Reviewing "Diet Foods"

I've begun food shopping differently since I've started this journey, so today I'm trying something a little different: I'm going to "review" some frozen meals I've bought lately and some snacks I found at Target.

I'm always on the look out for snacks that can replace the snacks I'm really addicted to -- you know, the high fat, high calorie, highly sweetened yummy yums that have made me look the way I do today. Since starting the journey, I've primarily snacked on nuts (handy in those 100-calorie packs and Greek yogurt, well as "fresh" veggies (baby carrots, snap peas) and fruit (bananas, pears, pineapple fruit cups), and the occasional Hersey's kiss. I'm always looking for ways to insert a vegetable into my routine, so when I saw freeze-dried vegetables at Target the other day, I grabbed one of each: green peas, sweet corn, and salted edamame.

The bags all proclaim, vaguely, that it counts as either 1 or 1.5 vegetable servings  -- I guess referring to the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables (I guess -- there's no way to know for sure). The benefit of eating fresh fruits and vegetables are the nutrients. I'm not a nutritionist, and my internet research only yielded the vague statement that "Fresh fruits and vegetables contain a vast array of essential vitamins and minerals, and portions of these nutrients are not lost in the freeze-drying process." Therefore, I really don't know whether the benefits of these freeze dried veggie snacks are worth the calories, and whether these are more or less empty calories (not sure if the fiber and protein offset that). I guess that's determined by whether eating a serving of these might substitute for a more useless snack, such as cookies or candy (although really, there is no substitute for chocolate).

I tried all three. Let's start with the freeze-dried green peas. First of all, you have to love peas to even want to try these (I do). The taste is pretty similar to what a serving of peas from a frozen package would taste like. There's no sodium in these, and they are just slightly sweet -- maybe even sweet enough to satisfy a craving for something sweet.

1 serving

For an almost 3/4 cup serving, there's just 110 calories, 7 g fiber (so a nice way to add some fiber to your diet) and 7 g protein, and by eating these you've supposedly eaten a 1.5 vegetable/serving. There's zero sodium, zero saturated fat, and zero trans fat.

1 serving, in a snack-sized bag

The texture takes some getting used to at first -- the peas are very light and flakey almost, and then crunch quite satisfyingly. Overall, I enjoyed eating the freeze-dried peas, and I'll probably be adding these as an option, maybe as a mid-afternoon snack or as a supplement to lunch. (I should probably clarify that I pretty much eat all I want of fruits and vegetables, but that approach may not work with the freeze-dried version.)

On to the sweet corn. The freeze-dried sweet corn was delicious! Not as good as eating fresh corn on the cob, of course, but then, there's also not the butter or salt that I'd add to the corn on the cob either. The freeze-dried corn is definitely sweeter than the freeze-dried peas, so might go a long way to taking the edge off of a sweet craving. But be forewarned: this won't satisfy a hungering for popcorn.

The freeze-dried corn is 120 calories for a 3/4 cup serving, and can count as 1 vegetable serving. There's zero sodium, zero trans fat, and almost zero (0.5 g) saturated fat. The corn provides only 3 g fiber -- not as much as either the edamame or peas, and just 4 g protein. For the calories, the peas are a better choice. However, this would be an interesting and colorful addition to a healthy salad.

1 serving freeze-dried sweet corn

The texture of the corn was okay -- soft enough to easily eat, but still crunchy. There isn't anything hard about this corn -- easy to crush between your fingers. I almost felt like I needed to get a fork or spoon -- it felt odd to eat these with my fingers.

The freeze-dried salted edamame was interesting. I like edamame in small quantities, so perhaps a whole serving of the stuff is a bit much for me, personally.

The edamame, like the corn, is 120 calories for a 1/2 cup serving -- less bulk, but more satisfying, because that 1/2 cup serving also includes 12 g protein, although a disappointing 4 g fiber. Also like the corn, it only promises to count as 1 serving of vegetable. The downside to this one is that it also contains a whopping 220 mg sodium, which doesn't seem like much, but in a time where we're being advised to reduce sodium in our diets, finding a source for another healthy serving of it isn't going to help out. The freeze-dried edamame also contains 1 g saturated fat, but 0 g trans fat.

Like the corn, I think I might add it to salads, to add interest and texture. (I build salads haphazardly, throwing in left-over veggies, hard-boiled eggs if I have those on hand, canned beans, nuts or seeds (including chia seeds), and often mixing in fruit like blueberries or strawberries, if I have those available.)

So give these a try, if they tempt you after reading this, and let me know what you think!

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

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