Well I've been lurking for the past few weeks and decided to post. I had some questiosn regarding a few things and knew that you ladies would be able to help. I saw on an old thread that a few of you make your own hummus. It's one of my favorite things, although I am cutting chips out of my diet, it's something that I can eat with veggies. Anywho, on what aisle do I find tahini? I looked at Whole Foods and couldn't find it. I guess I could've asked someone, but was in a bit of a mood.

I also bought some tofu noodles. Has anyone ever tried them? There is a specific name for them (starts with an s). Since I am trying to limit my pasta intake as well I thought I would give these a try.

Lastly, I bougt some of that greek style yogurt. Definately something I will need to work my way towards. I am finally to the point where I'm not choking the lofat flavored kind down. My current favorite is vanilla. I make parfaits with it. I did put some frozen berries in my greek style, but it was still a bit tart for me. But I am trying new things each week. My next thing is beets, then turnips, leeks and bok choy. I figure the more variety, the less boredom and chance of relapse. Although I cooked a meal of ham, homeade mac n cheese, black eyed peas, and greens today and did pretty good as far as portion control. I ate a tad bit more than I should have, but decided to just have a salad for dinner. Sorry for the ramblings. Hope you ladies can help me. I will probably begin posting on the food journal thread as I am keeping myself accountable.
Thanks!

Well the only thing I can comment on is the tofu noodles..
They are Shiritaki I believe is the name. ANywya I tried them out because I thought it would be a great low cal way to have pasta..I heard about them from hungry Girl. ANywya I was so excited..
WEll, I made the recipe that Hungry Girl brags about ...The alfredo thing...
IT was AWFUL! It was not really the taste..I dont think it has much taste..But teh texture was so bad it made me nausous..IT reminded me of eating like clams or something that are raw..Very slimy and chewy....Eww...
But teh weird thing is that lots of people love them...I guess you either love or hate them. SO give it a try. I know one thing they say is to drain VERY well and also to pat them dry too....I did those things but maybe not quite good enough. Alot of people on weight watchers eat them becuase they are low points...GOod luck!
Amy

I wish I could help you with the Tahini, but alas, I am in the Netherlands and I *just* found tahini at the health food store! Yay! You could technically make hummous without the tahini if you don't want to ask, but your best bet is probably just asking

I've heard about those tofu noodles before, I don't think we have those here at all. Maybe it was the way they were cooked that caused silverose not to like them? I don't know. If we had them available I'd probably give them a shot anyway, but tofu is really an acquired texture if you ask me.

I love love LOVE greek yoghurt. What if you put a wee bit of honey in there to help with the tartness? I usually eat mine with just fruit, or I make a smoothie with it, adding blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, frozen banana... whatever I have available.

Best of luck to you!

There was a thread going a while ago about the tofu noodles that I read with interest because they sounded good to me. It was a funny thread -- people either truly liked them or they absolutely DESPISED them. I guess you and I will have to try them for ourselves and see what we think.

Around here, tahini is a little tough to find -- certain grocery stores don't carry it, others do. Some health food stores carry it as well. I remember, probably 7 years ago or so, when I actually just called around because I got tired of looking forward it. Now I know which ones of our stores carry it (Winn Dixie, Kroger, Farm Fresh, Ukrops), but I'm here in Va, so doubt that will help you out much.

As for the Greek Yogurt (like Fage, which can be bought from Trader Joes). I've bought it 2-3 times, but in all honesty it's not my personal preference. I'd rather have Stoneyfield nonfat or drink some kefir maybe. However, as you can read above, there are MANY big lovers of Greek yogurt on 3FC, and so you may find you are one of them!

Best of luck to you. BTW you sound like you did better with your easter meal than I did. I'm getting ready to move my ticker up 2 lbs. I teach and was on spring break last week -- apparently I just folded when I got off my routine (the frequent eating out didn't help either!)

As for the tahini I find it in the refrigerated section in my grocery store with a bunch of mid-eastern type things. Somewhere near the cottage cheese and that kind of stuff. Just keep in mind though that tahinin and hummus are 2 different things. Tahini is made with sesame seeds and hummus from chickpeas.

I don't know about the tofu noodles. But instead of pasta, I eat spaghetti squash. It's really, really yummy and very, very low in cals and healthy. I make it with sauteed onions, sliced portabello mushrooms, and cut up chicken breast and some marinara sauce. Really, really good.

I am also not a lover of the Greek yogurt. But I know there are many here that are.

Sounds like you did really good with your meal yesterday. Fantastic.

I found my tahini in the middle eastern aisle and it was unrefrigerated. You can try making your own hummus without it. When I added tahini to my hummus, I used very little because it is very calorie dense.

I bought DH stoneyfield Nonfat yogurt and he loves it. I will make my own "greek" yogurt once in a while by straining regular yogurt with a coffee filter but DH seems to love the stoneyfield so far.

I worked my way up to plain fat free Greek yogurt. I started eating it with fresh blackberries and a drizzle of dark honey. After awhile, I didn't need the honey anymore. I love the texture of Greek yogurt so much, it's...whipped or something.

I love bokchoy too, I add it to stir fries all the time As for leeks, you can use them just like onions (just be sure to wash them very well).

Here is a recipe for a soup with leeks, if you want:

Spinach Chickpea Leek Soup

This is SO good and so fast and easy to make - makes plenty for several days. Great to make on a Sunday and eat all week.

1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thinly (circles)
1 zuchini, chopped
minced garlic (I use tons)
2 14 oz cans tomatoes
small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
3 3/4 cup veg broth
1 14 oz can chickpeas (gabanzo beans) drained
block of frozen spinach (thawed, drained)
1 tbs oregano
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh parm cheese for topping

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add leeks and zucchini and cook briskly for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, vegetable broth, chickpeas and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

Shred the spinach finely, add to the soup and boil for 2 minutes. Season to taste. (the longer it cooks on the stove, the better it is). Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (if desired).

Hey, all - new to the forum, and was just browsing. I am absolutely off of all artificial sweeteners - if you must sweeten (which I do for tea & coffee) - use stevia. It takes a little getting used to, but it works for me. And it's all natural, not artificial, and it's actually good for you, too. I use the liquid cause the powder doesn't dissolve too well. Just my 2 cents worth!

I use the liquid stevia too, KAL brand. I used to use Perfect Sweet brand Xylitol (natural sweetener made from birch bark) for baking because it works out better than stevia volume wise, but that last time I was at whole foods they said there was a problem with the supplier and they didn’t know when they could stock it again.

The Shiratake noodles work best in Asian style dishes IMO, but they are a very different texture, not for everyone I’d say.

Thanks for the Spinach Chickpea Leek soup recipe, I’ll definitely be giving that a try soon!

I agree, Shiritaki noodles are better in Asian style soups and other Asian dishes. The texture is very different than other types of pasta, so if you have difficulty with certain textures you may not like them. Personally I love them!

At Whole Foods tahini can be found in jars with the other nut butters/peanut butter. They also have a brand that comes in a tin, but I prefer the kind in the jars since it is easier to stir.

I also LOVE greek yogurt although I buy Trader Joe's knock off brand. It's so creamy and it tastes decadent to me because it reminds me of full fat sour cream (I buy the 2%.) I eat it with thawed unsweetened blueberries and sometime a tablespoon of flaxseed meal.

For the amount of things I want sweetened, I use regular granulated sugar. It's only 18 calories for a tsp. I don't however, drink soda (reg or diet), I don't sweeten my coffee or put syrup in it. I rarely eat any sort of dessert beyond fruit, and it takes me a couple weeks to eat a bar of good dark chocolate (long enough that I keep it in a ziplock bag in the fridge so it doesn't get stale.

I haven't found the tofu noodles in any of our local groceries. There's an Asian grocery in Anchorage (50+ miles away) and I'll check there the next time we go. Likewise I can't get Greek yogurt, though I do sometimes strain mine to get a thicker version.

Glory87 - Just wanted to let you know I made the spinach chickpea leek soup you posted and I love it! I will probably add a can of kidney beans as well next time, I'm a bean fiend. I make a big pot of soup or stew almost every week and I'm always looking for easy new recipes, so thanks!