Health's Food Awards: The Best New Eats of 2011

Dip

Cedar’s Mediterranean Artichoke Spinach & Cheese Authentic Greek Yogurt Dip

Think: creamy, cheesy—and way lower-cal than most comparable dips (just 80 per serving). And as for the taste: We seriously couldn’t stop dunking fresh veggies in it.

$2.69 for 11 oz; grocery stores

Yogurt

Stonyfield Organic Oikos Superfruits

Organic pomegranate juice and açai and raspberry purees combine for a taste treat that’s tart and sweet. With as much protein (13 grams) as half a chicken breast, this fat-free, 130-calorie cup makes an incredible post-workout treat.

$1.99 for 5.3-oz cup; select grocery stores

Chips

Food Should Taste Good Toasted Sesame Tortilla Chips

Sesame seeds give these corn tortilla chips an amazing toasty flavor. And our judges loved that they keep you full with 3 grams of fiber per 11-chip serving. Another impressive stat: They’ve got just 100 milligrams of sodium—but still taste plenty salty (hooray for natural sea salt!).

$2.99–$3.29 for 6-oz bag; grocery stores

Fruit to go

Sunsweet D’Noir Prunes

Get ready to rethink the dried plum. Judge Gail Simmons flipped for these prunes because they’re surprisingly juicy, making this healthy (3 grams of filling fiber per serving) snack a must-grab.

Bonus: They’re preservative-free.

$3.29 for 9-oz bag; grocery stores

Trail mix

Planters NUT-rition Omega-3 Mix Multipacks

Rip into the handy pouch and you get a tasty snack a cardiologist would love: heart-healthy dark chocolate-covered soy nuts, omega-3-rich walnuts, and naturally fat-free, tangy dried cranberries. Plus, each sodium-free pack totally satisfied our munchies with 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein.

$5.99 for 7-pack box; grocery stores

Nut spread

Barney Butter Almond Butter Snack Packs

These slim packs are the perfect car-, plane-, or train-ride protein boost. The smooth almond butter gives fruit slices, toast, or waffles a nutrition upgrade. Don’t let the fats make you flinch—it’s mostly good-for-you mono- and polyunsaturated types here.

$10.08 for box of 24; grocery stores

Green Guide to Food: Snacks and Sides

Frozen treat

Ciao Bella Blueberry Passion Sorbet Bar

The tart fruitiness of this 70-calorie bar just plain wowed us. Unlike many fruity bars that are sweetened with added sugar, this one gets its flavor from natural juices. Now if we could just get ’em stocked on the ice cream truck.

$4.99 for box of 3 bars; grocery stores
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Posted in: Health's Food Awards: The Best New Eats of 2011