30 replies to this topic

[JessandLucy]

I'm doing the 20 for 20 program. And they never "made" me buy anything. I eat about 1/2 jenny food and 1/2 my own food. I would seriously be broke otherwise!

[Pamela1961e]

I just got back on Jenny and noticed someone wrote something last year on this topic about her counselor telling her she needs to buy the jenny food. Well I am unemployed and i have a wonderful counselor who not only tells me to buy my own syrup because its cheaper but she encourages me to! i only buy jenny lunches and dinners, the rest i buy on my own. this is a terrible economy and Im sorry but $2.00 for a bag of jenny cheetos is ridiculous!

[wldgrl]

My JCC is more concerned that I succeed than what I purchase each week. I stocked up on JC food before I got laid off. I did buy my own cereals and am finishing up the JC cereals that I have onhand. Instant flavored oatmeals are good in a pinch. I tried to go with non-JC snacks but I like JC snacks better. I tried the Trader Joes baked cheese curls and I thought they were terrible.

The JC Cheese Curls are my favorite - and I will buy them $$$ or not since I haven't found a comparable substitute. Once I get to halfway - I will probably sub out the snacks to a few times a week and add in a fruit.

I make my own air popped popcorn. The JC white cheddar popcorn is a bit salty. Has anyone found a substitute for the cheese flavoring? I'm also looking for a good sub for the toffee cookies.

[elite]

Yes I started sub snacks and cereal on my 4th week.. I had a good weigh in (down 2.6 lbs that week) I use my own cereal, and my own snacks. (popcorn, smart ones deserts and the 100 cal pack chips). Has brought food cost down and still loss weight!

Yes I do my own cereal since the equivelents are very very close...some diet desserts///but I try to make sure it is very very close,,and they can be found.
T

[elite]

I have only been doing this for 8 weeks and was under the impression that I have to buy their food. I told her I bought my own sugar free syrup and she told me I still needed to use theirs.

Do they get weird about it. My dad lost his job due to downsizing and I need to try and save a little without sacrificing the diet. I have lost 24 lbs in 8 weeks and am on 1500 calories a day. What would be exact substitutions?

I think they understand with this economy we do what we have to do...Things you can substitute and get very very close to the same ingredients are: cereal, protein bars, diet syrup, diet dressings. I do it also as I am on a very limited budget and really sacrificing to do this pr ogram.

[TatyanaWright]

WHERE DO BUY 'EM?
WHAT KIND?

[OregonRN]

I substitute snacks 99% of the time. I like the 100 calorie snack packs (Costco), Rice Krispie Treat Bars (Costco) and my latest love is Popchips (I prefer the BBQ). You get 3 servings per bag at 120 calories each. I think my Safeway sells the bags for about $3 but I have seen them on sale for 2 for $4.

I never have used the JC syrup, salad dressing, or other condiments. I always substitute my own and just compare the nutritional information to make sure they are as close to comparable as possible.

I never have used the Anytime Bars or Soupitizers or Vitamins. It is just personal preference, but these things always seemed superfluous wastes of money to me.

[suzeeQ2011]

Baked Cheetos are better IMHO than jenny cheese curls and same NI per serving. Also Special K has new chips out ...they are in a box in the cracker isle...they taste just like pop chips. Are 110 calories per serving of 23 chips!!!! Also I found a bag of honey mustard pretzles in the chip isle that is 110 calories per serving. Last night I made my own fresh popcorn and added white cheddar powder to it...it was good but Jenny's popcorn is more flavorful. Kahshi dark chocolate oatmeal cookies...130 calories per cookie ....they go great with a cup of tea. LOVE the jenny choc chip cheesecake..not ready to give up that one!!

Love these boards...I'm learing so much!! Thanks for always sharing tips!!

[embedesign]

I'm just a few pounds away from half-way, but I seem to be plateauing right now... Any ideas? I know I am very slow to lose but I was so motivated at first the slow-down is upsetting me. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[dijarm]

I'm just a few pounds away from half-way, but I seem to be plateauing right now... Any ideas? I know I am very slow to lose but I was so motivated at first the slow-down is upsetting me. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Slow and steady wins the race. Pump up your exersice a little. If you walk add weights or add an extra 10minutes to whatever you are currently doing.

[JennyCaps]

I just lost 30 pounds and finally feel comfortable substituting (my halfway was 25 pounds).

so I went ALL out buying the 100 calorie snacks. When I went to Walmart, I brought with me my fave Jenny Craig snacks and I went on a mission to match the calories/sodium/fat/carbs/fiber. The more it matched the better it was.

I'm in Canada so I'm not sure what you have in the US... but I have found a substitute for every single snack! The portions are smaller and my consultant did tell me not to add anything like fruit to it. She said just eat the snacks as a subsititute as long as the ingredients and nutritional label match.

Next research I did was on finding a cookbook. I went on Amazon and found "The Diabetes Diet Cookbook."

Essentially, the food looks amazing, it's very high in fiber and low in sugars and sodium. The book boasts that cooking these foods you will lose up to 2 pounds/week. When comparing the recipes, it's pretty much the same foods (only difference is I can finally make my dinners with fresh ingredients from scratch. I live with a chef... which is partially why I gained the weight in the first place. He hates watching me eat frozen meals all the time.)

I'm not cutting out JC foods. My next order will have only 7 breakfasts, 7 dinners, 7 snacks and 14 lunches. Lunch has to be easy for me or I will eat out so I'm not ready to give up my JC lunches every day (and I might never be ready to do so). So on a two week order, I will make my own breakfast and dinner every other day.

Pretty much everything has a substitute.

After my shopping trip research... here is what I bought:

100 Calories SmartFood Popcorn- Substitute for JC popcornFat 6g
Saturated fat: 1g
Trans: 0.1g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 140mg
carbs: 9g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 2g

JC Popcorn:
Calories: 130
Fat: 6g
Saturated: 1g
Trans: 0g
cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 200mg
Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 5g

Mr. Christies Thinsations Chocolate Covered Pretzels- Substitute for JC Toffee CookiesCalories: 100
Fat: 3.5g
Saturated: 2g
Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 160mg
Carbs: 16g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 2g

JC Toffee Cookies:
Calories: 120
Fat: 5g
Saturated: 2.5g
Trans: 0.1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 90mg
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 1g

Mr. Christie Thinsations Nutter Butter Bars- Substitute for JC Chocolate Caramel Peanut BarCalories: 100
Fat: 3.5g
Saturated: 2.5g
Trans:0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 95mg
Carbs: 18g
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 8g
Protein 2g

JC Chocolate Caramel Peanut Bar:
Calories: 140
Fat: 5g
Saturated: 3.5g
Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 90mg
Carbs: 19g
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 14g
Protein: 6g

Baked Cheetos 100 Calorie Packs- Substitute for JC Cheese CurlsFat: 4g
Saturated: 0.5g
Trans: 0.1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium 180mg
Carbs: 14g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 2g

JC Cheese Curls:
Calories: 130
Fat: 6g
Saturated: 1g
Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 230mg
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 2g

The portions are smaller.... but the price is also astronomically smaller. In Canada it is $2.99 for a pack of 5. In the Mr. Christie cookies, there are dozens of flavours from chocolate chip cookies to Soft Baked Cheesecake Delight bars. All of which are comparable to JC snacks. So for my next JC order I only ordered a few cheesecakes because I have yet to find a delicious substitute for these. Also the Key Lime Pie just came out and I'm dying to try it