Wrapping up Fitness Month

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It’s hard to believe today is the last day of January! I have more weight loss recipes to share but I will tuck them in later in the year.

 Tomorrow we will be moving on to the basics of Shrinking our food budgets. I have some amazing guest posts lined up for you and will walk you step by step through the process.

In January, I have given you several categories of foods to combine for weight loss. These include: Stir-fries, omelets, soups, and salads. In addition you can use sandwiches on flat bread (Like Orowheat’s bagel thins) or in half a pita (click for the recipe.)  Think about a sandwich in terms of your lean protein + veggies.  Sprouts are amazing this way!  Watch out for calorie rich cheeses, and spreads.  Mustard adds a ton of flavor for very few calories and herbed strained yogurts are amazing too.

My sixth food category is protein shakes.  I use vanilla whey protein powder and water as my base and add unsweetened frozen fruit (like the strawberries and wild blueberries from costco).  If I want chocolate I add 2 T of pure cocoa powder and a packet of stevia to my smoothie.  Cocoa powder is low in calories, high in protein and antioxidants and is a perfect addition to a weight loss smoothie. 

When I meal plan for myself during weight loss, I think in terms of Stir-fries, omelets, soups, salads, sandwiches and smoothies instead of casseroles.  There’s no reason to get bored with them since there are so many possibilities in these categories.

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Here’s a quick directory of what we talked about this month.

Simple Math = Weight Loss

Meal Planning for a Healthy Weight–This is a good one with downloads at the end

Keeping a Food Journal

Measuring Food for Success

5 Ways to Stay Motivated

About Protein

About Carbohydrates

Water

A Typical Day of Food and Exercise

Fat and Alcohol

About Salt

7 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

The Most Effective Type of Exercise

Some Days You Should Eat More:  Set-Point Theory

How to Think Thin

The Adaptable Omelet

Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spreads

Combining Fitness and Family

The Many Faces of Stir-Fry

Where to get “diet” foods at the best price

Soups

Salads

Light Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes

How to Give your Recipes a Healthy Makeover 

How to Give Your Favorite Recipes a Healthy Makeover

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In our foods, the majority of excess calories come from fat and sugar.  It’s easy to reduce these amounts without sacrificing taste or texture.

In sweet baked goods up to 3/4 of the fat (oil or butter) can be replaced with equal amounts of any of the following:  pureed pumpkin, mashed white beans, unsweetened applesauce, or plain yogurt.  This works great in muffins, pancakes, cakes, brownies, and quick breads.

Replacing the fat in cookies this way will make them more cake-like, but you can reduce the butter by 1/4 and add a tablespoon of skim milk for texture without much noticeable change.

Sugar is essential to the texture and browning of baked goods like cookies and cakes, but sometimes you can reduce the amount of sugar by 1/3 or 1/4 without noticing any change!

By switching to whole grain flours instead of white refined flours, you increase the nutrition and fiber content of your foods.  Start by replacing half the white flour with whole wheat and increasing from there.  My family uses whole grains pretty exclusively and we don’t mind it.  You can replace white flour with whole wheat flour cup for cup, but your baked goods will be lighter if you remove one Tablespoon of whole wheat flour for each cup.  Also you can buy soft red whole wheat flour(AKA whole wheat pastry flour), which has been grown especially for quick baking.  I buy hard white wheat berries and flour which we like for both baking and bread making.

To reduce fat in biscuits, look for a biscuit recipe that includes yeast and buttermilk.  This will help your biscuits rise higher and remain light even with less fat.  Don’t eliminate the fat completely and be sure not to cut it into too small of pieces.  Leaving pea size lumps will help give your biscuits the texture you are hoping for.

You can replace skim milk for whole milk or cream in almost any recipe.  If your creation tastes a little “thin” try adding evaporated skim milk, a few cubes of lowfat cream cheese, or powdered skim milk to boost it next time.

It’s not necessary to use oil or butter when sauteeing at all!  A little spritz of non-stick olive or canola oil based spray is enough to keep everything from sticking and a dash of salt will help bring out the natural flavors without added calories.  If your pan starts to get dry, add a few tablespoons of water or broth to keep your dish from scortching.

Plain yogurt can replace mayonnaise or sour cream in equal amounts in most recipes.  I use it in my beef stroganoff, mashed potatoes, salad dressings, macaroni and cheese (instead of butter); cheese cake; and ice cream recipes!

Using 93% lean ground turkey instead of extra lean ground beef will save you about 100 calories per serving.  If you prefer to use beef, you can drain and rinse the cooked beef under hot water.  This will remove most of the excess fat bringing it almost as lean as the ground turkey!  When making meatloaf and meatballs, this type of rinsing isn’t possible and using ground turkey is your best bet.

93% ground turkey can also be seasoned like breakfast sausage or Italian Sausage for an amazing nutritional and financial boost over traditional sausage.

 I love this “Mashed Potato” recipe made from Cauliflower.  It tastes surprisingly like the real thing for only a fraction of the carbs and calories.

Finally, when making your favorite recipes healthier, try tweaking only one thing at a time.  Going fat free, whole grain, and replacing the sugar with a substitute all at once will sure to leave your recipe tasting like cardboard.  Every recipe needs a little “real” food to make it edible :).

Salads

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I can easily get in a salad rut, but looking through the salad section of restaurant menu’s helps get my creative juices going.  Any of these creative salads can be made from the same salad mix:  romaine lettuce and shredded carrots.  When I have them I add spinach, home grown sprouts, and other chopped veggies like broccoli, red cabbage, mini bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and radishes.  A few craisins and sunflower seeds add a splash of color and a punch of flavor and texture.  Without dressing or the craisins and sunflower seeds, the salad is a zero or negative calorie food, meaning it has more calorie reducing fiber in it, than calories.

A large bowl of salad will keep up to 2 weeks when stored properly in the refrigerator.  Adding soft veggies like cucumber or tomatoes will shorten this life a lot, so I put them on the table separately.

By adding a low-fat, high protein food (like grilled shrimp, boiled egg slices, or chicken breast) to the salad, you have a super filling, very low calorie and very satisfying meal.   I avoid adding cheese, except for an occasional pinch of parmesan, to my salads, saving the extra calories for a later snack.  And I weigh and count my protein out carefully making sure to get 3 oz or 15-20 grams of protein.  Just enough and not too much to encourage a heathy body composition. Measuring the dressing is another must and even better if you can enjoy the pure taste of the veggies without it.

Try these salad combinations:

Ceasar:  Romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, and low fat ceasar dressing with a pinch of parmesan cheese.  (Fresh Tomatoes are gorgeous with this!)

Taco:  Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, green onions, tomatoes, grilled southwest chicken (sprinkle the chicken with chili powder, garlic and cumin while cooking), salsa, and a dollap of plain yogurt or low-fat ranch dressing.

Asian:  Romaine Lettuce, mung bean sprouts, snow peas, shredded carrots, and grilled shrimp with low-fat Asian Sesame dressing.

Lettuce Free Salads

Depending on where you live, lettuce can get expensive in the winter months.  You can make lettuce free salads with home grown sprouts as a base!  Or try these twists on traditional “meat” salads:

Tuna Salad:  3 oz tuna, 1-2 Tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper, 1 teaspoon pickle relish

Chicken salad:  3 oz chopped chicken breast, 1-2 Tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt, 1 chopped red baby bell pepper, 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt, 4 chopped almonds

Egg Salad:  2 chopped eggs, 1-2 Tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt, 1 teaspoon mustard, salt and pepper to taste

 

Croutons?

I love croutons, but have you ever read how many calories in a small serving?  Traditional croutons are made by soaking bread in butter and herbs and baking to crisp, golden perfection.

To avoid all that fat, try baking a loaf of crouton bread with 100% whole grain flours, by mixing your herbs right into the bread, then you don’t need all the butter to make the herbs stick.  When it has cooled, slice and cube and spread in one layer on a non-stick cookie sheet.  Spritz lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt, then bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.  They will crisp up even more after cooling.  You will still need to measure your croutons, but can enjoy a sprinkling without all the guilt.

Salad Dressings

There are lots of low-fat salad dressings available on the market, but if all the MSG and preservatives make your skin crawl, you can make your own varieties.  Try replacing mayo or sour cream with skim milk plain yogurt and using stevia in the place of sugar or honey.  It will take some tweaking to get the mixture just right, but you can do it!  I have some recipes to share with you when I have more time.

Light Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes

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Asian Honey Sesame Dressing

(Adapted from Todd Wilbur’s Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad Recipe)

3 Tablespoons Honey

1 1/2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Wisk together and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Makes 4- 2 Tablespoon servings.  1 serving= 60 calories; .4 grams of fat; 41 mg sodium; 14 carbs and less than 1 g of protein

Southwest Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt

1/2 cup light mayonnaise (or more yogurt)

1/4 cup finely minced fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 packet Truvia or Pure via (stevia based sweetener)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Mix in a shaker cup or blender.  For the best flavor chill for 2 hours before serving.  Keeps up to 2 weeks if cilantro is very fresh.

Makes approximately 10, 2 Tablespoon servings.

1 serving = 48 calories; 4 g fat; 2.2 grams of carbs; .7 grams of protein

Creamy House Dressing

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup plain lowfat yogurt

1-2 Tablespoons skim milk (to thin to desired texture)

1 teaspoon dried parsely

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt

Mix well and chill for an hour before serving.

Makes approximately 8–2 Tablespoon servings

1 serving=57.8 calories; 5 g fat; 2.2 grams of carbs and .8 grams of protein

Note:  Most of these recipes are yogurt based and my favorite brand is the plain lowfat yogurt from Mountain High available at Costco.  Or you can use your own strained homemade yogurt too!

101 Soups

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I love how versatile omelets and stir-fries are.  It’s easy to go months and not eat the exact same one twice.  But we can add even more variety into our diet with soups, salads, and low-carb sandwiches.  Soups today, salads tomorrow and sandwich ideas to follow.

I’m not going to give you 101 soup recipes, but I’ll start you off with plenty of ideas and their variations will get you there!  I plan soup once a week at my house.  It is low cost, requires no side dishes except for a lovely bread to help fill the children longer, and the warm broth is very filling with few calories.

For the lowest calorie soups start with tomato juice or low-fat broths.  I make my own broths from boiling whole chickens or beef bones with celery, onions, salt and pepper, straining it through a wire strainer and placing it in the fridge.  After it has cooled the fat hardens to the top and can easily be removed with a spoon or my fingers.  You can save the fat for making soap or bird feeders if you like.  You can also make a vegetable base broth by boiling carrots, celery, onions and garlic with your desired seasonings.

Cream based soups are higher in calories,  but you can reduce the fat by using skim milk and plain yogurt in place of cream and sour cream.

For the soups I’ve listed, If they are underlined, they are clickable to the recipe.  I tried to find high rated recipes that were already low in fat, but I personally haven’t tried them yet.  They are on my to do list.  I will be substituting 2 cups of homemade broth for every can of broth in the recipes, and will used chopped chicken from whole boiled chickens instead of higher priced chicken breasts.

Chicken Base Soups:

Egg drop soup

Italian wedding soup (use ground turkey for your meatballs)

Tortilla soup (use baked tortillas for the topping)  This one calls for milk and cheese in it.  We’ve always had ours without either and loved it.

Chicken and brown rice soup

Italian Tortellini Soup

Beef Based Soup

Vegetable Beef Soup (In the Grocery Shrink Ebook)

Calico bean soup (In the Grocery Shrink ebook)

French onion soup (you can leave out the wine if you wish and it will still be yummy)

(Any more ideas friends?  Leave them in the comments)

Tomato Based Soup

Tomato Bisque

Chili

Taco Soup

Pizza Soup

Where to get “diet” foods at the best price

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Yesterday I promised to tell you where I shopped for my fancy foods.  We have several local chains that carry what I typically use at great every day low prices.  Occasionally I can find even better sales in Grocery Store flyers, and when that happens, I stock up!

Aldi

Low-fat salad dressings

Ground turkey

Frozen unpeeled shrimp

Salmon Filets

Salmon Burgers

Canned Tuna

Baby carrots

Broccoli

Fresh Mushrooms

Onions

Bananas

Bran Flakes

Canned broths, lowfat soups, and vegetables

Whole Wheat Pasta

Baked chips

Spaghetti sauce

Canned tomatoes with green chilies

Fat free refried beans

Individual Yogurt cups

Costco

Romaine lettuce

Sugar snap peas

Baby bell peppers

Fresh Apples

Chicken breasts (theirs are nice and thin)

Turkey burgers

Cheese-sticks

Skim milk

low fat plain yogurt (I love the Mountain High Brand)

Ground turkey

Frozen green beans

Frozen Oriental Vegetable blend

Frozen Normandy vegetable blend

Frozen strawberries

Frozen wild blueberries

Whole Almonds

Purevia (Stevia based sugar free sweetener)

Traditional Grocery Stores

Sweet potatoes

Fresh Spinach (I look for end of date clearance specials)

Target

Pure Protein Brand Bars (Costco and walmart also carry these, but Target has the best price and puts them on deeper discount occasionally)

The Many Faces of Stir Fry

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I’ve mentioned a lot about stir-fries in my previous posts, but I’ve also gotten a lot of emails asking for more information.  So I’ll tell you exactly what to do, step by step.  Tomorrow I’ll tell you where I get my foods at the best prices.

1.  Choose your protein source.  I personally choose from 3 oz of salmon filet, shrimp, chicken breast, or canned tuna (but I like my tuna cold not stir-fried.)  You could even use an egg or 2 and make it omelet or frittata style.

Choose your veggies:  Use 1-2 cups of anything you like except for potatoes, corn or shelled peas (these are counted as grains for our purposes.)  Some ideas:   onions, garlic, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash (zucchini or yellow), snow peas, bell peppers, okra, spinach, clinatro, parsely, or lamb’s quarter.  You can use fresh or frozen or a combination of both. 

Choose your seasonings:  Just salt and pepper is fine!  Or try a southwest blend:  cumin, chili powder, garlic, and a dash of oregano.  Lemon pepper or seasoning salt are also nice.  I have also purchased premixed cajun blend and hickory smoke blend.  For an oriental flair try garlic and ginger.  I just shake these into the pan right out of the jars.  I go my smell, taste, and look to see how much.  Start light.  You can always add more spice.

2.  Prepare a large skillet (I like cast-iron, but use what you have) by spraying lightly with non-stick spray.  The trick is to add your ingreidents to the pan in order of cooking time needed.  For example, raw chicken takes several minutes to cook, but spinach should just be barely wilted.  I start by sauteeing any super hard vegetables like baby carrots, broccoli or cauliflower. After cooking for a few minutes, I add onions and garlic with my protein source and half of the seasoning.  Next I add softer vegetables adn cook until everything is crisp tender and the meat is cooked through.  At the end I’ll turn off the heat and  toss in any greens like spinach and just stir around until they are slightly wilted.

Examples

3 oz Salmon burger with baby carrots, onions, sugar snap peas and fresh mushrooms.  Seasoned with lemon pepper.

3 oz chicken breast with 1/4 cup black beans, red onions, baby bell peppers.  Seasoned with cumin, chili powder, garlic, and seasoning salt.  Topped with mixed greens and shredded carrots.  (Salsa and cilantro would be awesome.)

3 oz shrimp with onions, baby bell peppers and spinach.  Seasoned with cajun blend.

Salmon burger with broccoli, onions, carrot slices and fresh mushrooms.  Seasoned with seasoning salt.

Chopped chicken breast with frozen oriental blend, seasoned with garlic, giner and soy sauce.

Chopped chicken with cubed fresh pumpkin, broccoli, mushrooms, red onions, and baby carrots.  seasoned with ginger and lemon pepper.

Salmon filet with baby carrots, broccoli, baby bell peppers, fresh mushrooms, and kale.  Seasoned with cajun blend.

There’s no reason to get bored with stir fries!  These are just a few examples to help you create beautiful, healthy and fat burning meals for yourself!

Guest Post: Combining Fitness and Family

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I’d like to introduce you to a new blogger, Candy AKA Imperfect Mama.  Candy enjoys exercising while playing with her kids and has some great frugal tips for us to include fitness in our daily routines.  We might not even notice we’re exercising!:



We are a pretty fit and active family.  By fit and active, I do not mean we go to the gym multiple times a week, we are constantly weighing and taping ourselves, and only eat whole, organic foods.  By fit and active, I mean we eat what we want in moderation and we are active in normal, ordinary ways while maintaining a  recommended body weight.  We are always looking for fun ways to spend time together as a family while still being active and raising our heart rate from more than a jog from the kitchen table to the couch.
Some people think that to be active and healthy, you have to spend a lot of money.  I am here to tell you that is simply Not True.  You can be healthy and active on any budget, including one that has no money in it for fitness equipment.  The only equipment you need is your body, but I’m sure many of you have some of this other stuff, too.  Some of these are no-brainers, others are things you may not have thought of before.
First–explore where you live on foot!  We live on a small hobby farm in the middle of nowhere, but I realize that some of you may live in the middle of a city.  Regardless, explore your surroundings.  Take a walk in the woods on your property, walk around your apartment building, or walk to the corner market next time you need a loaf of bread.  Instead of getting the mail when you pull in the driveway, park your car in the normal spot and then walk to the end of your driveway to get the mail.  Walking is free and you will see so much more than you realize when your kids are pointing things out from their vantage point.  Not only are you getting exercise, but you are spending quality time together.
Second–explore your extended area on bike!  Put helmets on the kids, throw the baby in the bike stroller and go for a bike ride to the park or lake or neighbor’s house to deliver a get-well card.  It doesn’t matter where you go, it matters that you are being active, getting fresh air and spending time with your family.
Three–play outdoor games together when the weather permits.  On summer evenings you’ll often find our entire family outside playing basketball, softball or badminton until the sun goes down.  Even if you don’t have a basketball hoop, I’m sure you have a ball and a laundry basket that will make do in a pinch.  You’ll sleep better after all the activity and fresh air, too.

Four–if the weather isn’t allowing you to be outside, turn on some music and dance!  You can create your own choreographed moves, play freeze dance (turn down/pause music and then everyone freezes until music starts again) or simply dance like crazy.  You will all be laughing like crazy in no time and no one will even realize they are exercising in all the fun!

Five–every 2 years we celebrate the Olympics with our own family version.  For the summer Olympics in 2008 we had an Equestrian event with stick horses, an obstacle course, a bike race, and a relay foot race.  For the winter Olympics in 2010, we played hockey in the driveway with a tennis ball, had a sled race, made snowballs and threw them at a target, and also had a snow angel contest.  All of this was done at no cost, in our yard, and was a ton of fun.
Six–turn some chores into fun and active events.  Need to sweep the floor?  Play floor hockey with a couple brooms and a ping-pong ball.  Need to pick up toys or dirty clothes?  Turn it into a game of basketball by tossing the toys/clothes into a basket and other family members trying to block shots.
I could go on and on, but the whole point of this post is to give some ideas, and help you realize that just about anything can become a fun and active family event with a little bit of imagination and some ambition.  You do not need a lot of money or gadgets to be an active, healthy family.  Just find what your family likes to do and make it something that will get your heart pumping, too.  You’ll all be thankful for it.

Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spread Recipes

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We love peanut butter around here.  But when I’m losing weight, grabbing a thick gooey peanut butter sandwich just isn’t an option.  One 2 T serving of peanut butter has 190 calories; 17 grams of fat, and 8 grams of protein and that doesn’ t count the bread or the jelly.  With these peanut butter spread recipes, I can still get a hint of peanut butter but with nearly half the calories and fat.   There are lots of options for blending peanut butter.  Choose the one that most appeals to your tastes.

Peanut Butter/Cream cheese Spread

1/4 cup Fat free cream cheese

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (all natural is fine)

1 packet stevia sweetener like Purevia® or Truvia®.

Blend all in a food processor or electric mixer with a whip.  Chill. 

2 Tablespoons has 111 calories; 8 grams of fat; 4 grams of carbs; and 6 grams of protein

Peanut Butter/Tofu Spread

Use the recipe above except substitute 1/4 cup or 2 oz of soft silken tofu for the cream cheese. 

2 Tablespoons has 105 calories, 8.8 grams of fat; 3 grams of carbohydate, and 5 grams of protein

Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Spread

Use the recipe above, but replace the cream cheese with 1/4 cup skim milk cottage cheese, pureed smooth.  This one really needs a food processor.

2 Tablespoons equals 106 calories; 8.3 grams of fat; 4 grams of carbohydrate; and 6 grams of protein.

The Adaptable Omelet

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Omelets are a wonderful breakfast, because they are full of protein.  If we exercise before we eat breakfast, our bodies are forced to use body fat for energy.  But sometimes it’s not physically possible to exercise first.  Then, a protein rich breakfast gives similar results.  With few or no carbohydrates to draw energy from, the body will burn it’s own fat.

Whole eggs are the best choice because the yolks are full of vitamins!  But if you feel the need to go yokeless, 1/4 cup of egg substitute or 4 egg whites works too.  I don’t worry about cholesterol in the yolks because the egg whites are full of lecithin which naturally combats an overload of cholesterol.  It makes me smile how God created everything so balanced!  I know some of you are on a special yokeless diet from your doctor, and you can follow that and still make a yummy omelet. 

When you use 2 large eggs with vegetables (no cheese or meat) like I’ll show you below, this breakfast has only 200 calories! 

1.  Start your omelet by beating 2 eggs (or 1/4 cup egg substitute) in a custard cup (or small bowl) until they are uniform in color and frothy. Set them aside.

2.  Prepare 1/2 cup chopped vegetables from any of the following:  onion, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, lamb’s quarter or kale.  Place it in a small non-stick skillet (I use cast-iron) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and saute until crisp-tender.  For a fancy omelet you can move the cooked veggies to another dish during the next step.  Otherwise just pour your eggs right on top of them.

3.  Pour your beaten eggs into a warm skillet and let cook on one side until a  skin has cooked on the bottom.  Gently lift up the cooked egg and tilt the pan so the liquid eggs can run underneath and cook.  Keep lifting and tilting until the surface is fairly solid.  Then sprinkle your vegetables right on top.   

4.  At this point you can flip the whole circle (my favorite way) and let the top side cook for a minute or so until firm, or you can just leave it on the one side and fold in half, so the inside is still soft.  Flip the omelet to a serving dish, enjoy!

Tip:  I use a pan that is the size I want my omelet to be when I’m done.  My omelet pan has an 8 inch diameter.

Adapt it!

Try adding special herb blends to your eggs to change the flavor.  For example, mushrooms and broccoli with lemon pepper is great

Or tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and peppers with basil and garlic–is a pizza omelet

Or peppers and onions, with chili powder and cumin is a fajita omelet.

The combinations are limitless.  I hope you’ll leave a comment with your favorite combo or one you’d like to try.

Cheese?

I love lots of gooey melty cheese.  But adding it to my omelet uses up calories I’d rather save for later in the day. I’ve been making mine without and it helps me spread my calories out through the day if I skip it in my omelet.  If you are really missing cheese, try 1 teaspoon of grated parmesean with your veggies.  It only adds 5 calories, but tons of flavor.