Food inspiration, or what's for supper?
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No need to hide! You’re creative enough to make something tasty and worth the calories.1
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Tenda basmati rice (pre-cooked by Catelli, I think there is a horror store in there somewhere).
180 Cal for a miniscule 100g cooked / warmed up portion, two of them per microwavable pack.
The *kittens* are using some sort of oil to make sure it doesn't stick... which increases the calories!
Dad got half the package (180) plus 320 Cal worth of dal makhani. He was the one who requested the dal, don't blame me!!!
I got the other half pack and a meatlike which rings in at 360 Cal which is way too hight for the satiation it provides! Smothered it under 430 Cal of Shahi paneer as sauce and flavour management!
Hmmm... maybe I'll go double check the meatlike recipe, the hamster calculator has become a bit more reliable over the years and the meatlikes are not performing anywhere near their caloric weight!!!
---Skulks away with tail low given his non response to well meaning prompts for food choice improvements!--
Three meatlikes left in the fridge
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Hi Team - Am new to this group so skim reading the last few posts.
LOTS of lovely looking recipe idea's here!
I'm eating out tonight so happy to share that last night I made Smoked Chicken Strips on a Summer Salad. Nothing too fancy but yummeh as all getout
The boys all had seconds - Me, I stuck to my correct portion. WIN 
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@Yoolypr just caught your post about a "novel" chili! Is this the vehicle where I could bury the meatlikes?!?!
My other idea so far would be to use some (lower cal, 360 Cal per 400ml jar) butter chicken sauce I have.
Pretty young and good looking mom if you ask meI’m old enough to be your mother so it was worth a shot.
but hey: I'll take all the help I can get! 
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You can definitely bury the meatlikes in the chili because you brown the ground beef first. So skip that step. It freezes well too because the add ons are on the side.
Flattery will get you nowhere. Trust me I AM way old enough to be your mother.3 -
Dinner is being served in “Connies Cafe “ tonight!….chilled fresh boiled shrimp, air fryer baked potatoes with sea salt, steamed cauliflower and salad….dessert is coffee and fiber one cookie or thin biscotti!…all served on my mamas china and Rod Stewart’s oldies CD….3
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Now that sounds awesome Connie! Good plan!1
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So all you peeps who substitute spiralised veg for good, wholesome durum wheat pasta...can you really tell me spiralised courgette or spaghetti squash or other such abomination really tastes as good? Or even half as good?
I have the same visceral aversion to riced cauliflower etc.....what's wrong with plain and simple basmati?
I know you get a lot of bang for your calorie buck, but these veggie substitutions really doesn't sound appetising to me (and would downright horrify my husband). I try very hard to avoid eating anything unpalatable just because it's good for me - sometimes you need to take the calorie hit!
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@Bella_Figura …I haven’t tried spiralised squash, but spiralised courgetti is good, as long as you like courgettes! It needs wringing of all it’s moisture & then dry fried for a couple of mins only. Also, needs a strong, tasty sauce to accompany it. I do it all the time as an alternative, but it isn’t duram wheat spagetti!
Mind you, I do like cauli rice & cauli pizza base - again accompanied with strong flavour sauces / toppings
I made your some of your spicy been burgers tonight & served them with crusty ciabatta rolls & tangy lime salsa ….. absolutely delish!2 -
Bella_Figura wrote: »I know you get a lot of bang for your calorie buck, but these veggie substitutions really doesn't sound appetising to me (and would downright horrify my husband). I try very hard to avoid eating anything unpalatable just because it's good for me - sometimes you need to take the calorie hit!
Garfield my friend THIS is exactly where the game is played: the PERSONAL OPTMISATION for each and every one of us.
And not just in "general" but at each point in time.
RIGHT NOW a Kirkland nut bar was / was not worth it to me as compared to the numerous other alternatives I could have invested my 215 Calories in.
Yesterday I made the choice of having a microwavable blue menu cannelloni for 250 Cal and the day before I chose to eat nothing and save the calories for later.
Some decisions prove sub-optimal after the fact and may cascade to later eating more, or feeling as if you "wasted" calories. Some prove good! Hopefully most prove good for each of us as we make them and we move forward in as "easy" a manner as possible.
When we share various options on the forums... it is just what was worth it to us (or sometimes what we just wanted at the time which implicitly still means that it was worth it to us since we actively made the decision).
To ME having a huge pot of beetroot with loads of sauce is just as satisfying (at this point of time today; maybe not yesterday and not tomorrow) as having it with noodles. And truly even more so cauliflower (or other riced veggies) rice especially if mixed in at 33-67 or even as high as 50-50 with actual rice. I eat rice. I've eaten rice copiously. I've enjoyed rice. But really... my world does not shatter if I don't eat rice. FAR from it. It is an easy saving FOR ME. As easy as mayo which is something I have once or twice a year maybe and more often by accident (I do have rice much more often than that).
Dante doesn't feel like forgoing the olive oil that is (truth be told) an integral part of a traditionally cooked Greek Ladero (it's part of the dish's name for *kitten's* sake!: it's a Ladero!). *I* on the other hand, about 7 years ago reduced my total olive oil / any oil consumption down from approaching more than a 1l bottle a month to a single 1l bottle every 2-3 years. Can't really keep track because I now tend to toss my bottles halfway through year two given that I don't keep it in a dark temperature controlled location and (when using so little oil only as an occasional condiment) I do want what I use to be in perfect shape.
So there is no obligation to use veggies instead of pasta if it doesn't **excite** you, or at the very least leaves you relatively indifferent, to do so!
To me it often means that I can enjoy way more sauce (the part I enjoy) vs the relatively neutral aspect to ME of consuming many of the pasta options out there.
To control what I will posit as our "natural inclination to consume excess calories", a discount /savings has to take place somewhere!
--quantity is one option
--caloric density is another
--frequency is a third
We can have anything and everything!
Just not in unlimited quantities
.... and not all the time. 3 -
--quantity is one option
--caloric density is another
--frequency is a third
I do a mixture of all three of those things, but predominantly quantity and frequency are my go-to discounts, rather than caloric density. I'd rather have a little of the good stuff than a lot of the less palatable stuff.
So...every day I have real butter on my toast for breakfast, but I only have 1 slice of toast which means I can limit the butter to 10g. I don't have butter at any other meal.
I use real cold pressed extra virgin olive oil if I have bruschetta pomodoro, or if I have spaghetti aglio, olio peperoncino etc. because the flavour is irreplaceable. But I only have these meals on days when I've had a very low calorie lunch or burned an unusually high number of calories. And I limit myself to a small portion.
I choose full fat cheese/houmous/yoghurt over low fat versions. You get the picture.
But, in order to be able to 'afford' all this good stuff, I have to sacrifice other stuff. Again, my choice. So I rarely have alcohol, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, dessert. No snacking between meals, full stop. Lots of salads, soups, veggies to fill me up on a small amount of calories.
That suits me but would be torture to someone else.
Horses for courses.3 -
Definitely you need to figure out what is working for you personally. I use zoodles and veggie rice because i need to avoid carbs. I took meds (injections) for many years as a type 2 diabetic. By losing weight and cutting carbs I am off meds and the type 2 is considered controlled. The caveat is that regaining would probably send me out of control.
I would love to tuck into a bowl of pasta beautifully prepared by my Italian hubby - and occasionally I will have a small serving. I’ve discovered that carbs - for ME - trigger hunger for the rest of the day. A bowl of breakfast cereal, toast, oatmeal is almost guaranteed to drive me to overeat. Proteins tend to satiate. I dont totally avoid carbs but need to limit frequency and quantity.
Each of us has different triggers, medical issues and preferences. Do what makes your journey easier for you.4 -
Love this : we can have anything and everything!
Just not in unlimited quantities
….and not all the time!
We used to go out ( pre COVID ) for a lot of meals….now we rarely do go out….but I have lost the “ this is the last meal I will ever get “ mentality!…I have gotten pickier about what I eat and how it is prepared….I am not timid about asking how a dish is prepared or how it is cooked or what the ingredients are….( I am always nice and polite because who wants a chef preparing your meal that thinks you are a pain in the *kitten* ? )…. and I don’t feel the need to clean up my plate, I can take leftovers home or let my grandson eat it!…
Sometimes I want REAL pasta and some days I am ok with sauce on zucchini strips….it depends on how many calories I have used….
I won’t give up real butter or real cheese even if I have to eat less…other products like skim milk or low calorie salad dressings are huge calorie savers I don’t mind using….
I very seldom eat breakfast because I want those calories for a big dinner and an evening snack….
We all have to find what works best for ourselves…
And when we find that happy balance, it is a very good thing!2 -
Tonight the menfolk of the family have voted for BBQ dinner! Suits me - that means hubby cooks half the dinner
On the BBQ menu is a (purchased) Tegel Butterflied Chicken with various herbs already added and half dozen sausages (made by our local butcher using beef grown by us).
I then usually boil a few baby perla potatoes and do a summer salad. If that is not enough - I add some hard boiled eggs into the offerings.
Since the weather is nice, there's a fairly high chance we will light the outdoor firepit and eat out on the beanbags.4 -
Cue Ride of the Valkyries!
"I buried the meat-likes... I buried the meat-likes.... woohoo! I buried the meat-likes!"
They are now spaghetti sauce!
More accurately "pre-cooked microwavable beetroot nests" sauce!
And there is no culinary meat-like faux pas that can't be fixed with the correct quantity of chili garlic sauce!
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That looks surprisingly appealing!3
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Good job PAV! 👍3
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conniewilkins56 wrote: »We used to go out ( pre COVID ) for a lot of meals….now we rarely do go out….but I have lost the “ this is the last meal I will ever get “ mentality!…I have gotten pickier about what I eat and how it is prepared….I am not timid about asking how a dish is prepared or how it is cooked or what the ingredients are….( I am always nice and polite because who wants a chef preparing your meal that thinks you are a pain in the *kitten* ? )…. and I don’t feel the need to clean up my plate, I can take leftovers home or let my grandson eat it!…
Sometimes I want REAL pasta and some days I am ok with sauce on zucchini strips….it depends on how many calories I have used….
I won’t give up real butter or real cheese even if I have to eat less…other products like skim milk or low calorie salad dressings are huge calorie savers I don’t mind using….
I very seldom eat breakfast because I want those calories for a big dinner and an evening snack….
We all have to find what works best for ourselves…
And when we find that happy balance, it is a very good thing!
There's a lot of wisdom in this post Connie. I thinking losing the 'this is the last meal' mentality is really important, as is getting pickier. The two things are closely linked, in my experience. It took me a long time to realise that I didn't need to eat everything on offer just in case I missed the opportunity - there would be plenty more opportunities in future. At the same time, I realised I didn't want to waste my calories with second-rate stuff. So, as a general rule of thumb, if the food on offer is genuinely a treat (because someone's made it for me with love, such as a cake; or because I'm on holiday and this is a genuine speciality of the region, and if I miss the chance to eat it I won't get another chance for a long time; or because I'm out for a special anniversary/birthday meal etc...) then I'll eat it, savour it, enjoy it, relish it. But if it's just nothing genuinely special, I'll try to resist the temptation and wait until I get the opportunity to eat something better.
As you say, we have to find what works for us as individuals, based on our personality and preferences. Many people say they love food, but what they really mean is that they love noshing, and the quality of the food is less important than the amount. Nothing wrong with that. But, for me, a love of food means wanting food that's fresh, flavoursome, nutritious, satiating. Given a choice, I'd rather have a small portion of something fine and delicious, than a heaped plate of something mediocre. Between-meal hunger is a price I'm willing to pay for being able to enjoy a little of the good stuff when the mealtime does finally roll around.4 -
I totally agree with my “ words of wisdom “ unless I am in a binge eating downward spiral…on those days, it really doesn’t matter what I am shoving in my mouth….BUT if I heed my words of wisdom most of the time, I actually lose weight….I didn’t lose 100 plus pounds by binging every day….I am really really really doing great presently….I have to keep going!….quitting isn’t an option even when I struggle….
PAV please tell me you didn’t put that “ stuff” in your sauce because the sauce you made looks delicious!
Bella, I keep thinking about that Parmesan cheese in the green canister….I can’t eat it now lol…yesterday I bought a chunk of real Parmesan!
I have a slow cooker full of homemade vegetable beef soup for dinner tonight….
Laurie, how are you doing?3 -
Laurie, I'm still clinging to the hope that no news is good news 🤔
Yeah, I saw the news ❣️
And yes, MFP eating my homework is far from unknown!!!
Connie the meat-likes have now been thaumaturgically transformed into delicious spaghetti / general use tomato based sauce.
What "stuff" are you inquiring about?
Dad seemed to suffer a bit from the degree of garlic chili sauce (think sriracha), so I will break out 1/3 of what's left, add a little bit of farmers sausage and extra tomato and prepare it over plain rice for him.
I will have the other 2/3 over previously frozen beetroot spiral nests 😘3 -
The “ stuff “ is the stuff that looked like some kind of cupcake!…2
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thurs im going to weigh myself and start tracking! not sure if i will be able to use my right hand this week...see surgeon tomorrow...but once i get the aokay - ill be typing like mad !!!!!!!!! maybe even using capitalization again...or not
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Why YES, Connie, the delicious meat-likes, now in crumbled instead of cupcake form, are an integral part of the sauce-like concoction that I am so much enjoying on top of my beetroot spirals as I currently type this!
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We had chicken and jalapeno quesadillas for lunch and chicken marsala with wild rice pilaf and green beans for dinner, with a homemade roll.
Of course, the way dinner worked was: Me, chicken, 2 oz rice, bread roll weighed, 2 oz, thin smear real butter for another 50 cal. (But on bread, I want real butter.)
Boyfriend, chicken, 1 oz rice (he has to eat low carb, but he wanted a little) green beans, 1 small bread roll (it was a mini made from the end of the dough, half the size, so he could have it.)
Girlfriend, chicken, 4 oz rice, green beans, roll with butter.
Son, chicken breast grilled, without sauce, 4 ounces rice, a roll. (He doesn't like the marsala sauce, so I just grilled his chicken breast cutlet separately.)
Tomorrow will be really fun because I think no two of the four of us are having quite the same dinner.3 -
^^^ agreed @AlexandraFindsHerself1971 - bread without butter should be a crimes against tastebuds 😂
Bean burger in a bun for me last night…. And could be the same again tonight 😬2 -
If I'm at someone's house and they bring out margarine, I say thank you and eat it. But by and large if I want to smear butter on bread of some sort, I want real butter, and I'm willing to go without in other places to eat real butter. I think everyone has something of that sort.2
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Made burgers last night.
Realized I hadn't planned for any sides. Luckily I found some mac and cheese. So not healthy, but tasted amazing. I just controlled my portion of it.
Then forgot to put cheese on my burger so I was sad. Still ate it and enjoyed it, but I prefer cheese on my burgers. Also had a tiny bit of mayo, ketchup, and a slice of tomato.
I hadn't realized I was out of baked beans either so will grab some cans of that this weekend. Since I can only have a few varieties, I like to keep them on hand. Either for something like burgers or to have with eggs and toast.
I woke up not feeling well this morning. Hoping it is just allergies. But glad I have dinner already set (leftovers) and breakfast/lunch are simple.2
