This page lists alot of really helpful food ideas followed by some fantastic Weight Watcher friendly recipes:
Quick Food ideas
1- Bean & Cheese burritos (w/taco bell sauce)
2- Always have quick meals on hand for those lazy meal times (Lean Cuisines, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, and Lean Pockets)
3- Teaspoon of Peanut butter on light bread goes a good distance
4- Potato and onions (semi-fried) very tasty with season salt
5- Use Fat Free hot dogs like sausage for breakfast with your Egg Substitute, very filling
6- Baked potato with fat free chili and cheese w/ onions
7- Sautéed veggies on just about any thing, pasta, rice, potato add chicken for extra protein
8- I love sautéing mushrooms and onions over baked potato with string cheese
9- Slim fast quick snack bars taste like candy bars
10- Look for point friendly smoothies (very tasty filling snacks)
11- Grilled cheese w/ the light bread made w/ Brummel and Brown
12- Bowl of cereal
13- Egg w/ melted Kraft single Sandwiches are very filling
14- Keep “0” point soups in the freezer for those days you are hungry and need that something extra (single serving sizes if you can)
15- Chicken and tuna salads
16- Steamed rice w/ garlic salt and Brummel and brown
17- Keep veggies cut up for easy use and use them as snacks with dip
18- Sugar free flavored Latte or Mochas (great way to get in your milk)
19- Yoplait yogurts or string cheese
20- Whole-wheat tortilla with a little Bummel and Brown
Cooking Tips:
1. Reach for a mister. "I use a plastic spray bottle filled with a mixture of canola and olive oil," says Stroot. Buy new, clean bottles at a kitchen supply store or drug store and mist your pans with oil rather than pouring it in.
2. Don't overcook. Dry food destroys rich taste. "Always have low-salt vegetable or chicken broth on hand to add to dishes to keep them moist," he advises. "And cook everything as close to mealtime as possible."
3. Thicken creatively. Add body to sauces and soups without using cream by dissolving 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder in 1 tablespoon water; cook it in the sauce for 4-5 minutes. Or alternatively, add 2-3 tablespoons puréed cooked cannellini beans or vegetables such as carrots, celery or onion to thicken soups.
4. Substitute soy. Instead of cream cheese or sour cream, blend silken tofu, one of Stroot's "miracle" ingredients, into dips, dressings and frostings.
5. Go for garlic. Pungent fresh garlic turns soft and buttery when roasted. Cut tops off garlic heads, mist lightly with oil, wrap entire head in foil and bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until tender. Squeeze out soft cloves and spread on bread, whisk into soups or dips, or mash with potatoes — great taste and no butter necessary. The roasted garlic should last about one week in the refrigerator.
6. Rethink mayo. Instead of high-fat mayonnaise, use puréed cottage cheese or silken tofu, a mix of water, Dijon mustard, cider vinegar and pepper.
7. Reduce avocados. When a recipe calls for avocados (which contain good fat but lots of calories), replace some of the avocado with puréed asparagus blended with yogurt (see Stroot's recipe for Asparagus Guacamole, below).
8. Get creamed. Nonfat sour cream replaces full-fat sour cream in soups and sauces without loss of flavor or texture.
9. Try turkey. Instead of pork or beef for meatballs or chili, ask your butcher for ground turkey: three parts white-meat mixed with two parts dark.
10. Bake better. Instead of butter or shortening in baked goods, use flavorful ingredients that add moisture to the batter, such as yam pulp, applesauce, mashed banana, fresh orange juice or other puréed produce (try Stroot's Orange and Butternut Squash Muffins, below).
New Quick Lunch or Dinner Idea
My new find is, I buy those Lean Budget meals (like the cheaper TV dinners, but they are lean) (they are usually a $1 each, but sometimes a $1.25). I cook it for its regular time. I buy already washed spinach in a big bag from Costco and grab a couple handfuls of spinach through it in a bowl, add seasoning and a 1/2 teaspoon of Brummel and Brown (yogurt butter), throw the cooked Lean Budget on it (Chicken Florentine, the shrimp one, Mac and cheese, or spaghetti, what ever sounds good) and nuke it for another minute, stir it up and I'm ready to go. I recently added some Portobello mushrooms and onions for a little variety; broccoli would be another great one. A low fat, healthy and pretty yummy lunch or dinner, and usually only 5-6 points and very filling and it takes about 5 minutes. As far and microwave low-fat meals go, it's pretty cheap. Sometimes super quick is the only choice I have. That way too if you don't really want to cook 2 meals or feel like you only get a small helping of what ever you cooked, it's easy and your eating with your family. It even works as a go along. If I make my family hot dogs or pizza, I can have a slice of pizza or hot dog and my meal and I don't feel deprived. Hope that helps and I love how my family starts eating better when I do, :). Double bonus!
SNACKING
First thing we need to do is get you to a grocery store and see if you can get a few extra bucks in the grocery budget to spend a little extra on your snacks. First place is the freezer section. There is this company that makes ice cream products and they ROCK. They are called Skinny Cow's. Think of a big ol' fat Ice cream Sandwich. They come in different flavors vanilla, choc., mint, and peanut butter, all 2-3 Points each and VERY tasty. If your a fruit person, there are some Excellent TCBY yogurt bars, orange/vanilla and Raspberry Cream, 2 Points and they are wonderful. At Wal-Mart you need to go to the pharmacy section, go to the Slim Fast area. There are 3 choices of candy bars. They call them snack bars. One is like Butterfinger (honest), on is like Baby Ruth(my favorite) and then the other is a chewy caramel, also very good. A couple of them come in boxes of
12 (it's cheaper to by them that way, but you might want to buy the boxes of 6 until you figure out what your favorite is). Let's see how that works for your chocolate urges. All 3 Points each.
Cakes, we need to change the recipe a bit and you'll hardly notice the difference. You want to use apple sauce instead of oil (you just have to trust me) and use Egg substitute and you really can lower the Point value.
Chips, switch to baked and do some prepackaging by the serving, don't sit down with the bag! :) Baked Doritos's are pretty good, look for baked type chips and crackers and just separate into servings and satisfy the craving and not hunger pains.
Ok, I LOVE Bagels. If you do also, you need to get Whole Wheat Bagel's. Look at the label, you looking for the highest fiber ones. Usually Orowheat are best, but they can be pricey, but worth it. The two main ones to look for are Orowheat Whole Wheat and Health Nut. Try the light Cream cheese, not Fat Free and see how that goes. The other thing you might want to give a try is Brummel and Brown Yogurt Butter; they have some great flavors, strawberry and apple cinnamon, way tasty, very low in Points.
You need to look through the bread and look at the fiber. You want 3g. or more of fiber in each slice. The sharp fat free slices from Kraft make pretty tasty grilled cheese. I buy the Orowheat light and use 2 slices of the cheese and use Brummel and Brown butter to grill. The slices of bread are small, this will not fill you up, it's a great snack or a go along with a salad, veggies or baked potato, something of that nature.
There is also string cheese; it can be 2 Points per serving, check the label. Maybe some low-fat Triscuts (make sure you grab a pre packaged bag, :) and a serving of string cheese can help for a snack.
High fiber, low-fat and tasty are the key to most stacking. You also want to make sure you keep things that have protein that are easy to eat. Fiber and protein are very filling and keep you full longer. There isn't anything wrong with ice cream and chips, but they are a snack, not something to fill up on and you don't want them to always be used to "hold you over". So, vary it up. Reward yourself for staying on program. When I lost my 50 lbs the first time, I rewarded myself almost daily with Ice Cream (Skinny Cows) or Chocolate (Slim Fast snack bars) nearly every night. I tried to eat more filling Snacks during the day. Also if I had a good week, then it could be a full fledged candy bar weigh that night/or day. Or maybe a Skinny Cow after lunch and a Slim Fast after dinner. If I made healthy choices all day long, I had the Points to do it, and so can you. Don't let yourself get overly hungry. If it's not a "meal time" and your hungry. Grab a bag of your prepackage snack, a string cheese and eat. If you still are hungry grab a light yogurt. If the hunger is still there, grab an apple, or a banana. If you are hungry, by all means and I'm being honest EAT, just watch what you eat. You'll feel much better about it. And as much as possible ALWAYS drink while you eat, especially water. If you can do it drink it all day long. I flavor mine up with sugar free flavorings to help. I promise you, keep up on the water and make healthy snack and meal choices the weight will come off. Chicken is a WONDERFUL food and super high protein, and I even eat it as a snack. I almost always keep grilled or lightly fried chicken in my fridge. A few ounces of chicken (maybe some mayo (light, I like Miracle Whip) on a slice of bread and some water and I'm good to go. Grilling up some extra chicken on the weekends and you can have it to snack on during the week usually really helped me. Great in salads or on sandwiches, with some crackers or chips or just by itself and I think you’ll be surprised how much it helps.
Coffee
Here's the "cheaters quickie latte" LOL. Microwave 3 oz of water(30 sec.), add a heaping Teaspoon of instant coffee(mine happens to be Folgers, because I get it at Costco), I add 3/4 to 1 oz sugar free Vanilla Torrani and 3/4- 1 oz. sugar free Raspberry and then add 8 oz of Fat free milk and about 3 oz of Soy Milk to cream it up a bit, all together this is only 3 Points, it also gets in about 1 1/2 of your needed milk servings. If you like chocolate you can buy Chocolate Soy milk, it’s very creamy. You can nuke it afterwards if you want it hot or throw it over ice if you’re looking for cold drink. It takes all of about 3 minutes to make and a whole lot cheaper than Starbucks, :). Lately I have been trying Caramel and Black Cherry together, yummy. If you use fat free soy, this is a free core item.
Mandy's "0" point soup
4 scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions)
1 green, 1 red bell pepper
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 big can whole tomatoes cut up
1 whole stock of celery
1/2 head cabbage
1/2 head of cauliflower
1 pkg. dried Lipton onion soup mix
1 or 2 cans of broth or bullion cubes
1-2 stocks of broccoli
1 package of mushrooms
1/2 red onion
I fill the water up until it covers all the vegetables up
Spices - I love garlic, so I usually add some fresh garlic
Then I add, garlic salt and powder, regular salt, and pepper and quite honestly anything else that sounds good, :)
(Italian seasoning, basil, curry, what ever strikes my fancy)
Simmer it up until it's the veggie’s are the tenderness you like, 30ish minutes if I remember right! Eat to your hearts content, 1 cup or the whole pot, its "0" points
Don't forget if you need something a little heartier, you can add any extras like beans, pasta, chicken or whatever, just count the points. 1/2 cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, cooked black, garbanzo, navy, pinto, or white beans are all just 2 points, if you want to check the packages I think some are 3 points for a whole cup! Add some lean meats like turkey, chicken, or lean ham or beef for 1 point per oz. A 1/2 cup corn, potato, cannelloni, kidney or lima beans are 1 point.
Asparagus Guacamole
1 medium Anaheim or Serrano chili
Olive oil and canola oil in a spray bottle, or 1 teaspoon olive oil
5 or 6 fresh asparagus spears, ends trimmed
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 small avocado
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, optional
Preheat a grill, stovetop grill, or broiler. Lightly spray the chili peppers with olive oil; grill or broil for 5 minutes, turning so that all sides are charred. Transfer to a plastic bag and seal; set aside for about 10 minutes, or until the peppers are cool enough to handle. Remove the stem, skin and seeds from the peppers; cut into small dice. Set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Immerse the asparagus in the boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes and drain. Plunge the asparagus into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Remove from the ice water and drain. Chop the cooled asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the yogurt and avocado; process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the chili, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, and salt and black pepper, if using. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Asparagus Guacamole can be kept in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 to 2 days. Yields ¼ cup per serving.
Number of servings: 10
Orange and Butternut Squash Muffins
1/2 small butternut squash
Vegetable oil in a spray bottle, or 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 oranges
2/3 cup chopped pitted dates (16 to 18 dates)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups semolina flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet; bake for 40 minutes, or until soft. Let cool, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds. (Reserve them for another use if you wish.) Scrape 3/4 cup of the cooked squash into a mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, spray or grease a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with vegetable oil; set aside.
Grate the oranges to make 2 teaspoons of zest. Peel the remaining oranges and separate the segments of all 3 oranges. Remove all pith. Cut the outer membrane from the orange segments. Chop the segments and add to the cooked squash. Mix in the orange zest, dates, brown sugar, oil, honey, and the beaten egg and egg whites.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the semolina flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Pour the butternut squash mixture into the dry ingredients; mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack; serve warm or let cool. Yields 1 muffin per serving.
Number of servings: 12