Friday, August 27, 2010

Wish We Had Mini Cheating When I Was Teen Dieter

It started with the Mini Cooper and just seems to have spiraled from there. It's as if the world has gone mini! For example, when I was a kid, cupcakes and most snacks only came in one size and maybe this is why I've been battling the bulge ever since.

Today we have so many choices. It's as if we can "mini" cheat with a mini burger, mini cucpake, mini cheese square and more. Many restaurants are serving up sliders or mini burgers, desserts in shot glasses or "shooters" while some are serving platters with five small bite-sized cookies and tarts.

Restaurant owners know women enjoy sharing desserts. They've simplified GNO dessert-sharing by serving sweet treats in smaller portions. Gone are the days of the three-way spoon or fork wresting for that final bite of cheesecake.

Here are some of my favorite mini treats (available at your local market) sure to satisfy your craving for a "taste" of evil without really ruining a day of dieting. If you follow Weight Watchers, the points value should be under 4 for each treat.



Mini Cheeseburgers | Weight Watchers Anytime Selections
At 200 calories per burger, it's as if you get to satisfy your White Castle craving without spoiling your diet. The Weight Watcher mini pizzas are also yummy at 5 points.

Mini Cupcakes | Hostess
Before going low-carb, these dime-sized cupcakes were something I looked forward to every day at lunch.  With only 100 calories per pack, I felt the satisfaction of something sweet sans serious guilt. They're available in lemon, cinnamon coffee cake, strawberry, Twinkie and chocolate cake. Little Debbie and Weight Watchers make similar mini cakes.



Cheese Sticks | Sargento
I love cheese! Weight Watchers, Kraft, Sargento and more have wised-up and are packaging lighter, snack-sized cheeses perfect for dieters. They have a variety of reduced fat and reduced sodium cheese snacks to compete with Mini Babybel and The Laughing Cow. My personal favorite is their 60-calorie Reduced Fat Colby-Jack cheese sticks.



10 comments:

Copyboy said...

My problem is that even though they're mini I'd still eat the whole bag or box.

Ally said...

I know, it's not easy!

pika23 said...

Some of that stuff is way high in sodium, but if you crave the high points foods, these really are a great alternative! I am on weight watchers, and have 1 pound to go til i hit 100 pounds lost!!! tomorrow might be the day! weee!

since feb 2009 and loving every second of it!

Macey said...

LOVE those mini cupcake thingies...and I'm with copyboy. Oy.

Sara Louise said...

I'll have a mini-cheeseburger please (reminds me of White Castles!)

Marlene said...

Those mini things don't fool me. I just eat twice as many of 'em.

Riot Kitty said...

No teenager should be on a diet...this just makes me sad. I was on my first diet at age 9 (and looking back, I just had a bit of baby fat that went away with time, so there was no need) because I grew up with a mother with an eating disorder. She wouldn't let me wear sweatsuits to PE because she thought their comfort would make me think it was OK to overeat. It took years for me to make peace with my body.

My theory is that we all need treats once in awhile (not daily.) Deprivation is not a good thing!

Lainee said...

How are those smartones cheeseburgers? I had them in my hand at Kroger today but I put them back for fear they would taste like a veggie burger.

Cheeseboy said...

Mini's are great, but if I eat 8 of them, are they still considered "mini"?

Pat Tillett said...

The more "mini" they are, the more I'm going to pound down...

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