Wendy's Great Eight for April 2019 #WendyGreatEight #tryit #newfoodfinds

This month's edition of Wendy's Great Eight is featuring some great new food-related items...including a great ready-to-eat breakfast, the latest in non-dairy milk beverages, and some great snacks to keep hunger away between meals. Let's get going!

(1) MUSH Overnight Oats. Because mornings are hectic, breakfast tends to be a meal that people eat on the go. Haphazard and unhealthy can happen unless some seious pre-planning takes place. MUSH Overnight Oats is a healthy way to enjoy breakfast on the busiest of mornings. This chilled oatmeal comes pre-cooked and flavored...simply store in the fridge until you're ready to eat. It's so simple and quick that they even include a spoon under the lid!! MUSH is creamy and lightly sweetened with fruits (dates, apples, blueberries, and cranberries). It's a filling, delicious breakfast...but it's also a great late afternoon snack, or post-workout pick-me-up! MUSH comes in five great flavors: Coconut Cold Brew, Apple Crisp, Vanilla Bean, Dark Cacao, and Wild Blueberry (extra delish topped with fresh blueberries!). MUSH can be found at select retailers nationwide, and it can also be shipped direct to you door via MUSH's convenient online store.

WW Freestyle SP per 6-ounce container:

• 9SP: Coconut Cold Brew and Apple Crisp
• 10SP: Vanilla Bean, Dark Cacao, and Wild Blueberry
  

(2) Quaker®Oat Beverage. Non-dairy plant-based milk beverages have been a staple of my daily diet for nearly year, so I'm always looking for new varieties to try. My recent find is Quaker®'s line of oat beverages. Not only does it taste great in your morning cereal, coffee, and smoothies...they pack a ton of health benefits too! Each lactose-free 8-0unce serving contains 4 grams of fiber from oat bran and chicory extract. It also provides 30% RDA of calcium and 25% RDA of Vitamin D. Quaker® Oat Beverage is available in Original and Vanilla (50 calories/serving) and Unsweetened Original (3o calories/serving). To locate this delicious oat beverage near you, check out Quaker®'s searchable online Store Locator.

WW Freestyle SP per 8 ounces: 2 SP for Regular and Vanilla; 1SP for Unsweetened Regular.

(3) bnutty Gourmet Peanut Butter. Peanut butter is one of my favorite foods since childhood. It's great in a sandwich...in a smoothie...heck, direct from a spoon! bnutty offers a line of delicious flavored gourmet peanut butters that with tons of creative flavors. This is peanut butter on steroids! With fun gluten free flavors like Blissful Blueberry (with dried blueberries and milk chocolate) and S'more Dreams (with grahams, marshmallows, and milk chocolate)...this peanute butter is a gourmet treat! My personal favorite flavor is Totally Toffee, which features a base of honey roasted peanuts, toffee, milk chocolate and almonds. I love to stir a tablespoon into plain zero fat Greek yogurt for an evening snack! To find bnutty at a store near you, be sure to visit their online Location finder. Special seasonal flavors can also be found via the bnutty Online Store.

WW Freestyle SP: 5SP per 2 Tbs.

(4) Dave's Gourmet Organic Pasta Sauce. When I make pasta at home, it's all about the sauce. I want a sauce that's flavorful and made with simple, clean ingredients. I recently tried Dave's Gourmet Organic Gourmet Pasta Sauces...and I love them! Dave's Gourmet has a full line of pasta sauces, but my two favorites are the Organic Red Heirloom and Organic Hearty Marinara. These red tomato-based sauces are robustly flavored and feature a handful of simple, wholesome ingredients like vine-ripened tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs. That freshness really comes through in the taste. I served the Red Heirloom over a high-protein penne pasta with sauteed shrimp, mushrooms, zucchini, and torn fresh basil. It was light, yet flavorful! They also offer a unique Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce that I'm excited to try soon. The entire Dave's Gourmet Pasta Sauce line can be purchased direct from the company's website.

WW Freestyle (Organic Red Heirloom Sauce) SP: 2SP per 1/2 cup.

(5) Smart Baking Company Smartcakes®. I'm always on the lookout for snacks that don't break the calorie bank. I recently tried Smart Baking Company's Smartcakes in a variety of flavors. They're a 38-calorie gluten free, sugar free cupcake -- so each two-pack of Smartcakes is less than 80 calories! They're sweetened with a combination of monk fruit and erythritol...zero carbs of sugar and zero starch. Each Smartcakes two-pack contains 5 grams of fat, 10 grams of fiber, and 8 grams of protein. Smartcakes taste great...but I find they aren't as moist as traditional high-fat snack cakes. I like to top one halved Smartcake with a bit of whipped topping and fresh fruit. My favorite is Lemon Smartcake topped with whipped topping and a handful of fresh blueberries...less than 100 calories for the entire dessert! Smartcakes are available at select retailers nationwide, and Smart Baking Company also offers a convenient online store.

WW Freestyle SP per Two-Smartcake Package: 2SP

(6) Sweet Earth Foods Breakfast Burritos. I'm a big fan of Sweet Earth Food's line of vegetarian and vegan items that are centered on plant-based meats. My goal is to eat vegetarian 1-2 days per week, and Sweet Earth's delicious line of frozen meatless products makes that easy to do. I love their entire line, but I've really been enjoying their breakfast burritos lately. There are six flavors, including (1) The Baja Breakfast: cage-free eggs, pinto beans, chipotle seitan, green chiles, and cheese and (2) Get Focused: scrambled egg, smoked gouda, kale, peas, and meatless Tuscan ground. My personal favorite is the Protein. It features scrambled eggs, quinoa, meatless Tuscan Grounds and Benevolent Bacon, and cheddar on a tortilla with oat fiber and flax seed. It tastes so good you'll never miss the meat...and it packs 20 grams protein and 5 grams of fiber. This burrito isn't just for breakfast, though! I often eat it for lunch, and it keeps me full for hours! To find this and all Sweet Earth products near you, check out the website's Locate function.

WW Freestyle (Protein Breakfast Burrito) SP: 6SP

(7) Rhythm Superfoods Organic Carrot Sticks. Austin-based Rhythm Superfoods features one of my favorite healthy snacks this year! Their non-GMO Organic Carrot Sticks are dehydrated carrots -- they're naturally lightly sweet, crunchy, and come in three flavors: Naked, Sea Salt, and Ranch. Each 1.4-0unce bag contains less than 150 calories, 3 grams or less fat, at least 10 grams of healthy fiber, and 3 grams of protein. They're great on their own...and they're great for dipping too! I originally tried them dipped in hummus, but they're also great with a simple dip made with herbs, spices, and fat free plain Greek yogurt. Be sure to visit Rhythm Superfoods' Store Locator to find out where these delicious and healthy snacks can be purchased.

WW Freestyle SP: 5SP for an entire 1.4-ounce bag!

(8) The Anti Cookbook. The Anti Cookbook is a perfect guidebook for anybody who is intimidated by using a complicated, multi-step recipe to cook. The book's purpose is, "inverting the idea that cooking is simply about following  a recipe." Rather than using complicated, multi-step recipes, authors Shelley Onderdonk and Rebecca Bloom encourage readers to think creatively about creating meals they will enjoy based on a simple framework. The book focuses on "easy, thrifty recipes for food-smart living." Instead of complicated recipes, The Anti-Cookbook focuses on necessary basic kitchen tools and techniques -- a framework that anyone can easily customize. Once the basic techniques are learned, food can easily be customized for the cook's preferences. For example, the authors show how to make basic pizza dough. From there, the toppings are endless and are only limited by the cook's preferences! The Anti-Cookbook can be purchased via Amazon.

Disclosure: The makers of the products featured in Wendy's Great Eight column provided me with sample products to facilitate inclusion. All opinions stated are soley my own, and I only recommend products to my readers that I personally try and enjoy.

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