Bunch of info...

I am, by no means, saying that the way I eat (when dieting) is healthy.  Probably not, but I stumbled over to Health.com this morning and found a few things that support things I have been saying either here on my blog or in real life.

27 Mistakes Healthy People Make got my attention mostly because of my rants about how people think skinny means healthy.  Even this title says so.  I sort of wish it said 27 Mistakes "Healthy" People Make.  Of course, this is just the beginning.  #1 - buying organic.  People think buying organic is healthier.  "Buying organic is wise for certain foods, such as beef or strawberries, but it doesn't make much difference for others, like avocados or eggs.  
And don't assume that all organic foods are healthier than non-organic options, or that organic equals healthy. Organic choices are usually pricier, for one thing. And organic high-calorie, high-fat granola bars and sugary cereals are just as bad for you as the non-organic version."
My note: Buying organic is a bloated politically correct thing we are supposed to to if we care about the environment.  I learned that "organic" as often an advertising ploy as tainted as anything else.  Example: Generally, cows raised for milk are given antibiotics constantly.  True.  Organic means some governing agency has made sure the cows have never had antibiotics or other medication.  True.  Then I saw a farmer who sells his milk and cheese at a farmer's market because he does not qualify as either organic or non-organic.  Why?  Because he does not distribute antibiotics to his animals *unless they are sick*.  Humane.  He wanted to become organic because, he claims, he realizes the milk is better without those antibiotics and growth hormones, but he also could not stand by and watch his animals die because they caught something and in order to be certified organic, you have to just let them die.  Wow.  Well, we don't eat much beef in this family and we mainly buy soy milk because of allergies to cow's milk so cheese is my only worry and...well... that's processed and such in a way that I can't justify "organic" cheese.

Besides, organic products always cost more.  Someone is making more money by slapping that label on there.  I realize that it's supposed to be because it costs more to raise things this way (you lose more crops, more cows, whatever and those have to be replaced) and it's a simple supply and demand issue - it will continue to cost more as popularity for it rises.

I won't go through these one by one, but they list a bunch of things I know are true.  Don't skimp on sleep.  Socialize more (that was interesting, but I do see the value.  Like sleep, our mental health affects our physical health.)

Supplements - I heard this pyramid scheme which sells diet shakes so that it's "legit" saying that you should never take supplements because your body doesn't digest it and use it.  It simply goes through and you poop it out.  Classy.  Also, wrong.  Your body uses what it can.  If there is too much of something, your liver and kidneys are there to get rid of it.  Granted, this article points out you can still be taking too much, but I think we sometimes forget that our bodies are efficient machines.

Germaphobes (slide #8) - But evidence also suggests that some germ exposure could steer the immune system away from allergies, and that an overly sterile environment might be bad.


I'm quite sure I did a post about this before.  Your immune system gets stronger by fighting things off.  Yeah, take precautions, but don't overdo!

#9 You over- or underdo alternative remedies
Agreed.  I believe both are very useful, but so many I talk to seem to think it's one or the other.  Don't discount the herbal remedies, but don't believe whatever the doctor is selling without question, either.



#13 - calorie free sodas.  yeah, it's my weakness.  I know I did better when I cut way back on them, but even when losing weight, I did have a little every day.  My guilty pleasure.  I defend the fact that people should remember that if they can narrow down just one thing that makes the whole diet thing bearable, then find a way to work that in.  Love sweets?  Allow yourself a piece of Extra's dessert gum or one can of soda per day.   I'm sure we shouldn't have it at all to be truly healthy, but for me this is what helps me make it through.  My husband loves salty chips so we buy Special K snacks or Baked Lays.  Low in salt, but just enough to get him through from time to time.

#14 - water... they are talking about drinking too much, but I admit, I don't drink enough.  This amused me.  The other day I was told that our body only recognizes straight water as water.  "It thinks" anything else is food.  Personifying is one of those annoying things people do.  The body is a machine.  Cells, fat, and the liver don't think, they simply process.  I know that you can't count soda or Gatorade as your daily water intake, but your body doesn't think my coffee is food.  I also know if I drink 16 oz of coffee, my body does not get 16 oz of water from that.

#16 - you think you know more than your doc.

Sometimes you do.  Yeah, I think some people are looking at things on the internet and believing what they read because it sounds good (or bad, sometimes) but they don't look at the supporting facts that prove it's wrong.  People who don't immunize at all are following a trend that seems informed, but in reality, there is way way way more information showing why you should.  They don't bother to research why they question, they just think they are being informed.

Meanwhile, we've had diagnoses from a doctor that is complete nonsense.  We look at symptoms on the internet and realize the doc made the diagnosis based solely on weight, not on symptoms.  A person with sleep apnea is often fatigued, snores, doesn't breathe in the middle of the night, etc, etc.  Scott had anxiety over our house fire and the doctor decided the anxiety was due to lack of sleep which was due to apnea.  Later, the same doctor decided he needed diabetic medication because he was not told about a blood test that day and ate a blueberry bagel before the blood test which spiked the blood once.  Since then, his levels have been well below normal - below the numbers that have had other family members taken off their diabetic meds, yet he is still on them.  I get frustrated because he listens to these doctors too much.  I think it's a balance.  Listen to your doctor, but it's okay to question them as well.

#17 - You think healthy packaging equals healthy food.

Ha, so true!  Healthy food is a marketing ploy and it is working because people buy into these things without research or question!  I saw a documentary about food and I loved this one guy who pointed out that he could sell you a bag of sugar that says "fat free!" but it will still make you fat.  People don't realize that while there are good fats and bad fats, both should be limited, but cutting out all bad fats won't make you thin, by itself.  You also have to simply eat less.  You feel hungry sometimes, sure, but you have to just eat less.  Fat free isn't helpful unless you still count calories or something.

#19 - you still don't eat your fruits and veggies.

Oh, thank god!  It's not just me!  I mean, I try every day, but....

$24 - You don't read nutrition labels.

I do, now, and I have to say it is eye opening!  Often, I'll be at a party or lunch and hear people say things that I know aren't true about certain foods because I've read the label and obviously they haven't.   Kashi go lean might have more fiber, but the "go lean" is deceiving because Eggo waffles and most cereals we buy are lower in both calories and fat than Kashi products... so what are they comparing it to?  go lean from what?  A pound of bacon for breakfast?  Yes.  Leaner than Cheerios?  Nope.

Okay, that's enough blathering for today.  I just realized the time and I need to start my other tasks for the day...

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.)

Start Simple (snack)

Aside: I often get asked "Don't you feel better?" I know I'm supposed to answer "yes!" but... I don't. I didn't feel -not good- before. This is one of those things people say with a certain expectation; that you either had failing health or failing self-worth which led you to begin a change of life. Every commercial on TV has people saying "I lost ___ lbs and I feel great!" or similar platitudes. The rebel in me wonders if I didn't want to lose weight because it's just pandering to "their" campaign to make us feel bad about ourselves. "They", as far as I'm concerned, are trying to brainwash "us" into thinking that if we are obese, we have to feel bad about ourselves; that it's our social responsibility to lose weight. Neither is true.

Meanwhile, I do think the person who asked me if I feel better last night would benefit from some sort of weight management program. I am quite certain he would feel better.

After snacks comes nap time, right? Oh great. I have to be a grown up?

Veggies – Try crunching on fresh carrots or celery. Pick up cucumbers or bell peppers. Yeah, I’m not a big fan of carrot or celery either, but try eating them with the following dip:

Dip – Go to the dressing aisle where they sell the dip mixes. We like to mix it up with either the Harvest Dill or classic Ranch, but occasionally it’s nice to use the Italian dressing mix. Now head over to the dairy products. Pick up that low-fat sour cream, but before you put it in your basket, pick up a container of light or greek yogurt in a plain flavor. Compare calories. Hmm, interesting, right? Now look at serving size. You get one whole cup of yogurt for about the same calories as just 2 tablespoons of sour cream! This varies, of course, but you will never get to enjoy as much sour cream dip as you can if you just make it with plain yogurt. You could easily eat 2 tablespoons of dip and want more, but by the time you’ve eaten ¼ cup you would be done so divide the calories in the yogurt by 25% and that’s all you would likely want. Mix the packet into the yogurt and keep it in the fridge. Yeah, it’s not as creamy, but I assure you if you give it a chance you will find that it really satisfies!

Pickles

Nalley Kosher Dill is one of our favorite foods in this house. We could eat them all day and night! The sodium count keeps us from doing so, but remember that pickles are a free food. Even bread and butter pickles are low in calorie. If you like sweet pickles, it might be a problem, but consider the mini ones as a treat because you will be happier if you let yourself have your favorites from time to time. Theaters used to sell pickles and the ones that still do are a great alternative to candy.

Crave potato chips and other crunchies a lot? Have a healthy 9 year old in your house who doesn’t need to diet and can be a little finicky? These are foods that have worked great in our house. Not only do we dieters enjoy them, the young one here has no (or few) complaints.

Baked Lays – lower in calories than their counterparts, they actually taste delicious. In fact, at the last family dinner where a bag of regular chips were open, I ate two, realized they tasted oily, and didn’t want any more.

Quaker Rice Cakes – Like Cheetos? Get the Cheddar Cheese. Like sweets? The Caramel cakes hit the spot. We tried Ranch, Wild Blueberry, and Crème Brulee. While the blueberry may curve a craving for blueberry muffins (those delicious ones from Costco are over 600 calories! I was bummed!) I would recommend the former two. They tasted best and are the only ones I wanted to repeat. If you like Ranch, go for the Baked Lays and dip (above).

Special K - These crackers are 70 calories for 17 crackers. We tried Multi-grain and Savory Herb. I don’t typically like wheat or multi-grain so I fully expected herb to be my choice. No! The multi-grain crackers are delicious! I don’t really like the herb ones at all – though they’d be nice to put out at a party.

Sweets

From time to time, I would crave candy bars. During these times, I would go crazy! When I started this healthy campaign, I knew I had some sugar addictions to cut because the last couple years it had become a daily desire. Instead I bought Quaker granola bars and had them as a snack. It weened me off nicely and now I don’t crave them at all.

Alternate treat – I had a package of lemon pirouettes from World Market when we made this change. I found I could eat just one at around 35 calories as a sweet snack, too, but when they were gone, I didn’t care to buy more.