"Diet" Foods Non-Dieters Will Eat

Options
2»

Replies

  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    Regular muffin tins. for the mini ones i think they would be too little to get the actual flavor of whatever was in it. So if you were doing something with mini muffin tins you would have to have a filling that was closer to a puree rather than having chunks of food in it so that you can get all the flavor. Which wouldnt be bad i dont think. What did you put in it?

    They were basically taco canapes -- line the muffin tins with the pasta, fill with a little bit of seasoned taco meat and cheese, bake, serve with salsa and sour cream. I liked them, but they were definitely Not a Hit with the home crowd.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    Oh! The "wheat thins" suggestion reminded me of another. Like I said, the natives LOVE their chips. I have found that baked potato chips are hit or miss with them; sometimes they'll eat them, sometimes they won't, and they don't seem to feel that they scratch that "potato chip" itch, really. However, I bought myself some baked tortilla Scoops (because they're baked) and was surprised when the natives ate them just as willingly as they normally eat regular tortilla chips. In fact, they seemed to like them better than tortilla chips, just because they're shaped like scoops.

    I also tried the Terra vegetable chips just on a whim, for myself, and now my younger daughter begs for those. I have to be careful about keeping those in the house, for myself -- I can eat them by the bag. But they're a nutritionally broader alternative to potato chips, even if they're not really lower-calorie, and they're also surprisingly low sodium -- they beat potato chips hands-down and going away in that category.
  • afteil
    afteil Posts: 162 Member
    Options
    maybe my family is just really easy to please lol. Although I have made them for others as well and they seemed to be pretty well accepted.
  • NikkisNewStart
    NikkisNewStart Posts: 1,100 Member
    Options
    Okkkkk... can you clarify please? lol
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    I don't have a name for them but we have started eating rice and veggies in a whole wheat wrap or taco shell

    put rice or quinoa into the shell (which I fry in just a tablespoon of olive oil) like you would taco meat, and then place your choice of steamed or fried vegies on top of the rice. I love the great value stir fry bags. I also pour a little soy sauce or teriyaki if you want lower salt over it. :) Of course you could always add chicken if you have serious meat eaters in your family.

    I love your topic here and liked your finds. I hope you get a lot more ideas :)) Thanks!

    So, kind of a taco variation? I've not tried that one. Another is the fish taco. The natives aren't big on fish (sigh), but I myself LOVE a fish taco made with seasoned grilled or baked fish.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    Okkkkk... can you clarify please? lol

    I'd love to know what things you tried for yourself, specifically as lower-calorie or healthy alternatives, that your family (the non-weight-watching or non-concerned-with-improving-their-eating-habits members of your household) took to without prompting just because it was SO GOOD -- like the butter lettuce I mentioned in my initial post.
  • NikkisNewStart
    NikkisNewStart Posts: 1,100 Member
    Options
    ooo speaking of chips... try Xochitl (pronounced so-cheel)... they are sodium free thin, crispy tortilla chips like you have at Mexican restaurants... divine and you get that restaurant feeling when you dip, without the guilt
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    maybe my family is just really easy to please lol. Although I have made them for others as well and they seemed to be pretty well accepted.

    Sometimes I think I live with the world's pickiest eaters :grumble: Something they loved last week, they'll hate this week. Oh well, they have other, more lovable qualities :ohwell:
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    ooo speaking of chips... try Xochitl (pronounced so-cheel)... they are sodium free thin, crispy tortilla chips like you have at Mexican restaurants... divine and you get that restaurant feeling when you dip, without the guilt

    Ooooh ooh ooh! I MUST try these! I love tortilla chips, and that whole relationship is just SO bad for me! Thanks!
  • NikkisNewStart
    NikkisNewStart Posts: 1,100 Member
    Options
    k I probably can't offer much help... we didn't change any of the foods we love to eat... we just changed ingredients and found ways to make them healthier, which inherently improved the taste... hope others have suggestions that help. Like switching to ground white turkey from beef, cooking with more spices (allowed us to get away from butter and fattening creamy sauces)... Philly makes a 14 calorie popsicle called D-Lites that my kids love, does that count? lol
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
    Options
    I haven't really "changed" the way the family eats but I do make it a little healthier. Instead of cooking with whole milk I use 1% and instead of regular butter I use unsalted when I cook for them. Instead of chip dip I mix salsa and low fat sour cream for the kids and they LOVE wraps with guacamole or hummus. I sub their chips with melba toast and they don't complain. My 7 year old actually ASK for hummus with the toast for her snack after school. Instead of buying entire boxes of cookies I now buy them the 100 calorie snack bags and they know when the bag is empty that's it for the day. We have always ate ground chuck so now I just buy extra lean instead. Instead of soda they drink crystal light (even my 3 year old boys like to put their own flavor pack in their water).
  • NikkisNewStart
    NikkisNewStart Posts: 1,100 Member
    Options
    I was on the verge of going to a Mexican restaurant to binge and went to the store instead... lol Xochitl.com. They are gluten and sodium free. I bought a fresh salsa and it was SO good. Just enough crisp and the salsa had enough flavor that it didn't really matter what the carrier was... haha
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    k I probably can't offer much help... we didn't change any of the foods we love to eat... we just changed ingredients and found ways to make them healthier, which inherently improved the taste... hope others have suggestions that help. Like switching to ground white turkey from beef, cooking with more spices (allowed us to get away from butter and fattening creamy sauces)... Philly makes a 14 calorie popsicle called D-Lites that my kids love, does that count? lol

    A FOURTEEN CALORIE POPSICLE? Yeah, that def. counts!

    I'm also all for switching out ingredients to make recipes healthier, but I thought this topic was something a little sideways from that.
  • beccaleathers
    beccaleathers Posts: 14
    Options
    Yeah, except it's more Asian than Mexican I guess :) I think I kind of sounded confusing, I fry the shell not the rice :) I have the pickiest eater ever and she will eat it. She doesn't love it or ask for it but she'll eat it and that is a feet!
  • sjmartinez
    sjmartinez Posts: 25
    Options
    I agree with one of the above posters, in my experience weight literally melted off of me without even trying when I started just cooking with more whole foods at home. I rarely buy anything that comes in a box or can. I buy primarily organic as well because it comes without the toxins of pesticides and hormones that can wreak havoc on your endocrine system. Because of my experience i am a big believer that if you get rid of the toxins in your home you will share my experience.
    Also the above poster is correct in stating that boxed foods, claiming to be low cal, reduced fat etc. are loaded with fake stuff! Fake stuff speak a foreign language and your body has no idea what to do with it! So guess what it gets immediately stored in your fat cells, it can't process it because it doesn't know what it is!
  • sjmartinez
    sjmartinez Posts: 25
    Options
    I liked some of the ideas on here, I still only use whole food ingredients. Here are some of the things that i have substituted:

    Salt: I use sea salt-- I like Mediterranean
    Butter: I use organic real unsalted butter, there's no fake stuff in it
    Milk- organic 1%
    Season Salt- i experiment with different herbs..we used to use season salt in our burgers but, fresh cut chives with a bit of dijon mustard tastes fantastic without all of the extra sodium
    vegetable oil- if i am doing stir fry I use unrefined coconut oil it adds a yummy bonus flavor, for deep frying i use EVOO.

    These are some simple changes I have made that my family doesn't even notice. We also make our own soda and popsicles out of fresh fruits!
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    I haven't really "changed" the way the family eats but I do make it a little healthier. Instead of cooking with whole milk I use 1% and instead of regular butter I use unsalted when I cook for them. Instead of chip dip I mix salsa and low fat sour cream for the kids and they LOVE wraps with guacamole or hummus. I sub their chips with melba toast and they don't complain. My 7 year old actually ASK for hummus with the toast for her snack after school. Instead of buying entire boxes of cookies I now buy them the 100 calorie snack bags and they know when the bag is empty that's it for the day. We have always ate ground chuck so now I just buy extra lean instead. Instead of soda they drink crystal light (even my 3 year old boys like to put their own flavor pack in their water).

    Yeah, I have also made a lot of those "invisible" type changes -- regular milk for organic, margarine for butter, regular meat for organic, regular applesauce/spaghetti sauce/ketchup for organic/no-sugar-added varieties. But what I'm interested in here are the changes that you've made where your family knows full well that what they're eating is DIFFERENT, and they like it.

    The snack note reminded me of something else my family knows I've changed, that they like. We've given up microwave popcorn for home-made on the stove popcorn. It is SO MUCH BETTER, and it doesn't even really need butter or flavorings. Supposedly it's SUPER-good popped in coconut oil, but I haven't tried that. And they aren't getting diacetyl -- the chemical flavoring that makes microwave popcorn taste buttery, but that also causes terrible lung disease (bronchiolitis obliterans).

    Just FYI, organic unsalted butter is the only unsalted I would use. Other unsalted butters replace the salt with diacetyl to enhance the flavor. So for non-organic, I use regular salted butter.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    I liked some of the ideas on here, I still only use whole food ingredients. Here are some of the things that i have substituted:

    Salt: I use sea salt-- I like Mediterranean
    Butter: I use organic real unsalted butter, there's no fake stuff in it
    Milk- organic 1%
    Season Salt- i experiment with different herbs..we used to use season salt in our burgers but, fresh cut chives with a bit of dijon mustard tastes fantastic without all of the extra sodium
    vegetable oil- if i am doing stir fry I use unrefined coconut oil it adds a yummy bonus flavor, for deep frying i use EVOO.

    These are some simple changes I have made that my family doesn't even notice. We also make our own soda and popsicles out of fresh fruits!

    I need to look up EVOO.

    We tried making our own root beer once, but it was kind of disappointing.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    Yeah, except it's more Asian than Mexican I guess :) I think I kind of sounded confusing, I fry the shell not the rice :) I have the pickiest eater ever and she will eat it. She doesn't love it or ask for it but she'll eat it and that is a feet!

    I hear you there! My 7-yo is the least picky eater in our house. That's bad!
  • kristy_estes21
    kristy_estes21 Posts: 434 Member
    Options
    I agree with the above poster... my first thought of response was "what is diet food?" We buy lean meats, fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, almonds, olive oil, and tons of spices. I try to avoid processed stuff bc if it is processed and advertised as "healthy" it has probably tons of fake food ingredients added for fillers and flavors. No thanks... lol How does your family currently eat (ie specific snacks and meals) and possibly we can offer ways to make those same dishes healthier.



    I agree 100%!! Sounds like you eat like we do....as "clean" as possible. I love the recipes in Oxygen magazines. My husband loves them too! The Curry Peanut Soup was his favorite so far.

Categories