free devil's food cookie similar to Snack Wells brand -- I really like those for dessert at lunch. 1 cookie is 1pt; 2 cookies are 3pts.


You'll discover what you like and works for you. I keep a WW calculator in my purse and use it ALL THE TIME at the grocery. Takes me forever to shop because I'm always stopping to figure points and whether or not the items are worth it...but that's ok because I've shopped SO much smarter and and eating SO much better in the last eight months than ever! Good luck!!

 

[pjlla]

If you are concerned about carbs, try looking for the Joseph's flaxseed and oat bran pita pockets and lavash. Very low carb and delicious. Can't give you a points breakdown because I'm sticking with "old time" points and haven't updated to do Points Plus.... I've got too much stuff memorized!

Plus, if you are craving crackers, you can toast the lavash and break it into pieces..... excellent with a tablespoon of natural sugar-free peanut butter!

I agree with the PP who stated that any carb that is brown is usually going to be healthier than white carbs. I'll take it a step further and say that any "naturally occurring carb" (grains, nuts, seeds) are going to be even healthier than a manufactured or refined brown carb. Try quinoa instead of pasta or nuts instead of crackers (although watch the portions on nuts..... very caloric!).

Good luck with your fresh start at WW!! The program CAN work..... remember that you get out of it what you put into it.......................P

 

[disbabyndaddy]

A few others:

At night, when my sweet tooth hits, I enjoy the Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop kettle corn. Each mini bag is 3pts and tastes great!

For chocolate cravings, I've been eating sugar-free (which is better than fat-free) chocolate mousse. Walmart sells their brand of single-serving cups, which are 2pts each.

Pringles Light (fat free) are only 2pts per serving for about 15(?) chips. These are great too, especially with a sandwich at lunch, and a lot of times, I don't eat the full serving...just 6-7 to have the salty taste, which is only 1pt.

Canned chunk tuna in water...I eat it at least once, if not twice a week. 2 servings per can, 1pt per serving, so the whole can is only 2pt. I make my version of tuna salad (since I don't like mayo) with diced onions and celery, and either a little fat free sour cream or Wish-Bone Salad Spritzer (ranch)...no points for 10 "sprays"! (More than that and it starts to add a point.) I love this stuff...should have mentioned it earlier...and use it on chicken a lot, plus salads, though I don't fix many of those at home. FAR better than heavy dressing.

Like you said, lots of fruits (which I love) and veggies (which I hate and still struggle with).

 

[averill94]

ALl these suggestions are great .. another thing that my leader introduced me to is turkey pepperoni! Maybe not thea healthiest but a little goes a LONG way. 17 pieces = 2 pp. saute red/yellow pepperstrips (trader joes), put about 8 pieces of pepperoni into the pan and get it good and hot, move it all to the side throw in three egg whites, cook flip add your part skim mozz add the pepperoni and peppers.

So delish and filling for 5pp!

In regular life pepperoni was never my thing but now I enjoy it!