Some healthy new snacks

So, I mentioned that I went to Trader Joe's while I was with my family in Iowa. I bought lots of goodies, including some healthy stuff you might want to try.

First, is the Veggie Flaxseed tortilla chips, and it's a bit of a stretch to call them healthy. However, they are only 3pts per serving, which is the same as Baked Tostitos. Plus, they have a little fiber and omega-3 flax seed in them, so at least you're getting a little something with them. And they taste good and are fairly light. They're good with salsa, which is all I care about.

Then I got some Red Pepper Spread with eggplant and garlic. This stuff is vegetable crack. It's great with carrots, peppers, or crackers. I'm planning to use it as a sauce when I next sautée vegetables, too, and I'm sure it will be amazing. It's only 15 calories in a tablespoon, too.

I bought a box of their Spicy Black Bean soup, too. It's a little runnier than I would like, but the spice is just perfect to make it taste a little more substantial. It's only 2pts per cup, and with all the fiber and protein, it's quite filling for soup. I think I'll try making my own sometime, but this does as a fast and relatively expensive alternative.

Then, there's my favorite. I mentioned the reduced fat white cheddar, but even better than that is the reduced-fat smoked gouda I bought. Oh. My. Gouda. It's so so good. You'd never know it was reduced fat. I'm serving it tonight for my book club gathering and I couldn't help but eat several chunks while chopping the block up. There are tons of fun things you could do with it. Put it in salads, serve it with crackers, make fresh shishkabobs with onion, peppers, and meat. Or...you could just schnarf down the block all by itself. You can't go wrong.

Then, off the Trader Joe's bit, I wanted to say that I tried a new (to me) thing that is very definitely worth a try. I boiled some cauliflower and then pureed it in my new food processor with some garlic and a splash of milk. I read that it was like mashed potatoes, which I doubted till I tried it. Now I'm a believer! I added a tinge of salt and a little Brummel & Brown after pureeing, and it was a great and filling side dish!  I recommend trying it if you haven't already. What have you got to lose but a few cents worth of cauliflower?