New Food Finds: Onion Straws and Fiber One Fruit Snacks

I am so thankful when my husband is home from work, because he is willing to stay home with our two daughters so that I can go grocery shopping alone. Jon knows how much I love grocery shopping and he is more than willing to give me that time to myself.

Some of my favorite memories as a child include going grocery shopping with my Mom, which is probably why I love it so much.

I welcome the challenge of trying to find good food on sale, so that we can continue to stay within our budget. I also enjoy finding new low pointsplus foods that I have never tried before.

Here are a few of my latest food finds:

{Sensible Portions Onion Straws Southwestern}

Serving Size: 38 straws
  3 pointsplus+

I have enjoyed Veggie Straws for years. Onion Straws might not be "new", but they are new to me, because I have never bought them. I was secretly hoping that these Onion Straws would taste like Funyuns. Instead, they have a bold and slightly spicy flavor which kept me wanting more.

{Fiber One Mixed Berry Fruit Flavored Snacks}

Serving Size: 1 package
2 pointsplus+

I am a huge fan of everything Fiber One and enjoy all of their products. I was completely surprised, to find out that Fiber One had created their own fruit snack. What!? I never expected that from them, but I am so glad that they did. These fruit snacks are so good that it will be hard to enjoy them myself, because my family will want some too!

Recent Food Finds

I just realized that I have not posted any new food finds in a long time! Here are some new snacks that are now available in stores near you. I also posted the various serving sizes and pointsplus+ values for each food item.

{Rold Gold Pretzel Thins Garlic Parmesan or Three Cheese}

Serving Size:  1 pouch or 1 ounce / 13 pretzel thins
3 pointsplus+

{Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie Explosion Mini Bars}

Serving Size: 1 mini bar
2 pointsplus+

{Special K Moments Caramel Pretzel Bites}

Serving Size: 1 indulgent snack bite
2 pointsplus+

{Ole Mexican Foods Xtreme Wellness! Spinach & Herb Tortilla Wraps}

Serving Size: 1 tortilla wrap
1 pointsplus+

Be sure to follow me, because all of the new foods that I find get posted to my Instagram (@JenNewsham) and/or my Twitter (@JenNewsham).

My New Favorite...Greek Yogurt

I went to my doctor's appointment yesterday. I am excited to share that both myself and Sophie are healthy and doing well! Today, I am 32 weeks pregnant and time just keeps slipping away from us as this time of year tends to do.

One of the greatest discoveries that I have made throughout my pregnancy has been my new found love for...

Greek Yogurt

I'm sure it will shock many of you to hear me admit that up until two months ago I did not like Greek yogurt at all. My go to yogurt has always been Yoplait Light Yogurt, because it is delicious and just 2 pointsplus+.



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Everything changed for me this past September when I went to visit my Mom, who is on her own weight loss journey, and found out that she enjoys Greek yogurt almost everyday! After I arrived home from my trip, I was determined to give Greek yogurt another chance. I bought three different brands and three different flavors of Greek yogurt to try. I also got some Special K granola to add to my yogurt, because I thought that might help me like it a little bit better than if it was just plain.

To my surprise and delight, I feel head of heels for Greek yogurt. It is a wonderful source of protein that really helps me to stay full for hours. I've tried all different flavors in the last few months, but I have to say that right now the Chobani Apple Cinnamon is my favorite.



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Do you like Greek yogurt? What are your favorite brands and flavors?

If you have never tried Greek yogurt, I would encourage you to give it a chance. It is always nice to have a wide variety of healthy food choices that we enjoy, so we do not get bored with the foods that we are eating.

A Few Sweet Treats

I hate to admit it, but I have a sweet tooth! I love chocolate and sweet treats! I try my best to lead a healthy lifestyle. However, every once in a while I need to indulge in a sweet treat or else I will go crazy and binge on a large bag of peanut butter M & M's!!

For the most part, I have learned how to enjoy these kinds of foods in moderation. If this is an area that you struggle with, be careful!! Even low pointsplus treats will add up to a lot of pointsplus if you eat the entire box!!

That being said, here are a few new sweet treats that do not break the bank on pointsplus values.

{Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolates}

Serving Size: 1 package or 3 pieces
  4 pointsplus+

 These new Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolates come in two flavors, peanut butter and caramel. You get three large pieces of chocolate for just 4 pointsplus+. The peanut butter ones are good, but the caramel are even better. I found these at my local Walmart.

. . . . . . . . . .

{Peanut Butter Toast Crunch}

Serving Size: 3/4 cup
  3 pointsplus+

If you love peanut butter, than you will really enjoy this Peanut Butter Toast Crunch cereal. The peanut butter flavor in this cereal is overwhelming and delicious! This cereal is a great way to enjoy your favorite peanut butter flavor without spending too many pointsplus values to do so. You can find this a Walmart too!

. . . . . . . . . .

{Weight Watchers Bite Size Caramels}

Serving Size: 1 package
  3 pointsplus+

These Weight Watchers Bite Size Caramels were hard to find! Weight Watchers sent me coupons for them, but I could not find them in the store. Finally, my friend Amanda found them at Kmart. There are two different flavors, Caramels and Dark Chocolates. The Caramels are hard and chewy, but the Dark Chocolates have a texture similar to that of a truffle. There are six pouches per box and each pouch is only 3 pointsplus! They were so good that mine are already gone!

Dole Banana Dippers

Earlier this week, my friend Amanda, posted a picture of these Dole Banana Dippers on her Facebook. To my surprise this healthy treat was only 2 pointsplus for 4 slices!! I added this snack to my grocery list, because I could not wait to try them!

Last night, while I was at the store I got two boxes of these Banana Dippers, because I knew that I would like them and could use them in the evening for dessert! After Jon and I finished putting away the grocerries I sat down to try my new treat.

{Dole Banana Dippers}

Serving Size: 1 package or 4 slices
  2 pointsplus+

 
Let me just say that these Dole Banana Dippers were delicious!! The dark chocolate coating is real and rich, not like that sugar-free stuff you get sometimes. If you let them sit out for a few minutes, the banana slices become soft and have the same texture as ice cream. Being allowed to have 4 slices makes you feel like you get an entire ice cream bar for just 2 pointsplus! I think I have just found the perfect low pointsplus dessert option for myself!

I hope that you will find these Dole Banana Dippers, try them, and enjoy them as much as I did!

I bought these banana dippers at Walmart to try. I was NOT compensated in any way for this blog post. This is my personal opinion of this product.

New Snack Ideas

Sorry for the lack of blogging this week! Olivia was sick last week and Jon has been sick this week. Please pray for healing in my family and that I do not come down with this cold next.

How is your week going?

This month we are focusing on packing a snack. Have you been making this apart of your daily routine? How so? What kinds of snack are you taking with you?

Throughout this week, I have learned about a few new snacks myself!! I took pictures and posted them below just in case there are other people out there like me who do know know about these snacks.

{Weight Watchers Celebration Cake Mini Bars}

Serving Size: 1 bar
  2 pointsplus+

In 2013, Weight Watchers turns 50 years old and to celebrate this they came out with a new birthday cake flavored mini bar. I tried it last Saturday morning and loved it! They are very sweet, which is perfect for me and my sweet tooth. They are also covered in sprinkles which make them look pretty too! I hope that you will try these when you attend your next Weight Watchers meeting.

{GoGo Squeez Applesauce On The Go}

Serving Size: 1 pouch
  Flavors vary in pointsplus value! Apple Cinnamon 0 pointsplus+

I just learned about this on the go applesauce on Tuesday night! They are so good and an easy snack to take with you anywhere!

There are several different flavors and they range from 0 - 2 PointsPlus. When you calculate the Apple Cinnamon flavor it will tell you that it is 1 PointsPlus. However, in eTools on the Weight Watchers website it says that these are 0 PointsPlus. All foods are evaluated by Weight Watchers before being added to eTools. So, I am going to count these are 0 PointsPlus.

New Chex and Fiber One Food Finds

I'm so excited about the new foods that I have found in the grocery store!! I try to post pictures of the new foods that I find, on my Facebook page (Living a Changed Life) and on my Twitter as soon as I find them.

Last Friday in my blog post, Friday Night Grocery Shopping, I explained that I am only going to the grocery store once a week. As a result, I have not tried any of these new foods yet, because I learned about them this past week. When I make my trip to the grocery store this weekend these items will be on my list! I cannot wait to try these new products!

Even though I have not tried them, I wanted to let you know that they are out there and available for you to purchase. If you HAVE tried these foods, I would love to hear about it! Please leave me a comment with your feedback about these new food finds.  

{Apple Cinnamon Chex Cereal}

Serving Size: 3/4 cup
  3 pointsplus+

{Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookie}

Serving Size: 1 cookie
  2 pointsplus+

{Fiber One Chewy Chocolate or Strawberry PB&J}

Serving Size: 1 bar
  3 pointsplus+

~ What NOT to Eat ~

{Burger King Bacon Sundae}

Serving Size: 1 sundae
  14 pointsplus+

 Today Burger King launched their new summer menu which included their new Bacon Sundae. I just want to warn you to stay far away from this sundae unless you have the pointsplus values to spend on it. One sundae is 14 pointsplus, which is 510 calories! It also has 61 grams of sugar. 

Let me try to put this in perspective for you. I would have to walk for 4 1/2 hours at an average pace to earn 14 pointsplus values. That's a lot of walking! 

I hope that you have a great weekend!!

Weekend Food Finds

Happy Monday!! How was your weekend!? My weekend was great! On Saturday, Jon and I had fun going on an evening walk. Last night, I went to bed around 6:00pm and ended up sleeping for 12 hours! I guess Olivia and I really needed some extra rest. I am so excited that at this time next week, I will be at home enjoying a day off.


Throughout the weekend I have been trying to post pictures of some of the new low pointplus foods that I found at the store while I was grocery shopping. I have posted these pictures on my Facebook page, Living a Changed Life. However, I wanted to blog about them just in case there are people out there who do not have Facebook. I hope you enjoy these snacks as much as I have!

{Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps - Garlic Parmesan}

Serving Size: 10 crackers
  3 pointsplus+

This first snack I found a few weeks ago, but forgot to tell you all about it. Snack Factory makes these delicious pretzel crisps. They come in about 7 different flavors. They only one that I have tried are the garlic parmesan flavored crisps. These are just 3 pointsplus per serving. If you are going to try other flavors make sure that you calculate the pointsplus value before purchasing it, because it might be more than 3. I enjoy eating these as a snack with hummus or Laughing Cow cheese!

{Sensible Portions Zesty Ranch Garden Veggie Chips or Veggies Straws}

Serving Size: 38 chips/straws
  3 pointsplus+

I love Veggie Straws! They are my default chip to have with a sandwich or just to snack on throughout the day. I was so excited to find a new flavor, Zesty Ranch. The Garden Veggie Chips and Veggies Straws both come in this new flavor! It has a great ranch taste that is not too overwhelming.

{Kellogg's Krave Chocolate Cereal}

Serving Size: 3/4 cup
  3 pointsplus+

 Finally, I saw this cereal in my Hungry Girl newsletter that I get each day. I have seen this cereal around the store, but did not try them until this weekend. I enjoy eating my cereal dry, because I just like to snack on them. This cereal was a great snack! It's got chocolate flavor, but it's not too sweet. It was good enough that I could probably have some of that for dessert and be just fine for the rest of the evening. Kellogg's also makes a double chocolate version that I am excited to try the next time I go to the store! The double chocolate version is also just 3 pointsplus per serving.

My Lunch Sandwich Deconstructed

My Lunch Sandwich

I am going to be honest and confess to you all that I am a creature of habit! I pretty much eat the same thing over and over again. One of the main reasons I do this is because I know the PointsPlus+ values of the foods I eat everyday. I do not have to spend time everyday calculating the PointsPlus+ values for my foods, because I already know them. Another reason I eat the same thing over and over is that I shop in bulk, because it's cheap. I'm not saying that you should all be like me. I am simply saying that this is how I am.

Last week on my Facebook page, Living a Changed Life, I posted a picture of my lunch sandwich (you can see the picture I posted above). Today, I thought it would be fun to break down my sandwich and show you what I eat for lunch almost everyday. My lunch sandwich is made of up Oscar Mayer Turkey, Laughing Cow Cheese, Cole Slaw Mix, and a Nature's Own Sandwich Round. All together my sandwich only costs me 4 PointsPlus+, but keep me very full throughout the afternoon.

In case you are wondering, I use the Cole Slaw Mix because I am not a big fan of lettuce. However, the Cole Slaw still provides the crisp crunch I need to satisfy me. Also, I want you to know that Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Rounds are the only ones I have found that are 2 PointsPlus+. All of the other rounds and thins are 3 PointsPlus. Always, make sure you check the nutritional facts before buying anything. 

{Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Rounds}

Serving Size: 1 round
  2 pointsplus+

{Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Oven Roasted Turkey Breast Shaved}

Serving Size: 6 slices
  1 pointsplus+

{The Laughing Cow Wedges Light Garlic and Herb}

Serving Size: 1 wedge
  1 pointsplus+

{Dole Cole Slaw Mix}

Serving Size: 1 handful
  0 pointsplus+

I told you what I eat for lunch everyday. Now it's your turn! 

What have you been eating for lunch this week?

The Perfect Pair

A few weeks ago Weight Watchers introduced their NEW Pinch of Pepper Pretzel Thin Baked Snack. Weight Watchers offered free samples of this new baked snack this week in the meeting room.

To be completely honest, I was not very excited about this new baked snack. I had heard that we were getting these new pretzel thins at our Weight Watchers store, but I it was not something I overly excited about.

I am here to tell you that I completely underestimated these new baked snacks! I tried these pretzel thins a few weeks ago with Laughing Cow cheese and they were so good! These snacks have come together to create one of my new favorite pairs! I prefer the garlic & herb flavored cheese, but I am sure that this snack would be good with any flavor of Laughing Cow cheese. This snack combination is only 4 pointsplus+!

{Weight Watchers Pinch of Pepper Pretzel Thins} 

Serving Size: 1 bag
  3 pointsplus

 {Laughing Cow Cheese}

Serving Size: 1 wedge
  1 pointsplus+

What are some of your favorite snack combinations right now?

Flashback Friday: My Quaker Surprise

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the new Quaker Life Soft Baked Cereal Bars. That same day I tweeted a link to my blog post and tagged Quaker in it as well, so that they could see how much I've enjoyed their cereal bars. Later that evening I received a direct message from @Quaker letting me know how much they appreciated the review that I wrote about these bars. They also asked me for my address so that they could send me a box of baked cereal bars as a sign of their appreciation. This was so cool!

I had completely forgot about this until I came home from my doctor's appointment this past Monday and found a UPS box at my doorstep! Jon asked me what I had ordered and I told him nothing. I didn't remember that Quaker had promised to send me something until I opened the box. Inside was not one, but six boxes of Quaker Soft Baked Bars and a thank you note!! The people are Quaker thanked me for my review and told me to enjoy these bars with my family and friends.

Isn't that so cool!? I still cannot believe that they sent me more than one box. I eat Quaker oatmeal everyday and love their products. I am so thankful for the way that they showed their appreciation to me!

So if you have not tried them yet, get yourself some of these bars, because they are delicious!!

My Soft Baked Bars from Quaker

Banana Nut Bread

Cinnamon Roll

Visit Jen for more flashbacks.

Quaker Life Soft Baked Cereal Bars

Sorry for the poor quality I took this with me phone.

This morning I was in a hurry and needed something quick for breakfast. I remembered that my Weight Watchers coworker had given me a new bar to try out. Up until this morning I had forgotten about it, but being that I was short on time I knew that this would be the perfect morning to try out this new bar.

{Quaker Life Soft Baked Cereal Bars}

Serving Size: 1 bar
  4 pointsplus+

This morning, I ate a Banana Nut Bread Quaker Life Soft Baked Cereal Bar. I heated up the bar for 15 seconds in the microwave. I also cut up some strawberries to eat along with my cereal bar. This new cereal bar was delicious!! It was soft and tasted just like banana bread. It has 5g of fiber and so I am interested to see how long this cereal bar keeps me satisfied. If you have not tried these I would highly recommend them!!

More Snack Options

This past weekend turned out to be a very busy for me. As a result, this morning I am experiencing major writer's block! So, I have decided that today is the perfect day to share with you some of my most recent food finds!!

I have posted some of these pictures on my Facebook page and Twitter, because this is the fastest way for me to share new ideas with you. I often post pictures of new foods that I find throughout the week. If you would like to follow me on Twitter, click here. If you want to join my Facebook page, click here.

{Archer Farms Indulgent Granola Bites}

Serving Size: 1 bar
  2 pointsplus+

One of our Tuesday night Weight Watchers members introduced me to these Archer Farms Indulgent Granola Bites. These bars can be found at Target. I found four different flavors of these bars at my local Target: Sea Salt Caramel Almond, White Chocolate Lemon Berry, Banana Split, and Dark Chocolate Hazelnut. These Bites are great to keep in your purse and I even snacked on one while I was at the movie theater. They are great to have around instead of candy bars!

{Laughing Cow Cream Cheese Spread}

Serving Size: 1 wedge
  1 pointsplus+

I had no idea that The Laughing Cow made it's own cream cheese spread until I found it at my local Wal-Mart!! I found four different flavors of Laughing Cow Cream Cheese Spread: Classic Cream, Strawberries and Cream, Garden Vegetable, and Cinnamon Cream. I bought Nature's Own Cinnamon Raisins Thin-Sliced Bagels (1 bagel, 3 pointsplus) and ate it with the Cinnamon Cream flavored Laughing Cow Cream Cheese Spread for just 4 pointsplus! It was delicious and the perfect snack for me!!

{Weight Watchers Popped Zesty Cheese Crisps}

Serving Size: 1 bag
  2 pointsplus+

Just last week Weight Watchers offered its members a free sample of their new snack, Popped Zesty Cheese Crisps. These are so flavorful! If you like eating chips, this is a great snack option for you. These come in individual packages and are just 2 pointsplus per bag. If you have not tried them, go down to your local Weight Watchers meeting or center and check them out!

New Cheerio Flavors

I eat a lot of cereal. That might surprise you, but it is true. Occasionally, I enjoy having milk in my cereal, but most of the time I can get by without it. Each morning when I make my lunch, I will measure out a serving size and put my cereal in a Ziploc bag so that I can take it with me.

My favorite cereal to snack on is Cheerios!! I like all kinds of Cheerios. I enjoy the plain kind, the Honey-Nut kind, and the Cinnamon flavored Cheerios.

You can imagine my excitement when I started hearing about some new flavors of Cheerios. From the beginning, I have heard nothing but good things about the two new Cheerio flavors: Peanut Butter and Dulce de Leche.

Have you tried these yet? I have not had them yet, but I plan on buying them the next time that I go grocery shopping. I will let you know if I like them after I have a chance to try them. For now, I just wanted to make sure you knew that they are out there.

{Multi-Grain Cheerios Peanut Butter}

Serving Size: 3/4 cup
  3 pointsplus+

{Dulce de Leche Cheerios}

Serving Size: 3/4 cup
  3 pointsplus+

Weight Watchers Praline Nut Cluster

Serving Size: 1 bar
  2 pointsplus+

At my Weight Watchers center we finally received the new mini bar!! I bought a box of these Weight Watchers Praline Nut Cluster mini bars on Tuesday evening. They taste like a Payday and are very good!! When I am craving something sweet, like a candy bar, these mini bars are the perfect PointsPlus friendly option for me.

I hope that you will get some and try them the next time you are in the meeting room. Maybe you could even use them as stocking stuffers!!

You Only Want What?

Yesterday, I went out to The Olive Garden for some lunch with my coworkers.

Normally, when I go to The Olive Garden I eat the lunch portion of the Venetian Apricot Chicken. It is delicious and always leaves me feeling extremely satisfied. However, yesterday all I wanted was soup. It's finally been getting cold here in Texas and I wanted something that would warm me up! I usually order soup when I go to The Olive Garden, but I never get to enjoy it, because I eat so much that I am way too full!

So, yesterday I did something different and decided to just order soup. It ended up being a lot harder than I thought it would be! It was so hard, because other people asked me what I was going to get for lunch. When I told them that I only wanted soup their response was not very encouraging. I told myself that I was not going to base my decisions on what other people thought about me. At the last minute I almost order an entire dish, because I felt so uncomfortable just ordering soup. However, I held my ground and stuck to my original decision.

Do you know what? No one said anything! When it was all said and done no one said anything about the fact that I only ordered soup! I was so thankful that no one made any comments about my lunch choice. There ended up being another lady who only ordered soup too, so I was not alone!

Here is an iPhone picture on my lunch yesterday, minus a breadstick.

Zuppa Toscana Soup 4 pointsplus+
Breadstick with garlic-butter spread 4 pointsplus+
Total = 8 pointsplus+

It felt great to know that I was able to stick to my plan! Ultimately, I will have to answer to myself on the scale for what I did with my pointsplus+ values each day.

If you would like a complete list of The Olive Garden's nutritional facts please click here.

Check the lessons that God is teaching me through my Christmas cards over at my other blog, Newsham Flight Log.

More Food Options

I really enjoy being a Weight Watchers leader. On Saturday morning I get to lead a group of the most wonderful Weight Watchers members. The truth is that most of the foods I share with you I learned about in the meeting room. My members are good about bring new foods that they find to share with the group. I might be the leader, but I am just as excited as everyone else about the new food that is being shared with the group!

Recently, I've received so many ideas that I have not been able to blog about them all. Last week tried by writing a blog post with several new food options, click here if you missed it! As it turns out there are even more foods that I wanted to share with you, but forgot! Here are a few more foods that I learned about in my weekly Weight Watchers meeting.

{Lavish Dark Chocolate Oatmeal}

Serving Size: 1 pouch
  4 pointsplus+

{Yoplait Frozen Yogurt Bites}

Serving Size: 1/2 cup
  6 pointsplus+

{Popcorn, Indiana Original Kettlecorn}

Serving Size: 1 snack size bag
  3 pointsplus+

New Food Options

Here are some new foods that I have recently tried.

I am sure that many of you have already tried these foods, but they are new to me! You see, I live in a small town in Texas. It takes a very long time for new healthy foods to show up on the shelves of my local Walmart.

Just in the last couple of weeks I have found several new food options that I have been waiting to try!

Several of these I posted on my Facebook page, but I wanted to make sure that I took the time to blog about them too!

{Flat Out Flatbread}

Serving Size: 1 flatbread
2 pointsplus+

{Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle Cheese}

Serving Size: 1 wedge
1 pointsplus+

{Weight Watchers Smoked String Cheese}

Serving Size: 1 cheese stick
1 pointsplus+

Weight Watchers Caramel Spice Cake Yogurt

Weight Watchers Caramel Spice Cake Yogurt = 2 PointsPlus

Have you tried the new flavors of Weight Watchers yogurt yet? I had not until this week. 

Let me just tell you that this yogurt in really good!

I had seen a Weight Watchers coupon which showed some new flavors of Weight Watchers yogurt. However, I had not been able to find it at any of the stores in town. This past Saturday while Jon and I were shopping, I went to get some yogurt. I was so excited to find a new flavor of Weight Watchers yogurt! 

Wal-Mart had finally received Weight Watchers Caramel Spice Cake flavored yogurt! 

I tried this for the first time on Monday and it was very tasty! I do not like yogurt for dessert, but this flavor was incredible and I think it would satisfy my evening sweet tooth.