This is sort of a spin-off to the obesity thread... Lately, I'm getting a bit bored with the food I eat. We ate out this weekend once and I really didn't enjoy it at all because I'm pretty sure they put some sugar in food that definitely didn't need it. I've found that many times if I take the time to prepare a good meal at home it tastes better and is way better for you.
So maybe some of you guys could share your favorite restaurant substitutes. For instance, I make hamburgers on a bed of fresh baby spinach with salsa on top with sweet potato fries on the side if we're craving a McDonaldesque meal. Our pizza is now a small piece of frozen thin crust pizza with lots of veggies and huge salad (that we eat before touching the pizza).
I'd love to hear other ideas about what people do! I'm a strong believer in eating well but without the ridiculously high calorie counts that you see in restaurants.
I don't crave those restaurant meals anymore. LOL! Odd. Except pizza, and I go for the real thing.
But I have a few tricks. If I'm eating a hotdog, I'll split the bun in half and have a really long "dog" sticking out both ends. I now prefer it this way. For a hamburger I'll split the bottom bun in half and use the two halves as top and bottom. I do this with a McDonald's grilled chicken sandwich too. It takes off 100 calories.
I make my sandwich plate 'pretty' with fluffy green lettuce and tomato for the sandwich, two small piles of baby carrots and two small piles of berries (blackberries are my FAV)!
I like to make 'quiche' with egg beaters and chopped veggies. Then serve it on a small doily on a small plate with garnish of sliced oranges and parsley.
Both of these are a reduced calorie version of a local restaurant's "lady's luncheon"!
I'd love to hear other ideas about what people do! I'm a strong believer in eating well but without the ridiculously high calorie counts that you see in restaurants
Well, there you have it. Who says one HAS to eat out? If you're not enjoying it, don't do it.
I try to keep restaurant meals to a bare minimum, as I make waaay better food and lots of it (volume) for less calories (& money).
Do I eat out every now and then? Yes. But it will never hold the same appeal to me as back in the day. There is always that knowledge in the back of my head that I could be doing better at home.
That being said, I've got a few places that I go to and do pretty well at and do enjoy.
One place I go to makes an enormous egg white & veggie omlette. I skip the bread, get it with lettuce and tomato slices and a small baked sweet potato.
Another place I go to serves an ENORMOUS salad, loaded with mixed greens, baby spinach, hearts of palm, chick peas, portobello mushrooms, roasted peppers, red onions and grape tomatoes. Similar to the one I make at home. It's SO big and needs no dressing as those fix ins add lots of moistness, taste and texture. It is also available served with grilled salmon, which I order every now and then.
If you love pizza and have some free time, please treat yourself to a homemade crust. It's time-consuming to make a batch initially, but it's not difficult and you'll have enough to last a week or longer.
A five-ounce round of dough rolls out to between a nine-inch and ten-inch pizza. Top it with thinly sliced tomatoes or sugar-free sauce and piles of veggies plus a measured amount of cheese and you can come in under 500 calories for the entire pizza. When you make your own crust, you aren't adding sugar and are using minimal oil compared to the kind you buy; the calories you save there can go on top in much tastier forms like mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Pizza of any sort probably isn't the best thing to have every night--even homemade crust is carbalicious--but it more than satisfies a pizza jones. One is big enough to be a single very filling meal or two lighter ones if supplemented with salad. They're also a lot of fun if you have a big household or invite folks over for a "make your own" dinner.
Well, there you have it. Who says one HAS to eat out? If you're not enjoying it, don't do it.
I try to keep restaurant meals to a bare minimum, as I make waaay better food and lots of it (volume) for less calories (& money).
Sorry, I don't think I was very clear on what I was asking for. What I meant is how can you make restaurant time stuff AT HOME.
So I had my example of making hamburgers minus the bun on a bed of baby spinach + salsa. Basically, I was asking what favorite meals did you used to eat at restaurants do you now make at home with lower calorie counts.
Although I'm sure a thread on meals to eat out would be useful too but that's not what I originally meant...
Sorry, I don't think I was very clear on what I was asking for. What I meant is how can you make restaurant time stuff AT HOME.
So I had my example of making hamburgers minus the bun on a bed of baby spinach + salsa. Basically, I was asking what favorite meals did you used to eat at restaurants do you now make at home with lower calorie counts.
Although I'm sure a thread on meals to eat out would be useful too but that's not what I originally meant...
Looking at it now, you were clear, it was totally me misinterpeting your thread. I apologize. That's what I get for trying to sneak in 3FC while at work.
There were really no restaurant meals that I felt I was missing out on or felt the need to make substitutions for.
For me, it was all about making changes and substitutions to the food I was making at home. THAT stuff needed to be cleaned up.
Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe it was Chinese Food. That was a big staple in my former diet. But I accepted the fact that I could no longer eat like that anymore and was really fine with it. Though I have quite a few healthy dishes I make with an Asian theme.
I did/do make a healthy pizza substitute as well. Though it's more that it's just good, healthy, tasty food rather than me trying to duplicate a restaurant meal.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 11-08-2010 at 05:43 PM.
I do substitutions all the time and actually have a food blog that I keep track of some of my more favorite meals.
One of my favorites is my burrito substitution, a burrito bowl (which is really just a fancy salad). I dry-saute a bunch of veggies (onion, peppers, and zucchini usually) seasoned with a little salt, cumin, and Chipotle pepper. I dump this in a bowl and top with romaine lettuce and fresh spinach, fresh salsa and tomatoes, 1 oz of cheddar cheese, and if I have the calories to spare, 100 calories worth of guacamole.
Sometimes when I feel like pizza, I make the most AMAZING crust ever from cauliflower! The original recipe I got is found here. However, I changed the recipe recipe and used egg whites, and less cheese in a low-fat variety. You can't even tell it's not some sort of cracker/bread. I make fresh tomato sauce, then top with loads of veggies, and sprinkle with Parmesan instead of putting more mozzarella.
And spaghetti - use spaghetti squash instead of noodles, and make your own simple roasted marinara (bake together halved cherry tomatoes, garlic, spices, splash of balsamic, and 1/2 c. of bread crumbs. 30 minutes in a 400 oven. Mash with a fork after its all cooked).
I have made substitutions for all sorts of recipes including more exotic fare like Chicken Adobo and Sweet and Sour Pork. Instead of going ad nauseum here with a bunch of recipes, here is my food blog which I haven't added much to lately (been busy with other stuff!) but at least there is a good archive. Most of the recipes also have calorie counts included at the bottom.
I have realized that the restaurant-type meal cravings I get are just cravings for that deadly fat-sugar-salt combination - the rich sauces and thrice-salted items and buttery grease puddles.
One thing I always loved was curry on top of rice. I've found that using a can of lentils as the bed for the curry shaves off like 200 calories from the amount of rice I'd use, and is every bit as filling.
I make my own pizza with multi-grain pita bread, pizza sauce, skim mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, and a ton of veggies that I roast to caramel goodness in the oven before topping the pizza.
If I want fries, I just oven roast them with some olive oil and sea salt.
I don't ever eat out Mexican, because I can always make it tastier, spicier, and less calories.
I'm learning how to cook seafood so I don't have to eat that out. I can make a great shrimp scampi. Oh and my seared scallops over a bed of wilted spinach and garlic chips is so much better than Macaroni Grill. Just saying!