Eat More Weigh Less Please Commandments

While the good Lord is afforded 10 (I mean come on...who can argue with the big guy?), I only need three commandments by which to live a nutritious, delicious life.

Thou shall not sacrifice taste and texture in the name of fewer calories.

There are too many delicious options out there that get the job done without taking a toll on the waistline. Some of the most revolting products on the market right now could take a hint from their modestly higher calorie but far more delicious counterparts:

Shirataki Tofu Noodles—Okay, so you get 16 ounces of angel hair noodles (although eating a pound of any noodle should scare you) for 1 WW point, but do you really enjoy chewing on rubber bands? Why not spend 3 WW points on 2 ounces of dry Smart Taste pasta? Toss it with a teaspoon of olive oil and grated parmesan, sautéed garlic, and a ton of fresh veggies for a delicious primavera for a 5 WW point feast. Or try it with fresh tomatoes and basil for a 4 WW point frenzy.
All fat-free cheeses…PERIOD—None of these are okay! 1 ounce of fat free mozzarella has 1 WW point. 1 ounce of 2% Kraft Mozzarella has 1.5 WW point. A ½ WW point difference IS NOT worth the textural nightmare of fat-free cheese. Not to mention that it melts into a plastic disk instead of a gooey pile of delicious. Go for the 2%, and thank me later!
Fat-free mayonnaise—Do you like flavor? I thought so! Then run far and fast away from this stuff. While you can have 4 tablespoons of this glop for 1 WW point, MORE doesn’t mean TASTY. The only reason I could see using this stuff is in conjunction with a light or olive-oil-based mayonnaise in a pasta salad or tuna salad. And it that case, I would rather use Fage Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt. Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise has 1 WW point per tablespoon, which I find to be an appropriate amount for a sandwich anyway. BTW-Fat free mayonnaise is the base of fat-free ranch dressing…also disgusting. Opt for Light Hidden Valley Ranch.

Thou shall not settle for a pea-sized portion.

For the same reason I am not a huge fan of frozen reduced calorie entrées (e.g. the 200 Calorie DiGiorno Pizza Portions that are 5 WW points—they are SUPER small, so you want both pieces in the box…I would opt for a much larger and filling pita pizza), I resent a lot of 100 calorie packs—there just isn’t enough substance. There are some (e.g. Hostess 100 Calorie Snack Cakes in strawberry, chocolate, carrot cake and lemon—there are three to a pack @ 1 WW point, thank you!) that are worth it, but many of them leave me wondering why I wasted 2 whole WW points on 5 miniature cookies. Just like the frozen dinner, the incredibly high amount of processed sugar in these bump up the calorie count per ounce, so you can only have a very small portion.

And while I endorse most things “Weight Watchers,” I do not endorse their candies. First of all, they are too small for me to care. Secondly, I could savor a WW Giant Latte or Giant Fudge ice cream bar or an enormous bowl of fresh berries with a dollop of fat free Cool Whip (worth it!) for the same number of WW points—more bang for your caloric buck! Also, they are the SAME EXACT number of points as any other brand of tiny candy (e.g. Snickers, Milky Way, and Reese’s).

One of my favorite things to read on a frozen entrée box is its serving suggestions: Serve in a bowl or on a plate to feel more like you’ve had a meal. If I want to feel like I have had a meal, I will eat more than three noodles and a piece of mechanically separated chicken covered in the salty garbage they call sauce. Guys, it seriously takes such little time to make a much more nutritious and filling version of what they are offering. Even if you throw ½ cup of low-calorie (and preferably lower sodium) pre-fab sauce and a generous cup of steamed vegetables (they even come in a steamer bag now, people) onto some boiled Smart Taste noodles, you are making a better choice in not a tremendous amount of time. And if portability is the reason for opting into frozen entrées, I have one word for you…Gladware.

Thou shall not eat something just because it is labeled high fiber, reduced fat, low-fat, or sugar free.

Reduced fat or Low fat is a lot of marketers’ way of saying High Sugar (and therefore high in calorie). Muffins, cookies, and pastries are typically the most outrageous offenders, both store-bought and restaurant type:

Muffins
Atlanta Breads Lowfat Apple Muffins have 5 WW points.
Au Bon Pain Low Fat Triple Berry Muffins have 6 WW points.
Starbucks Low Fat Red Raspberry Muffins have 7 WW points.
Otis Spunkmeyer Delicious Essentials (really?) Reduced Fat Banana and Wild Blueberry muffins have 7 WW points.
Here is the ultimate: Dunkin Donuts (we should have known) Reduced Fat Blueberry Muffins have 9 WW points!!!

If you must have a muffin and you refuse to bake your own (egg beaters instead of egg and canned pumpkin or applesauce instead of oil will take down your points value substantially-check out the Ooey Gooey GIANT Chocolate Muffin recipe for 2 WW points from my May posts), Weight Watchers brand (3 points) and Vitalicious (1 Point) are your best bet.

Toaster Pastries
While your typical toaster pastry has 5 WW points, the low-fat version still has 4 WW points. Even the toaster pastries made with whole grain have 3 WW points. And you only get the one pastry! It begs the age old question, why do they put two pastries in one package when the serving size is one???

Cookies and Pastries
While any sugar-free store bought cake has about 5 WW points per serving, here are a few other sweet treats to be leery of...

Starbucks Reduced Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake and Reduced Fat Very Berry Coffee Cake have 7 WW points, and their Banana Chocolate Chip coffee Cake has 8 WW points.
Otis Spunkmeyer Sweet Discovery Reduced Fat Oatmeal Cookies has 3 WW points per cookie.
Keebler Cookies Sandies Reduced Fat Pecan Shortbread has 3 WW per 2 cookies.
Smart Ones Brownie Al A Mode has 4 WW points per tiny portion

Thus sayeth the calorie-conscious diva...AMEN!