Tuesday, November 9, 2010

First things first



OK, first of all, prepare yourself... get rid of junk food and crap that you will want to indulge in. I keep my house stocked with some staples, so instead of grabbing the doritos i can grab carrots, green and red peppers, broccoli, or celery. When i get home from the grocery store, i wash and cut up my veggies and put them in gallon size zip lock bags in the fridge, so they are ready and waiting and i have no excuse (like not wanting to dirty a knife, haha). It makes it a lot easier if its ready and waiting for you.

I'm going to make a little list of things you can substitute out for better/healthier/lower calorie foods

Cheese- if you MUST have it, then buy fat free, or lower fat cheese. I personally only use the laughing cow light cheese spread on sandwiches and wraps. And EXCITING... they now have FAT FREE shredded cheese! its got like 1/3 of the calories of regular... something like 45 calories vs 145.
Mayonnaise- buy light, or skip it all together like i do. I use hummus in place of mayo on wraps and sandwiches... not many calories, TONS of flavors, and an added protein... its just good all around, and a staple in my diet.
Eggs- two words. egg beaters. fabulous! and they come in different flavors, but i usually buy the original and add in my own stuff... i like garlic and cilantro, or dill.
Bread- now, i TRY to not have any carbs after lunch time, but when i need a sandwich or a wrap its got to be whole grain, sugar free. Turn the bag over and look at the nutrition info... on a daily basis i stay between 1000 and 1300 calories, so keep that in mind. Weight Watchers has some really good bread, and Pepridge Farm. I personally LOVE the FLAT OUT brand wraps... the are only 90 calories and they rock! They are a good size too, but if you find any with flax seed in them GET EM! If you aren't familiar with the benefits of flax seed then check this link. http://www.healthcastle.com/flax.shtml


Meat- Stick to turkey and chicken when possible, i avoid ground beef like the plague, because my family cant tell the difference in things like tacos, spaghetti, and chili... so why give them those extra calories? And i make a pretty bangin turkey burger, turkey meat loaf, and we LOVE turkey bacon and sausage! If you want a steak, go for a leaner cut, like fillet Mignon... its also portioned well so your not eating a Fred Flintstone size prime rib, and killing yourself in the process.


pasta- whole wheat is the way to go, say bye bye to white pasta... its AWFUL for you in every way shape and form, so if you can avoid white pasta all together, then i highly recommend it! If you want to be extra lean then try using spaghetti squash in place of noodles... its honestly AMAZING, and i prefer it to pasta (but i do love my veggies) I even got Lonnie to like it... and that says a LOT! Here's how ya cook it, if you're interested... I poke a few holes in it, stick it in the microwave for 6-8 min, depending on how big of a squash you have. Then cut it in half, clean out the gooey center (think pumpkin) and take a fork and start peeling the squash out. It literally peels out in strips and looks VERY similar to angel hair pasta. You can pair it with just about any sauce/meat combo and its GOOD! ( for picky husbands and children here's a tip. Puree (food processor) some veggies and dump them in your red sauce, they wont notice, your sauce will taste amazing and you get LOADS of added vitamins! Some good ones to sneak in are onions, red, green, or any color pepper, spinach, carrots, and squash or zucchini. I do the same with my chili)


rice- same goes... say bye to white, and start your love affair with brown.




I can only hope that you already know that Soda is a NO NO, and if you must then it has to be diet... a soda is 100+ calories and i don't know about you, but id prefer to eat my allowed calories rather then drink them. I also, gave up sugar and now use splenda. I don't really like eating artificial sweeteners, so i don't use a lot, or very often. Also, WHOLE milk... no one under the age of two should drink this stuff... you may as well eat a stick of butter, or a tub of ice cream. Skim is the way to go.. if you must 1% is OK. Sour cream- same thing, might as well have some ice cream.. get FAT FREE (make sure!) greek yogurt and it taste nearly EXACTLY like sour cream, with like 1/10 the calories, or something crazy... plus the added benefits of yogurt. I use this stuff for EVERYTHING! In place of mayo for salads (macaroni salad, broccoli salad etc) i make dip out of it (ranch packet, or tastefully simple dip) on top of my tacos, and chili... its just really great stuff, keep it in the fridge at all times.




I'm going to throw in a list of some of the things i snack on... check it out




94% fat free popcorn, any brand (this is so low cal you can eat the ENTIRE full size bag, im not 100% on this, but i think the whole darn bag is 1 Weight Watches point, and only like 90-ish calories)


pretzels(i buy the sticks, because since they are smaller a serving has more in it. More items tricks my brain into thinking I've had more)


goldfish crackers ( i buy the baby goldfish, once again there are more in a serving... id rather have 60 then 30)


low cal fudge pops (these are great for when you GOTTA HAVE CHOCOLATE, and the ones i have are only 35 calories, so pretty guilt free)


rice cakes ( i like the white cheddar ones, only 35 calories, and if you add a little red sauce and some fat free shredded cheese on top, you can ALMOST taste pizza.. lol)


Semi sweet baking chocolate chips ( i will never again eat milk chocolate)




That's about all i can think of right now, my children are calling (its snack time!) Ill post some pics, and a recipe later of tonight's dinner, which is leftovers from last night, and is SO good i cant wait to have it again!




1 comment:

  1. I printed out your ideas for greek yogurt and your chicken cheese steak! It's all going on the menu for next week.

    ReplyDelete