New Lunchtime Obsession: Garden Lites Souflees

I eat lunch in the office nearly every day. While I love going out to lunch, the best way to watch your calories -- and your budget -- is preparing your lunch and bringing it in to work.  If you're running/working out and want to see results, or maintain your current weight, eating lunch out every workday can be the slippery slope to your demise.

It's no secret that unless nutrition information is posted or readily available, you never know what's in the stuff you order in restaurants, even when menu items "sound" healthy.  Hello, 1,200 calorie salads?  It can be scary out there! So I try save my diet splurges for the weekends. This, friends, is why I am recently obsessed with this new frozen product, Garden Lites souflees.
 

Normally, I am not a huge fan of frozen foods in general, but these are different. This butternut squash souflee, for example. 

Friends, take a look at the nutrition info on this thing:  

• 180 calories
• 8 grams of protein
• 2 grams of fat

And this is the indulgent variety of the whole line! It's satisfying, creamy and a little sweet. 

Typically I find that when prepared foods are low-cal and low-fat, it usually means they are packing enormous amounts of sodium. Not so here. This one has only 135 mg of sodium, which is only about 5% of your daily sodium intake (for someone on a 2,000 calorie per day diet plan.)

Egg whites (a favorite source of protein) are the tie that binds all the veggie goodness together. Because it's only 180 calories, you can pair it with a side salad or a cup of soup and have a very satisfying lunch. Others in the line have even less calories. (Broccoli: 140 cal, Cauliflower: 140 cal)

 

They made several different souflee types. Here is the complete list of souflee varieties. Aside from the butternut squash, so far I have tried the zucchini, the broccoli and the roasted vegetable. I have seriously liked all of them. 

A couple of coworkers have asked me about them in the office break room and I have sung their praises -- now they are hooked on them, too!

You can check out Garden Lites on Facebook. They make more than just souflees. Next on my list to try is the veggie chocolate muffins. 

The first three ingredients are: Zucchini, Carrot, Pasteurized Egg Whites!  Don't they look delicious? This product line is quickly growing in popularity, so you can likely find them in your grocery store (here in Tampa, they are in Publix) If they are not in your store, fill out this product request form, and get it to your grocery manager. 

Have you tried Garden Lites? What did you think of them? Leave a comment!