Canadians - what are your favourite low-calorie/healthy products?

Hey fellow Canucks!

I'm tired of hearing/reading about awesome products that can only be found in the States!  Post your fave foods while dieting/eating healthy that can be found in Canada.

I'll start: my fave cookies right now are New Sun's all natural sugar-free varieties (raisin and apple cinnamon) 60kcal each

Some of Loblaws' President's Choice Blue products are cool - I'm loving the vegetarian bolognese sauce. 80kcal per 1/2 cup

P.S. posts don't need to be brand specific - if you have any extra ideas about foods you like to use that are readily available in Canada - go for it!

Original Post by izzyy23:

Original Post by cellophane_star:

Re: Jocalat bars: All flavours are available at Planet Organic stores.

I went to the Vaughan location today and nada : (

 Awww... d'oh! I see them in my Calgary store every week. To be honest, I don't like them that much, compared to regular Larabars.

Oh yeah, larabars>jocolats, imo.

Let's not forget Kraft Natural Peanut Butter! And I'm all about Dempsters 12 grain bread- is that exclusive to Canada, or is it in the states as well?

I love Sol Cuisine's meatless burgers. For 110 calories per patty, it allows me to have my burger "treat" and keep the meal really low cal. I have tried a lot of vegetarian burgers and this is one of my favorites. And Canadian, the company is the GTA.

I have it on a roll, loaded with tomato, lettuce and onion, with a side of sweet potatoe fries. Oh Heaven. And all for about 350 calories.

Original Post by harlow_mackenzie:

Planet Organic's Cosmic Power Cookies, to die for! They posted the recipe on their website recently too... www.planetorganic.ca

I am a huge fan of Planet Organic - when I can afford it!  They also sell Quinoa Crunchers which are a great high volume-low calorie snack (102-104kcal per 28g serving which is actually quite huge since they are so light).  I <3 the cinnamon flavour :)

Original Post by lillivictor:

I am a huge fan of Planet Organic - when I can afford it!  They also sell Quinoa Crunchers which are a great high volume-low calorie snack (102-104kcal per 28g serving which is actually quite huge since they are so light).  I <3 the cinnamon flavour :)

 I'd recommend buying their cookbook. It's $30 but it has recipes for a lot of items sold in their deli counter. It would be cheaper to make it at home! I've never seen these quinoa crunchers though (not in store or in the book).

Original Post by cellophane_star:

Original Post by lillivictor:

I am a huge fan of Planet Organic - when I can afford it!  They also sell Quinoa Crunchers which are a great high volume-low calorie snack (102-104kcal per 28g serving which is actually quite huge since they are so light).  I <3 the cinnamon flavour :)

 I'd recommend buying their cookbook. It's $30 but it has recipes for a lot of items sold in their deli counter. It would be cheaper to make it at home! I've never seen these quinoa crunchers though (not in store or in the book).

 I have never been to Planet Organic, but I was just looking at the website and it looks awesome! Do they make and sell all those items listed under recipes??

Original Post by trikki:

 I have never been to Planet Organic, but I was just looking at the website and it looks awesome! Do they make and sell all those items listed under recipes??

They sell a few of these in stores. I recognize a few of the salads. Their "Hail to the Kale" salad is awesome. Most of the recipes on the site are not sold in stores though.

Original Post by trayceebee:

I love Sol Cuisine's meatless burgers. For 110 calories per patty, it allows me to have my burger "treat" and keep the meal really low cal. I have tried a lot of vegetarian burgers and this is one of my favorites. And Canadian, the company is the GTA.

I have it on a roll, loaded with tomato, lettuce and onion, with a side of sweet potatoe fries. Oh Heaven. And all for about 350 calories.

 I have only tried Sol Cuisine's Vegetable burger. I bought it quite frequently before I discovered my favourite Amy's Texas Veggie Burger. Although, I am thinking about picking up their Original meatless burger when I head over to my natural food store tomorrow.

Which stores stock Sol Cuisine?  I haven't yet come across it but the nutritionals look pretty good.

Also, for those who have tried their products, how do they compare to Yves (taste-wise)?

Original Post by lillivictor:

Which stores stock Sol Cuisine?  I haven't yet come across it but the nutritionals look pretty good.

Also, for those who have tried their products, how do they compare to Yves (taste-wise)?

 Sol Cuisine products are in stock at my local natural food store, Goodness Me! I do not know where abouts you are located, but try and have a look around at your local natural food store for them.

I have not had the chance to try any Yves veggie products yet, but have seen them at my regular grocery store and am thinking about giving that company a try. How do you like them? Anyway, I found Sol Cuisine's Vegetable Burger to be quite tasty and if you like your burgers with a good flavour (this one has a mild curry flavour), this one has it!

Original Post by lillivictor:

Which stores stock Sol Cuisine?  I haven't yet come across it but the nutritionals look pretty good.

Also, for those who have tried their products, how do they compare to Yves (taste-wise)?

 I can buy it in Wal-mart now! I found it there in the frozen organics/health food section. Four patties cost $4.97.

Sometimes I put a little montreal steak spice on them for a little extra kick.

And I do like Yves, their chick'n burger is a frequent choice. But I do like these better then their regular burger.

Wal-mart, eh? I will definitely check that out!

Yves is definitely my go-to meat substitute for the texture.  I enjoy most of their products but I find that they are not super flavourful.  The exception to lack of flavour is their ground rounds.  I live off the original but the Italian and Asian flavoured rounds are really nice.  The curry hint to the Sol burger sounds very interesting :)

I also love the mexican ground round. It is awesome for taco salad. Once I cooked ground beef and used ol' el paso seasoning mix for my boyfriend's tacos and I made myself a salad. He ended up eating some of the Yves because he thought it tasted better.

What type of meals do you use the other flavours for? I have used the Italian in spagetti, but the Asian I have never tried.

Loblaws sells Amy's frozen meals :D

...for 5.89$.

Yeah, Planet Organic is great - though IMO Whole Foods is better (I think PO might be slightly less expensive though). Oh and Jocalat bars are pretty mehh. Lara regular ones are fab though. I like Lunas too. I like ShaSha ginger/lemon snaps. 15 little cookies for 130-140cals. Also Liberte svelte yogurt. Laughing cow light cheese wedges (2 for 45cals, which is actually less cals than in the usa for some reason O_o). OOH, and PC blue menu is the only reason I ever go into Superstore. I love their cajun chicken breasts!! Also blue menu smoothie frozen bars. Yumyumyum! Oh and Superstore often has weightwatcher muffins (which, unlike the weightwatcher cakes, are not miniscule for the cal count). They're okay for light muffins, though a bit dry. 

Original Post by trayceebee:

I also love the mexican ground round. It is awesome for taco salad. Once I cooked ground beef and used ol' el paso seasoning mix for my boyfriend's tacos and I made myself a salad. He ended up eating some of the Yves because he thought it tasted better.

What type of meals do you use the other flavours for? I have used the Italian in spagetti, but the Asian I have never tried.

I use the Asian flavour in lettuce or rice paper wraps (45kcal each).  I julienne (i.e. hack horribly) carrots, peppers and spinach for the rice paper wraps and dip in watered down (for texture and reduce calories) hoisin sauce.   The thing is that the Asian flavours aren't too distinctively Asian so I would add it for flavour to all sort of dishes such as rice and pasta.  The only thing is that I wouldn't mix it with any other really dominant flavours unless you wanted to add a little heat.

@_emma Shasha snaps are awesome, I am a chocolate fiend so I love the Cocoa Snaps but the Lemon Spelt Snaps are awesome too.  Shopper's Drugmart stocks some teddy grahams in the Nativa Organics line with similar calorie stats.  Oooh, the Nativa yogurt and chocolate dipped rice cakes are fantastic too - better than Quaker equivalents in my opinion!

Original Post by _emma:

Yeah, Planet Organic is great - though IMO Whole Foods is better (I think 

I like ShaSha ginger/lemon snaps. 15 little cookies for 130-140cals.  

 I wish we had more Whole Foods stores in Canada :( They are amazing.

I also love Shasha's lemon cookies!

And I'll also mention that PC's blue menu muffins are very good though I never buy them (200 cals for a storebought muffin... I'd rather make my own).

Re: Sol Cuisine... I'm pretty sure I've seen this at Planet Organic too.

Was just at the Real Canadian Superstore and saw that they also have Sol Cuisine burgers, and not just the regular ones, but a couple of other choices, in their health/frozen food section.

Original Post by lillivictor:

@_emma Shasha snaps are awesome, I am a chocolate fiend so I love the Cocoa Snaps but the Lemon Spelt Snaps are awesome too.  Shopper's Drugmart stocks some teddy grahams in the Nativa Organics line with similar calorie stats.  Oooh, the Nativa yogurt and chocolate dipped rice cakes are fantastic too - better than Quaker equivalents in my opinion!

Ooh, haven't seen the Cocoa Snaps! I love chocolate, so I bet those are awesome! And next time I'm near a Shopper's I'll look for those - I practically grew up on Teddy Grahams. 

Cellophane: We certainly do! I love Whole Foods, I was so happy when I moved to Van last year because there was one (now two!) here. Whenever I'm traveling in the US, I go on missions to find the local Whole Foods. xD As for the PC muffins, I might have to try them. Which flavour did you think was yummy (even if you don't buy them anymore)? I like to bake, but tend to overdo it on my own baking.

*

Has anyone tried Starbucks lowfat fruit bar? OH MY GOODNESS. 240 cals, but worth absolutely every calorie. It's like apple pie!! The reduced-fat banana choc bread, at 290cals, isn't really worth it though. 

Cellophane_star - I believe there is a Whole Foods in Toronto.

_emma - If you were a big fan of Teddy Grahams, I highly recommend Annie's Bunny Grahams, if you have not tried them. They are bunny-shaped graham snacks offered in four flavors – Honey, Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Chocolate Chip (although I have only been able to find the Honey and Chocolate varieties). Trans and saturated fat-free, Bunny Grahams are made with organic wheat flour and organic evaporated cane sugar. They also provide an excellent source of calcium and not to mention, are really delicious!