Note: I am not sponsored or have any affiliation with the brands, food, or medication, I’m talking about below.
Halloween just passed and this was the first year in my life I have not eaten gobs of candy. Typically I would have bought the super-duper sized bags and been gorging myself since Easter. I had zero inclination to eat candy this year. Sitting here writing this, I would think I would be missing it, but all I feel is apathetic. The whole idea of eating chocolate and nougat doesn’t remotely appeal.
How weird is that? If you knew me, you would either be putting your hand on my forehead to see if I was sick or calling the psychiatrist to admit me to the mental hospital for being so unlike myself.
I wrote the post GLP-1 Food Ideas for Manufacturers with ideas of what kinds of foods to make for the GLP-1-ers. Since I wrote that, I’ve been exploring packaged foods to see what might work and what might not.
Snack Ideas I Found
This was the coolest thing I found. The aptly named Perfect Bar. It’s the perfect size for a Mounjaro girl’s snack. Not the most protein in the world, but better than a cookie. And they are good!
I have only had one of these and it was dang-hooties yummy. I have a bag of them in the fridge and in my pre-GLP-1 life, they would have been long gone. Not anymore. How cool is that?!
Packaged Dinners
Lean Cuisine
The only ones I found GLP-1-sized-friendly were the Lean Cuisine dinners. I remember Lean Cuisine diets… three Lean Cuisines a day… and how impossible it was to adhere to. Well, they do look bigger than they used to, but mostly, they look more appetizing.
It’s so interesting remembering how small Lean Cuisine‘s were, but now when I look at them, they look to be the perfect GLP-1 size.
I toss a handful of shredded chicken onto the dinner to add protein. I was able to eat all of the Lean Cuisine dinners.
Lean Cuisine has two styles of meals I choose from: Protein Kick and Balance Bowls. Both are simple enough for me… not slathered in sauces… but have their own positive attributes.
Protein Kicks have an abundance of protein… 14g or higher (most more than that). I still add the shredded chicken on top.
The Balance Bowls are geared towards those with diabetes. They have the American Diabetes Association‘s certification. I love that.
I mentioned I was glad the meals didn’t have sauces all over them, that I choose the more simple dinners. That is the complete opposite of what I used to do, and is seriously weird behavior for me. I used to buy jars of Alfredo or pesto and pour them on the pasta dishes. I would never have bought these more plain Lean Cuisine dinners.
For those that like the saucier style, they have something called Comfort Cravings. They have thick sauces and, of course, more calories. In my pre-GLP-1 life, I would have only gotten those meals.
Healthy Choice
I really like the Healthy Choice Simply Steamers, too. They are not smothered in sauces and taste good, though they are larger than I need them to be.
No matter the Healthy Choice meal, I have had some leftover.
Pre-GLP-1, leftovers hung out close to me so I could eat the rest in awhile. (Because of the gastric bypass I had in 2001, I can’t stuff endless amounts of food in. I have to eat in shifts.) But now, I do not hesitate to throw the leftover in the trash. Wasteful, probably, but better than in (and on) my body.
Eating Uber Eats pre-April 2022, I would order two or three meals and graze for two days. Looking back, it is easy to see how I weighed 405 pounds when I started this journey. Makes me sad I didn’t know there was help sooner.
But I do now!
all photos by Barb Herrera