Tastes fattening but is healthy

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lcarr417
lcarr417 Posts: 16
To start off I'm a Picky Eater... I have the a diet worse than a 6 yr old. I love Pizza, PB&J, mac & cheese, spaghetti & marinara sauce... and FRIES!! The only meat in my diet is chicken and I prefer it fried. I get tired of eating chicken most nights because theres no variety. I want to eat more things but I just cannot get myself to try most things. And to top it off, I want healthy foods that mimic the taste of these fatty foods.

*I'm looking for some ideas that you have used your self that stay around the same type of food I like. Without to much ingredients would be a plus. *

All I ask is Please don't say, "just try new things", I can't. Think of the food you hate the most, that is how I feel about most things.

Thanks!!
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Replies

  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
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    TASTE FAT! BUT SO SKINNY!

    chicken stuffed with ham n cheese.

    Ingredients
    1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese
    2 tablespoons chopped ham (sub w/turkey if desired)
    2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
    Freshly ground pepper, to taste
    4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
    1 egg white
    1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
    2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

    figured it would be good with steamed Brocolli or mashed sweet potatoes!

    Preparation
    1.Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly
    coat it with cooking spray.
    2.Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.
    3.Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast
    half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and
    place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over
    the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with
    the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
    4.Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place
    breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half
    together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. (Discard
    leftovers.)
    5.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add
    chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes.
    Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake
    until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an
    instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.
  • AnaNotBanana
    AnaNotBanana Posts: 963 Member
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    You should go to www.hungry-girl.com. She makes lots of super yummy recipes that are low in calories but still taste good. She has buffalo chicken fingers, fries, pizzas and desserts too. Sign up for the emails and you'll get ideas every day!
  • rodegghero
    rodegghero Posts: 212 Member
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    Okay I am going to give you some tips. But I will say...try new things very slowly. Go with things similar to things you like at first and be sneaky. Pureed cauliflour in mac and cheese, etc. There is a book called deceltively delicious.....

    To pretend fry things ( veggies, pickles, potatoes, chicken)

    Beat an an egg, dip item into it to coat
    then dip in bread crumbs, whole grain is better/ you can also mix some parmesean or ground walnuts into this
    drizzle with a little olive or canola oil
    Bake until crispy and cooked at 400

    Salt and pepper it as soon as it come out
    it is nearly identical to fried food
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
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    that chicken sounds awesome. What do you figure for calories on that?
  • sweetscorpio17
    sweetscorpio17 Posts: 47 Member
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    Lean Cuisine flatbread sandwiches taste fatty but aren't. Sweet potato fries are a good alternative as well.

    Also, what about oven frying your chicken. Coat the chicken in bread crumbs (no skin) and bake in the oven until cooked and crispy.

    For your spaghetti, make your own sauce. Add vegetables to your sauce and let it cook for at least an hour. I take a can of ragu, add chopped tomatoes, a whole onion, a whole zuchinni and 2 carrots. If you are not a veggie fan take a food processor or blender or just chop them very fine. They add amazing flavor. Cook them down and you wont even see them.

    Just cut back your portion size on your favorite food and eat them with healthy foods, like fruit or veggies or a salad.
  • hottamolly00
    hottamolly00 Posts: 334 Member
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    I am SO YOU! I feel the same way about a lot of foods.. pickles, fish, and seafood in particular.

    I simply eat tasty foods and practice portion control, and it seems to be working just fine for me. :)
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
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    Okay I am going to give you some tips. But I will say...try new things very slowly. Go with things similar to things you like at first and be sneaky. Pureed cauliflour in mac and cheese, etc. There is a book called deceltively delicious.....

    To pretend fry things ( veggies, pickles, potatoes, chicken)

    Beat an an egg, dip item into it to coat
    then dip in bread crumbs, whole grain is better/ you can also mix some parmesean or ground walnuts into this
    drizzle with a little olive or canola oil
    Bake until crispy and cooked at 400

    Salt and pepper it as soon as it come out



    I use progresso italian flavor panko bread crumbs and butter milk instead of eggwhites. I marinate the breasts in seasoned buttermilk for at least a day.
    it is nearly identical to fried food
  • RachelHancock
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    bump

    I want the same thing for some upcoming lonely night next week :)
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    I am a peanut butter FANATIC!!! You can have this, but to try to limit the calories, use a low cal/high fiber wheat bread, measure out 2 tablespoons peanut butter, and use a sugar free or low sugar jelly. You can also omit the jelly all together and put thin slices of peanut butter on the sandwich!! Icould never give up my pb&j!
    Also for chicken, you can try baking chicken breasts plain, no breading or anything, then grind up in food processor or grind up and add a teaspoon or so of smart balance mayo ( taste like regular but has some healthy omega fats ) and make a wrap using lettuce or high fiber/low cal wrap. you can also omit the may all together and spread one wedge of laughing cow light cheese on it.

    Hope this helps!!!
  • rockabyesarojane
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    BUMP
  • perrytyra
    perrytyra Posts: 357 Member
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    A baked potato (get the good ones) with toppings. I just had a baked potato at church on Sunday with some cheese and broccoli and sour cream. I tried to keep the toppings to a minimum. I didn't use any butter. Those were some darn good potatoes!

    You could use light sour cream on them.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Lean Cuisine flatbread sandwiches taste fatty but aren't. Sweet potato fries are a good alternative as well.

    Also, what about oven frying your chicken. Coat the chicken in bread crumbs (no skin) and bake in the oven until cooked and crispy.

    For your spaghetti, make your own sauce. Add vegetables to your sauce and let it cook for at least an hour. I take a can of ragu, add chopped tomatoes, a whole onion, a whole zuchinni and 2 carrots. If you are not a veggie fan take a food processor or blender or just chop them very fine. They add amazing flavor. Cook them down and you wont even see them.

    Just cut back your portion size on your favorite food and eat them with healthy foods, like fruit or veggies or a salad.

    Lean cuisines are not healthy. Low cal does not mean healthy.

    And for the pasta sauce you can pre-cook the veggies, puree them and add to the sauce, you won't even know they are there. You can do this with pizza sauce and soups as well.
  • Duliebob
    Duliebob Posts: 12
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    I was a picky eater...but then with some support and pushing from some friends, I have expanded the foods I like to the point that I can barely stand the smell of fried food.

    It took a LOT of encouragement, and a little courage, but now I would rather have a stir-fry or curry dish than a piece of fried chicken. There is so much flavor mingling involved.

    I say to do as the song/poem "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" says, "Do one thing everyday that scares you."
  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
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    that chicken sounds awesome. What do you figure for calories on that?

    it's 236!!

    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/ham_cheese_stuffed_chicken_breasts.html
  • wewon
    wewon Posts: 838 Member
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    To start off I'm a Picky Eater... I have the a diet worse than a 6 yr old. I love Pizza, PB&J, mac & cheese, spaghetti & marinara sauce... and FRIES!! The only meat in my diet is chicken and I prefer it fried. I get tired of eating chicken most nights because theres no variety. I want to eat more things but I just cannot get myself to try most things. And to top it off, I want healthy foods that mimic the taste of these fatty foods.

    *I'm looking for some ideas that you have used your self that stay around the same type of food I like. Without to much ingredients would be a plus. *

    All I ask is Please don't say, "just try new things", I can't. Think of the food you hate the most, that is how I feel about most things.

    Thanks!!

    Just looking at the brief list, the problem isn't that you eat really "bad" things, it's just that you have a tendency to have in prepared in bad ways.

    Mac-n-cheese: The cheese part is the problem. Maybe cut this back to 1/week.
    Pasta Marinara: Actually Marinara sauce is pretty good for you. Low in fat, and concentration in tomato goodness.
    Fries: Deep fried is bad. Try tossing the fries in olive oil and baking at 425 for 40 minutes. Less fat.
    Pizza: Hard to defend. Cut back on the cheese and use this as an opportunity to expand your palet
    Chicken: tons of opportunity

    Other than that, you really have to grow up a bit and start eating a wider variety of foods or simply get used to your limited options.
  • lcarr417
    lcarr417 Posts: 16
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    i appreciate the advice on the food, but do not tell me to grow up. I've been feeding myself for over 10 years and I have tried tons of new foods with out success.
  • jolarocknrolla
    jolarocknrolla Posts: 236 Member
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    Haw about whole-whear pita-pizzas?

    2 whole Wheat Pitas
    1 large tomato sliced very very thin
    1 red onion slices very thin
    drizzle garlic infused olive oil
    fresh basil (torn) & dried oregano
    1/2 tsp asagio cheese
    1/3 cup low-fat mozerella

    Preheat oven to 400, put your pitas on an ungreased cookie-sheet. drizzle w/ olive oil & asagio cheese, layer on tomato slices, onion (you can also add sliced black olives if you like them), basil & oregano, and cheese. bake until cheese starts to melt.

    The whole wheat pitas toast up crunchy and delicious with very little fat. It's a quick and healthy was to have pizza without the grease :) Plus the asagio is a great way to add a lot of cheese flavor while using very little cheese.

    good luck!
  • PlanetVelma
    PlanetVelma Posts: 1,231 Member
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    i appreciate the advice on the food, but do not tell me to grow up. I've been feeding myself for over 10 years and I have tried tons of new foods with out success.

    I was not allowed to be picky growing up. If we didn't eat what was on the table we didn't eat, period.

    Honestly, I think you're going to have a tough time finding "healthy foods that mimic the taste of these fatty foods". Perhaps you should consider talking to a nutritionist and your doctor. Perhaps talking about WHY you don't like certain types of food will help.

    In the interium, try ground turkey (that's pretty close to chicken) - make your own meatballs, make meatloaf out of it, make your salad w/ oven baked chicken, etc.... Consider taking a cooking class to expand your food horizons. Perhaps if you work on preparing your own food that will give you motivation to try different stuff.

    Btw - I used to despise oatmeal because my dad forced me to eat Malt o Meal once but now i really enjoy it as an adult, so your palette does change as you age....
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I make potato wedges by chopping up potatoes, spraying them with 1 cal cooking spray, then roasting them. They come out half way between fries and wedges, and are great with ketchup. Keep the skins on for fibre and vitamins.
  • Noz7
    Noz7 Posts: 59 Member
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    Enchiladas: boiled chicken (flavours in water) flaked, put in a flat bread roll with whatever you can stomach but traditionally red kidney beans, little sauce. covered with tomato sauce (not ketchup) and some cheese.
    Eat pasta with as low a Glycemic Index as you can find; tomato based sauces are good and a little oil makes the lycopene bioavailable so is good - but add it after you've finished cooking it.
    I love salad with fruit in it: peaches with mint and/or cos lettuce and/or coriander. A peach is 90 calories and if I just eat it, I don't feel full but if I add lettuce, much more filling. Before I started losing I used to make a sweet white wine vinegrette but now I carefully (oh so carefully) add the smallest amount of oil (a teaspoon or less) with as much lemon juice as I want.
    The thing to note about oil is that you actually need some of it to help you lose weight - just heaps less than you'd normally eat.
    Protein and oil help make you feel full.

    As for the people who've told you to grow up, how annoying. Just ignore them and try what you can.