Start Simple (dinner)

1st: a correction. I took Scott's word for it that Mrs. Butterworth's is sweetened with molasses. Well, upon inspection today, it does contain aspertame. Sorry!

According to the men, dinner starts with meat...
Before we even start on meat, save up a little money and go grab yourself a George Foreman Grill. We use ours 4 - 5 times a week so it was definitely a worthwhile investment. I’m sure it makes the calories a bit lower, but I still calculate as normal. I’ll repeat cooking tips when I start posting recipes.

Seasonings: While you’re out, see if you can find a tiny spritzer (I’ve seen them at the dollar store and Sally Beauty Supply) and a bottle of Liquid Smoke. Put the Liquid Smoke in the spritzer anytime you want to fool your taste buds into thinking you made something fresh off the barbecue grill. If you can get your hands on Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce, a drop or two makes a veggie patty taste like a grilled beef patty.

Bwawk!
I like chicken. It’s pretty tasty, but how many things can you do with chicken and still like it 6 months later?

Our favorite place to shop for many things is either Costco or Target. At Costco, you can get wonderful flash frozen chicken breast tenders. These are quick and versatile, but you can usually save just a little more per pound by picking up the boneless skinless breasts. Try to buy the ones that look flattened as they actually cook better on your grill. The thick ones have to cook so long that the juices cook out of it so flat is oddly juicier.

GF Grill: 8 minutes for chicken tenders, 9-10 for breasts. If they are very thick, it may take a couple more minutes, but make sure you take them off the instant they are cooked in the middle. Surprisingly, they will still be juicy and delicious, unlike barbecue grilled chicken.

Our daughter doesn’t like chicken much so for months we served it to her with barbecue sauce. Well, one day I was poking around and found that marinade packets are only a few calories per serving. Substitute Extra Virgin Olive Oil (most reliable sources agree that Olive Oil’s fats are better for you than canola oil) for the vegetable oil and balsamic vinegar (just my opinion that it enhances flavors) if it calls for white vinegar. It doesn’t lower calories by much – if at all – but you do pour most of it out at the end. When I marinate the chicken, I can switch it up every night and still get her to eat a little. 3 – 4 days a week, we have about 6 oz of chicken and a green salad for dinner. The other nights have more variety – see recipes.

Fish
What a great alternative to unhealthy meats! Oh, unless you don’t like fish. I do not. In fact, sometimes it makes me feel ill just to smell it cooking. After a horrible experiment, though I have not been officially diagnosed, we believe I may be allergic to some fish oils. In general, if I buy fish, it’s just enough for Him and the youth so I let Him cook it for them both. (He’s an excellent cook.)

Pork
Here’s where the fats do come in. Lotsa fat means lotsa calories. Pork is something we now eat – maybe – once a month. When we do, we put it in the crock pot, slow cook it all day, then shred it so that we can scrape out as much fat as possible. Cut back on the barbecue sauce you put in it and serve with no more than ½ a cup of the free veggies and you should be able to enjoy it.

Beef
I wasn’t a big fan of beef before so it’s not much of a sacrifice to cut it out of our diets. Beef is actually one of the most difficult meats for your body to digest anyway. In the last six months, we have bought beef exactly once and we made sure to get a very lean shoulder roast. It’s tasty, however it is a meat that requires long, slow cooking if you want it to be remotely tender. Put it in the crock pot or bake in an oven bag with some free veggies, adding only things like pepper, garlic, or other no-calorie seasonings.

Other suggestions: Turkey breast, turkey ham, or Black Forest Ham. Read the labels. Some Black Forest Ham is quite lean, therefore on the low calorie side.

Meat without the meat

We’ve tried Gardenburgers, Boca Burger, and Annie’s Original Veggie burgers. I think we both agreed that while the popular Gardenburger is nice, the Boca Burgers are quite delicious (especially with that drop of sauce). Scott tried Annie’s on his own. Last word? Horrible! He told me not to even try it because he was sure it wasn’t going to be to anyone’s liking.

Veggies
Veggies are easy. ½ raw (slightly less when cooked) are considered free foods. Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots, celery, peas, bell peppers… they can all add variety to salad. We have salads A LOT so we like to buy several free foods, then mix it up every night to keep it interesting. Mushrooms are also free. Corn, tomatoes, avocados, olives, and other fruits are not. Potatoes are not a vegetable.

Peppers
Honestly, I was never a fan of any kind of pepper other than black peppercorn. Now I’ve experimented and realized I love yellow and orange bell peppers. They have nice flavor, but aren’t spicy. I also add green chili sauce or chopped green chilies to many recipes in order to add flavor without calories. Sometimes dieting is just a matter of experimenting and growing accustomed to foods.


Pasta
There are plenty of people who will tell you that whole wheat pasta is better for you. Once again, upon research, it is mostly about the fiber. I find pasta filling enough; I'm not sure I need the added fiber. Several brands offer other additives like protein and Omega-3, but those brands usually cost a lot more. In our diet, it doesn't really matter. The calories are about the same between both kinds, but old school wins because of cost and taste. Many whole wheat and multi-grain pastas are gummy, chewy, or have a nasty after taste.

You'll note that pasta sauces are fairly reasonable as far as sauces go. The major pasta change is in presentation. Old school: I cooked a pan of pasta and a separate pot of sauce to which I added some sort of meat or extra cheese (I often added mushroom and that's still acceptable!) Diners filled their dish with the pasta and then slathered on the sauce, followed by a good amount of cheese. Now I measure the exact amount of pasta for three servings, then cook, drain, and cook with the exact measurement of pasta. We got excited for a minute because we thought Kraft Parmesan was 20 calories, but it's for just 2 teaspoons. Surprisingly, it still tasted good without the cheese! (Of course, sometimes we really want the cheese. Before cheese, depending on your pasta and sauce choice, it's about 300 calories so cheese will typically depend on whether or not you might want a snack later.)