PiSquared Member

For me, it's become quality over quantity. I know that I was eating more calories than I needed, and thus, my weight was continuing to rise. The first month or so was a bit shaky, and a little depressing as I came to terms with what a healthy, realistic portion size looked like. Now I look at my calories as a set amount I…

I have a subscription to Cooking Light magazine. I mainly Cook from their recipes. They're quite good. I don't feel the need to pay for their meal plan, though.

This baked tilapia meal is fast, easy to make, and clocks in at just under 300 calories for the fish and two sides (green beans and tomatoes). http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-tilapia-garlicky-green-beans

I'm another one for garlic. I was talking with a co-worker about how I buy the big jar of minced garlic to save time in the kitchen. She was appalled at my choice and came out with a line about how I'll get botulism from jarred garlic. It doesn't stick around long enough in my house to cause a problem. Also, I usually cook…

I've seen diet coke listed as both metric (mL) and imperial (oz). My way of dealing with mismatched units of measure is to just use Google unit converter. For example, Google is telling me that 20 US fluid ounces (a standard bottle of soda) = 591.471 mL. I agree that the extra step is aggravating, but that's my work…

I love this eggplant and lentil casserole. I think it tastes similar to a lasagna. I don't have individual gratin dishes, so I just put the whole thing in a casserole dish. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/barbecued-eggplant-lentils I don't know why it's called 'Barbecued Eggplant'. The eggplant is spiced and roasted in the…

I'm a big fan of fruit as snacks. I have a banana for my mid morning snack (my 10am banana), and then another piece of fruit mid-afternoon. These days, I'm eating oranges because citrus is in season and they are super cheap right now. I always have a veggie with my dinner. Broccoli, green beans, and snap peas are my go to…

My diary is open. I'm a 5'6" female, weighing at about 210 pounds, down from 250+. I'm not following any specific diet, other then trying to eat a variety of foods and to limit calories for weight loss. I still eat sweets and salty snacks. Feel free to add me or peruse my diary.

Came up with a meal plan for dinner to last me until next Saturday. Went grocery shopping for the week. This week's prep: Peeled and chopped my butternut squash. Half I roasted for my risotto tonight (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/barley-butternut-squash-shiitake-risotto) The other half I put in a container in the…

Do processed foods contribute to obesity? Of course they do, because they tend to be calorie dense, for little nutrition. Processed foods also tend to be inexpensive and require little, if any, time and effort to prepare and have a long shelf life not requiring refrigeration. There are a lot of socio-economic factors in…

So, I'm not vegan, or vegetarian even. Count me as an omnivore. These days, I'm reducing my meat intake and concentrating on vegetable sources of protein. I try to make at least one or two vegetarian dinners a week. Feel free to add me if you want.

I made this white chili for a house full of people over Christmas, and got nothing but rave reviews. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/white-chili-avocado-cream Like the reviews say, it's pretty time consuming but worth the effort. Yummy! I completed the meal with a simple green salad and corn bread.

My meal plan is built around my love of cooking and my desire to be under 200 pounds. I mainly cook out of Cooking Light. They have a fair number of recipes that are reasonably quick to prepare, good tasting, and reasonably low in calories. I work full time, have a hefty travel schedule, a husband to feed, and a house that…

Hummus is basically mashed up chick peas with spices in it. I've seen a ton of different flavors, I would just pick one that sounds the tastiest to you. I am a fan of garlic hummus, but then again, I am a fan of garlic anything.

Like so many have said, so long as you're expending more calories than you are taking in, it doesn't matter where the calories come from. With that said, one thing food logging has done for me is to make me super aware of where I'm spending my limited calories. If I'm going to waste calories on something, it had better…

I have a small George Foreman Grill. I used it a lot when I was an apartment dweller for grilling meat. It was also great for grilled cheese as a kind of panini press. Now that I'm a homeowner with a yard and a propane grill, I find that I don't use the George Foreman much anymore. I wish it was easier to clean. The…

So long as you're getting sufficient nutrition, I don't see an issue. The only problem I can see is that you may be low on a specific vitamin or something. If you're eating varied dinners, that's probably not a problem. For me, I tend to have the same breakfast and snacks everyday -1 cup of Special K (generic store brand…

Very minimal prep meal: black beans and rice Combine 1 can black beans, 1 package Uncle Ben's microwave in a bag brown rice (I usually microwave it first), a teaspoon of minced garlic or garlic powder to taste) and enough tomato paste to bind it together. Mix it all together. You'll get about 3 servings out of that. Eat it…

Good luck to you. I've gotten away from sweet lady caffeine a couple of times myself. I can empathize with what you're going through. The headaches, sluggishness, and inability to concentrate were brutal. Unfortunately, I don't know if there is any such thing as a 'safe' amount of caffeine to be considered non-addictive.…

Fruit, pretzels, popcorn (mind the butter!), hard boiled eggs. Graham crackers aren't too bad. I'm a big fan of Edy's Outshine bars. Chocolate rice cakes are surprising good. I keep a stash of Emerald cocoa roasted almonds in my desk for a nice chocolate fix (they come in pre-packaged 100 calorie packs).

Well, that's going to depend on a lot of different factors, starting with what you like to eat. I am assuming you are packing a lunch for work. Do you have access to a kitchen, and if so, what are your cooking options? Our break room at work is equipped with a refrigerator for storage, a microwave, a toaster oven, and one…

Welcome to the wonderful world of nutritional labeling! It's actually gotten better in the last couple of years, as people realized that the labeling was misleading and confusing. Healthy Choice soups are like this, too. The microwavable soup bowls are pretty clearly packaged and marketed as an on the go, single serving…

I second digital. These will generally have a way to switch between weight units - pounds, ounces, and grams. I have a digital food scale made by Cuisinart. I think I paid $30 for it. It's battery powered, so I don't have to worry about limited outlet space on my prep counter. I haven't changed the batteries since I got it…

That's great! I am really happy for you. One of my good friends is currently struggling with type II diebetes. It makes me sad to see him not following the doctor's orders.

My toast indulgence - chevre (goat cheese), apple slices, and honey. That is some good stuff. I used to put it on a bagel, but it tends to run through the hole, LOL. Count me among the not cutting out whole food groups. I life without salty snacks is not a life I would want to live. Still, I get the need to limit your…

No, lentils are there own thing. They're a legume, like beans and peas. They have the advantage of not requiring a pre-soak and cook in about 20 minutes. There's apparently a bunch of different types of lentils, but I've only had the green (most common) and red.

I second Cook Light. I taught myself to cook mainly using their recipes. I have a subscription to the magazine, but all of their recipes end up on Myrecipes.com. Feel free to add me. I cook just about every night and my diary is open.

If it helps at all, I am planning on making this for dinner tonight. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/one-pan-broccoli-bacon-mac-n-cheese

I've taught myself to cook, mostly out of magazines. I mainly use Cooking Light these days. The Dinner Tonight and Super Fast sections are usually the first things I look at in the magazine. After a while of following recipes, I found I could wing it, using flavors I had seen before. Cooking a healthy, tasty meal does not…

Well, this is going to depend on what you like to eat. Do you cook? Are you feeding just you, or a whole family? I am not trying to be snarky here, but it's really difficult to give advice on what someone should eat, without knowing anything about them. With that out of the way, when I first started really trying to eat…