Recently in Recipes Category

I've been on a nutrition kick for quite a while, and because I lurve food I'm always on the look-out for nutritious food that actually tastes wonderful.

I ran across this recipe in a "Weight Loss" guide put out by Prevention Magazine and figured, since I took the time to port it into my database, I'd share it with you.

The cool thing about this recipe is that it supplies a good portion of protein (builds muscle), dietary fat (aids in cell construction), and is moderately low in carbs.

Click here to go to the recipe.

A while back Paula said she was looking for some good tofu recipes. I got one that turned out wonderfully. It satisfies all my cravings when I think of Asian food. Noodles. Garlic. Sesame. Crunchy veggies and tender tofu. A bit of hot red pepper. Mmmmm.

Recipe: Japanese Noodles with Garlic Toasted Tofu

Nutrition label:

I've been on a smoothie kick.

And in my "I can't get no" article, I gave a recipe for one in the comment section after giraffelady mentioned smoothies. I'm pulling that up out of the comments and into a poastie.

giraffelady wrote:
Oatmeal in the morning lasts longer than a fruit smoothy for me. I can't seem to get enough fruit to satisfy my need to continue eating. Any suggestions?

Yeah. In fact, I mention my smoothie in a later article, but here's what I do:

1 C fat free vanilla-flavored yogurt
1/2 C crushed ice
1/2 C cranberry juice
1/2 C fruit (I like berries, blue, black, or rasp)
1/4 C rolled oats (yup!)
3 T vanilla or plain protein powder
1 T water-soluble powdered fiber

Blend that goop up, top with a handful of low-fat whole-grain granola.

Adding the protein powder, fiber, oatmeal and granola increases the satiety. The fruit and juices give it flavor and the quick-kick simple carb for instant energy. The yogurt gives it body, and gives you the calcium/protein mix you need to help burn fat.

When I get home, I'll look up the brand names of some of this stuff. '

Protein Powder: MLO Sports Nutrition. Comes in a red cannister. 22 grams of protein per serving (3 T is a serving). Has a vaguely vanilla taste to it, not gritty, not horribly yucky, as far as I am concerned.

Fiber: BeneFiber. Tall white bottle dominated by a green shrinkwrap wrapper, kind of milk-bottle shaped. It's a water-soluble fiber supplement with no taste, no chalkiness. Mixes well in any liquid. Very tolerable.

Yogurt: Any fat-free vanilla yogurt will do, although I also go for sugar-free. Adding enough sugars with the fruits, yah? Could use fruit-flavored yogurt if you like, of course.

Another peep wanted to know what I eat on a typical day. This is what works for me, mind. I like the foods -- the flavors, textures, and how satisfied I feel when eating them. I don't feel compelled to load up on them -- smaller portions work fine.

Breakfast:
I always, always eat breakfast. A 2-egg omelette made with an egg-white egg substitute. I use the packaged substitute because it's egg whites with the yolk nutrients put back in. Yolks gots nutrients, whites don't. Yolks got bad fat, whites don't. So the Egg Beaters© peeps give you the best of both worlds. I saute veggies and use fat-free cheese. Cheese, because the dairy proteins and calcium combination induce your body to burn fat. Veggies because they fill you up without costing you calories. Sauteed in olive or flax seed oil because you need some fat and olive or flax is a good kind of fat.

Or I'll have a single serving of oatmeal, with some fruit in it. Usually blueberries, because blueberries are powerful antioxidants. I use whole oats. Set 'em up in the slow-cooker the night before with a few slices of tart apple, some cimmamomon, and the 'berries. Mmmm.

Or I'll fix a yogurt smoothie. A cup of fat-free vanilla yogurt, a bit of cranberry juice, crushed ice, berries, whole oats, protein powder and powdered fiber just to make it a power smoothie. Blend well. Top with a bit of granola for something extra interesting.

Coffee, 12 oz, with a splurt of fat-free creamer and some sugar-free vanilla flavoring, or just plain Splenda©.

1000 mg of Vitamin C -- anti-oxidant, and recent research has shown that it aids in the metabolization of stored fat. Low levels of Vit. C in the body have been linked to higher body fat and larger waistline. Vit. C assists carnitine in transporting the fat to the mitochondria where it is used to create the energy you burn.

Later in the day, between breakfast and lunch, I'll have a snack. Usually a low-fat or fat-free granola bar, or maybe a piece of fruit.

I drink a lot of green tea, either hot or iced, throughout the morning.

Lunch will be what I call a "heat 'n eat" ... Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers© frozen meal. I go no higher than 6 WW points, and try to use something that's loaded with veggies, rather than, say, something with potatoes or mac and cheese for the side dish.

Or, if I have left overs from dinner the night before, I'll use that. Something I can pop into the microwave at work.

Sobe Lean© Green Tea to drink.

'nother snack a coupla hours after lunch. This might be cookies, or pretzels, or even a candy bar. Or it may be a half cup of granola with some raisins in it. Something with a bit of sugar, some fiber, for energy because the afternoon is my low-energy period and I need the pick-me-up. Rice cakes with a bit of low-fat margarine on 'em, maybe.

I'll bring a baggie full of peeled carrots, too, and munch on those when I have an urge to just chew on something. I get that urge when I'm on the phone or on the computer a LOT, mostly because I developed the habit of eating while doing those things.

Dinner can be something as weird as slices of baked tofu and a hunk of bread. Or maybe it'll be a fully cooked meal, but I limit my meat to about 3 ounces of whatever it is, and cook it with as little fat as possible. Steamed, raw, or lightly sauteed veggies. Or maybe a stuffed baked potato -- using fat-free cheese, a weensy bit of bacon bits, some low-fat margarine. Try a large-ish red potato instead of a russet. A Boca Burger©, wrapped in lettuce and a whole wheat pita. A grilled portabella mushroom with fat-free cheese on a slice of toasted, whole grain bread. If I do go for a meat-like substance, it'll be chicken, pork, or some sort of fish.

And dessert. Dreyers Grand (or Edy's Grand) Slow Churned ice cream, about a half-cup, does me fine, thank you. I like the caramel delight flavor, although coffee always wins my heart. Or maybe a Weight Watchers© fudge bar. A teeny slice of my homemade apple pie. A couple of choco-chip cookies.

I try to keep my calorie intake to about 1500-1800 calories, and I want to go with about 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fats, although I don't get that mix right all the time.

Go directly to recipe

I got it from Weight Watchers, and fixed it for a number of parties where I was asked to provide something to eat.

They were majorly snarfed up.

Best of all, they don't "cost" too much, fat- or calorie-wise.

Here are the Artichoke Tarts!

Go directly to the recipe

The holiday season is here. You may not have noticed. A friend of mine handed me this recipe and I made it for Thanksgiving. Reduced fat peanut butter, fat-free whipped topping, low-fat graham crust. Best of all it tastes like a candy bar! Mmmmm!

One family member had spent $30 on bakery pies, and we still have that stuff left over, but not a solitary crumb remains of this pie.

Go directly to recipe

I've been playing around with a recipe for months, now. Back when I first started my weight loss adventure, I discovered a reasonably tasty snack that had 0 fat, was low in calories, and helped make me feel satisfied until meal time. Made by Health Valley, the snack was called "Raisin Bakes." I don't know what happened, whether Health Valley stopped making Raisin Bakes (and Apple Bakes, and Date Bakes) or if my local stores just stopped carrying them, but I could no longer find these treats.

So I searched the Internet until I found a reasonably close bar cookie recipe that I could muck about with.

I finally got something I genuinely like. Check it out.

Oh. I made the nutrition data label pictured to the right, by entering the recipe ingredients into the pantry tool at The Nutrition Database. Cool, wot?