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Forum THE LOUNGE Please share your healthy recipes and diet tips

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    • katiep
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        So my husband and I are starting our diets tomorrow…. we are just tired of being fat…anyways, wanted to know if anyone has any good tips or great tasting low cal recipes that you could share.  I saw the thread from before about sparkpeople.com and am now enrolled and found a few good ones but thought if anyone has any that were easy to pass on or any diet tips that would be greatly appreciated!!  Thanks!


      • LoveChaCha
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          Green tea
          It isn’t all that bad. The type that I recommend is sencha.
          Replacing sugary beverages with water tends to help.
          As well as food that has low sodium/less sodium. It might not taste as good, but reading food labels tend to help with finding what is good to eat
          Also exercising helps too! I like to work out in the morning before I eat breakfast Yogurt with granola/nuts helps. Peanuts also help with staying full in between meals.

          Good luck! I took a break from my walking today because it was Easter (LOL), but back to walking tomorrow


        • Ali925
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            Try not to think of it as a diet…think of it as a lifestyle change. Here are some helpful hints, but maybe you already know this:

            1) Plan your meals ahead of time, always keep something healthy to snack on so you don’t get to the point of starving and making poor food choices/or not having healthy choices where you are (work, etc.). Some ideas are almonds, fruit, yogurt, low fat cheese, baby carrots, just to name a few.
            2) Sparkpeople is great for staying accountable… You can even buddy up with someone or a group you associate with and keep each other motivated/accountable.
            3) Make exercise a priority, but start slow if it’s something you haven’t been doing normally.
            4) Don’t set outrageous goals…take one day at a time and if you have a slip up don’t just give up and throw the rest of the day. Just acknowledge it as being human and move on.
            5) Someone already mentioned this, but replace all soda, juice, etc. with water. Carry a water bottle around with you (I always do) and make it a point to drink it (and refill it). You might hate water but you can get yourself used to it..
            6) finally, I think the most important thing to remember when trying to lose weight is portion control. You don’t have to eat salads for every meal, but you do need to watch how much you’re eating at a time. Try to spread your calories out evenly throughout the day so you’re never starving. When you’re starving is when most poor choices are made…

            I could go on and on, but most of this I’m sure isn’t news to you…just thought I’d add my 2cents.


          • katiep
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              Food related I think our biggest problems are portion control and snacking. My problem is I don’t eat breakfast (haven’t since the 7th grade, about 12 years ago) if i do eat breakfast I am ravenous even before lunch happens and since I work retail eating whenever I want isn’t an option. So normally for lunch I make myself a chicken pot pie, have an apple, a little treat like a fruit roll up or pudding cup, and i drink either water or have a can of v8. All in all abot 400 calories or so. When I get home I’m hungry (not starving usually) and I make dinner and fill my plate. We eat pretty healthy and don’t do alot of processed foods but we do clean our plates and usually there is no left overs. I’m also an after dinner snacker….a bowl of cereal or salsa and chips…whatever sounds good and usually eat a few different snacks but just little portions of each. My husband’s problems is portion control (i think) He does eat breakfast, a bowl of high fiber cereal like frosted mini wheats or raisin bran. For lunch he has a healthy choice microwaveable bowl and an apple and v8 (as far as i know) For dinner, we eat the same thing he usually takes a bit more so we split like 60/40 and he will eat whatever i don’t. He doesn’t snack much but when he does he eats the whole thing, the whole pie, the whole bag of chips, the whole box of cookies. He stopped drinking pop about a year ago.
              I feel our eating habbits aren’t horrible, just not where they need to be but I think we need to exercise. Before our wedding my husband starting walking then running to lose weight and he lost about 30lbs and looked and felt pretty good! I had platoed at my current weight for about 2 years and while I wasn’t happy I wasn’t unhappy enough to change things. I gained 10lbs more since then and my husband has gained everything he lost for the wedding plus about 20-30lbs more. We are now at our heaviest and it is definately starting to affect our health. His sleep apnea is worse and we both definately lack energy.
              I want to cook a little healthier and watch portions and I want to try and eat breakfast. Going grocery shopping today to improve our pantry. Get some healthy snacks too. Our biggest hurdle I think will be exercise. After working 9hrs of retail I’m not exactly excited to come home and jump on a treadmil with sore feet and back. And I’m not a morning person so getting up early will be pretty difficult. I am my own worst enemy here I can find a reason not to get healthy with almost anything I do….Anyone else have this problem? Well, thanks for the tips everyone…keep’em coming and if you have any favorite healthy recipes or food tips I appreciate every singel one of them. Thanks my BB family!


            • babybunsmum
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                i like the tips given so far!

                i’m also giving my diet an overhaul right now. since ‘dieting’ has never worked for me i strive to find new and healthier ways to tweak my eating habits. right now my priorities are to:

                1. watch portions and snacking. i say ‘watch’ because for me the biggest hurdle is mindfulness. i will not ban any snack that i love but just try to limit portion or frequencyor else i inevitably break down and binge on the next bad day that comes along.

                2. watch sodium. so in other words, i aim to eat very very little processed food. what seems to work for me so far is to limit processed foods to small snacks and not eat them for meals

                3. eat green and fresh. i aim to have one serving of fresh greens (salad / smoothie) plus one serving of raw veggies each day.

                well also i drink all my daily water. no challenge for me… i have a water obsession anyways. have you ever heard of / tried a green smoothie? sounds absurd but i swear it’s yummy and addictive. all you need is a blender, a handful of greens (spinach / kale / romaine / parsley…), water, and your fav fruit. i usually use banana + berries or banana + orange. the drink looks bright green and tastes just like fruit.


              • Sage Cat
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                  Green Smoothies – yum!!!

                  Cooking Light (magazine and online) has some great recipes. A few years ago they were not so good. But, they have really revamped and the recipes have improved.

                  Have you and your husband tried going for walks in the evening / morning. J and I go for walk’s whenever we can. It is not only great health wise but really improves our moods!

                  Portion control is a big issue for me too. I got a kitchen scale – and started to use it! The USDA website has lots of information to help you get eating better and what proper portions are.
                  I have had to start cooking “just enough” for 2 proper portions. That way we are not tempted to go back for seconds.

                  Sounds like snacks are an issue for y’all. Popcorn is a great snack – but, the microwave stuff is really bad! Think about getting a popcorn maker. I have one called Stir Crazy – it uses a small amount of oil and pops all of the kernels. I keep nuts, fruit and cheese around for snacks. Laughing Cow Light Cheese – the wedges are 35 calories each!

                  Herbal Ice Tea does not need sweetening. You can put lemon or lime in water if you don’t like the taste of water!

                  With salads – watch out for the dressing. Most are loaded with calories.

                  Best of luck!


                • Elrohwen
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                    I like to make things with as many veggies as possible. So if I make pasta, I’ll put in at least an equal volume of broccoli or something. I love being able to eat decent portion sizes and if half of it is veggies, it’s keeping the calories down. I’ll do rotini, tons of broccoli, and make a simple bechamel sauce (with much less butter than usual and skim milk). I’ll usually add some shrimp or sausage, an onion, and garlic to the sauce as well. Oh, and a little cheese 😉 It’s not the healthiest meal, but I like that I’m getting lots of veggies and I know my creamy sauce is way healthier than any creamy sauce you’d get at a restaurant.

                    I have a pretty good recipe from my mom. It’s not totally diet, but I’ve done the calorie count on it and it’s pretty healthy (maybe 200 calories per piece). There is cheese in it, because I can’t live without cheese, but you can really regulate how much you use. It’s like a lasagna, so you could cut the cheese out completely from the middle layers and just sprinkle on the top later if you want. The original recipe called for a pound of cheese, but I use maybe half of that. The filling itself is very healthy and the tortillas aren’t that bad since you don’t need a lot of them. It’s also easy!
                     

                    “Mexican Lasagna” (my own name for it; I think it was originally “Black Bean Tortilla Bake”)

                    Sautee an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a pepper (red, orange, whatever; two if they’re small), and a jalepeno. When they’re softened, add two cans of diced tomatoes (I like the kind with jalepenos in them) and a can of black beans (or a similar amount of rehydrated and cooked black beans, which taste way better!). Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and a tablespoon or two of cumin. I also like to add some chili powder and cayenne, but it’s really up to you and your taste buds. You can also add some parsley or cilantro at this point.

                    You can also add a meat if you want – I’ll usually cut up a chicken breast or two and cook it with the veggies before adding the tomatoes, but it’s meant to be a vegetarian dish.

                    Get out a 9″x13″ casserole pan. Scoop about 1.5cups of the filling onto the bottom. Add a layer of soft tortillas (the large ones are a bit too large, small ones are a bit too small, so you can just cut them to fit, overlap them, or whatever – doesn’t have to be perfect). Sprinkle on a layer of cheese (I get the pre-shredded Mexican cheese blend). Top with another 1.5cups of the filling. Top with tortillas and sprinkle on more cheese. Repeat one more time with filling, tortillas, then cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually cut into 12 pieces.


                  • LittlePuffyTail
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                      Glad I”m not alone. I gotta lose weight too. I try every Spring but am now at my heaviest and it just disgusts me! Now that Easter is over I’m really going to get on the ball.

                      I recently got “Weight Loss Coach” for my DS. It’s really neat and gives you daily goals to do to lose a certain amount of weight per month. It adds your weight and height and tells you how to lose a healthy amount of weight. It comes with a pedometer that you hook up to the DS and it tallies it up for you into the program. If anyone has a DS I recommend it.

                      My sister recently lost 30 lbs by (she swears) nothing more than a half hour walk a day and eating mostly natural foods. She tries to stay away from anything processed and does all her grocery shopping at the local farmer’s market. She was very inspired by Alicia Silverstone’s new book: The Kind Diet, and although she’s not vegan like the author she changed her eating habits drastically.  I should use her as motivation: If a mother of 3 kids under 7 can do it, I certainly can too!


                    • Elrohwen
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                        I wish it was as easy as eating natural foods! I went grocery shopping today and the only non-produce in my cart was toilet paper, OJ, tortillas, and two cans of tomatoes. Yet I can’t lose weight 🙁 I eat very healthy, but have issues cutting down how much I eat. Oh well.


                      • Sage Cat
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                          I just remembered this tip:

                          When you or your husband get out the chips: put a measured amount in a small bowl, then put the chips away before you eat what is in the bowl – you will be less likely to get the bag out again. I do this for my husband all the time. It has really helped him cut back!

                          J also has a piece of gum if he gets hungry. It helps him not snack so much.


                        • Ali925
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                            Gum is a great idea..but another tip is (if available where you are) brush your teeth. Snacks will not taste very good after that. Also, try to set a deadline at night, for example, no eating after 8 pm or something relative to your bedtime. If you eat very late dinners depending on your work/lifestyle, adjust that time so it works for you. For me personally I have a terrible time trying to sleep if I eat too close to bedtime anyway.

                            Definitely eat breakfast! Even if it’s hard at first, do it! If you try to spread your eating out over the course of the day you’ll be less likely to snack as much especially at night.. Plus, you’ll have adequate fuel for a workout later in the day.

                            I second using a kitchen scale, I have one and use it for most of my meals. I measure out a lot of my portions with that in addition to measuring cups, etc. It works. When the box or bag is open in front of you it’s reallllly hard to stop. So like Sage Cat said, measure out a serving size and close the bag and walk away… And try not to deprive yourself of what you really enjoy eating, just limit how much.


                          • ScooterandAnnette
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                              I have to totally agree with portioning out the snacks and not eating them from the bag/box. After Halloween I bought a box of the mini bars, I think there’s 90 in the box. I keep it in a closet. Halloween was 5 months ago, I’ve got about half the box left. if I had it out it probably would have been finished within a week! But this way i I want one then I have to make a conscious decision to go and get one.
                              – Annette


                            • lwayne
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                                Walk everywhere and forget you own a car (you’ll save money on gas and parking). Example: Grocery store is two miles away, bring backpacks and go several times a week (that will cut down on how much you buy and give you great excuses to go walking). If its more than that, bike and put panniers on it. If possible walk/bike to work, everyday rain or shine. I live 1.6 miles from work and bike everyday (even in the snow!), if you bike fenders help a ton in the rain. Good luck!

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                            Forum THE LOUNGE Please share your healthy recipes and diet tips