Healthy food that isn't gross?

pinuplove wrote: »

keeshaoliver1234 wrote: »

So I've been basically eating what I have available to me as money is tight, the first 2 weeks were great and I lost 13 lbs. now I'm staying at that weight. What I eat isn't the healthiest, but that has been due to money issues, and I've been eating whatever I have / my neighbors feed me (they are too nice!) however this week is when I get paid and I need to know what is healthy that also tastes good to me. I don't like avocado or beans or any of the fancy weird healthy things like lentils or spinach, I do however like fresh veggies of most varieties as well as fruit (although I've heard fruits have a lot of natural sugars that don't aid in weight loss) I'm from the woods so everything I like is traditional basically , what can I eat that is healthy, tastes good to me, and doesn't require a culinary degree to cook!! Everything I find I don't know how to make. I'm not the best at cooking either haha. I know pop has to be cut. But the tap water here was under a boil order & wasn't safe for a while. I refuse to drink bottled water also because I have tested their ph levels and found that most are overly acidic and dangerous for consumption. Water is fine now and pop is out haha so what can I eat to lose the weight not maintain it? I love rice but not plain. What can I have with rice too? Anything helps, thanks!!!

You can start by eating foods you like in quantities that fit your calorie goal. Experiment with cooking techniques, sauces, and spices if you wish to expand your palate (I don't get the impression that you are very food-adventurous though. Lentils and spinach are weird and fancy? They are both very basic and versatile foods!)

I second this. You know what you like to eat and what you enjoy. Eat those things. Just eat them in quantities that fit into your calorie goals.

Start with the things you know you like, and portion them to fit your calories. Add a small amount weekly of the things you wish to experiment with so it doesn't take a toll on your budget. After a while you will have discovered a few new things you might like to add to your usual meal rotation.

Start with things that are on sale and experiment around them, entering the ingredient into a recipe search website (google and pinterest work too) and browse the recipes until you find one that sounds appealing and the rest of the ingredients are common to you.

Healthy eating is about getting the nutrients your body needs not a specific list of foods.
Weight loss requires a calorie deficit. You can create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories, increasing activity and burning more calories or both.

My advice is to eat the food you normally eat and start logging. Stick to the calorie goal MFP gives you. Try to get enough protein, fats and fiber. Eat smaller portions of higher calorie foods and bigger portions of lower calorie foods.

If money is tight foods like beans, lentils, rice, pasta, chicken thighs, oatmeal, potatoes, tuna, bread, peanut butter, carrots, cabbage tend to be inexpensive. Soup is very economical and can be easy to make.
http://www.budgetbytes.com has cost conscious recipes that my family has enjoyed.
There are a lot of ways to prepare foods. If you do not like something one way it does not mean you will never like it. If you do not have the resources sometimes you have to learn to like foods that are initially not to your taste but are cheap like beans and lentils.
http://www.lentils.org/recipes-cooking/recipes/

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10518784/healthy-food-choice-on-a-budget/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500423/costing-a-lot-more-money-to-eat-healthier/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10490067/most-healthy-food-options-are-very-expensive-and-im-on-a-very-poor-budget-what-to-do/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10540613/eating-out-vs-buying-groceries/p1

I am with you on not liking a lot of beans and vegetables but I am forcing myself to get use to some of the veggies. I have learned to like spaghetti squash and put on a little butter and Parmesan cheese or greens beans sauteed in sesame oil with almonds. Not my favorite but the little bit of added fats helped. You will get used to it over time...maybe.

deputy_randolph wrote: »

I like food, but hate cooking. The easiest thing I have found for me is to roast a whole chicken. Throw a chicken in a roasting pan (with a sliced onion, garlic, carrots, rosemary, whatever you like), cook on 350-400 for about 1.5-2.

I eat the meat, then put the bones, skin, fat into a pot with water, simmer for a couple of hours. The broth can be used for soup by just adding veggies/noodles. It should make at least 3 days of meals for 1 person.

Throw some quartered Brussels sprouts on that pan and you've got something really good going on!

Tacklewasher wrote: »

pinuplove wrote: »

deputy_randolph wrote: »

I like food, but hate cooking. The easiest thing I have found for me is to roast a whole chicken. Throw a chicken in a roasting pan (with a sliced onion, garlic, carrots, rosemary, whatever you like), cook on 350-400 for about 1.5-2.

I eat the meat, then put the bones, skin, fat into a pot with water, simmer for a couple of hours. The broth can be used for soup by just adding veggies/noodles. It should make at least 3 days of meals for 1 person.

Throw some quartered Brussels sprouts on that pan and you've got something really good going on!

See, all that you've added is stuff my wife would do, and I would pick off.

I'd rather grab a chicken from the deli, throw some french fries in the oven and have a packet of Swiss Chalet dipping sauce ready. Then have a salad or some raw veggies on the side.

That's because you are truly dedicated to your filthy eater club membership Some of us just dabble.

aggelikik wrote: »

I have always thought of lentils as the ultimate poor family's food, together with beans: cheap and used to add bulk in meals. It is the first time I have heard lentils being labeled "fancy".

Or any of it as "gross".

Growing up, I'd have to say that the way most cooked veggie sides were prepared in my house was 'Boil em to mush and serve with a dollop of butter or margarine and salt'. Sometimes we had spinach patties or Swiss chard patties, but that was bordering on the exotic (and triggered my gag reflex). So I kind of grew up hating veggies.

Then I went vegetarian at 19, but subsisted mostly on dairy, tofu, grains, and potatoes. No meat, but not really many veggies either. Until I tried a butternut squash casserole out of a magazine. And it was like an epiphany. "Hang on. I don't have to turn my veggies into mush? I can fix them other ways? Whoa..." And suddenly, I discovered that I liked spinach and kale and collards. In the right casserole, I loved turnips, and cauliflower and broccoli. As for Brussels sprouts... nope. Still loathe 'em, sorry.

Before you write off ingredients as 'gross' experiment with cooking them in different ways. Check out sites like Epicurious or VegetarianTimes.com. Or just plug [ingredient] recipes into Google and click away. Pinterest is another good resource. You might just discover a love for certain foods you never knew you could have.

So my wife and I are always on a tight food budget (always). But we do like to try new recipes and get as much fresh veg and produce into our diet as possible. She grew up in a small town in the South that was very much a meat-and-three kind of place, not much experimentation there. We do a lot of her traditional foods like okra, collard greens, and biscuits and gravy when we can.

- check the flyers before going to the store and make a plan
- check for a discount produce rack - our local has one that's usually stuffed with salad kits, mushrooms, eggplant, all kinds of things. If you can find out when the store restocks, even better, because right before that is when things will start going on clearance.
- snag bags of frozen veg when they're on sale. Seriously. It's just as good nutrition-wise as fresh, easy to keep, you can get blends of different things, and you can steam them in the microwave with a bit of water and some plastic wrap. I like mine with lots of pepper and a very small pinch of salt
- add frozen veg to everything. Pasta? Cup of frozen peppers and spinach in the sauce. Box of mac'n'cheese? Equal parts pasta to frozen peas. Meatloaf? Cram some peppers and onion in that thing. Rice? Fry up some edamame and green onion.
- find out what's in season locally because that's going to be the cheapest. Then google recipes until you find something that looks good
- everything tastes better with a little bacon fat (unless you are vegetarian). Especially brussel sprouts.
- pan-frying is better than deep-frying, and baking is better than pan-frying (plus, to my mind, less work)
- sauces can be great, but watch out for how many calories and added sugar are in them

keeshaoliver1234 wrote: »

That's my biggest issue, I don't really know what I like as I've never been able to experiment with foods. As a child my parents weren't the best, and rather than cooking meals we would eat out 2-3 times a day. So I know I like burgers and fries haha. I do like to try new things, but my bigger concern is having enough money for food for everyone in the house. My partner does not like the foods I do, she never has. And especially now that I'm trying to eat better. So I have to ensure the money will stretch all month for us both for food. Which is why I don't bother buying new veggies or things like that, because then if I don't like it, I end up having less food and less money.

Try this. Get a package of frozen broccoli florets (and stop wrinkling your nose - just bear with me!! ). Also hopefully you have some sort of seasoning, such as Monterey Chicken or Italian seasoning...something along those lines. And some olive oil. Open the package of brocolli and dump into a bowl. Sprinkle with a bit of olive oil, and toss with a spoon to coat. Then take some seasoning, and give it a good sprinkle, tossing with a spoon as you sprinkle. Now take a cookie sheet, line it with aluminum foil, and preheat the oven to 400. Spread the florets out onto the foil-lined sheet. Give another sprinkle with seasoning, or salt/pepper. Put in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Take out and enjoy (trust me on this).

You're welcome.

If you dont like a certain veggie cooked, try it fresh- they can be VASTLY different. Or vice versa, try it cooked, or cooked differently. I think canned or cooked spinach is nasty (I can deal with some on pizza though) but I love it fresh, its just like eating lettuce. Just a nice plant-y taste.
I dont like lentils either =P

But mostly, do what others said, focus on what you know you like, in measure portions, and go ahead and try some new things a few at a time.

There's no reason you can't drink diet soda. Its no calorie and safe for you unless you have a personal reaction to the sweeteners. (Like just because someone else can't eat peanuts, doesnt mean you shouldn't.)

Im not sure what water you are saying is too acidic, I drink bottled water every day. The ph of water is 7, or isn't water.

Try some frozen meals like Lean Cuisine and the others, i eat those frequently too, and you can find stuff you didn't know you might like. If you are bored with the taste of white rice, try brown rice, it tastes a little more heartier. I add rice to meat all the time to make a meal, so add whatever meat you like, and some sauce you like.

Fruit works fine for weight loss, the suagr in it isn't a problem for weight loss. No food helps or hurts weight loss, except in excess calorie amounts. The only thing that makes weight loss happen or not happen is calories.

Let MFP set your calorie target and then eat up to that target, (weighing to be sure) whatever you find tasty and most filling, and you will lose weight.

Weight loss is not linear and there's nothing unusual about not losing weight even while in a deficit for a short while, and many things can affect that. Just be patient, and check some of the stickied threads that help you with what to expect.

Try not to listen to fear-mongering websites and authors that are trying to sell you something. You don't have to eat or not eat any certain food to successfully lose weight.

Okay, let's start over. I'm a vegetarian, so I can't really help with meat/fish/poultry recipes, but what kinds of fruits, grains, veggies, and legumes do you like?

Since you like fresh veggies, one of the things I like is to chop a variety of veggies really, really small and mix them all together and add a protein and dressing. Ex: peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, zuchinni, tomatoes, all diced really small. Chop lettuce really small and mix all together. Tear up a rotisserie chicken and add a reasonable amount of ranch, some salsa and a couple of tortilla chips all crushed up at the top!