"W.I.E.I.A.D.," or, "What I Eat In A Day" posts, are THE trend right now on TikTok and Instagram -- especially in the GLP-1 community.
While I rotate a variety of foods that I eat each day, I have enjoyed researching and getting creative with food choices. I love finding brands and food items that best fuel my body, don't cause inflammation and acid reflux, help me stay in a loose (not obsessive) calorie deficit, help me get in protein, and still taste amazing and are fun to eat. While fruits and vegetables are important, healthier alternatives to more fun foods can serve as a helpful tool in fighting food noise. I am so excited to share some those healthier alternatives with you here (in no particular order)!
Please note, this is NOT a sponsored post, but you can click on each product name to order each product on Amazon. No gatekeeping here! Without further ado...
"OWYN" is short for "Only What You Need," because this company prides itself on creating protein shakes without any artificial additives or allergens. I first found out about OWYN shakes through my GLP-1 hero, Amy Kane, who includes them in several of her W.I.E.I.A.D. videos! My favorite flavors are dark chocolate, and cookies and creamless (creamless becuase the shakes are dairy-free!). As protein is an important part of any healthy lifestyle especially with a GLP-1, I've tried a number of protein shakes over the past few months. I always come back to the OWYN shakes because I truly believe I can taste the artificial flavorings in other shakes. It's safe to say I drink one of these six to seven days a week. On a busy work morning, I used to drink a bottled version of a Starbucks frappuccino, and these have worked great to make me feel as though I still have a far healthier morning drink ritual.
Nutritional highlights for my favorite flavor, dark chocolate: 180 calories, 20g protein, 5g net carbs
I was really skeptical about Quest protein chips at first, even after JoJo Siwa raved about them on her podcast. I was afraid they would taste like cardboard. And the portion in the bag is not generous. But if you're really listening to your body while on Wegovy or any GLP-1, chances are, you won't need a generous portion. My favorite Quest chip flavor is Nacho Cheese, and the chips take me back to my childhood because they taste a lot like red Doritos, and not cardboard!
Nutritional highlights for my favorite flavor, nacho cheese: 150 calories,13g protein, 4g net carbs, per snack-size bag
Another Amy Kane favorite, plain Fage Greek Yogurt has become the base for a number of treats I make for myself! I go with the 2% version because I don't believe in fat-free dairy (absolutely no need to deprive yourself and eat flavorless yogurt or cheese when reduced-fat will work just fine). Thanks to Amy's recipes, I've used this yogurt as a base for a dip, a dessert, and even mock Alfredo sauce. Nutritional highlights: 100 calories, 15g protein, 5g total carbs, per 5.3 oz container (pictured here)
I think I saw Clio bars discussed on a Wegovy Facebook group. They reminded me on-sight of ice cream bars I used to have both as a kid and in the before times, so I needed to give them a try. So far I've tried the two flavors made with Greek yogurt, the vanilla flavor and the strawberry flavor -- which states on the wrapper that it's essentially posing as cheesecake. And truer words have never been advertised. I'm always and forever a fan of dark chocolate (I have been since I was a kid so I lucked out that I prefer the healthier chocolate variety), and the strawberry flavor's shell is dark chocolate. The filling truly does taste like strawberry cheesecake. I've had two bars in one sitting before; however, even just one is sometimes enough to satiate me because the bars, while not as big as Haagen-Daas, are a decent size. The vanilla, albeit not as delicious as the strawberry (and not covered in dark chocolate), is also pretty damn good.
Nutritional highlights for my favorite flavor, strawberry: 140 calories, 8g protein, 14g total carbs, per bar
I found LoveCrunch about a month ago while placing our Instacart order, after I'd typed in "granola." This dark chocolate-loving girl was sold before the bag even came in the door. I initially purchased a bag to mix with yogurt, but I found myself eating the granola right out of the bag. I've forced myself to eat a lot of granola over my years of trying to have a healthy relationship with food, but if I'm being honest, this granola is the only one I've actually liked. If you know me IRL or if you've read my bio, you know that I work with my dad. I brought the bag of granola to work with me... and found a lot of it gone the next day! My dad shares my affinity for dark chocolate, and apparently, for LoveCrunch granola.
Nutritional highlights: 130 calories, 2g protein, 20g total carbs, per 1/4 cup
Bootylicious Muffins were presented to me in a manner familiar to most millennials: an Instagram ad. As soon as Meta figured out I was interested in purchasing high-protein products, the ads won't stop... but in this case, the algorithm knew what it was doing! The muffins come in several flavors, and the detailed Instagram reels shared by the company show you exactly how to make them. Each muffin starts out as muffin mix in a cup. You add water up to the indicated line on the cup, stir until blended, pop in the microwave for a minute... and voila, you have a muffin in a cup! I ordered a three-pack to get started -- the ability to order more than three muffins exists, but fair warning, the muffins are a bit on the pricey side. So far I've tried the cinnamon bun and chocolate chip flavors, and while not as sweet as a regular muffin, they were delicious (I even added a spoon of Cool Whip on top of one to make it a little sweeter). Another fair warning, the muffins are really filling -- I have yet to finish eating one!
Nutritional highlights for my favorite flavor (so far), chocolate chip: 190 calories, 25g protein, 7g net carbs, per one muffin
I know I've mentioned in a previous post that pasta, aside from chocolate, is my favorite food in the world. As such, my path to a healthy lifestyle would not be successful if I deprived myself entirely of pasta. That said, I am always willing to give alternative pastas a try. Enter Barilla Protein Plus Pasta -- made from lentils, chickpeas, peas, and golden wheat. The fact that "protein" is in its name is a good sign! Good news: it mostly tastes like regular pasta and has its texture. Just don't over or under cook it! The pasta is available in a variety of traditional pasta shapes.
Nutritional highlights for Rotini, shown here: 190 calories, 10g protein, 38g total carbs, per 2oz
There is so much millennial nostalgia associated with Annie's Mini Pizza Bagels. I loved the nights that my parents ate fish for dinner (which I mostly still won't touch) and my mother would pull out the purple box of Annie's Mac and Cheese for me -- apparently, it was healthier than Kraft even in the '90s. And to my great surprise, it actually tasted better. Over the past two decades, the Annie's brand has grown to include multitudes of healthier versions of kid-friendly favorites, including pizza bagels. Yes, the true millennial nostalgia of any frozen pizza bagels is remembering the Bagel Bites jingle that lives rent-free in all of our heads (Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at suppertime... when pizza's on a bagel, you can eat pizza anytime!). While the Annie's version isn't quite an original Bagel Bite, it comes close enough. And like the original, these come plain or with pepperoni.
Nutritional highlights for the Three Cheese flavor: 200 calories, 10g protein, 25g total carbs, per 4 mini pizza bagels
I'd be lying if I said I remembered which corner of social media I found egglife wraps through. But they're a regular feature on social media lists of low-carb foods. egglife wraps are made with egg whites, and come in a number of flavors. I've only tried the Everything Bagel flavor so far, and my taste buds were seriously impressed. The texture is not what you'd think of when you think of a wrap. But make no mistake, it's a wrap -- and I actually think they taste better than some traditional wraps. I look forward to trying the other flavors. Nutritional highlights for the Everything Bagel flavor: 35 calories, 6g protein, <1g total carbs, per wrap
The Sola bagels weren't the first low-carb bagels that I'd heard of. But I found my way to them after researching low-carb bagels and I liked their ordering policies better than those of other brands. Once again, I ordered the Everything bagels only. I couldn't wait for these to arrive once I'd ordered them and they did not disappoint! My main concern was that the bagel wouldn't be large enough, but the food noise begging me to eat a second bagel hasn't come yet! I throw the bagel in the toaster oven for five minutes and then serve with Philadelphia reduced-fat cream cheese.
Nutritional highlights for the Everything bagels: 150 calories, 16g protein, 7g net carbs, per bagel
If you try any of these eats, I'd love to hear from you! Please share your reviews!
quest chips are one of my go to snacks!!!
I have a few favorites. I prefer Argonne’s protein powder shakes. I, a vanilla and strawberry fan.
For ice cream, rebel ice cream is my favorite. I tried many variety pack and now I order by the case. Also, atkins chocolate chip cookies are a perfect endi’ng. Again, I’m not a chocolate fan so I am looking at other flavors, but rebel has a ton of flavors on their site. Grocery stores carry them in limited flavors. 😊
Madame
My friend, Cool whip is crap, just saying…look at its ingredients. Look for coconut whip crème. Much better ingredients. Comes in a can like reddi-wip. Sharing what I know…:)