A foodie diets
This foodie's on a diet. I'm up 10 pounds from last year, mostly because of a lazy summer and a new relationship. (Has anyone else ever put on pounds during the "honeymoon" phase? It's so easy to say yes to second portions, shared appetizers and chocolate anything when you're deliriously happy!)
I'm still happy with my guy, but I'm not happy about my gut. (I'm being slightly melodramatic, but I'm vain.)
Instead of leftovers for lunch, I'm eating them the next day for dinner, thus freeing more time for the gym. (A major excuse for avoiding the gym for me.) I'm eating salad for lunch, buying two bags of mixed greens and a box of veggies from the Wild Oats salad bar on Sunday nights. It has so far lasted for three days of lunches, with one more salad's worth of food left.
This works well for me. I added a can of chickpeas to the salad fixings, a handful of feta -- and that's it. I add red wine vinegar to each salad but no oil. (If I omit cheese, then I add olive oil. Yes, I know olive oil is heart-healthy fat, but I'm cutting calories where I can. Either oil or cheese on a salad, not both.)
I'm also bringing a bag of grapes to work and leaving them in the fridge, so I have a sweet, healthy snack anytime.
I like the Wild Oats salad bar veggies because they're already chopped and there's such a variety. I'm a bit of a control freak, but I'm learning to relax -- like letting the salad bar do the work for me. Anyone else have salad tips? Any other control freaks in the kitchen?
posted by Stepfanie at 11:47 AM
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Post a Comment*Yes, since I've been dating the suitor I've put on a few pounds myself. In addition to eating simple salads and lots of fruit, my secret pounds dropping method is nonfat Greek Yogurt. I add fruit to it, a little bit of honey, or some Sarabeth preserves and eat it for dinner for a few days. Trader Joes has a reasonably priced Greek yogurt. Also,--as sad as it is--I find I must lay off the vino for awhile as well.
I love Trader Joe's Greek yogurt. I often get stuck buying the 2% version because the fat-free sells out so quickly! I eat that for breakfast every morning, with local honey or berries, flax meal and oat bran. (My co-workers think it's odd, but I like it.)
Even the fat-free version is decadently rich.
I feel your pain about the vino. Sigh. I have stopped having wine during the week -- trying to limit it to the weekends.
Oh, the luck, that our happiness would plump us.
Ok, non-fat greek yogurt is my new obsession too. It is expensive though! I buy mine at Bigg's in Hyde Park for about $2.50 a container. I believe the brand is Fage. I enjoy mine by adding two packs of spenda. It is amazing how similar to regular yourt it tastes with the artificial sweetner. I sometimes will throw it in the freezer for a few minutes to make it really thick almost like ice cream.....ok that might be stretching it a little. Another awesome thing about greek yogurt is the amount of protein it contains. I think mine has 13 grams. Protein has been to show to surpress appetite because it takes longer to digest so it is necessary to incorporate a fair amount when you are dieting.
Cin Twin, you must buy it at Trader Joes. It's much less expensive. They sell the Fage brand in a small container, but they also sell a Trader Joe's brand in a larger size for much less. Stepf is right though: they frequently sell out of nonfat kind. The whole milk kind has something like 16 grams of fat. Yikes! I've been eating it for so long that regular yogurt like Yoplait tastes like pure sugar to me.
OK, can someone explain to me what Greek yogurt is? I'm intrigued...
I found this on the internet....man, what would we do without it?
World's Healthiest Foods: Yogurt (Greece)
by Joan Raymond
Among yogurt's benefits: enhanced immunity, improved lactose intolerance, and stronger bones.
Many think of yogurt as just a sweet snack. But the thick, creamy, rich kind that’s traditional in Greece has been integral to Grecians’ healthy diet for thousands of years. “We have a custom that before a couple goes on their honey-moon, they eat yogurt with honey and walnuts for prosperity and energy,” says Antonios Maridakis, president of Fage USA, importer of Greece’s biggest yogurt brand. “A lot of us believe that yogurt is an aphrodisiac.”
Why to try it: Yogurt promotes intestinal and vaginal health, improves lactose intolerance, builds stronger bones, enhances immunity, lowers blood pressure, and may even have anticancer and weight-loss effects. In a recent study in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers found that obese adults who ate 3 servings of fat-free yogurt a day as part of a reduced-calorie diet lost 22 percent more weight and 61 percent more body fat than those who just cut calories. A plus for Greek yogurt, in particular, is that it doesn’t give you the sugar overload of what you usually find in U.S. grocery stores. To save on fat and calories, reach for a low-fat version.
What to do with it: Look for Fage Total yogurt at specialty food stores, Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe’s. A 5-ounce container costs $1.89. Try it with a drizzle of honey and a handful of walnuts or almonds. Or use Greek yogurt in our delicious Grilled Eggplant and Yogurt Dip.
Basically Greek Yogurt is whole or lowfat yogurt that has had the whey removed. The end result is thick and creamy, similiar to sour cream. It's tangy and slightly sour tasting, but you can add preserves, honey, what have you. You can get a similiar result from taking whole milk or lowfat yogurt and putting it in a coffee filter to let the whey run out.
Thanks nicejewishgirl....your explanation was much more to the point than mine!
Has anyone seen the new water with vodka beverage? It is by Smirnoff and The Federal Reserve Piano Lounge had samples the other night. I figure as a runner, it might be the best alcoholic beverage. I can't find too much info about it though. Let me know if you have seen it.
Cin Weekly had something on it. Let me see if I can find it!
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