Trying something new

You can probably relate to this- looking at something online, click on a link, see something you like, click on another link, repeat, repeat, and then you find something totally awesome.  Like the Peas and Thank You blog.  The author is a vegan, so the recipes are all free of animal-based products.  Veganism has never appealed to me, but I do appreciate the goal of having a plant-based diet.  I ended up printing off several of her recipe ideas and headed over to Fresh and Natural Foods for some shopping.

$66 later, here are some of my finds:

1. KeVita probiotic drink.  I am sick of yogurt, but still want to make sure I'm getting plenty of good gut bacteria, so I'll see if I like this drink.
2. Okay, so the name of this cereal is kind of cheesy, but the nutrition is impressive- 9 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein in a 200-calorie 1-cup serving.
3. Ground flaxseed.  I'll add this to my oatmeal, hot cereals, and muffins/breads.
4. Whole wheat pastry flour.  I love whole wheat flour, but the high gluten content can often produce overly tough, chewy muffins/breads.  Pastry flour has less gluten, and because this still has the outer shell of the wheat kernel (the bran), it has more fiber than its white/bleached counterpart.

5. Shiritaki noodles, in both "spaghetti" and "spinach fettucini."  These noodles originated in Japan and are made out of a fibrous substance called konjac root fiber.  One serving is only 25 calories and have 5 grams of carbs, 3 grams fiber.  I've heard they're a bit tricky to work with- you can't heat them because they'll break down, and you have to be sure to soak all the liquid from them first.  I'll let you know how they go...

6. Think Thin bars.  Don't love the name, but do love the taste.  The only other place I've found these is Byerly's.  They're a good meal replacement bar (at around 240 calories) because they keep the sugar in check while providing 20 grams of protein.  I'm excited to try the chocolate espresso one.

7. My most mysterious find: dehydrated peanut butter.  A friend had told me about this product (different brand) a few months ago and she swears by it.  The deal is you add water to make it back into peanut "butter," thereby eliminating the oils that accompany a regular peanut butter.  I'm thinking that even in powder form it could be good to add to chocolate or vanilla protein shakes, oatmeal, or muffins.  45 calories in 2 Tablespoons, compared with 190 in typical peanut butter. 

8. Dark chocolate almond butter.  My dietary splurge.  I've never had this before, but chocolate + almonds = what's not to love?  I'm thinking this would go well on a Kashi cracker.  Too bad it's got 200 calories per 2 Tbsp.  If only they could find a way to dehydrate this...