Hello all, I'm brand new to the site, but not to trying to shed the 20lbs I've gained. I don't want to diet, I want to completly change my (and my boyfriends since I'm the cook) eating habits forever. We are currently starting to train for a 10k we hope to run next spring to celebrate his fathers good health and finally putting down the cigarettes.
I am in college, i.e. I'm broke often and rushed for time. But I really want to commit to cutting out the super-fatty things we eat. We have started to eat at the table, no electronics nearby while we eat and to drink a lot more water so those steps are taken. But what kind of food can we do and not kill our lifestyle? Most healthy recipes I come across have really expensive ingredients, are fish or take forever to make. (I don't like fish aside from tuna and shark). We also like to have some form of sweets after dinner, which has recently come in the shape of Edy's fruit popsicles.
So my question is this, what kind of meals can I make that keep the energy up and the calories down without taking an hour to make or fifty dollars to buy? What substitues can you suggest for sweets, pizza, macaroni and cheese and other devlish meals that lurk in our kitchen? Oh! One final question... is pasta really all that bad? I use whole-grain pasta and generally a lean meat or just tomato sauce. Is it really that bad?
My favorite meal items as far as bang for your buck calorie and nutrition wise are roasted vegetables. Broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, whatever's on sale at the market, I toss in some olive oil and salt and pepper (sometimes add some balsamic vinegar if I'm feeling fancy) and roast at a high temp until nice and charred on the outside and tender on the inside.
I only buy fish when it's on sale, and then a little bit can go a long way. I think whole grain pasta, as long as you watch your quantities, is fine. One of my favorite healthy dishes is whole grain pasta tossed with spinach, lemon juice, capers, extra virgin olive oil, and topped with pan roasted salmon.
If you scroll down, there is a whole section of 3FC for food ideas, recipes, budget meals, etc. TONS of ideas on there to get you started, more than I could type out.
No food is inherently "bad" or "good", including pasta. You have to figure out what works for YOU and your needs, and then go ahead and eat to fit with your very own plan. You might want to make sure it's whole grain pasta (less processed), and you could add some chopped spinach or kale or other veg to the tomato sauce to bump up the nutrition without adding too many calories. You have to eat fewer than you use up to lose weight, and it can be more difficult for someone who is less overweight to start with than for someone who only needs to lose a few pounds.
Just my opinion, of course, but if you can just eat good nutritious food, and try to limit the sweets and other high cal, low nutrition foods, you will probably do really well since you are training fo rthe 10K...lots of activity for you if I understood correctly.
Have you ever tried catfish? I didn't try it for the longest time. I've seen live catfish, and they're pretty ugly, so I figured they wouldn't taste good (excellent logic, huh?). Anyway, it's very mild and takes well to a variety of coatings or sauces. I usually do a little flour & cornmeal with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Dip the fish in skim milk, then in the flour mixture, then bake at 350. Catfish is usually one of the least expensive fishes at the market and my understanding is that the process of farming catfish is environmentally friendly (as opposed to say, salmon).
Tilapia is also a more affordable fish. At my supermarket you can buy a big bag of individually frozen fillets. I broil slices of tilapia with just a brushing of olive oil, then tuck it into a corn tortilla with thinly-sliced red cabbage, cilantro, chopped red onion, and a little light sour cream with a squirt of lime juice and tabasco. I guess that's a lot of ingredients, but none are particularly pricey.
Thanks guys! We have already been doing pretty well the past few days food wise and I def. noticed I get really hungry after a run so my calorie intake might raise a little.
I'll try out the tilapia and the catfish- I like deep fried catfish, I'm up for trying to baked for sure!
Also, thanks Angels. =) I'm still browsing around, so thanks for the point in the right direction.
Total life revamp, input loved.
