I thought we would try something new. Each Friday will be Frugal Fat Fighter Friday, with a different topic being covered each week.
And since I have chocolate on the brain these days, let's talk about our diet-friendly favorite foods that we can get for a steal!
Fiber One Chocolate Toaster Pastries: I Big Puffy Heart these! If I ever meet the person who came up with the idea for these, I fully intend to make out with them (male OR female...that's how much I love these things!). Although there are no current coupons for these, they come out pretty frequently. And because they are made by General Mills they are often part of a Catalina deal, making them free, almost free or even a moneymaker! I have had quite a few Snickers and Brownie cravings that were satisfied by popping one of these babies the toaster for about a minute (on the lowest setting). You can even heat them, crumble them and then put a dollop of Cool Whip on them. If you follow Weight Watchers, it's a 3-point snack, but much better than eating real brownies or 15 a mini Snickers bar! They even have Box Tops on them, and I am a TOTAL whore for the Box Tops program at school.
Bananas: you won't find many cheaper fruits than these. This is the one fruit that I make sure that we always have in the house!
Yoplait Yogurts: both the YoPlus and the regular Yoplaits go on sale fairly frequently and my coupon binder is always overstuffed with coupons for these (with the YoPlus often being part of a Catalina deal as well). Here's a little tip that my Weight Watchers leader gave me....put one in the freezer until it is frozen, but not frozen solid. It's just like eating a frozen yogurt!
Cool Whip: there are rarely coupons for it (although there are for the stuff in the can, which is also occasionally part of a Catalina deal, but I doubt you can freeze it), but the traditional one that you find in the freezer case goes on sale 10 for $10 all the time! Use this for the Pumpkin Fluff recipe, on top of sugar-free Jello when you crave something sweet for a zero-point snack and countless other ways!
Eggs: I keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator at all times. The everyday price of these are pretty cheap and you can often get Egglands Best for the same price as "regular" eggs when you combine a sale with one of the $.35 coupons that have been in the paper recently (after doubling). Eggs are protein and if you are hungry, the little "protein fix" can carry you for a few hours!
Fiber One Cereal: Hungry Girl made me a convert to this. Coupons and Catalina deals abound and I can't remember the last time I actually paid for it! While I am the only one in the house who will eat it in place of bread crumbs on chicken cutlets, etc, my family doesn't notice when I use Fiber One crumbs in place of bread crumbs in meatballs! There is also a great recipe for Fiber One "haystacks". Simply melt chocolate chips and stir in Fiber One. Spray a non-stick pan with non-stick spray, divide the chocolate/Fiber One mixture in to the wells of the pan and freeze until firm. You only have to count the points for the chocolate for each one you eat (if you follow Weight Watchers)
What are your favorite low-cost foods? Leave them in the comments!
OR
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Nessa
I've been wanting to try those Fiber One toaster pastries, but was scared to. Now that I've read this, I think I'll give them a try.
I love frozen veggies and they are very often free or low cost after coupon.
Jessica
What a great post. I love some of your ideas. I am currently on Weight Watchers and working with a tight budget. You can check out my blog PUDGET-Losing Weight On A Budget at pudget1.blogspot.com. I am so excited about the fiber one chocolate toaster pastries. I really miss pop-tarts and I LOVE Chocolate!!! I can't wait to try them. I hope they have them in my area.
Thanks again for the great post!
Jessica at Pudget - Losing Weight On A Budget
Mindi,
I noticed that you like Fiber 1 cereal and chocolate. You have to try this recipe. I found it on the Weight Watchers message boards a few years ago and I love it. You use Fiber 1 cereal and it tastes amazing.
Snickers Pie
Ingredients:
12 ounces (1.5 cups) fat-free vanilla frozen-yogurt, slightly softened
1 small box sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup Cool Whip Lite®
3 ounces nugget cereal (Grape Nuts)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and pour into 8" dish and freeze. Take out of freezer 10-15 minutes prior to serving. Yields 8 servings.
Nutritional Info: (per serving) 131 calories, 4 g. fat, 1 g. fiber