The necessities!

In my quest to find delicious AND low-calorie foods, I’ve found a couple foods that I absolutely could not live without:

Sara Lee’s 45 Calories & Delightful White Bread – I’m telling you, they must make this stuff with fairy dust.  Each slice is literally half the calories of a normal slice of bread.  At 45 calories per slice, skip that high fiber bread (that’s normally three times the calories) and just eat some more broccoli.  My husband—pickier than the pickiest five-year-old—loves this stuff.  It tastes great toasted or cold.  Sara Lee even makes a Honey Wheat version.

Full Flavor Gluten Free Cheese Sauce – Don’t let the gluten free label fool you; this stuff is fantastic.  I’ve only been able to find it at Whole Foods so far.  The entire packet (about a cup of cheese sauce) is about 60 calories!  And it’s actual cheese—cheeses are the first ingredients listed.  My favorite is to make up some broccoli and whole wheat pasta, then smother it with this stuff.  (Just note: the packaging looks generic, I swear.  Like there’s no logo or anything.  Just look for green and white generic packaging.)

Progresso Light Chicken Noodle – Actually, any of the Progresso Light soups are impressively light on calories but not on flavor.  (Just note: “Light” is not the same thing as “Low Sodium!”)  The Chicken Noodle—my favorite—is only 140 calories for the entire can.  I throw some extra chicken in for additional protein, and I’m good to go for hours.  With as little calories as it is, I can even have some crackers with my soup!

Isernio’s Italian Chicken Sausages – Not only do these sausages taste great (by that I mean they do not taste like chicken sausages), but they’re only 100 calories and 3 grams of fat for a big fat ol’ sausage!  Most chicken sausages have the same amount of fat as beef sausages, so you usually lose the benefit of eating chicken.  I’ll throw these on a little slice of bread with some mustard or slice them up with some sautéed veggies, and I have an amazing lunch.

Any secret foods you’ve found?  Low cal or low fat, but still with great taste?