So, by now you know about the family scare we had last month when my dad suffered a heart attack.

My dad is obviously not reading my column or cooking my recipes…

On the drive home from the hospital, my dad wanted to know what he could eat to keep the blockages at bay.

So I took him to the grocery store to educate him about food labels, serving sizes, fiber and so on.

It was his first outing since the heart attack… I ended up doing all of the shopping and he disappeared. I had to have him paged to customer service…twice.

He missed out on the educational element but he has been calling me ever since to say how much he enjoys my choices… I don’t know how you do it mom.

So here’s a list of some of my favorite healthy products on the market. Got a favorite product you want me to try? Email me at slocketti@comcast.net.

Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta

Perhaps the best tasting high fiber white pasta on the market. Not one person I have served this pasta to has disliked it. First of all it is white…not the grainy brown color or texture of wheat pasta. Plus it has six grams of fiber and is slightly lower in calories than most pasta. The texture is great, holds up to any sauce or recipe and it fills you up. Look for the purple box.

Fiber One Honey Oat Clusters

What a great cereal. Imagine crunch honey maple flavored flakes with chunks of oat clusters. The cereal stays crunch in milk, tastes absolutely delicious and has over 50% of your fiber for the day. I use it to make trail mix by adding dried cherries and walnuts. This stuff is good.

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches

These round ice cream sandwiches are low in fat and calories and have fiber. Not to mention they come in a variety of gourmet flavors including chocolate peanut butter, strawberry shortcake, mint and even coffee. My kids also love them. They come in a six pack for about $4 on sale.

Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges

These are good…they are a small individually sized wedge of soft cheese…think flavored cream cheese only yummier. I use this on English muffins instead of butter, as a creamy cheese in egg white omelets, or in a sandwich instead of mayo. A single wedge is 35 calories and 2 grams of fat.

Lite Multigrain English Muffins

These tasty treats are 100 calories with five grams of fiber and loaded with tasty little seeds and grains. I buy the Stop & Shop variety, and not only are they less expensive…but they are delicious. I also use them to make homemade egg sandwiches, he kids eat them with peanut butter or we make healthy mini pizzas out of them.

Breakstones Cottage Cheese for Digestive Health

These come in a four pack. If you like cottage cheese, these are great and they have three grams of fiber. They are portion controlled which is nice if you are just learning and they travel nicely to work as a snack.

Cozy Shack Sugar Free Rice Pudding

Mmm... mmm... good. These sweet treats come in a four pack as well and are so creamy and delicious. Finally, I can eat rice pudding without guilt. I enjoy them with plenty of cinnamon and some aerosol whipped cream. They are under 100 calories and have fiber… can’t beat that!

Vitamuffin Tops

Can you say healthy chocolate treat for 100 calories? These are addicting and have 50% of so many vitamins. The double chocolate variety is really good and my kids love them too.

They make a great healthy base for a brownie sundae too. You can find them frozen in the health food section or buy the boxed mix to save money and make them as muffins at home. (also in the health food section) They also have a variety of other flavors but chocolate seems to keep me faithful.

He’s now discovered his own little favorites and I catch him actually reading the nutrition labels and discarding anything with high fat levels, soaring sodium and orbiting cholesterol. The net result is that the old duffer has already lost 20 pounds. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.