I’ve been thinking a lot about CONVENIENCE lately…
I figure that a lot of folks who start a bodybuilding/nutrition program (BFL for example) give up for that very reason – being busy with work AND family (I really don’t know how you working moms do it, honestly!) and not having time to prepare fresh foods.
Take potatoes for example – I have bought the 5 pound bags of russets in the past (the 10’s as well) and found that a great deal of the time I end up having to toss a good portion of the taters out because they’ve grown eyes or roots or whatever…plus you have to wash ‘em, cut ‘em up – not like I’m LAZY or anything – it’s a time thing and there’s other things I’d rather be doing! Besides I find that the less time I spend in the kitchen the better
So ANYWAY, I remembered back to my McDougall diet days…recall that the John McDougall diet is a really strict vegan diet – no coffee or Diet Coke either. One thing he DID say you could eat as much of as you wanted was starches including potatoes, as long as there was no fat added of course J And he also recommended using frozen hash browns as a substitute for fresh potatoes (just check the bag – there should be no added fats). Basically they add a preservative and a TINY amount of dextrose (to keep the pieces fresh looking and from sticking together. The nutritional info on my Safeway Southern Style Hash Brown potatoes is almost identical for a regular potato – check this out!
3 ounce Potatoes, baked, flesh and skin (from
www.calorieking.com)
93 Calories, 21.5 g. carbs, 2.1g protein, 0.1g fat
3 ounce Southern Style Hash Brown Potatoes
70 calories, `6g carbs, 2g protein, 0 g fat
Also, check out Potato Buds. You know the instant mashed potatoes. Here’s the nutritional info…
1oz Potato Buds (if you’ve ever used them, you know the flakes are very LIGHT when they are dry out of the box!)
99 Calories, 22.2g carbs, 2.5g protein, 0g fat
When I use Potato Buds, (sure I use ‘em!) instead of milk I reconstitute them with light chicken broth. Tastes better anyway, especially with lots of pepper!
Why not make a chicken pot pie or shepherd’s pie? I’ve never tried this but it’s been kicking around in my head awhile…diced, cooked chicken breast (Chicken prepared Rich’ Mom’s way would be PERFECT! You want it to still be moist and juicy!) or other lean meat mixed with sautéed veggies and some sort of roux made with chicken broth, just a little bit though…put that in a small casserole, then top with mashed potatoes and stick under the broiler until top is nice and brown and crunchy…
Another great thing about using Potato Buds and frozen hash browns is that they are so incredibly easy to measure – it’s right on the package, and you measure out EXACTLY what you need and put the rest back in the cupboard or freezer!
I just had my ‘fallback’ meal of the following – I have posted this before but here it is again…
Spray a nonstick skillet with Pam, then add some frozen chopped onions and your size portion of southern style hash browns (or use Potatoes O’Brien – those are really yummy with those bits of bell pepper –extra veggies!). Cover and let cook for a while, stirring occasionally. Oh and if you are going to have mushrooms, I add them at this stage.
Meanwhile get your portion of eggs ready (I generally do 4 egg whites + one whole egg), whip it together (you might want to add a dash or two of grated Parmesan – just for a little extra flavor) with a handful of fresh baby spinach and when the potatoes are slightly brown depending on how crispy you like them, pour the eggs into the skillet with the potatoes, just stir occasionally until they get to how you like them. I like adding a little Spike or some Butter Buds for flavoring. Very tasty and filling!
Now if only someone would come up with a frozen sweet potato product with no added sugar or oils (the ones I’ve seen have both) then life would be soooo easy…