There’s absolutely no redeeming nutritional value to them but they are a diet friendly option (the whole box is 1 Weight Watcher point) when I want a sweet taste in my mouth and am trying avoid inhaling a 600 calorie chocolate/caramel brownie (with powered sugar on top please).

But unlike what my new Weight Watchers leader said at my last meeting (when I truly think she was trying to blow smoke up everyone’s butt), they are not filling. She told us a little story about how she was recently delayed at the airport and was really hungry but didn’t want to eat very much because her husband was picking her up and taking her out to eat. So she said she popped 2 WW Fruities into her mouth and, tada, she was satisfied until mealtime (ummm…seriously…10 calories satisfied her hunger and got her to mealtime?).

While they will never be a hunger filler for me, they are a standby in my purse. The downsides though are that they aren’t sold in stores. You have to go to a Weight Watchers meeting location to buy them (but you don’t to be a member or join in order to purchase them). And, they aren’t cheap. In my area, a pack containing 2 single serve boxes is $2.50.

They come in three flavors; strawberry, blackberry and cherry. Strawberry is my favorite.

They’re another option that just might help you get over a “hump” in your day and stay on your diet.

A 100 calorie pack of Emerald Dry Roasted Almonds contains 3 grams protein, 2 grams fiber, 4 percent of daily calcium and iron, 20 percent of daily vitamin E, and 9 grams of fat.  That works out to just 2 Weight Watchers points!

They come 7 packages to a box which cost me $3 at WalMart.

Yes, I know it would be cheaper to buy a big package of them and then portion them out into plastic baggies myself but there’s something about a factory sealed package that prevents me from overdoing it.

I keep packages of the nuts stashed in my purse, computer bag, and in the glove compartment of my vehicle.  You’re probably thinking I’m as bad as a squirrel with all the places I like to hide my nuts (okay, that sounds kind of bad). But there’s a reason I keep food handy even though I’m dieting.  If I have a bag of nuts available when I’m hungry I’m much better able to resist the temptation of McDonalds and every other fast food restaurant that seems to call out my name when my stomach is growling.

If dry roasted almonds aren’t your thing, there are 3 other varieties of Emerald’s 100 calorie packs: cocoa roast almonds, natural almonds, and a combo pack of almonds and walnuts.