Green Giant

We had a gelato order today, so I stayed at work longer than planned. I had to go to Walmart to get some frozen strawberries, so I thought I'd get something for lunch there. This was easier said than done.

I generally avoid PHOs in most things and HFCS in things that are supposed to be healthy (like bread, vegetable soups, ketchup) and have been known to gasp loudly whenever I come across a food that contains one of these ingredients, particularly if I wanted to buy it. I considered throwing a tantrum when I realized that ALL of HyVee's french toast sticks contained PHOs. (Did I need french toast sticks? No. Do I LOVE french toast sticks? YES.) Dexter and Keriann don't really like grocery shopping with me anymore.

Recently, I've realized that almost all low-priced canned soups contain HFCS (although I've only really looked at ones that don't contain meat broth). So, I skipped to the frozen foods aisle and found the Healthy Choice section. The meal I picked up had PHOs in it. So did a California Kitchen individual pizza. I'd finally settled on a potato/broccoli/cheese frozen dinner, but then I turned around and saw Green Giant's individual sized "Weight Control" mix. (I'm not super concerned about my weight, I just hoped this would indicate "healthy.") It was only $1.48, so I looked at the ingredients. Sugar snap peas, edamame, black beans, and carrots tossed in butter and salt. I went for it.

I microwaved it and eventually opened the package by pulling on the parts of it that said "pull." (My college degree which includes a reading specialization didn't serve me as I opened the package.) It was delicious! I felt healthy! I got 10 grams of fiber! I got 10 grams of protein! I felt satisfied when it was gone!

At home, I got a $.50 coupon here.

I know that prepared foods aren't the most economical thing in the world, but I was happy to find something that would meet my last-minute food needs more cheaply and healthily than fast food. And I am really tired of peanutbutter sandwiches.

I rounded out my lunch with a Kashi bar (chocolate plus 5 more grams of fiber) and an apple (3-4 grams fiber). I'm really not obsessed with fiber--I just happened to notice that they were key players on the nutrition labels of all the foods in my lunch today. I'd also been thinking about them since Leah and Alicia recently posted about fiber.

Do you have any favorite/healthy/easy/cheap food secrets?