New Articles on Cooking, Meal Planning, and Healthy Living

I’ve posted several articles to a site I’m new to, Associated Content, that you might find interesting depending on what search brought you here to my old blog. Check them out!

Cooking Tips to Help Picky Eaters Learn to Love Vegetables
Use these ideas for how to prepare vegetables to create tasty, less bitter dishes that will entice reluctant eaters to try these new foods. Getting picky eaters to eat vegetables just takes patience and a little ingenuity.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1898892/cooking_tips_to_help_picky_eaters_learn.html

Picky Eaters? Tips on How to Introduce Vegetables
Know a picky eater? Are you a picky eater? Try these strategies to introduce vegetables, notorious for turning up noses, to people who are afraid to try new foods. Celebrate small victories on the way toward achieving a truly healthy diet.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1898414/picky_eaters_tips_on_how_to_introduce.html

Get Started with Easy Meal Planning to Save Time and Money
It’s simple to start planning meals: It takes nothing more than a piece of paper and a pocket of time. Collect ideas as you go, then organize them into a list or on a calendar, and you’ll be set to start saving money and improving your health.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1899112/get_started_with_easy_meal_planning.html

Strategies for Eating Out at Restaurants Without Wrecking Your Healthy Diet
Restaurants offer rich, indulgent food that can easily throw your weight-loss plan off track. These tips can help make it possible to enjoy the occasional night out without regretting it when you step on the scale in the morning.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1888016/strategies_for_eating_out_at_restaurants.html

Avoid Dehydration This Summer with Thirst-Quenching Tips
Five tips for keeping yourself hydrated through the hot summer months that won’t break the bank or pack on the pounds, based on my experience with dehydration and living in the crazy Las Vegas heat.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1858229/avoid_dehydration_this_summer_with.html

Potato-Leek Soup

Tonight’s dinner:

A double batch of dilled potato-leek soup from Tasteofhome.com

SERVINGS: 3

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced leeks (white portion only)
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1-1/2 teaspoons butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups cubed peeled Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill or 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• Herb potato chips and finely shredded leeks, optional

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute leeks and celery in butter until tender. Stir in the broth, potatoes, carrot, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Cool slightly.

Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth. Return to the pan. Whisk a small amount of soup into buttermilk; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Add dill; heat through (do not boil). Garnish if desired. Yield: 3-3/4 cups.

Taco salad (lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced cucumber, chopped onion, corn, kidney beans, chopped green olives, chili powder)

Bosniak bread with light butter

Verdict: Good. The potato masher made a decent substitute for a blender in this application. The soup wasn’t totally smooth like in the picture, but it was pretty pulverized. Sort of like that Campbell’s Vegetable Soup-at-Hand, if you’ve ever tried that. I did cut all the veggies very small though to aid in smoothness.

Slips!

I’ve definitely been stalled for the past few weeks, weight-loss wise. It’s not a surprise to run into a plateau, sure, but it is depressing. Oh, and my desire to eat has long been connected to my levels of stress and depression. It’s a vicious cycle.

I need to get out and about more for exercise to reduce the stress and depression, but I have little desire to go outside in the freezing weather. I’m none too keen on exercising with my videos, though, because it’s tough to move around and still seen what’s on my 13-inch laptop LCD. Well, and also because I feel like the time investment is too high when I have to add in the extra changing of clothes (ooh, and that irritates my sore shoulder, struggling to get on the tight support tops!), the setup, and the additional showering.

This kind of not seeing the forest for the trees is a problem with my food choices, too. It’s only upon long reflection that this root of a lot of my diet issues from the Vegas years dawned on me, and the past few days have shown that I still engage in this irrational behavior.

For example, I’ll start out the day great, choosing healthy breakfast and lunch foods. I’ll stick to low-cal but high-protein or high-fiber snacks if I need them in the afternoon. Dinners sometimes end up a little indulgent, but I plan them in advance to make sure the higher-cal item is more than balanced by an abundance of vegetables to fill out the plate. (I do subscribe to the notion that the plate should be 1/4 lean protein, 1/4 carb or starch, and 1/2 veggies.) But then comes the looooooong stretch between dinner and bed.

Many days I’m OK with nothing after dinner or with a small dessert like a 1/2 cup of ice cream or a couple of chocolates. Lately, however, I’ve had difficulty due to the emotional eating. I get all anxious and both want to eat to ease it and to not eat because I will get more anxious from the knowledge I’m destroying my diet for the day, you know?

Anyway, I force myself not to eat any of the healthy snacks for a while because I want to avoid calories, then totally crash and indulge in unhealthy foods to shut up the “I want to eat!” voice.

I did this all the time in Vegas. I spent a lot of time and money on finding and buying healthy foods, only to ruin it all by talking myself into believing I deserved the indulgence of a big fast-food meal and snack chips after a long, tiring, stressful work day.

I need help, honestly.

In other news, I have been looking over this list of healthy foods. It’s nice to see some of my favorite foods (white potatoes, romaine lettuce, onions, etc.) on there when I had figured they had little nutritional value. And I do cook the potatoes in healthy ways these days — usually steamed with ketchup for dipping or mashed with low-fat cheese and skim milk.

Steamed Potatoes

4 small russet potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper

Toss everything in one of those big Ziploc steamer bags. Microwave for 14 minutes.

Alternatively, cook ‘em in a bowl loosely covered with plastic wrap. And the measures are totally approximate. I do it differently each time.

I love these with ketchup. It’s low in calories and the combo reminds me of fries without making me crave fries. However, if you’re feeling particularly Slovak, they’re also great with tartar sauce.

Progress in Healthy Eating

I’m starting to emerge from weeks of sleep problems and feel a little more like writing now. I thought I’d reflect a bit on the effects I’m seeing from my switch to paying greater attention to what I eat.

Mentally, I think I’ve come a long way in how I view food. I feel better equipped now to make good decisions about food from all these months of educating myself on nutrition, portion sizes, and calorie counts. I can face the dinner table and choose not to have an extra slice (or two) of buttered bread because I know that with one slice I’ve eaten a serving sufficient for my body.

I’m hoping that this will translate into success in beating off temptations when I’m back in the United States and have access to my favorite junk foods. There’s not much selection in chips here, for example, and I generally dislike the ones that are here. Back home, I will have to face aisles bursting with Fritos, flavored pretzel nuggets, and Sun Chips. I’m hoping my ability to resist picking up a bag or two at the store now is not simply due to the chips being subpar.

I do think I will be better able to resist fast food. I ate a ton of fast-food dinners while I was working alone in Vegas, partly because of stress and fatigue and partly because I didn’t feel motivated to cook when the audience was just myself. I will have Scott around full time when we get back, so his appreciation of my efforts will be encouraging for me in the kitchen (not that we take the attitude that cooking is “women’s work” — I just prefer to cook and he prefers to take on other home tasks I hate, such as washing dishes). But more than that, I feel like I have learned the error of my ways and understand that all that bad food was holding me back from achieving a healthy weight in a way that I didn’t before.

You see, before the last few months, I basically ate whatever whenever. I ate what I could get quickly when I was starving, and I ate when I felt stressed. I thought about eating healthy foods, but while I did switch to eating whole grains and tried incorporating more vegetables, I generally sabotaged those efforts by frequent trips through the drive-thru and down the snack aisles. I figured I’d chosen healthy foods at other times so I could “afford” to slack off. Unfortunately, I used that excuse multiple times per week, and no one can afford to slack off so much.

So my mindset has changed. It’ll certainly be tested when I get home and have to face more choices and the stress of more work, but here’s hoping.

I’ve also noticed lately that my digestive system is a lot happier than it used to be. I used to pop a lot of Tums and have uncomfortable, leaden sensations in my stomach. I also had other unpleasant digestive symptoms I’d rather not discuss. But now, my stomach and the rest of my guts never really bother me. True, they did somewhat on our cruises this year, but now I know why — it was all from overeating, especially overeating foods high in fat.

I don’t oppose fat in food, by the way. Unsaturated fats such as olive oil are necessary for good health.  I do try to cut a lot of fat from diet, though, both because I was definitely eating too much before and because it’s the easiest source of calories to remove. As long as you have a good nonstick pan, you can cut out a tablespoon or two of oil or butter from nearly every recipe, and that’s a huge calorie savings.

The one area I haven’t done so well in is keeping my blood sugar on an even keel throughout the day. I’m not a diabetic or anything like that, thank goodness, but from what I’ve read I know that certain foods can affect blood sugar levels even in healthy people. You know — eating simple carbs causes you to get a quick energy rush followed by a big crash. I still have times throughout the day when I suddenly turn all cranky and tired for no apparent reason and then feel much better after a meal.

Nevertheless, I think I’ve made a lot of progress, and I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished so far. I’ve managed to lose almost 20 pounds since the beginning of October on top of the changes I’ve wrought in my attitude towards food. I’m hoping all those changes are here to stay.

Peas and Quiet

I’ve learned to like most vegetables as I’ve grown older. I don’t turn up my nose at broccoli or cauliflower, and I’ll even accept bell peppers and cabbage provided they’ve been prepared to my liking.

But what’s with peas?

I’ve never particularly disliked peas. However, I simply cannot muster any enthusiasm for them. I’ve had this bag in my mini-freezer for weeks now, despite it holding a mere 450 grams of the green meanies.

As you can see, I added a mere half a cup to my fabulous vegetable soup. I was afraid I would overwhelm the good veggies with the starchy taste of shelled English peas were I to add more.

I like snow peas and sugar snap peas. I don’t remember ever having tried field peas, so I reserve judgment. But this typical freezer-fodder type just doesn’t dazzle me. I don’t get the sweetness from them that people rave about.

So what is it? Am I doing something wrong here?

Favorite Frozen Meals: Gardenburger

It’s not just a veggie patty anymore.

The Gardenburger brand has expanded its line significantly beyond the original burger substitute. Not only can you now get a wide variety of patty choices in the freezer case, but now you can also find pretend riblets, wraps, and “chicken” products.

Naturally, some of these make a tasty, convenient lunch.

Gardenburger

Black Bean Chipotle Wrap

The picture of the box here is not the best, admittedly. Neither is the picture of the food on the box. I almost didn’t buy this product, which would have been a shame, as it is delicious. It’s Gardenburger’s yummy black bean patty coated in a spicy and savory sauce, sprinkled with rich cheese, and stuffed into a plenty good whole-wheat tortilla. You get two individually wrapped 240-calorie wraps per box, and they’re tastier and more filling (six grams of fiber!) than Lean Pockets.

Favorite Frozen Meals: Michelina’s Lean Gourmet

Visit Pennies & Pounds for a revised and updated version of this Michelina’s Lean Gourmet article, along with more posts on weight loss and healthy eating on a budget!

Michelina’s may be at the low end of the frozen-food market, but you have to give them credit. That cardboard packaging may sometimes impart a little papery flavor to the food it holds, but it’s a highly efficient design, more likely to biodegrade than all those plastic trays and cellophane wrappers we toss out after our lunch breaks.

My mom used to stock the freezer with several of these (among others) for us kids to heat up on days we didn’t feel like a sandwich for lunch or had to fend for ourselves for dinner. Actually, these really were more likely lunch fare — for dinner, it was usually the stocks of Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie and frozen entrées that would get tapped.

Marie Callendar’s frozen food takes way too much prep time for lunch (or, frankly, dinner) most of the time, in my opinion. Plus, some have nutritional stats that make you wonder why you’re not just picking up a to-go meal from Olive Garden.

Anyway, onward to the review.

Michelina’s Lean Gourmet

Macaroni & Cheese

I realize the convenience factor is small here, as it’s not so difficult to whip up a box of mac and cheese and stuff it in Tupperware. However, when I was a kid and less familiar with the stove, this was definitely a freezer favorite. I don’t find any of the more expensive frozen mac and cheese dinners to be at all superior to my taste buds, so if I felt a desire to pack myself a plate for lunch, I bought this. The serving is definitely way small, but it’s only 270 calories.

I don’t remember most of the other meals listed on the Lean Gourmet home page — Albertson’s fails me again. Some look promising, such as this Vegetable Rice Pilaf that looks chock-full of colorful veggies, if the picture is to be believed.

New Diet Book Highlights

I’ve gotten the impression from several articles I’ve read online that December and January is the season for new diet tomes. Makes sense, of course, considering that sensible people will be looking to work off the holiday overindulgence and ever-hopeful people will be making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight (again).

This particular article from the Time web site, linked to by CNN Health, gives a round-up of 10 books released recently that claim to be the solution for your weight problem. Unfortunately, the author does not dig into the books too much, giving you little idea of what the diets involve (for example, I’ve read elsewhere that the Hot Chick book recommends eating piles of spinach for its fiber and, thus, laxative effects, but the article from Time gives me no confirmation or denial of that odd recommendation).

It would also be nice to see a little more, well, meanness, I guess, in the evaluation of each book. Some of these are from real crackpots, who have little to back up their claims, and the mostly gentle summaries here are not going to save people from wasting their time and money.

But anyway. It’s a bit informative and includes more books than any other piece I’ve seen so far.

Time.com: 10 Notable Diet Books of 2008

Quick Tricks for Healthier Eating

From the folks at Health magazine and CNN come “Sneaky Little Slim-Down Tricks.”

The Most Reliable:

Start smart
Begin lunch and dinner with a veggie-rich salad or broth-based soup, says Pennsylvania State University satiety expert Barbara Rolls, author of “The Volumetrics Eating Plan.” “That lets you fill up first on a big volume of low-calorie food and ends up displacing some of the foods you’ll eat next — the choices that are usually higher in calories.”

Here’s a good salad recipe: Mix 1½ cups of salad greens with ¾ cup of raw veggies like onions, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, or cucumbers; drizzle with 2 tablespoons of low-cal bottled dressing.

I keep trying to follow this one, but it does conflict with my desire to pare down the grocery budget and with the small size of my fridge. Scott’s great when it comes to this strategy — he always eats his salad first to try to fill up before the main course, even if it makes me worry that his entrée will get unappealingly cold in the meantime.

It would be nice if I could let things stay warm in the oven perhaps while we enjoy a separate salad course upfront to blunt our appetites. Something to consider for when we get back.

The Most Intriguing (It’s New to Me):

Sneak a snack
“Ten minutes before each meal, eat some healthy fat (around 70 calories or fewer): a handful of nuts, a few slices of avocado, or a spoonful of peanut butter, for example. That helps activate ghrelin, a hormone that lets you know you’re full,” says Michael Roizin, MD, co-author with Mehmet Oz, MD, of “You on a Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management.”

I’ve heard about that fullness hormone before, but always in the context of eating your meals slowly so that you have time for body to tell you it’s satisfied before your belt busts open. This bit of advice sounds pretty good if you’re the sort of person who does most overeating at meals (hmm . . . see the next part for more on that). It’s not going to help you much if you sabotage yourself through unhealthy food choices or caving to those never-hunger-based junk-food cravings.

Maybe this advice could be combined with the Volumetrics idea through getting that healthy fat via some oil, olives, or nuts on the salad?

The Most Disturbing:

Choose your pals
Studies show that most of us base how much we eat on what others around us eat, says University of Toronto psychologist Peter Herman, PhD. So steer clear of the big eaters in your social circle, at least when food is around. Sashay over and make small talk at parties with the folks who aren’t hovering near the food table.

“Marching to your own caloric drummer requires some independent thought and calculation,” Herman says.

Hand in hand with this goes a chronic obstacle to almost any wife’s diet plan. Unless you are significantly taller and far more athletic, your caloric needs are way less than your husband’s! Women pack on the pounds after marriage not only because they ditch the pre-wedding diet but also because they start portioning out the same amount of dinner to themselves that their husbands do.

It’s tough to sit at the same table and watch Scott put away more food (especially when it’s something tasty), but if I ate the same number of calories per meal that he does to lose weight, I would balloon. He’s eight inches taller than me and more muscular, and thus he can consume more calories without gaining weight than I can. It’s just the way it is.

You may not have noticed a change in the amount you consume, but that’s likely because you were brought up comparing portions with someone closer to you in size, such as a sibling. Even my brothers ate small portions at meals in my house growing up because they spread their eating out over the whole day. You ate the same size portion at others at the table then, so it doesn’t seem different to eat the same size portion as your husband, but odds are the portion size has grown in absolute terms.

I have to remind myself at every meal to eat only half or two-thirds as much as Scott, depending on the entrée. I also take time while preparing a meal to think out correct portions for each of us, such as setting out two slices of graham-flour bread for him and one for me. It’s all about planning, right?

Foods to Keep You Full

Assuming you can resist those cravings — though I suppose the point of many of these foods is to keep those cravings from cropping up in the first place.

15 Foods to Help You Lose – Goodhousekeeping.com:

Thirty billion a year — that’s about how much Americans spend on slim-down products, many of which don’t even work. A better way to get real weight-loss results? Go grocery shopping. New research points to more than a dozen foods, from beans to beef, that can help you fight hunger, kick your candy addiction, boost your metabolism — and ultimately shed pounds. And some of these superfoods deliver health bonuses too.

Basically, all of the foods on the list are the sort of nutritious foods you should be eating anyway as part of a healthy diet, with a few appetite-suppressing seasonings thrown in for good measure. Nutritional science can be hit or miss, but a lot of the foods listed on Good Housekeeping’s list (including beans and fruit) have definite nutritional benefits beyond any weight-loss claims.

Given that, it’s possible that the studies are right about how foods affect your blood sugar and digestion. Those foods might make you crave simple carbs less and keep you feeling full longer, so that you don’t binge and you thus don’t take in excess calories. And like I said, plenty of protein and fiber is just plain healthy!
Still, I don’t give much credence to any claims about foods that “boost the metabolism” or whatever, though, as I haven’t seen much non-anecdotal evidence that metabolism is really a factor in how much weight we carry. Plenty of people manage to stay fit as they age because they exercise (far more than I do, that’s for sure).

As we get older, we just get better at staying still and thus not burning calories. It’s easier for jumping-bean kids and constantly walking students to stay thin than for sedentary office workers. Add in the sleeplessness that makes so many adults drag themselves through the day and you get “fading metabolism.”

I certainly felt that last one as a teacher. Even though I should have gotten a good deal of exercise walking the classroom all day, I took every opportunity I could to sit very still and have kids do any grunt work as I was so exhausted. Another contributor to my 25 extra pounds!

So maybe it’s the jitters from the caffeine in tea that gets people losing weight rather than any special chemicals. Of course, we can’t all jump on the Starbucks Diet to take advantage — certainly all the cream and sugar in their drinks would counteract any benefit!