Trying to convince myself this is a good, yummy lunch..... :(
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Good for you for trying to eat healthy and low calorie! Good for you for preparing your lunch to bring with you!
If you don't find it palate pleasing, keep trying. Try more yummy stuff and a good dressing. Maybe a sliced hard-boiled egg, turkey or salami or other meats you like on salad? Bell pepper, green onions, cucumber, garbanzo beans and raisins can all jazz it up. Some Zitos Lite Balsamic Dressing? Make it fun and yummy and it can be very satisfying.
I'm dubious about the 41 grams of protein you listed. Double-check that. Enough protein will help you stay full after lunch.0 -
For 280 calories you could have a 6 inch turkey sub from subway.0
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I eat the iceberg lettuce, too. It's not nutritious. Mixed greens would be healthier, but they're bitter and when I try to eat them, I never finish (even if I'm hungry.) I should try half ice berg and half mixed.
Today I had a salad:
117g. Iceberg lettuce
1 Hard boiled egg (forgot to weigh)
34g Fat-free thousand island
42g Chicken and 14g mozzarella cheese (cheese melted on top of hot chicken and set on top of the rest after mixing)
Total calories:
222
Total calories consumed after cat stole part of it while I spent five seconds getting my calcium:
Unsure
It wasn't the healthiest lunch, but it was very yummy. I also worked most of the calories off fighting to keep the cat away.
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There are so many delicious nutrient dense foods out there-- there's no reason to make yourself eat something you don't like.
I like to make myself soup on Sunday and put it in individual containers for the week-- my go-to at the moment has potatoes, turkey sausage, and kale in a creamy base. It's really good. Or for this week I did baked roll-ups with chicken breast, deli turkey, goat cheese, asparagus, and red pepper. There are tons of options-- set yourself up for success by packing food that you'll want to eat.0 -
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squirrelone wrote: »
It tastes bitter to me. I'm not saying it's bad and that other people can't like it. I'm saying that I don't. I don't know if I've had baby leaf, specifically, FRESH or not.
If you taste sweetness, that's great for you. I wish I did.
I'm not sure why some people can like something and others don't. Never thought about the how's and whys before. It's an interesting idea!
You cannot argue taste, though, lol. Everyone is different. 0 -
My salad has tuna or chicken as my meat. I do sunflower seeds instead of croutons. I just don't like them, never have. Then I add shredded carrots, cucumbers, red onions, peppers sometimes, and a hard boiled egg. It usually fills me up for several hours, and I love it =].
But I agree, if you don't like salad, don't eat it. It's not worth making yourself miserable. It's important to eat good food that you enjoy. I would find something else to eat, as well...0 -
Some of the best for you greens are definitely bitter. You'll just need to get them younger.
Dandelion greens are excellent as well.0 -
I'm trying to convince myself that this is a good, palate-pleasing, satisfying lunch.... I'm trying.... 7 ounces of iceberg lettuce, 14 grams of croutons, 28 grams of low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese, and 7 grams of fake bacon bits, with a side of 112 grams of chunk light tuna in water.
Equals 308 calories, comprised of 19 grams of carbs, 10 grams of fat, 41 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and 940 grams of sodium. To be washed down with Crystal Light, which is included in said nutritional data.
In the meantime, someone brought in a slew of bagels to the office, which looks tempting.
Meh, I would have made it with spinach or mixed baby greens, added beans, added red bell pepper, corn, green onion, Israel or pearl couscous or orzo and omitted the croutons and the cheese.
I hope you made it through lunch. Even if you did cave for a bagel I hope you logged it.
Edit: I would have changed out the tuna for chicken as well.0 -
It has low fat cheese in it? Sorry, can't help you there. If I were eating rubber for lunch and bagels were flying around I would feel bad too.0
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I wouldn't ditch the iceburg, but it wouldn't be the primary lettuce. I'd mix it up with some spicier greens and romaine, maybe even some bok choi. shredded carrots are nice. diced apples, red onion & feta is a very nice salad combination. seasoned chickpeas (yermz!) and maybe not even any dressing would be necessary.
You're right to doubt this salad, but it's only because you're just getting the hang of it. Salad is SO MUCH MORE than you know (yet!)
Also, don't forget medeterranean salads: cous cous, bulger wheat, quinoa, rice, olives onions, feta, spinach, almonds... no lettuce! fava beans, lemon juice, pomegranate seeds, parsley, cilantro, black beans...
carrot salads, modified coleslaws, swapping one thing out for another THERE IS NO LIMIT
enjoy your lunch! even if you didn't today.... soon, you will!0 -
I think if you have to create a post on whether or not your lunch is appetizing enough to eat you may want to question your eating choices.
Ultimately, if you want to maintain your new lifestyle you'll want to pick things that you'll want to eat and stick with.
Personally for salads I wouldn't add croutons but other veggies like carrots, onion, tomatoes, pepperocinni peppers, balsamic, etc.-1 -
rainbowbow wrote: »I think if you have to create a post on whether or not your lunch is appetizing enough to eat you may want to question your eating choices.
Ultimately, if you want to maintain your new lifestyle you'll want to pick things that you'll want to eat and stick with.
Personally for salads I wouldn't add croutons but other veggies like carrots, onion, tomatoes, pepperocinni peppers, balsamic, etc.
lol. that's the truth Truth.
*liked*0 -
squirrelone wrote: »
It tastes bitter to me. I'm not saying it's bad and that other people can't like it. I'm saying that I don't. I don't know if I've had baby leaf, specifically, FRESH or not.
If you taste sweetness, that's great for you. I wish I did.
I'm not sure why some people can like something and others don't. Never thought about the how's and whys before. It's an interesting idea!
You cannot argue taste, though, lol. Everyone is different.
I wish I had saved it but I didn't, but I read an article recently about how differently people perceive tastes. One of the ideas being floated was that picky eaters are much more sensitive to bitter flavor, and so things that might not taste bitter to other people will taste that way to them. I thought it was interesting.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »I think if you have to create a post on whether or not your lunch is appetizing enough to eat you may want to question your eating choices.
Ultimately, if you want to maintain your new lifestyle you'll want to pick things that you'll want to eat and stick with.
Personally for salads I wouldn't add croutons but other veggies like carrots, onion, tomatoes, pepperocinni peppers, balsamic, etc.
It is absolutely unacceptable to flag my post as spam. Truly makes me want to never ever go back on the forums whatsoever.
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That is about the most boring salad ever!! First off, ditch the iceburg. It has no nutritional value. None. Get romaine or spinach or something with more taste and value!
Also, skip the croutons. Boring empty calories. Replace with beans or something- black beans, chickpeas, etc.
What I LOVE doing with my salads is putting the previous night's dinner over them. So if I made Mexican Salsa Chicken, sloppy joes, pulled pork, asian sesame chicken, etc. in the crockpot or something then I have a serving of that to heat up and pour over my salad. Then I add cukes, tomatoes, orange, yellow and red peppers and carrots to my heart's content. Makes for the most delicious salad ever that actually tastes like a meal and most of the time doesn't need dressing. Hell, you can even take cheeseburger or meatloaf or salmon....Pick a main dish and then "saladize" it instead of carbing it with bread and a starchy side.
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That's part of the problem.... I really don't like most vegetables, especially not fresh. The croutons, shredded cheese and bacon bits are about all I can stand in a salad - I don't even like any salad dressings. Can't stand tomatoes, peppers, carrots, spinach, etc. - I guess those are all acquired tastes that I never got. (It didn't help that my mom could make any food taste bad, and I am not kidding... even after my dad had a major stroke and couldn't move half his body, Thanksgiving was the one meal of the year mom wasn't allowed to ruin... ) But I digress. Trying to convince myself this is good & yummy.... and the fact that I two-and-a-half hours later, I was hungry again... is a challenge. Even the tuna was plain today (straight out of the can), although I do like a little bit of mayo or Miracle whip when I have it.
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Ok this is going to make your life hard. I would actually work on THIS before anything else. Try different ways of preparing veggies until you find something you like.
Tuna out of the can is nasty - I love to mix it with avocado/garlic/lemon - kind of like guac with tuna. It's HEALTHY fat to mix in instead of the mayo and tastes so much better. I also love mixing tuna with dill pickle relish for the salty taste mmmmm
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Why not do a load of roasted veggies and then either eat them hot/cold if you don't like salad?
Chop up some vegetables that you like, e.g. carrots, beetroot, red onion, peppers, butternut squash, courgette, aubergine, cherry tomatoes, fennel, etc etc
Place on a tray with a little oil (I really like coconut oil at the moment as it makes it sweet). Add some salt, pepper and any flavourings you fancy, e.g. paprika, garlic, mixed herbs, chilli...
Then roast for 30 - 45 minutes, depending on what you ahve got on there!!
I sometimes add in some chicken thighs to roast at the same time if I fancy some extra protein.... How you serve it is then up to you.... add some meat.... or add some carbs like cous cous, bulgar wheat... add some greens like spinach etc....
As everyone said.... food is for enjoying!! If you deprive yourself on a diet you will never stick to it!! Find the low calorie option you enjoy!!
Luckily I love all food - so not deprivation here!!!0 -
I'm trying to convince myself that this is a good, palate-pleasing, satisfying lunch.... I'm trying.... 7 ounces of iceberg lettuce, 14 grams of croutons, 28 grams of low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese, and 7 grams of fake bacon bits, with a side of 112 grams of chunk light tuna in water.
Equals 308 calories, comprised of 19 grams of carbs, 10 grams of fat, 41 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and 940 grams of sodium. To be washed down with Crystal Light, which is included in said nutritional data.
In the meantime, someone brought in a slew of bagels to the office, which looks tempting.
Not sure why you need to convince yourself unless it's simple not appealing to you.
Here's a few things I might change up for myself. I'd drop the iceburg and go for dark greens such as romaine lettuce, spinach or do a mix of the two. I might brighten it up by adding in some peppers, particular red, but even orange, yellow and green would make it pop for eye appeal. We eat what appeals to our eyes, if a dish is mushy and blah colored sometimes we might eat it anyway but don't feel satisfied and our bodies probably aren't the happiest when there are so many naturally beautiful colored foods out there.
If you like tuna, that's fine, to switch it up from time to time you could add some chicken chunks, and I agree if you're adding bacon, go for the real bacon bits or tear a strip of bacon up and toss it in. Fake bacon....just chemicals...nah!
I don't know about the croutons... do you love them? If you're looking for crunch you could go with fresh crunchy bean sprouts, chinese noodles (just be careful on the amount) or some cheese chunks for protein.
tuna on the side? With mayo or just dry?
I'm wondering if you're stuck in the 'diet' mode? Your meal sounds like something I would have eaten back in my 'I'm on a diet today' days.
Nothing particularly wrong with any of the foods you've chosen (um, except iceberg lettuce, no real nutritional value...but if you're not yet used to dark green..maybe you can get used to it by mixing up iceberg with them?)..it just seems the topic of your thread and the food combo that you might be feeling a bit like you're having to eat a certain way to lose weight etc.
Make sense? I imagine you'll get all sorts of great ideas in response and perhaps some not so great.... you can always ignore those. lol
Eating a meal should be enjoyable...colorful, healthy, make you feel good, nutritious, keep you energized, not make you feel guilty, need a nap after or wish you could eat 'real food'.
Oh...here's yet another idea.... you could also turn your lunch up above into a wrap. A piece of green with tuna salad (made with a bit of mayo, bacon bits etc) anything else you'd like to include in the wrap and roll it up like a burrito and there's a much more fun lunch and something different than a salad with dry tuna on the side.
Wraps can also be in Pita pockets, flat bread, tortillas, all depending of course on your chosen cal allotment for the day. Your 300 whatever it was total calories count for that meal... seems low unless you're trying to eat under 1200 which isn't something that will make your body happy.
Good luck enjoying and prepping your meals!:)
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GiveMeCoffee wrote: »Sorry that salad looks sad. Eat things you enjoy you should not have to convince yourself that something is good.
lol0 -
Stir fry!! The night before or morning depending on the work schedule. You mentioned you don't like raw veggies tossing in some chicken, seasoning, all the veggies and crunchies you hate fresh will give it a completely different taste in a stir fry.That's part of the problem.... I really don't like most vegetables, especially not fresh. The croutons, shredded cheese and bacon bits are about all I can stand in a salad - I don't even like any salad dressings. Can't stand tomatoes, peppers, carrots, spinach, etc. - I guess those are all acquired tastes that I never got. (It didn't help that my mom could make any food taste bad, and I am not kidding... even after my dad had a major stroke and couldn't move half his body, Thanksgiving was the one meal of the year mom wasn't allowed to ruin... ) But I digress. Trying to convince myself this is good & yummy.... and the fact that I two-and-a-half hours later, I was hungry again... is a challenge. Even the tuna was plain today (straight out of the can), although I do like a little bit of mayo or Miracle whip when I have it.
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It makes me sad when I see posts where ppl say they hate veggies, or all fruits etc.
I'm no where close to trying ALL the veggies or fruit that grow out there... so if I find something I enjoy I eat it. But I also try new ones because it's just fun to have a variety for your palate!
Never feel you have to eat from a small number of foods... it's simply not going to work to do whatever your goal on MFP is, lose, gain, maintain, bulk. So many wonderful foods to chose from and so many ways to prep them, hot, cold, .... Tons of ideas, I bet you've gotten a load of them on this thread alone!
Please understand I'm not just speaking strictly to you on the 'hating most veggies/fruits', it's amazing how many ppl come on MFP and say they can't lose weight. They share they don't eat much, hate every veggie, ever fruit and then ask what they should do. LOL
Hard to know what to say to that... Kids, they don't have the same palate as adults, it's not developed yet... but as adults, we're grown up, we can face trying out new foods, we actually might enjoy them now and wonder why we ever thought we hated them in the past.
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That's part of the problem.... I really don't like most vegetables, especially not fresh. The croutons, shredded cheese and bacon bits are about all I can stand in a salad - I don't even like any salad dressings. Can't stand tomatoes, peppers, carrots, spinach, etc. - I guess those are all acquired tastes that I never got. (It didn't help that my mom could make any food taste bad, and I am not kidding... even after my dad had a major stroke and couldn't move half his body, Thanksgiving was the one meal of the year mom wasn't allowed to ruin... ) But I digress. Trying to convince myself this is good & yummy.... and the fact that I two-and-a-half hours later, I was hungry again... is a challenge. Even the tuna was plain today (straight out of the can), although I do like a little bit of mayo or Miracle whip when I have it.
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Maybe instead of salads you could try incorporating green smoothies and cooked vegetables into your diet? A thermos of green smoothie will incorporate 2-3 cups of dark leafy greens with fruit. And roasted vegetables are a completely different animal from raw or boiled (which is how many people grew up eating them). Pretty much anything tossed in a bit of olive oil, roasted and drizzled with a bit of maple syrup towards the end will be delicious (Brussels Sprouts, carrots, beets, etc...).
Another good way to get veggies in your diet is to make soup rather than salad, especially this time of year. Plus soup is very filling.0 -
I wouldn't like that either, and I love salads. I usually go with baby spinach, feta, sundried tomatoes, other veggies like green peppers and green onions, an egg or two depending where I am for calories and fat for the day, and then I add either some grilled chicken and real bacon that I cook in the oven or some ham. I also found this really great dressing at Trader Joe's, and I drizzle a tablespoon of that over the top. This is regular dressing too. I'm sorry, but I can't handle the reduced fat or fat free dressings. In fact, I don't eat reduced fat or fat free anything to be honest. There is no need to eat a plain boring salad. Switch it up. I've eaten salads like mine for months, and have lost 50 pounds. You don't have to deprive yourself to lose weight. And you don't even have to eat salads at all if you don't like them. Find something you do like. Experiment. It will help you stick to healthier eating long term. If you're not happy with what you're eating, you likely won't stick with it. This shouldn't feel like a punishment.0
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I like a salad full of veggies and full fat dressing paired with 1/2 sandwich. Volume.0
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Do you remember where you read it?ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »squirrelone wrote: »
It tastes bitter to me. I'm not saying it's bad and that other people can't like it. I'm saying that I don't. I don't know if I've had baby leaf, specifically, FRESH or not.
If you taste sweetness, that's great for you. I wish I did.
I'm not sure why some people can like something and others don't. Never thought about the how's and whys before. It's an interesting idea!
You cannot argue taste, though, lol. Everyone is different.
I wish I had saved it but I didn't, but I read an article recently about how differently people perceive tastes. One of the ideas being floated was that picky eaters are much more sensitive to bitter flavor, and so things that might not taste bitter to other people will taste that way to them. I thought it was interesting.
I am what most would call a "picky eater." I try so hard to like foods that I don't like, but (shocker) have little success. Always attributed it to being raised on total crap, but maybe I'm Bitterness-Challenged.
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I love salads for lunch! The only thing I would have changed is instead of croutons, I would add some beans. The protein and fiber in them tend to keep me fuller longer than croutons. I would take your salad over bagels any day!
Right. Croutons don't get me very far. Also, ice burg is yuck and boring. Annnnd, you could put the tuna IN the salad to give it some life. There are other vegetables in the world you can add as well. Oh, and a tablespoon of real crumbled bacon is like 35-40 calories.0 -
skahshiriki wrote: »There's so many people here that are discouraging you from eating healthy. Of course, you should eat healthy, and it isn't wrong to enjoy it too. Iceburg lettuce isn't that good though, I'll agree. Maybe spinach next time? Possibly romaine? Add some chicken? Balsamic vinaigrette is a delicious addition to salad.
I haven't seen anyone discourage the OP from eating healthy. I have seen them discourage the OP from eating nutritionally void and tasteless calories which the OP clearly is not enjoying. How does it help to force yourself to eat something you don't like, and which also does not have the nutrition you need? Do you really feel that's how we should eat? That it's healthy?
I love salad, and eat it often, but I wouldn't eat what the OP posted either.
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Thanks for all the good ideas here.... now I know exactly what I am having for lunch tomorrow... a burger and whiskey. Screw that salad....0
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Do you remember where you read it?ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »squirrelone wrote: »
It tastes bitter to me. I'm not saying it's bad and that other people can't like it. I'm saying that I don't. I don't know if I've had baby leaf, specifically, FRESH or not.
If you taste sweetness, that's great for you. I wish I did.
I'm not sure why some people can like something and others don't. Never thought about the how's and whys before. It's an interesting idea!
You cannot argue taste, though, lol. Everyone is different.
I wish I had saved it but I didn't, but I read an article recently about how differently people perceive tastes. One of the ideas being floated was that picky eaters are much more sensitive to bitter flavor, and so things that might not taste bitter to other people will taste that way to them. I thought it was interesting.
I am what most would call a "picky eater." I try so hard to like foods that I don't like, but (shocker) have little success. Always attributed it to being raised on total crap, but maybe I'm Bitterness-Challenged.
To follow up on that... I've never read a study on it, however in culinary school it was covered many times that you have to be very careful about bitter flavors when making food for children, and that in general "picky" eaters will cotton to a lot of the foods that children like, owing to an underdeveloped sense of taste.
Which then lead to discussion about recipe development for the lowest common denominator, and that a focus on sweet over all other flavor types will increase sales...
Now, I don't think picky eaters are children, I just found that the anecdotal statements jived quite well with my professional experiences when I was a cook.0
This discussion has been closed.
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