I was thinking about the post about spaghetti squash and how you can use it like pasta. I guess I am thinking about the food I may never eat again- Pizza, baked ziti.... and was wondering if I could find anything I could eat instead. I saw a recipe this morning on t.v. for pita pizzas
get a small pita ( whole wheat),
top it with some hummus( I love spicy hummus)
and then you can either top it with a tomato and basil, or chopped marinated red peppers and chopped olives.
Do you have any things that you loved before you started this healthy eating, that you have made over into a healthier recipe. Please share.
tia
cheryl

well.....i loved turkey and cheese sandwiches on regular bread....but...i have found that if you get a whole wheat tortillia......light cream cheese...and turkey....you can have a healthy snack...or side dish....all ya do is take the tortilia....add 1 and half teaspoons (depending on the size of the tortillia) basically just enough to give it a little falvor....then lay your tukey slices or chopped turkey on top....roll it up..(thats when the cream cheese comes in to play...it actually holds it together ) and slice it into small round circles...and waaaalaaaaa a healthier...but equally as tasty turkey and cheese sandwiches!!!

I loved pizza.. well, still love pizza.. haha but what I do now is use a whole wheat english muffin, put some tomato or pasta sauce (which is usually low in cal, fat, etc), then top with some low fat/skim milk mozzarella cheese or whichever you prefer and pop it in the toaster oven. After its toasted, sprinkle some garlic salt/powder and presto you got yourself a mini cheese pizza =) its great for mid-day snacks or even a light lunch to compliment a salad!

I always loved pizza, and I love my healthier version. I buy a Boboli whole wheat crust (Trader Joe's also has whole wheat pizza dough, but I hate mucking around rolling it out). I top it with spicy marinara sauce and add my favorite toppings: spinach leaves, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, red onion, mushrooms. I sprinkle low fat or fat free feta cheese on the top - delicious and makes enough for 3 meals (I pre-cut it and only cook enough for each night at one time, makes it hard for me to over eat on the remainder if it's uncooked, wrapped in saran wrap and in the frig! Otherwise - well, it's pizza and I would always want "one more piece!")

Pizza is also one of my very favorite foods. I posted my recipe for pita pizza the other day. For those that didn't see it, here it is again. I REALLY love this and it totally gives that, "I just ate pizza" feeling.

2 oz of lean hamburger, seasoned with oregano, basil, and fresh garlic. Press onto a cookie sheet into a flat round that will fit on top of pita bread. On other half of cookie sheet spread out chopped veggies. I use zucchini, broccoli, onions, green peppers, and a little more garlic. Cook all that for about 15 minutes on 375.

Toast a split whole wheat pita under the broiler. Both sides. Watch it closely!
Place meat on pita bread, spread with 1/4 cup pizza sauce, veggies, sliced black olives, low fat mozzarella cheese, and 4 or 5 slices of turkey pepperoni.
Pop back into the 375 oven for about 7 minutes.

This pizza is around 500 calories.

I know many here are on no white diet and potatoes are out. However, for those not, if you want the taste of sour cream on one, use lemon juice. Not quite the same creamy texture, but it really does taste just as close to sour cream as I could imagine.

Honestly- we've read the side of every pizza box in the frozen aisle and checked Calorie King - and we just go with one of the California Pizza Kitchen thin crusts... they are the most expensive,but they are delish and they have the best calories and fat.

I do try substitutions for some things - I use ground turkey breast instead of ground beef to make tacos,for instance- and use small tortillas, ff sour cream, etc. can't really tell the difference- except there is no orange grease*ew*
Buffalo instead of beef for really good grilled burgers. Turkey sausages instead of brats or hot dogs... There are a ton of tiny things that add up to a big difference.

I do a lot of substituting.

- Like lizziness, my tacos now use ground turkey, light cheese, and light sour cream. I generally have a taco for about 150 cals each.

- We eat boca burgers and spicy black bean burgers instead of hamburgers (though occasionally I have a real one when out to eat).

- Morningstar farm "starters" instead of sausage in spaghetti sauce.

- We put more beans in chili and other recipes, including soups (where we took out some pasta and added beans)

- Our new version of "hamburger helper" involves ground turkey and lots of green peppers, etc...

- To make my own version of a "sausage mcmuffin", I use a whole grain English muffin, turkey sausage patties, light cheese and a scrambled egg white.

- And I swear our chicken fajitas are better than any I've ever had at a restaurant...

For me, that's what makes this new lifestyle so doable -- I have found replacements for foods I loved and in many cases now find the new, healthier version tastier than the old!

I truly think my Egg Beaters omlette tastes better than a regular one. Egg Beaters, 1 slice Fat Free cheese and Morning star Farms veggie sausage chopped up. Sometimes I use turkey sausage in it too.
Egg Beater makes the best omlette!

I make pizza at home with either a wrap or a light english muffin. i put spaghetti sauce with a little bit of cheese. then i put them in the toaster oven for a few minutes and they are really good

When I make my family tacos (one of their absolute favorites), I toss in a boneless chicken breast at the end of cooking the meat. I then shred it up and put if over a buch of shredded lettuce, diced cucumber, peppers and tomatoes. I crumble up 1/2 a taco shell and add some taco sauce. DELICIOUS.

I used to love fried chicken cutlets. Now I eat one Morning Star Farms Chick Pattie instead. Very good.

For pizza, I use 1/2 a whole wheat pita bread, sliced in half so I wind up with 2 big circles. I put on some marinara and a little bit of low fat cheese and lots of cut up veggies. We all love it this way

I use spaghetti squash as my pasta.

Cauliflower has replaced potatoes for me. You can even cook it til very soft and then mash it to make mashed potatoes.

Acorn squash, cooked in the oven with a little splenda and lots and lots of cinnamon is a sweet treat for me. So incredibly healthy. The kids love it too.

So yes, I have lots of substitiutions. There are certain things though that I can't exactly duplicate, but that's okay. For instance I used to eat rice a few times a week. I thought that would be a tough one to give up, but it hasn't been. Now I eat roasted green beans and cauliflower a few times a week. They taste nothing at all like the rice, but for me it's a substitution nevertheless. I am just as satisfied, if not more so eating veggies then carbs. I DO love the taste, but I also love the BENEFITS. I could not do this if I didn't love what I was eating. Like it or not, I have come to the conclusion that food is just plain old pleasurable to me. And I need it to still be pleasurable. Therefore I must thoroughly enjoy what I am eating so that I can stay on plan. If my ON plan food is delicious, well then why would I need to eat OFF plan?

I agree!

For me the tough part is still situations where I'm out of the house (which are frequent) and presented with lots of non-plan foods. Sometimes I cave. I suspect I'm not alone in this.

Oh I forgot about morning star - I enjoy their sausages and the chick patties - they are so close to the real thing. TVP isn't too bad really - neither is tofu ... but not for EVERYTHING.

I still haven't found a good boca or garden burger that I like.

Robin - do you cut the acorn squash before baking? Do you add the splenda and cinnamon before or after baking? Sounds great! I want to try it tonight!

Heather, believe it or not, the tough part for me is actually avoiding OVEREATING my ONplan foods. That's just how much I enjoy what I am currently eating. You don't know how I wish I could cook for you all. I really make some good stuff, not to pat myself too hard on the back or anything like that, but yeah - I do make quite the tasty fare. Actually after listening to what some of you folks make around here, it sounds pretty darn tasty to me as well.

Tricia, I just walked in from a day out and before I headed back home I stopped at the produce store and picked up yet another acorn squash and another jar of ground cinnamon. We are all absolutely LOVING this.

I do cut it 1/2 before baking. I put it on a baking sheet. Open side up. I sprinkle it with the splenda and LOTS of cinnamon, I cover the entire opened surface with it, and then I bake it til it's nice and soft. I leave it in it's shell and cut it and serve it that way. We then each get a piece and scoop it out right from the shell.

It's sooo healthy. At only 83 calories a mashed cup - 6 grms of fiber, 2 gms of protein. 8% daily percentage of iron, 27% vitamin C, 6% calcium, 13% vitamin A. It's a real powerhouse food. Let me know how you like it, okay?