How can I make my favorites healthier?

sweetums · 01-14-2006, 02:07 AM

Hi Girls!

I'm working so hard on losing weight, but my eating is killing me! I know I would be losing so much faster if I made meals healthier and ate better snacks. Now my question is, how can I make my favorite dishes healthier? Things like lasagna, spaghetti (yup, I'm a pasta girl), burgers and fries, basically all the stuff I shouldn't be eating! HA! I am married and cooking for my husband can be a challenge because he's so stubborn and can be a picky eater. Plus he's hesitant of me trying new things. I try to get things sugar free or low sodium or something and he complains about how it tastes funny and I end up going back to the normal stuff so he'll be happy. How can I cook healthier/lower carb so both of us will be happy? (Boy I don't ask for much, huh?!) HA!

I'd love any suggestions you have or recipes or anything! I'm at such a loss and I'm tired of eating salads!

Thanks girls!

Manders

nicole47 · 01-14-2006, 03:31 AM

Whole grains! (So burgers with whole grain buns). Whole wheat (whole wheat pasta). Sweet potatoes! (Sweet potato fries are delish with a little salt-- you can bake them if you want to be especially healthy)

We have pizza with a whole wheat crust, normal chili (without sugar added), and spaghetti at least once every 2 weeks. They're on my list of "foods I can eat (without feeling guilty)."

Also, if you serve him the healthy stuff long enough, he'll get used to it (the body is crazy this way-- things taste so sweet to me now). Plus you can let him add salt at the table to his taste.

sleepydumpling · 01-14-2006, 04:06 AM

Manders, I know how hard it is!!

Ok, with the pasta, Nicole has got it, go with the whole wheat or better still, wheat free (which actually tastes EXACTLY the same, but I find cooks a little better). Keep to tomato based sauces or pesto based sauces. Steer away from the creamy, cheesy ones. But if you do feel like a creamy one, switch to using light evaporated milk as the.. well creamy-fier!! I saute a little very light ham or bacon (keep away from the fatty stuff), some mushrooms and some diced onion, season with chopped parsley or any herb of your choice really, and then pop a little evap milk over it and then let it reduce down to sauce consistency. YUMMY over pasta.

As for the burgers, you can make up your own burger meat with whatever spices/flavourings you like. I have a very basic "base" meatball/burger/meatloaf formula I use. Mince (pork is the leanest but you can get any of the meats fairly lean these days), an egg, some tomato paste and some breadcrumbs. I make Greek, Moroccan, Italian, Thai... all just with herbs and spices to flavour them. Make your own burgers and then instead of frying them... pop them on some baking paper on a tray and bake them in the oven. You can spray them with a little olive oil spray if you like, but I don't really bother. I do the same with meatballs too - bake them rather than fry them. They taste EXACTLY the same. Get yourself some Turkish pide bread, toast it lightly and serve your burger on there the Aussie way with a slice of pineapple, some beetroot, grated carrot, tomato and lettuce and a slice of low fat cheese... Bliss!

I do oven bake potato and sweet potato chips. Just chip them up, spread them out on a baking sheet (I use baking paper underneath them), spray with some olive oil, sprinkle a little rock salt over the top and bake until crunchy. Again... bliss! Leave the skin on... double bliss!

What else can we do for you Miss Manders?? Heh heh!

sweetums · 01-14-2006, 04:30 AM

Kath, girl you are too funny! Thanks for all the ideas! I'm taking notes!

That burger sounds amazing!

Nicole, thank you for your ideas as well! I'm writing all those down too. I eat whole wheat or 12 or 15 grain bread, we have wheat pasta things like spaghetti, elbow and rontini noodles, so far no lasagna noodles, can't find any. Do you make your own spaghetti sauce or do you use the sauce in the jar? Right now we are using jar spaghetti sauce and I'm wondering if that's one of the places I'm going wrong? or is it ok?

UGH! I am eating more fresh fruits and veggies, trying to cut back on my sugar in the obvious places, trying to cut back on the white flour and that sort of thing....I just want so badly to be healthy and my husband wants to be healthy as well, so I feel like it's my job as the main cook in the house to find ways to do that.

I get frustrated because I find healthy recipes and they all call for such special ingredients. I live in such a small town, only 500 people, I can't get most of that stuff, so that makes it hard.

Thanks for the ideas girls, keep 'em coming!

Manders

Br@ndy · 01-14-2006, 04:53 AM

I would just say use whole grains and when it comes to things like hamburgers I mix together half ground beef and half ground turkey. It taste good and its a little better for you. I love sweet potato fries! I like to chop up garlic and chilis on mine.

sleepydumpling · 01-14-2006, 05:33 AM

Manders are your products labelled with their nutritional advice in the US?

Wendy M. · 01-14-2006, 05:52 AM

Manders- For snacks... I know you said you are eating alot of fruits and veggies. I bought the 100 calorie chips,cookies, crackers. You can get a whole box of them and they are great. One bag is 100 calories they have the Wheat Thins, Oreos, Chips Ahoy different ones. They also have the Pringles chips 100 calories now. You can have a bag of those when you eat a sandwhich for lunch or a quick snack. Try Turkey for Turkey Burgers I was kinda feeling weird about this but I actually bought them and baked them in the oven and they were great. Do Turkey Meat for the Meatballs and when you make a Chili. Butterball has a boneless Turkey Breast and I buy that and put it in the crockpot and then just add some veggies and you got a quick and healthy dinner and hardly no time. I know you said you like Lasagna have you tried Eggplant instead of the Lasagna Noodles and layer it with the Eggplant instead of the noodles for a change. Try salmon burgers they are great. I know it is hard and I understand when you say you have to cook for the both of you. Hang in there you can do it!! ((HUGS))

merrickgirl · 01-15-2006, 05:10 AM

Manders believe it or not spagetti squash is awsome looks and almost taste like the pasta. I make a primavera with it all low far and its awsome not to mention all the veggies and fiber its packed with. I miss pasta like crazy but I am doing weight watchers and its awsome, a little of everything in moderation ( that is the key ) you should try that dies i think you may like it. If you want i can copy my point scale and snail mail it to u or i might be able to bribe some from my meeting tomorrow

Im getting weighed in at 10 am wish me luck!! I think I lost 3 lbs this week

merrickgirl · 01-15-2006, 05:11 AM

snack wise check out the "birds nest" recipe i posted... sweet, chocolate and crunch its really good and good for you. if i come up with anything more hun i will let you know

sweetums · 01-16-2006, 01:17 AM

Thanks girls! I love all these ideas!

Merrick, I check out that bird's nest recipe and it sounds really good! I can't wait to try it! Thanks for the idea of the spaghetti squash too! I just have to find one! Btw, I saw your post about losing more weight. You go girl!

Wendy, I have those 100 calorie pack snacks too. I just think I need something lower in carbs. I think I might try to get some sugar free jello cups again. Those seemed to work the last time I had them. I did make an eggplant lasagna once and rather than ground beef I used ground turkey. I thought it was really good. Once again, my hubby didn't like it. I guess I might have to start making 2 seperate things when it comes to that kind of thing!

sleepy, you mean things like: calories, fat, sugar, carbs, protien, that kind of thing? We do have that stuff on our food labels.

Br@ndy, when you make your sweet potato fries, do you leave the skin on? I've never done anything with sweet potatoes before.

Keep the ideas coming girls, I'll take anything I can get!

nicole47 · 01-16-2006, 01:31 AM

hoo... I didn't notice this thread had been updated...

sweet potato fries-- they do have to be peeled. There are a ton of different ways to make them. Probably the healthiest would be to chop them up, spray them with cooking spray and a little salt, and bake them... I don't know how long it would take, probably depends on the size of the fry, but I'd try 350 degrees for 20-40 min or until you can smell them/they're cooked through. (I always fry them though... heh)

Since I'm trying hard to get my body to ovulate, I don't do wheat thins anymore, with the corn syrup in them they're not as healthy as kashi crackers (which are still not perfect, but I feel ok eating them and they're VERY tasty). I've been trying hard to avoid added HFCS, non-whole flours, corn syrup, lots of sugar, and so on in ingredient labels.

I don't usually make my own spaghetti sauce because the canned stuff is generally pretty good (it's easy to make though if you use canned tomatoes and you can control what goes in...you just have to add spices yourself... they're best added with the meat/onions and you use oregano, basil, and garlic, or just an italian spice blend)-- I just make sure I get a kind that doesn't have sugar in the ingredients list.

Heh... I made a lentil nut loaf last night from The New Laurel's Kitchen cookbook I got for Christmas. It was really good (suprisingly so) but I certainly wouldn't try to pass it off as meatloaf.

sleepydumpling · 01-16-2006, 05:20 AM

Manders, if you do have nutritional information on your products over there, use that panel to help you see which are the healthier alternatives. Choose foods that are low saturated and trans fats (mono-fats are fine), low sugar (high natural fibres) and low sodium.

camarofanatic90 · 01-16-2006, 05:30 AM

If you are going to try low carbing, potatoes aren't good for a low carb diet, sweet potatoes are alright in moderation, they both raise your blood sugar levels. I have to do low carb for my thyroid and it is very hard because I am pasta queen...lol