I was thinking about this today. Now this may be obvious to everyone else but it hit me what this is all about for me. First let me say what is it NOT about. It is NOT about how to resist eating the foods that I want. It is all about learning to want different foods. I love the way I eat now. I not only can visualize eating that way the rest of my life - ****, I look forward to it. I love to cook foods that are healthy and taste fantastic. I love finding restaurants that have great tasting food that are also good for me and healthy. As far as I am concerned, those places that make the 3000 calorie so full of fat meals can keep it. I an never looking back. It is not that I am resisting those types of places - I have no desire for what they sell.

I have turned into a little Chief Boy R Dee LOL. I cooked my first pot of red beans and rice yesterday. I had a nice size portion with brown rice made healthy for 450 calories. It was fantastic. Not OK - not a substitution for the "real" thing - it was fantastic. I could not wait to have another bowl for lunch today!

This may not resonate with everyone - but it sure hit me like a ton of bricks.

Oh yea, all of the above plus regular exercise = the total "trick".

I wish you all the very best.

I think this is brilliant. I'm not all the way there yet. (I still want to eat some of the really loaded stuff.) But, what I do know is that I'd much rather have healthy, delicious food that just is what it is rather than pretend food. In other words, I'm not interested in mashed cauliflower that is supposed to taste like mashed potatoes! I'd rather have some grilled veggies.

So, maybe there's hope for me!

Charles --My husband and I are coming to the same conclusion you are! In fact, that was an epiphany I had last summer.

AND, we loooove our homemade red beans and rice too! (I can't believe how easy it is to make!).

Charles, I agree with you 100&: learning (and loving) to eat different foods is a vital part of weight loss. I wouldn't touch a vegetable (except broccoli) before I started my lifestyle change, I now there isn't a one that I wouldn't eat (okay, I lied: mushrooms and red, yellow, green peppers) One of my favorite foods now is PEAS! I eat them for snacks. I hated peas growing up. I refused trying new foods before, and now I love discovering new healthy goodies. And it keeps me from getting bored.

Anyone willing to share your red beans and rice recipe?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!

I agree totally!

And please..share your recipe!

Well here is the one I used - adapted from one I found on the net.

• 1/2 pound red kidney beans, dry
• 1/2 pound Pinto beans, dry
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 1 bell pepper, chopped fine
• 5 ribs celery, chopped fine
• As much garlic as you like, minced (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)
• ¾ pound of Health Choice Turkey Sausage
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1 or 2 bay leaves (remove after cooking)
• As many dashes of Tabasco as you like, to taste
• A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tlbs of crushed red pepper
• ½ tlbs of Don Pardom’s Cajun seasoning
• Salt to taste

Soak the beans overnight, if possible. The next day, drain and put fresh water in the pot. Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil the beans for about 45 - 60 minutes, until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Drain.


While the beans are boiling, sauté (using just enough Pam to have it not stick – quick 1 second spray) the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.


Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot. (If the beans are old -- say, older than six months to a year -- they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If it's still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.)
If you can ... let the beans cool, stick them in the fridge, and reheat and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a LOT better. When you do this, you'll need to add a little water to get them to the right consistency

Serve over brown rice. I did this and for good sized portions including ½ cup of brown rice, it was ~ 450 calories.

You can cut the prep time way down and used canned beans if you want.

As an alternate serving idea, I tried the 3rd day leftovers with fat free sour cream and pico de gaio (sp?) and it was great.

Enjoy.

Thanks! Sounds yummy. One to print and try.

I agree with you 100% Charles. Kimberley and I had a slight relapse after my surgery. We just got off schedule and picked up some fast food during our traveling which gave us a taste for it again. However when we eat healthy we love it and don't crave that stuff anymore. We are back on track now and I do love eating healthy. We need to use this as a learning experience for the next time we travel. Eating healthy is the way to go and it's yummy. As you said I don't feel like it's a substitute.

In another thread, I think it was LessofLena who said she had to discover her 'new normal'. Good, eh?

Silly me...I thought rice and beans was just rice and just beans...who knew!

My rice and beans recipe is similar. I do use 2 cans of kidney beans (rather than dry), and one can of diced tomatoes. Because the beans are canned, I can really cut down the cooking time (as little as 15 minutes after the beans go in, though longer is fine too).I don't always have meat in mine. We've had it vegetarian, and with chicken or shrimp.

I also substitute carrots for the celery and use LOTS of green and red pepper!

The nice thing about this kind of recipe is that you can do a lot of "this and that" experimenting -- whatever you have available!

The same thing happened to me recently- I no longer want the things I "can't have". I'm actually really excited about the things I can have. My husband and I really love to cook and love cooking healthy foods- they taste better and fresher!