Diana6ft wrote: »

I love faro. Its the only grain, besides white rice, that I can get my family to eat without complaining. I love its chewy texture. I like to make warm salads with it. My favorite is a chicken fajita faro salad. I start with cooked faro, add a little olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, sauteed peppers and onions, cotija cheese, and taco seasoned shredded chicken. But really you can do anything with it.

I love faro, too! And, that chicken fajita salad sounds amazing!

My favorite food/ snack of all time is POPCORN .....any and all I could eat it all day long and nothing else. I can eat it all dolled up and fancy but I really love it plain popped in flavored oils.

Ok, it's nice to read about what people like and don't like to eat ... however ... what are we learning from this, really?
Are we following the description of the challenge or are we only completing the first step? ... Maybe the challenge wasn't clear enough?
Here is what the challenge said ... I've copied and pasted it below, just changed the format so we all can see easily the steps this asks us to do ...

Nutritional challenge 10 pts

1 - Make a list of your favorite healthy foods.
2 - Once you’ve identified what foods you love the most, you can then determine what it is about those foods you love so much. Perhaps its a particular seasoning, the texture, the color, or even the smell.
3 - Once you identify why you love it, see if you can find ways to bring out those characteristics in more nutritious ways.

This challenge is more 'challenging' than it first reads to be ...

My favorite healthy foods - chocolate pb2 banana protein shake, watermelon, pistachios, almonds, salads

I think I like the protein shake bc it is almost like a dessert that starts off my day. I don't really think there is a particular theme among the healthy foods that I like. I love pistachios and watermelon the most in the summer when we are camping. I know that I can further reduce the calories in my morning protein shake by using unsweetened almond milk instead of skim milk I just haven't pulled the trigger on that yet.

Nutritional challenge 10 pts

1 - Make a list of your favorite healthy foods.
2 - Once you’ve identified what foods you love the most, you can then determine what it is about those foods you love so much. Perhaps its a particular seasoning, the texture, the color, or even the smell.
3 - Once you identify why you love it, see if you can find ways to bring out those characteristics in more nutritious ways.

Here's (some of) my rather long list:
1. muesli
2. avocado
3. soft cheeses
4. shepherd's pie
5. fish
6. hot chocolate
7. roast vegetables
8. coffee & brandy
9. salads (esp with 2 above)
10. dark chocolate

So, looking through this list, i'm very conscious that soft cheeses, hot cholcolate and dark chocolate need to be luxury treat foods rather than regular, and i manage this most of the time.

The others are good wholesome foods, in my diet most weeks. My muesli, is a daily extravaganza of seeds and oats, really delicious with yoghurt and milk. I've been trying different yoghurts and natural vanilla is my flavour this month! This meal is great at times of the day other than breakfast.

1. I have a weakness for cheese. Especially mozzarella and cheddar.. I love the texture of melted cheese and well as the salty flavor. The smell gets me too! Portion control is the only way I see making this healthy as well as pairing it with healthier foods.

2. Avocado. The smooth texture of avocado and the mild flavor are what I enjoy most about it. Eating an avocado solo or reducing the number of high fat foods paired with it is how I can make it healthier. For example instead of with a quesadilla and sour cream I would have an avocado sandwich with nothing else in it.

3. Tropical fruits. Growing up in the Caribbean these were my candy as a kid. Got coconut water and jelly every morning with breakfast, had mango, tamarind, guava, and pineapple all summer. I think what many of these fruits have in common, barring coconut are sweet with a slight sour taste and firm texture. You can go a bit overboard on the sugar in these fruits, not to mention a stomach ache so portion control is important. They are loaded with Vitamins but like everything it is best not to overindulge.

4.Berries. . Once I moved to the US berries were the closest I could get to the flavor and texture of the tropical fruit I grew up with. I've paired berries with oatmeal, yogurt, added them to water or iced tea for flavor and eaten them on their own. They make healthy things I don’t like much more palatable without addibg to many calories and they are also high fiber and full of antioxidants.

5. Quesadillas . Quesadillas are versatile you can make them extremely unhealthy or exercise control and make them lower calorie. Plus they have cheese in them! See point 1. I like the texture of them, crispy in the outside but soft on the inside. Cutting down on the cheese and sour cream as well as using veggies instead of meat make them healthier.

6. Iced tea- . Iced tea. Trying to wean myself off of high sugar juices (I never liked soda) iced tea was my savior. I always drank tea hot and unsweetened so iced tea provided a cold drink without the calories. I sometimes would squeeze a bit of lemon or some other fruit in it to had some flavor and sweetness to them. Iced tea helps cut down my sugar and thus my calorie intake each day

murdog3t wrote: »

My favorite food/ snack of all time is POPCORN .....any and all I could eat it all day long and nothing else. I can eat it all dolled up and fancy but I really love it plain popped in flavored oils.

Our fearless leader of Team 6.... this is one of my favorite foods too! My guilty pleasure when my family is away is having a big bowl of popcorn for dinner, lots of butter and NO sharing... heaven!!
I also love fruits and veggies in season, fresh tomatoes, strawberries, peaches...any of our beautiful SW Ontario produce! My favorite food that I crave and eat almost everyday is avocado. Avocado sliced in a salad, mixed with a hardboiled egg, served on top of veggie chili, an avocado half filled with lemon juice and salt and pepper and a spoon, love them all. Creamy and luscious what is not to love!!

My go to snack, Roasted Edamame! High in fiber & protein, fell in love with them when I visited my son in Japan in 2005 ( He is teacher and has lived there over a decade - miss my grandson's terribly! His wife is Japanese) I make them at home occasionally , just roast them in the oven like pumpkin seeds. But I usually just buy them, cheap and healthy on the go snack. All nds are a close second.

In case I didn't do the challenge right....here goes.
I love pasta and potatoes. I love the taste and the textures. I have discovered that cauliflower has a similar texture as potatoes and when adding the right spices, it might not taste exactly like potatoes but its close enough to satisfy me. The same thing with pasta. If I use a spiral gadget on squash or zucchini it resembles pasta and the texture is also similar. It doesn't taste quite the same, but I do like it and I love the fact that I am eating something healthy. My husband actually prefers the zoodles to regular pasta.

1.) Tangerines - Love the taste and convenience. Give good energy boost.
2.) Ground Turkey - Good protein source and low in fat. Love to spice it up with cayenne
3.) Cucumbers - Love the taste, versatile and super low calorie
4.) Sweet mini bell peppers - good for dipping instead of chips, multi-colored for phytochemicals
5.) Quinoa - easy to cook, goes a long way and good protein source for a grain. Also very versatile.