Quote:
Originally Posted by Marti4484
Or let me know if they are okay to keep.
There are no rules here. Any or all are fine to keep, you just have to decide whether you prefer having the "original" less frequently and/or in smaller portions, or a lower calorie/fat/sugar/misc.ingredient option more frequently.
My theory - try alternatives to some of your higher fat/sugar/calorie/sodium choices and if you find them very disappointing, consider going back to the original, and eating it less frequently - or in a diluted form (eating a slice or two of bacon crumbled on a salad instead of three or four slices as a side to eggs or in a bacon lettuce tomato sandwhich).
regular cheese---> I tried reduced fat and fat-free cheeses. Haven't found one I like. I actually chose to change the way I look at cheese. I use cheese differently. I buy full-flavor cheeses (some low-fat, some high-fat), but I buy stronger flavored cheeses and use less. However, living in Wisconsin, there is a distinct advantage. I never buy national or store brand cheeses, I only buy cheeses from local, relatively small production cheesemakers (within a 60 mile radius) or ocassional imported cheese from the local cheesemakers (several of the local cheesemakers have barter agreements with their counterparts in Germany, Brittain and France).
real eggs---> I buy regular eggs and throw away most of the egg yolks. I use one whole egg to three egg whites when making an omelette or scrambled eggs (no magic to the number - it's just that on my exchange plan one egg or three egg whites are both equivalent to one protein, so it's easiest to count that way).
Egg substitutes are just colored egg whites. It's fresher and cheaper (and most likely less wasteful in the long run) to use your your own eggs, even if you do throw away the yolks. You can also cook the yolks (in the microwave, even) and mix them with birdseed for wintering birds. Feed them to non-overweight pets, use them raw as a hair conditioner or face mask, or mixed with food coloring to use as tempera paint.
cereal--->I like oatmeal. Left-over (cold or reheated) quinoa or brown rice (or cooked wheat berries) make excellent breakfast cereals. Add a little bit of fruit or cinammon if you like sweet cereals, or savory seasonings if you prefer. For cold cereals, I try to choose cereals that are whole grain. If you love super sweet cereals, you can try buying a box of all-bran or other "healthy" cereals and buy your normal brand and just use a tiny sprinkling of your favorite on the healthier version.
C&H sugar--->I use the Walmart version of Splenda. I also cut the amount of sugar/Splenda called for in most recipes. I find that most recipes are just as good with 3/4 the sweetener (whatever sweetener I use, whether natural or not), and some are as good with as little as 1/2.
sour cream---> I like light sour cream just as well. There are only a few fat-free brands I like (can't think of the name, but the one I like has a spotted cow pattern on the carton).
Philidelphia cream cheese---> I use the Walmart or Aldi low-fat or fat-free cream cheese (Neufchatel).
bacon---> I like Morningstar Farms soy bacon and buy it occasionally (especially if I want to eat more than a slice or two). However, I actually chose a different route with bacon (sort of like the cheese) We buy GREAT bacon from local small meat markets that smoke their own. We buy "ends" (irregular pieces) so that they're about as cheap as a mid-priced store brand of bacon. Instead of eating it as a meat, it's now more likely to be a condiment or seasoning (carefully rationed out, usually).
Lawrys Meat Seasoning Salt---> If you don't have high blood pressure or sodium or MSG sensitivity - this is probably just fine.
Some you didn't mention
Mayonaise - I like using avocado instead of mayo on a sandwhich. I don't like light or fat-free mayos, but really like Hellman's canola mayonaise (half the calories of regular).
Oils- I also use the same tactic I do with cheese and bacon - buy an "expensive gourmet version and be more careful with it, because it's so costly." I love walnut and other nut oils for salad dressings, but it's so expensive that I'm really barely going to use any to make that wonderful bottle last longer.
Vinegar - Rice wine vinegar and other gourmet mild vinegars are so good that they often make a great salad dressing with little or no oil (a great partner for that expensive nut oil).