Anyone with very lowfat ways of roasting vegetables

princessnarmor
princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
edited November 8 in Introduce Yourself
I have this wonderful Lebanese chicken and vegetable recipe. If I were to make it the way it was written, it would be hugely caloric (4tbsp of olive oil plus the skin of the chicken). I just can't eat that. I've looked online andall the roasted veggie recipes have a lot of oil.

I've tried cooking spray but either its not enough or its too much as well.

Anyone have any tips on my obtaining a happy roasting medium?

Replies

  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 326 Member
    I find that if you put the oil in a zip-loc bag and toss the veggies in it you can get away with a lot less oil. It's also a good way to get spices all mixed in!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I bake my veggies. No oil involved.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    slide them onto metal kebob sticks so they are not sitting in the oil...then roast in the oven across a baking pan
  • Kamikazeflutterby
    Kamikazeflutterby Posts: 770 Member
    I put olive oil in a spritzer. Upside: several sprays are still under a 4th of a teaspoon. Downside: you have to say "spritzer."
  • psmd
    psmd Posts: 764 Member
    olive oil mister, they sell at bed bath beyond for $10!
  • Rhumax67
    Rhumax67 Posts: 162 Member
    Good idea on the zip lock bag. I mix my veggies with 2 tbl oil cover with plastic wrap & nuke for 4 minutes. Then spread them in a pan & roast at 425 degrees for about 25 min. Turn them half way through. With a zip lock pan you could probably use less oil. This is for a really large portion - feeding more than 1 person. Also, I line the pan with parchment paper--makes cleanup easier.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    edited December 2014
    Tblackdogs wrote: »
    I find that if you put the oil in a zip-loc bag and toss the veggies in it you can get away with a lot less oil. It's also a good way to get spices all mixed in!

    I came to say the same thing. Works brilliantly if you don't have one of those fancy oil spritzers. I can season and oil enough veggies for my whole family (5 of us) with 1 Tbsp oil with a ziploc bag.

    ETA: You can do the same for your meat, too, for marinades. If you're not wanting the skin, feel free to trim that off before eating. There is a MFP entry for "Chicken, roasted meat only" that will exclude the skin calories.
  • princessnarmor
    princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
    williams969 wrote: »
    Tblackdogs wrote: »
    I find that if you put the oil in a zip-loc bag and toss the veggies in it you can get away with a lot less oil. It's also a good way to get spices all mixed in!

    I came to say the same thing. Works brilliantly if you don't have one of those fancy oil spritzers. I can season and oil enough veggies for my whole family (5 of us) with 1 Tbsp oil with a ziploc bag.

    So if I were doing the same thing for one person, could I get away with say 1 tsp?
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    I routinely use 1 tsp for things like a whole head of cauliflower... it just takes extra time to toss it around. I don't use the ziplock bag method, I just have a big bowl and use my hands to massage the oil around.
  • princessnarmor
    princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
    edited December 2014
    What do you guys think about using margarine instead of the olive oil or butter. It's 1/2 calories but I've been told by more than one person (including my biology professor) that country crock is closer to plastic in its make up than to food. I was told oil was better because our bodies have the enzymes to break it down better. Personally, insofar as weight loss goes, the margarine wins.

    Discuss


  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2014
    zyxst wrote: »
    I bake my veggies. No oil involved.

    Out of curiosity, how is that different than roasting? I often see people use the term "bake" where I would "roast," and I wonder if that's just a regional difference.

    Do you actually use a convection oven?

    Anyway, OP, I commonly use just olive oil spray (a spritzer would work too) and toss the veggies around a bit with a bit of salt and pepper also. If that's too much fat, I think you should reconsider your fat limits. IMO, it turns out perfectly well, probably even better than using more oil, to my taste.
  • lewispwest
    lewispwest Posts: 498 Member
    Not sure what country you're in but in the UK we have 1kcal oil sprays here.
  • princessnarmor
    princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
    lewispwest wrote: »
    Not sure what country you're in but in the UK we have 1kcal oil sprays here.
    That's kind of what I was saying. If I spray the veggies I either end up getting too much or too little. If you roast potatos with no oil they turn out pretty nasty and inedible. I tried the recipe with 1 tbsp. of oil and ended up gaining weight.

    I get sick of chicken. But other than fish, it really is the best meal out there for dieting. I don't want to eat it the same way all the time. So I look for new recipes. Most chicken recipes really have no flavor, or you add things to it that make it worthless for dieting. I might as well have purchased a chicken and fried the whole thing.

    The Lebanese chicken recipe is wonderful. I just haven't found a good happy oil medium where my body doesn't say oh yummmm OIL lets pack on some tonnage!!!
  • amberj32
    amberj32 Posts: 663 Member
    princessnarmor wrote: »
    What do you guys think about using margarine instead of the olive oil or butter. It's 1/2 calories but I've been told by more than one person (including my biology professor) that country crock is closer to plastic in its make up than to food. I was told oil was better because our bodies have the enzymes to break it down better. Personally, insofar as weight loss goes, the margarine wins.

    Discuss


    I would stick to "real" food. Butter and olive oil are not bad for you. So it's only 50 calories instead of the 100?? I would rather have the real butter. If you feel that bad about it, do some squats and lunges in the kitchen while you cook.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2014
    princessnarmor wrote: »
    I tried the recipe with 1 tbsp. of oil and ended up gaining weight.

    1 tbsp. of oil is 100 calories. Surely you can fit that into your day? But if not you can get away with a lot less IMO if you give it a good spray and toss it around. It's not zero calories, but depending on how much you spray it's going to be a fraction of the tbsp.
    I get sick of chicken. But other than fish, it really is the best meal out there for dieting.

    I eat lots of chicken and fish (I usually eat chicken with skin and bones, however, roasted, and never have an issue with that lacking flavor, although on occasion the skinless boneless stuff has its uses) but there are tons of other meats that fit in my calories, and there's actually plenty of cuts of pork and even beef and lamb that aren't especially challenging to fit. People get into ruts they don't need to be in, IMO.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    I lay my veggies out on a cooking sheet, spray with nonstick spray, sprinkle with salt, and let them hang out at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes.
  • princessnarmor
    princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    princessnarmor wrote: »
    I tried the recipe with 1 tbsp. of oil and ended up gaining weight.

    1 tbsp. of oil is 100 calories. Surely you can fit that into your day? But if not you can get away with a lot less IMO if you give it a good spray and toss it around. It's not zero calories, but depending on how much you spray it's going to be a fraction of the tbsp.
    I get sick of chicken. But other than fish, it really is the best meal out there for dieting.

    I eat lots of chicken and fish (I usually eat chicken with skin and bones, however, roasted, and never have an issue with that lacking flavor, although on occasion the skinless boneless stuff has its uses) but there are tons of other meats that fit in my calories, and there's actually plenty of cuts of pork and even beef and lamb that aren't especially challenging to fit. People get into ruts they don't need to be in, IMO.


    I eat the skinless boneless tasteless. I have a very weird metabolism. I have injuries that prevent cardio as an option. Weight loss over 50 is very different than at 30. At 30 I could lose weight faster than most. At 50 its like pulling teeth.

    Calories now are not as important as WHAT I am eating. Oil Sugar Bread are my three diet killers, in almost any amount.

    This post has been productive, however. I never knew there was an oil mister. I never considered using the Ziploc. I didn't know if 1 tsp of oil would roast vegetables well or not. I just knew the spray wasn't doing the job. So this was beneficial.


  • princessnarmor
    princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
    edited December 2014
    For anyone wanting the recipe for the Lebanese chicken: here is the original. I think this person is supposed to be on a paleo diet, only for the life of me I don't see how you can lose weight with all that oil and fat. But I am sure the original is 100 x better than my modified.

    https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/lebanese-baked-chicken/

    My modifications:
    I use chicken breast, bread it with bisquick mixed with parmesan and garlic, spray it with a little olive oil cooking spray on the pan and on top of the chicken. Very lightly. Without quite a bit of oil and the skins, it doesn't brown well and the chicken doesn't taste good so that was my modification.

    I use minced garlic instead of all of those cloves of garlic. I think it gets a stronger flavor. If you have the time to peel all of that garlic more power to you!

    The lemon and the tomato is what makes this soooo good. I didn't like the oregano. I use parsley flakes and add a couple of tablespoons of chicken bullion on the top. I also use ground pepper and add a red or green sweet pepper to the recipe. Don't leave out the carrots, they are amazing roasted with the lemon and tomato.

    She uses turnips but the potatoes are wonderful. If you are low carb, turnips are good too, as well as squash!

    You can use most any veggie in this, but I like the original recipe best.

    Some day when I've lost all my weight, I'm going to try her unmodified recipe

  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    I have had success using water to roast veggies. Google fat free vegan roast veggies to give you some ideas.
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