Answer to recent questions

Sue asked:  I love to hear favorites that you eat often (such as the rice/ground turkey recipe I printed off from you recently)....or what you eat in restaurants....just staple meals for you....meal ideas...favorite snacks. It seems if I could get in a habit of eating mostly the same things day by day and get into the habit, eating would be easier.

Answer:  Well, as you all know, old-fashioned oatmeal with frozen blueberries is my normal breakfast.  I love this breakfast more than ever, actually.  Someone here told me about using frozen blueberries and I really enjoy that healthy addition to my morning routine.

Snacks:  I started buying almonds at Trader Joe's that are prepackaged.  I have a tendency to lose track of my portions on nuts . . . and the calories really add up, so the prepackaged almonds are perfect for me, even if the cost a little bit more.  I like South Beach or Kashi granola bars--I pick the ones lowest in sugar and buy them when they're on sale.  I am in love with cantaloupe at the moment and eat it lightly salted.  Trader Joe's also has some whole-wheat hard pretzels that are truly whole wheat.  I like Triscuits, too, and the Ak-mak crackers.  String cheese is a perfectly proportioned snack, too.

Lunch:  I try to have prepared salad greens on hand all the time.  Then it's easy to add a can of tuna (Costco brand albacore tuna is the best, I think) or salmon, turkey or chicken.  I really like Cheese Fantastico dressing (the light kind) or I use light Italian.  Just be careful to note the sugar content if you're using fat-free dressing because sometimes you exchange fat for sugar without realizing it.  Better to have a little fat than a lot of sugar!

Sometimes, I have leftovers for lunch or Triscuits with shredded cheese melted on them.  But salad is the most reliable and best lunch for me.

Dinner:  I made a vegetable soup in the Crock-Pot for tonight.  Now that the weather will be getting cooler, it's a great time to start making more soups.  You can use whatever ingredients you have for a vegetable soup--I put in onion, zucchini, red pepper, celery, carrots and some browned ground ELK, no kidding!  (Someone gave us some and this is the first time I've thawed and cooked with it--it smelled just like hamburger and I don't think the kids will know the difference.)  Oh, and I threw in two handfuls of barley, a big can of diced tomatoes and a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce. Add water and voila, soup! 

I buy frozen chicken breasts (cheapest way to buy them) and cook them in the Crock-Pot all the time.  You can vary them by using different sauces . . . teriyaki sauce and make rice to go with it (brown, of course) or salsa and have taco salad . . .  the varieties are endless. 

Night-time snacks I like are fat-free popcorn and sugar-free pudding. 

I hope that gives you some ideas.  Anybody else have a snack or meal idea to share?

(Now, I'm off to cook scrambled eggs for my picky boy who refuses the vegetable soup!)

Comments

[Anne]

I know this is not going to sound very good, but it truly is delicious. My whole family LOVES when I make Zucchini and Eggs. I slice and boil the zucchini until it is cooked soft, and then drain off all of the water. Then I just put in eggs and scramble together, making sure that the eggs are completely cooked. With a little salt and pepper, this is a very yummy treat. We eat it anytime...for breakfast with a little salsa, or for lunch or dinner as a side with something like grilled pork chops or grilled chicken. Yummy!

[Roni]

I make it a personal goal to get creative in the kitchen. At least 3 nights I week I try something totally new and post it on my blog with pictures Maybe it will give you some ideas??
http://weightwatchen.com

[JanB]

I eat the same meal for breakfast every day, oatmeal with a packet of stevia and some cinnamon and raisins. Also, I love the small boxes of raisins. They help me see a portion size that works for me. Even if they cost a little more, it is nice to have that reminder. Sometimes it is hard to judge small portions of hard foods, the scale doesn't measure below an ounce and a teaspoon or tablespoon doesn't accurately measure them either because they are lumpy.

[Justin]

It's been a while since I've been here... I'm trying to get back on track...

Anyway, I'm a huge fan of making soups... tasty, easy, relatively inexpensive, healthy, and can easily feed many (or leave good left-overs).

Also, I really am a huge fan of sugar free jello - 10 calories is nothing! Add to that a dollup of lite or fat free Cool Whip and you have yourself a fine, low calorie and low fat (though with a bit of sugar) dessert!

[B]

Blue Diamond has a new cracker called "Nut Thins" They are delicious alone or with a little salsa. I actually have some for lunch with a V8 and some hummus to dip.

[Heather]

Ok, I'm also into regular meals/snacks to keep things easy when I don't have time to think. I quit nighttime snacks for a while, but made this one evening with my husband and it is sooooo perfect each evening AND helps our fiber! We don't have a name for it -- we just call it the "stuff".

1/4 c. All Bran Buds
1 tsp. natural peanut butter
some (10 or so?) dark chocolate chips
Cool Whip lite

You'll have to adjust your Cool Whip to suit your preference. Mix together and enjoy. My husband sometimes prefers a no sugar added fudge bar, melted a little, in his in place of the chocolate chips.

Enjoy!

[Missie]

My hub is a big hunter, so we have elk and deer on hand all the time. I haven't bought beef in probably about a year. We do Elk Helper, Elk Tacos, Elk Spaghetti, etc. Elk and deer CAN taste gamey, but it all depends on how it was prepared when they butchered it. We just had Elk Roast with potatoes and carrots in the crockpot last night, and it was very yummy. Very lean, high in protein, not high in fat. Good stuff.

(although filet mignon and prime rib can still make me droooool.)