Thank you all for
 

for your replys to my *thinking out loud* post. It suprised me really cause normally when im new somewhere im lucky to get one reply its awsome how you guys keep everyone feeling welcome. Thank you for puting this subject in a new light. I guess my problem is with 4 people to feed *me, hubby, and two boys -6yrs and 16months* and not alot of money to go around its hard to spend more of fresh fruits and not buy other things that are on sale that will strech further. dont get me wrong i go to aldies and buy tons of canned veggies and such and if i buy fruits canned its in natural jucies or waters. not syrup. Its getting better really . QUESTION how many calories do you think is in a ham sandwich on white bread with two big slices of tomato and abotu 1/2 tsp of mayo?

About the ham sandwich - I use an online food diary (Nutridiary) to calculate the amount of calories in my food. A lot of people here use Fitday, which is also good (and free). I always take the calorie counts on packaged foods and enter them into my "foods" category. That way, there isn't as much guesswork. A slice of bread can vary between 70 and 150 calories per slice! Also, it depends on how much ham you use, that's why I think portion control is so important so that you know how much you are really eating.

A ham sandwich could be 150 or 450 calories, depending on these variables.

There are lots of on-line calorie counters or you can buy a calorie book if you don't want to do an online food journal.

Good luck in your weight loss efforts! :goodluck:

My daughter has said much the same thing. So I've taken her grocery shopping with me a few times. She mentioned that bagged veggies were so much more expensive than canned. Really? I asked her to read me the number of servings on a can of green beans. It was 3.5. Then I pointed out the 390 sodium in it. Then I showed her the bag of green beans with SIX servings and NO sodium. Pinto beans are cheap. They're good for you. Not as good when you add have a box of salt and a chunk of ham. But they can be used as the meat for some meals. You just have to shop, take the time to compare and look. You can ultimately come up with ways to make your grocery list healthier and no more expensive.

Too many. The white bread might be about the same caloric-wise as wheat, but where's the nutrional value? And a loaf of wheat isn't going to run you any more than that loaf of white. Nearly ever brand of bread now comes in both. And why not use mustard instead of mayo? Which is nothing but a blob of white grease tossed onto a perfectly good sandwich in order to bring it's nutritional value down even further. If you can spring for it, yes it IS more expensive, but soy mayo is better. If you can't and MUST have mayo, try a light mayo. I quit using mayo on sandwiches at all. I use mustard. I use soy mayo for salads that call for mayo.

There's something I learned about whole wheat that not everyone realizes too. Just because it SAYS whole wheat, doesn't mean that's what you're getting. I get either whole or stoneground. BUT, read the first ingredient. If the very first word you see is not whole or stoneground, then it's not real whole or stoneground.

And I guess, since I don't buy store brand, I don't see the price difference. I used to buy store brand items. I've ended up getting home with brand new soured gallons of milk and molded containers of sour cream and molded bread. Not a savings when that happens.

Personally, I've never seen the crave over mayo. Hubby loves mayo. I think it's just a blob of grease, and looks about the same. LOL

My ham sandwiches always a light whole wheat with lean deli cooked ham, a slice of either American or Swiss (whichever is on hand), mustard, then top it with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and pickles. Or I do a ham variation by using a low carb whole wheat wrap and a thin spread of light vegetable garden cream cheese on it, with ham and all those veggies, including bell peppers, cucumbers and black olives.

thank you
 

Personally i perfer wheat bread over white that just happened to be what we had at the time. Also i dont use alot of ham its deli ham that we just bought and it has not nutrition label. The place we go has really fresh meats. I dont usually use mayo either i eat it with nothing on it. but i wanted to ask with a loaded sandwich just to see what it would be if i chose to add that stuff. wich i do sometimes. I just figured a sandwich was better then some other things i could be eating its fast to make and so is grabbing that candy bar *we try to limit pop, chips, and sweets in our house. * because of the kids too. I love my veggies maybe ill cook a can of veggies and jsut eat some of that with my sandwich at least it helps me get more of the healthy stuff and i have gotten better i used to make two sandwiches and have chips and pop now i eat one sandwich with tomato and sometimes lettus on it and i might have some chips or ill have a cold salad and water or *i know not the best* kool aid with little sugar. better then pop i guess* so it is getting better just taking time on the other hand the start of my diet i was 220lbs then i gave up for a while and when i started again i was down to 208 then last week 203.8 and now im at 202 *monday* so at least its moving now if it will jsut keep going down id be even more happy. i want to get to 150 but if i hover at 170 or so ill be happy with that for now. im sick of feeling huge even though everyone says i carry my weight well. sorry but just casue i dont look 200+lbs doesnt mean i dont feel it. have a nice day all and if anyone has any meal ideas that dont cost alot but are good for you let me know. if its something my hubby wont eat ill make it for us when he works. thank you
misty

Cheap meals:

The old fallback...beans. If you lay off the salt and additives, beans are a healthy food, and a good source of protein. You can use them as the meat for your meal. Add a vegetable to the side.

Omlets are also a good source of protein.

And instead of the old cheese and bread standard, try a wheat wrap with light cream cheese. Then do just like your sandwich. Add ham, turkey or chicken and veggies and roll it up.

Any lean meats, grilled.

Most of what you make now could probably be modified. Just substitute lean meats and whole grains. Use brown rice and wheat spaghetti. Try substituting ground turkey for burger. That will be a little more costly than the burger. But don't know how cheap you want to keep it.