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Post by J and I on Jan 12, 2008 17:15:01 GMT -5
Hey Guys!! I'm in too. I am 30 lbs heavier than I was 2 years ago  , but even worse than that I have literally no core muscles left. I broke my ribs about 4 years ago and that is when the continuous gain started. I feel like one of those jello salads  . So my plan is to make up meals ahead of time for the week. I will put them in proper portions and label them by the day. Then when I get hungry I can grab something that quick and healthy. The problem is that I can't think of what to make. I was going to make up brown rice and veggies, and salads, but then I'm stumped. Any ideas? I'm also looking for a way to have oil and vinegar salad without 7 grams of fat per tablespoon? Again any suggestions would be awesome. I'm so bad at this stuff. I try to eat healthy, then I look at the label and realize I might as well had a Big Mac! LoL |
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Post by gemic on Jan 12, 2008 17:50:31 GMT -5
Most oils have the same number of fat and calories that I've found, so no help there. I love my crock pot this time of year. One day of cooking and I can have 8 meals. If you're in a hurry, those skillet meals in the freezer section aren't too bad either. I'm within my calorie amount if I cook one and split it with Mak and Katie. If you're interested in the crock pot, try www.amazon.com/FIX-FORGET-LIGHTLY-Fix-Forget/dp/1561484318/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200178258&sr=8-1 . If you make up two or three recipes a week, you can freeze some to mix things up. |
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Post by adcooper on Jan 12, 2008 19:07:20 GMT -5
I like that idea! How about soups? You could freeze single servings and pop them out for a quick meal. As for salads...why bother with bottled dressings. Just drizzle a bit of olive oil and splash some vinegar on your salads. Indulge in some of those special vinegars. Salads can have so much good stuff in them, too. Try sliced apples, raisins, crumbled feta cheese, sunflower seeds, shredded cabbage, etc. Anything you can eat raw, you can eat in salads, right?
And I hate counting things, such as grams of fat or calories. Besides, I think you should eat whatever you want to, only just in small portions. So go ahead and make up some mac and cheese, but serve it in small portions. Then fill up your plate with salad and veggies. Drink TONS of water--before, during and after you eat.
I think the premeasured portions is genius. And you can do it yourself. Good plan!
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Post by nybabyz on Jan 12, 2008 20:50:36 GMT -5
If you do want a bottled dressing and like vinegarettes, I have found an amazing one by "Olde Cape Cod" and its a fat free balsamic vinegarette. It's yummy! Speaking of feta cheese, I saw a fat free feta cheese at Sam's club today. Haven't tasted it, but it would be worth a try.
Soups are good. We make a soup by dumping fat free (or 99% fat free) chicken broth in the crockpot and then adding whatever veggies we have in the house. At the very end we add pasta to it - gives it a bit more substance and well, we like pasta!
Also, I stock up on a myriad of those 100 calorie snack packs so that when I'm starving I can eat one to keep me from shoving whatever is handy in my mouth.
My two youngest children are graduating from college in May and then a best friend's son is getting married right after so I too decided it was time to get rid of the excess weight that I've packed on over the years. I started at the end of September and by just watching my fat intake and adding more exercise, I've lost 22 lbs.
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Post by J and I on Jan 13, 2008 19:16:01 GMT -5
You guys are awesome!!! ;D Gem, I love the slow cooker too!! I am going to buy that book tomorrow. Thank you for the recommendation! Ad, I love soup!! Actually as weird as this is I love just straight soup broth. YUM! One of my favourite salads is Italian dressing with spring mix, head lettuce and cantaloupe. I eat it more in summer when mellons are less expensive. I like red seedless grapes and bananas in there too. Nybabyz, I am going to try that dressing! When I try to mix my own I just can't get it right. It either makes my face suck in or its sooo oily I can't eat it. Then I try to make it better by adding a little more of what it is lacking, and in the end I have salad soup  What kind of fat free broth do you use? I've never tried fat free before. I usually go the unhealthy way and use the Lipton's chicken soup package, but I don't like the noodles so I dump them out and drink the broth. I'm so glad I have you guys to turn to  Good luck with your goals!! |
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Post by niaru on Jan 13, 2008 19:55:53 GMT -5
my home made standard vinaigrette recipe:
1 dose Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 dose balsamic vinegar - mix well
3 doses olive oil, one at a time, mixing well.
Salt, pepper to taste.
I never buy prepared vinaigrette!
Most of the time I just pour a dash of balsamic vinegar and a bigger dash of Olive oil on my salads.
For soups and vitamin-loaded veggies (and tons of other low-fat meals too), I love my pressure cooker.
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Post by J and I on Jan 13, 2008 20:19:45 GMT -5
I'm sorry this may sound really dumb, but is a pressure cooker the same as a slow cooker?? The whole cooking thing is very new to me, I usually microwave everything.  |
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Post by adcooper on Jan 13, 2008 20:28:41 GMT -5
Not dumb. But those are very different appliances. The slow cooker is basically a crock that sits in a metal pan. You plug it in and it heats gently and cooks slowly, so it's great for soups and stews and things that take a long time to cook. A pressure cooker is for advanced cooks! Don't get one. They are for cooking things fast and under extreme pressure. You can hurt yourself with one of those things. I have one that I've used for canning, but you don't wanna start that just yet, do you.
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Post by J and I on Jan 13, 2008 21:09:54 GMT -5
LoL thanks Ad. I definitly don't think I need a pressure cooker. I do want a steamer though. Nothing better than semi-cooked green beans ;D
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Post by niaru on Jan 14, 2008 15:51:52 GMT -5
A pressure cooker is for advanced cooks! . ¸ MWAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, Ad, I find that line really funny. I am NOT a cook, which is why I looove the pressure cooker! Fast, easy, no brainer, comes with a booklet of healthy easy recipes. You really cannot get hurt...at worst you can forget to put water in it and ruin it (done that....and weathered the wrath of my husband the Cook!) It steams green beans in 2 mn! Cooks a complete chicken meal in 15 mn! It's HEAVEN I tell you! |
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Post by nybabyz on Jan 14, 2008 16:19:21 GMT -5
Oh, Niaru, I must respectfully disagree!
My dad was cooking one Sunday afternoon, using the Southern tradition of judging the cook time by how many beers he drank, fell asleep with the pressure cooker going.
Long story short, pressure cooker exploded and my lord, you have never seen such a mess.
And he did get hurt. My mother took a wooden spoon to him and you should have heard the yelping!
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Post by niaru on Jan 14, 2008 18:28:33 GMT -5
Oh ack. Was that an old style pressure cooker then? The newer ones are pretty fool proof...but you do have to react when they go "beep beep beep", lol!
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Post by adcooper on Jan 14, 2008 19:54:42 GMT -5
Pay no attention to Niaru. If you hold her DNA up to a microscope you can see that it spells FRENCH CUISINE. She was born advanced. I'm telling you, J & I, NO PRESSURE cookers until you progress past microwaving everything!
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Post by nybabyz on Jan 14, 2008 20:17:48 GMT -5
Oh ack. Was that an old style pressure cooker then? The newer ones are pretty fool proof...but you do have to react when they go "beep beep beep", lol! Yep. I still have the one they replaced that one with.  |
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Post by J and I on Jan 14, 2008 21:34:10 GMT -5
LoL, You guys crack me up!
I repeat, I will not buy a pressure cooker, I will not buy a pressure cooker! LoL
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, but even worse than that I have literally no core muscles left. I broke my ribs about 4 years ago and that is when the continuous gain started. I feel like one of those jello salads 
. So my plan is to make up meals ahead of time for the week. I will put them in proper portions and label them by the day. Then when I get hungry I can grab something that quick and healthy. The problem is that I can't think of what to make. I was going to make up brown rice and veggies, and salads, but then I'm stumped. Any ideas?
