FOODIES

I'm a total foodie, my whole family is. Hubby and I love to cook, try new restaurants etc. Starting this new lifestyle, I calculate everything and cut down on portions if anything we're eating is high in calories. At home, I look for substitutes like low fat sour cream, fat free cheese, using water instead of broth, using herbs instead of salt, baking instead of frying etc.

Hey there. I'm a total foodie. A couple of my go-to recipes when I'm being healthy and all are:

Mashed Cauliflower: so simple, everyone should do it! Microwave cauliflower with a couple tablespoons of stock/broth/water until tender (for a whole head chopped up, it usually takes 7-10mins). Use a hand blender and blend with "I can't believe it's not butter" and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. It won't blend smooth unless the cauliflower is totally tender. Much healthier, less carbs than mashed potatoes.

Soy Braised Pork: use a lean cut like tenderloin or cut off the fat on a pork shoulder (1 - 2 lbs). Cut it up into stewing chunks. Saute garlic, slices of ginger, and rough chopped green onions in some canola oil AND a 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil until fragrant. Brown the pork chunks adding 1 or 2 packets of Splenda/Stevia/Truvia/or 1 can of Diet Coke (use less water if you go the diet coke route). If you don't care about the carbs or sugar calories, then you can use real sugar which is only 16 calories per packet. But I'm on a strict no carb kick! Once the meat is browned, add 1/4 cup soy sauce. Add about a cup of water too. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about an hour (or longer until the meat is fork/fall-apart tender).

You can serve it with the mashed cauliflower or steamed brown rice (again, if you don't care about carbs :-P) And it's also super yummy when served like Korean Saam with bibb lettuce cups, cilantro leaves, thai basil leaves, jalapenos, sirracha and pickled cucumbers. The best part about soy braised pork is that leftovers are great when mixed with egg whites the next morning.

I love to get creative in the kitchen. Tips that I follow:

I almost never use salt. If I use it at all, it's very sparingly. Spices and herbs are way better for you. I put garlic in almost EVERYTHING!

When possible, use the "no salt added" or "low sodium" varieties of packaged foods.

I DO NOT use low fat, low cal items. If I want to make something good, I use the good stuff. I just make sure to use less of it or just 1 or 2 decadant items per recipe. Then I load up on the healthier stuff.

If using just 1 or 2 decadant items in a recipe doesn't work, just make sure to eat a small portion of whatever you're making. Divide the rest up into small portions and freeze for later.

Make it colorful! This works for everything, but I love to eat salad. Making one with just the traditional carrots and tomatoes with lettuce is boring. Add a wide variety of colors, flavors and textures into your salad. Don't get me wrong. Carrots and tomatoes are great! Just add more to the salad than that. Try sweet peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, scallions, hard boiled egg, nuts, raisins, all kinds of fruits, etc. And don't just use iceburg lettuce. Mix it up with Romaine, spinach and anything else you can find.