Things I
keep in the pantry:
PAM or other non-stick cooking spray
Splenda (bulk bag)
Canned diced tomatoes with no sugar added
No-sugar-added jarred tomato sauce (Classico is good!)
whole grain rye crispbread (WASA brand or Ryvita)
brown and/or wild rice (the slow cooking kind)
whole grain pastas
whole wheat flour
canned chick peas and various other canned beans
flax seed meal
Uncle Sam Cereal or All-Bran High Fiber cereal
Old fasioned rolled oats
Heinz One-Carb Ketchup
Solid white tuna in water
unsweetened applesauce for baking
Jello Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding mix (I use cook-and-serve, but instant is good too.)
dried diced onion
spices
EVOO
Dry roasted almonds
[This was just what I could see when I opened the pantry.]
Things I keep in the fridge:
reduced-fat cheddar cheese
reduced-fat feta cheese
Laughing Cow Lite spreadable cheese
Smart balance spread
grated paremsan cheese
balsamic vinegar
cider vinegar
Stony Field Farm Organic fat free plain yogurt
1% cottage cheese
Chunky Natural Peanut butter
fat-free half and half
skim milk
hummus
reduced-fat string cheese
Polaner All-Fruit or Polaner sugar-free preserves
salad makings
I almost always have a container of grilled chicken for tossing into salads or for snacking
What do I see when I go into my kitchen?
A big bowl of fresh fruits
a few bottles of wine in the wine rack
my coffee maker (I couldn't live without that!)
cookbooks up the wazoo!
Food processor
small decanters of Olive and Canola oils next to stove
pepper mill and salt shaker ready for cooking
an empty sink (we try to keep ahead of the dishes)
What can't I do without?
My big skillet with a cover
vegetable steamer insert for my large saucepan
good knife set
garlic press
microwave
coffee maker
Things I would miss the most:
all of the above!
PAM or other non-stick cooking spray
Splenda (bulk bag)
Canned diced tomatoes with no sugar added
No-sugar-added jarred tomato sauce (Classico is good!)
whole grain rye crispbread (WASA brand or Ryvita)
brown and/or wild rice (the slow cooking kind)
whole grain pastas
whole wheat flour
canned chick peas and various other canned beans
flax seed meal
Uncle Sam Cereal or All-Bran High Fiber cereal
Old fasioned rolled oats
Heinz One-Carb Ketchup
Solid white tuna in water
unsweetened applesauce for baking
Jello Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding mix (I use cook-and-serve, but instant is good too.)
dried diced onion
spices
EVOO
Dry roasted almonds
[This was just what I could see when I opened the pantry.]
Things I keep in the fridge:
reduced-fat cheddar cheese
reduced-fat feta cheese
Laughing Cow Lite spreadable cheese
Smart balance spread
grated paremsan cheese
balsamic vinegar
cider vinegar
Stony Field Farm Organic fat free plain yogurt
1% cottage cheese
Chunky Natural Peanut butter
fat-free half and half
skim milk
hummus
reduced-fat string cheese
Polaner All-Fruit or Polaner sugar-free preserves
salad makings
I almost always have a container of grilled chicken for tossing into salads or for snacking
What do I see when I go into my kitchen?
A big bowl of fresh fruits
a few bottles of wine in the wine rack
my coffee maker (I couldn't live without that!)
cookbooks up the wazoo!
Food processor
small decanters of Olive and Canola oils next to stove
pepper mill and salt shaker ready for cooking
an empty sink (we try to keep ahead of the dishes)
What can't I do without?
My big skillet with a cover
vegetable steamer insert for my large saucepan
good knife set
garlic press
microwave
coffee maker
Things I would miss the most:
all of the above!
also in the
fridge:
lite soy sauce
lite teriyaki sauce
mustard
hot sauce
In the freezer:
frozen berries - all kinds
frozen spinach, green beans, mixed veggies, etc.
turkey sausage - Italian and breakfast
various meats
shrimp
salmon
whole grain pita
whole grain bread and wraps
individual servings of chili and home made soups
Favorite recipes?
I try to keep it simple. One of our favorites is Turkey Burgers.
1 pkg. of lean ground (93%) turkey (16-20 oz.)
2-3 Tbs. of dried minced onion (or fresh)
2 rounded Tbs. grated parmesan cheese
a shake of dried oregano, basil, pepper, (little bit of salt)
garlic - 1 clove fresh minced or 1/2 tsp. garilc powder
Mix it all together and form into burger patties (3-4)
I cook mine on my counter-top George Foreman type grill
They taste pretty good and I use the One-Carb ketchup on top.
Some of the rules I live by now
~I try to avoid anything that has added sugar, especially high-fructose corn syrup
~I count a grain/bread/starch serving as about 30 grams. this means really reading the packages! (For pasta that means a little less than half a cup cooked - I fill in with lots of veggies and serve it with a hearty sauce.)
~I ate 3 servings of grain/bread/starch per day on the weight loss phase (I am a smallish woman) and have raised it to 4 now that I am in maintenance.
~When I eat fruit I always eat some protein and/or a whole grain with it.
~I make my pudding with skim milk and immediately divide it into 1/2 cup containers (4 per box of mix) I allow myself one per day. I swirl a rounded teaspoon of natural pnb into it for a treat and it stays with me longer.
~I eat breakfast every day, no exceptions. Usually 1 c. plain fat-free yogurt, fruit, cereal (1/2 cup) and an egg or other protein)
~I always cook more food than we can eat in one meal and put the extra into containers before we eat to save for another meal. Sometimes it goes in the freezer, other times we may eat it the next day. It's portion control that's the key.
~a serving of nuts is roughly 15 almonds, 20 peanuts, and counts as a protein and a fat.
~Meals are well-rounded. (For me a ratio of 3-1, vegetables to protein, with a whole grain at lunch and dinner works best)
~each meal includes a serving (up to 1 Tbs.) of good oil - olive, canola, or nut oils. This means that when I'm planning on swirling peanut butter into my pudding, I have less fat a the meal preceding it.
~Planning is everything! I try not to let myself come home starving to a fridge with nothing in it that I can eat immediately. There are always some cooked vegetables, raw vegetables and hummus, cottage cheese, etc. in there to take the edge off while I prepare dinner.
There are more, but none come to mind at the moment. They are so ingrained at this point that I do them automatically. This is only what works for me, and I arrived at it by doing research and experimenting. You will find what works best for you too.
I hope this is helpful and not too long-winded. It has helped me to put it down here as I have never done that before!
lite soy sauce
lite teriyaki sauce
mustard
hot sauce
In the freezer:
frozen berries - all kinds
frozen spinach, green beans, mixed veggies, etc.
turkey sausage - Italian and breakfast
various meats
shrimp
salmon
whole grain pita
whole grain bread and wraps
individual servings of chili and home made soups
Favorite recipes?
I try to keep it simple. One of our favorites is Turkey Burgers.
1 pkg. of lean ground (93%) turkey (16-20 oz.)
2-3 Tbs. of dried minced onion (or fresh)
2 rounded Tbs. grated parmesan cheese
a shake of dried oregano, basil, pepper, (little bit of salt)
garlic - 1 clove fresh minced or 1/2 tsp. garilc powder
Mix it all together and form into burger patties (3-4)
I cook mine on my counter-top George Foreman type grill
They taste pretty good and I use the One-Carb ketchup on top.
Some of the rules I live by now
~I try to avoid anything that has added sugar, especially high-fructose corn syrup
~I count a grain/bread/starch serving as about 30 grams. this means really reading the packages! (For pasta that means a little less than half a cup cooked - I fill in with lots of veggies and serve it with a hearty sauce.)
~I ate 3 servings of grain/bread/starch per day on the weight loss phase (I am a smallish woman) and have raised it to 4 now that I am in maintenance.
~When I eat fruit I always eat some protein and/or a whole grain with it.
~I make my pudding with skim milk and immediately divide it into 1/2 cup containers (4 per box of mix) I allow myself one per day. I swirl a rounded teaspoon of natural pnb into it for a treat and it stays with me longer.
~I eat breakfast every day, no exceptions. Usually 1 c. plain fat-free yogurt, fruit, cereal (1/2 cup) and an egg or other protein)
~I always cook more food than we can eat in one meal and put the extra into containers before we eat to save for another meal. Sometimes it goes in the freezer, other times we may eat it the next day. It's portion control that's the key.
~a serving of nuts is roughly 15 almonds, 20 peanuts, and counts as a protein and a fat.
~Meals are well-rounded. (For me a ratio of 3-1, vegetables to protein, with a whole grain at lunch and dinner works best)
~each meal includes a serving (up to 1 Tbs.) of good oil - olive, canola, or nut oils. This means that when I'm planning on swirling peanut butter into my pudding, I have less fat a the meal preceding it.
~Planning is everything! I try not to let myself come home starving to a fridge with nothing in it that I can eat immediately. There are always some cooked vegetables, raw vegetables and hummus, cottage cheese, etc. in there to take the edge off while I prepare dinner.
There are more, but none come to mind at the moment. They are so ingrained at this point that I do them automatically. This is only what works for me, and I arrived at it by doing research and experimenting. You will find what works best for you too.
I hope this is helpful and not too long-winded. It has helped me to put it down here as I have never done that before!
Whole grain: For a bread/cracker/pasta to be
whole grain the first ingredient on the list should read "whole
grain" whatever. If the list contains any "enriched wheat
flour" or just "wheat flour" it is not whole grain.
Pantry
pasta
rice (parboiled and brown)
canned tomatoes
olive oil
sunflower oil
vinegars (plain, red-wine, balsamico)
dried lentils
dried chickpeas
unsweetened cereal
Condiments
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
dried herbs (+ fresh herbs on window sill and garden) (oregano, marjoram, thyme, coriander, dill, rosemary)
curry
cumin
ground ginger
ground coriander
Fridge
Milk
selection of fresh veggies
onions
cheese
soy sauce
Outside fridge
garlic
tomatoes
Tools
good sharp knives & chopping boards
strainer/sieve
salad dryer
garlic press
grater in various sizes, alternatively a good food processor that will do chopping, mixing, grating and fruit smoothies!
wok
non-stick frying pans in several sizes, with lids
saucepans in several sizes
spatulas
my beloved teapot (plus teabag clips for fixing my open teabags)
A pasta spoon for serving pasta, also other big spoons for serving
My favourite recipes?
For everyday meals things that are quick, a lot of the time pasta with veggies. While the pasta are cooking I chop and fry/cook veggies and make a sauce of them. With using different veggies and a different seasoning you can produce a great variety of tastes that way.
A lovely alternative to sprinkling parmesan cheese over it is putting a spoonful of plain yoghurt on top of pasta & sauce.
pasta
rice (parboiled and brown)
canned tomatoes
olive oil
sunflower oil
vinegars (plain, red-wine, balsamico)
dried lentils
dried chickpeas
unsweetened cereal
Condiments
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
dried herbs (+ fresh herbs on window sill and garden) (oregano, marjoram, thyme, coriander, dill, rosemary)
curry
cumin
ground ginger
ground coriander
Fridge
Milk
selection of fresh veggies
onions
cheese
soy sauce
Outside fridge
garlic
tomatoes
Tools
good sharp knives & chopping boards
strainer/sieve
salad dryer
garlic press
grater in various sizes, alternatively a good food processor that will do chopping, mixing, grating and fruit smoothies!
wok
non-stick frying pans in several sizes, with lids
saucepans in several sizes
spatulas
my beloved teapot (plus teabag clips for fixing my open teabags)
A pasta spoon for serving pasta, also other big spoons for serving
My favourite recipes?
For everyday meals things that are quick, a lot of the time pasta with veggies. While the pasta are cooking I chop and fry/cook veggies and make a sauce of them. With using different veggies and a different seasoning you can produce a great variety of tastes that way.
A lovely alternative to sprinkling parmesan cheese over it is putting a spoonful of plain yoghurt on top of pasta & sauce.
No comments:
Post a Comment