2011 Exercise Challenge: Healthy Eating & Recipes =D

[gromit]

Anybody have a good recipe for vegetable moussaka?

 

[redcheerio]

Of course. I also live within walking distance of Whole Foods.

Cool. How do you prepare them? If you overcook them, they just taste bland and mushy. Have you tried cooking them just enough so that they are cooked but not mushy, maybe just slightly crunchy? They also look more appetizing if they have a slight sear mark on them.

I also do a lot of steamed veggies because it's super quick and easy, and very healthy.

And almost anything tastes good with melted butter, and a bit of black pepper and sea salt sprinkled on top.

I also like raw veggies dipped in a good ranch dressing (broccoli, carrots, red/ orange/ yellow bell pepper, snap peas...). Hidden Valley Ranch is my fav ranch dressing.

 

[Unkindloving]

I'm not much on cooking, so what 'good' foods do you all generally keep in stock?
I'm currently in another food-transitioning process, so I need things that I can take with me on-the-go, or munch on in between classes. My biggest issue is being hungry after being somewhere for a while, and just stopping to get something that ends up being a bad choice.

Luckily I've weened myself back onto water

 

[MacGuffin]

Cool. How do you prepare them? If you overcook them, they just taste bland and mushy. Have you tried cooking them just enough so that they are cooked but not mushy, maybe just slightly crunchy? They also look more appetizing if they have a slight sear mark on them.

I also do a lot of steamed veggies because it's super quick and easy, and very healthy.

And almost anything tastes good with melted butter, and a bit of black pepper and sea salt sprinkled on top.

I also like raw veggies dipped in a good ranch dressing (broccoli, carrots, red/ orange/ yellow bell pepper, snap peas...). Hidden Valley Ranch is my fav ranch dressing.

I've tried them every which way.

 

[Udog]

[MENTION=3]MacGuffin[/MENTION]: Green smoothies?

 

[MacGuffin]

[MENTION=3]MacGuffin[/MENTION]: Green smoothies?

Better, but still ugh.

 

[gromit]

I'm not much on cooking, so what 'good' foods do you all generally keep in stock?
I'm currently in another food-transitioning process, so I need things that I can take with me on-the-go, or munch on in between classes. My biggest issue is being hungry after being somewhere for a while, and just stopping to get something that ends up being a bad choice.

Luckily I've weened myself back onto water

Nuts - pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, PB, I swear, so filling, and so good for you, and very portable!

 

[Randomnity]

[MENTION=3]MacGuffin[/MENTION]: Green smoothies?

haha, I love almost all green (or otherwise) veggies and those still sound nasty to me. I'd way rather have veggies in a delicious salad or gently sauteed rather than drinking green goop.

I guess I would try it once if they were offered to me, but no way I'm ruining my own veggies by turning them into goop. Plus I suspect you'd lose a lot if not most of the fibre.

 

[CzeCze]

haha, I love almost all green (or otherwise) veggies and those still sound nasty to me. I'd way rather have veggies in a delicious salad or gently sauteed rather than drinking green goop.

I guess I would try it once if they were offered to me, but no way I'm ruining my own veggies by turning them into goop. Plus I suspect you'd lose a lot if not most of the fibre.

You're so late on the green juice party, Random!

Mmhmm and RedCheerio *blend* their smoothies with high powered high fanagled high price tag deluxe mixers by Vitamix. No cellulose is lost in the 'leftover' bin of a juicer. The blender chops everything right up.

 

[Randomnity]

Tonight I made super fast black bean and sweet potato burritos, since I was wiped out and didn't want to cook much (although the prep took long enough to be annoying)

-cooked a sweet potato in the microwave (poke some holes and throw it in until it's soft inside, about 5 min)
-mashed it up, mixed with a can of black beans
-added the remains of my jar of prechopped garlic (yes I am lazy, how did you guess?), maybe 1/2 to 1 tsp
-dumped in some cumin and a bit of chili powder (I don't like it too spicy)
-stirred well, microwaved 2 min, stirred/mashed up a little to mix together the flavours a bit
-use as burrito base for whatever toppings you like!
-today i'm using: salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped fresh mushrooms and sliced red onions (both lightly cooked in microwave). and lettuce of course!

I guess it's relatively healthy other than the sour cream and cheese (but ). And delicious, unless you have something against sweet potatoes. And really, who would?

 

[Beorn]

this is a single person recipe enough for a couple servings.

1 or 2 baked chicken breasts diced
1/2 cup halved red grapes
2 sticks chopped celery
1 tsp curry powder
2 or 3 tbsp of fat free or low fat mayo
1 tbsp mango chutney
salt and pepper to taste

mix mango chutney, mayo and curry powder in a bowl then add chix, celery and grapes and mix. It makes a delicious, low fat chx salad.

I just wing it with the measurements but I figured that's about what I use.

I made this last night. It was delicious. I'll definitely keep making it. Thanks!

 

[redcheerio]

I've been exceeding my exercise goals and ignoring my diet.

Not just for the anniversary celebration, but this weekend, too. Consequently, I've actually gained 2 lbs since we started. And it isn't 2 lbs of muscle, I can tell you that much.

My total intake each day should be about 10 or 11 blocks each of protein, carbs, and fat. If I want to lose weight, I need to eat more protein than carbs. These are the most recent totals that I just tallied a few minutes ago, yikes:

Friday's total - 15p, 16 ½ c, 10f
Saturday's total - 8 ½ p, 15c, 12f
Sunday's total (today) - 10 ½ p, 6c, 11f

At least I was back on track today....

 

[redcheerio]

Tonight I made super fast black bean and sweet potato burritos

That sounds delicious!!! , but unfortunately also way too carby for me.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

I use this for a lot of applications. The amount below will make a couple portions.

4 tomatoes (quartered and "guts" removed*)
chopped fresh basil**
1 finely diced red onion
salt and pepper to taste.

For a snack I take toasted, sliced baquette and smear a bit of goat cheese on it then add this topping for bruschetta and some Italian dishes and salads.

* If you are frugal and hate the thought of throwing out most of the tomato, the juice from the tomato "guts" can be used in a homemade salad dressing: Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon, drop of honey, salt and pepper and wisk. The juice from the tomatoes adds viscosity to the dressing.

**Add 1/2 finely diced de-seeded jalepeno pepper and fresh cilantro and this becomes a homemade pico for tacos, mexican dishes, baked potato, etc.


I usually will take half of the batch and make a pico and the other half gets the basil. It tastes much better when everything can marinate together.

 

[redcheerio]

I've been exceeding my exercise goals and ignoring my diet.

My total intake each day should be about 10 or 11 blocks each of protein, carbs, and fat. If I want to lose weight, I need to eat more protein than carbs. These are the most recent totals that I just tallied a few minutes ago, yikes:

Friday's total - 15p, 16 ½ c, 10f
Saturday's total - 8 ½ p, 15c, 12f
Sunday's total (today) - 10 ½ p, 6c, 11f

At least I was back on track today....

Oops, epic diet fail again this weekend, celebrating my hub's birthday.... Didn't think about it, didn't fill out my food journal until tonight, and here's the tally:

Sat total – 9 ½ p, 16c, 21f
Sun total – 10p, 14c, 15f

(med-large piece of carrot cake -> 1p, 7c, 6f :horor: )

 

[redcheerio]

For the green smoothie drinkers!

I discovered that a good way to enjoy smoothies that are much greener, especially with really strongly bitter greens like turnip greens, is to use fresh ginger. Fruits tend not to have strong flavor, which really limits the amount and type of greens you can add if you want it to taste good. But damn, I just made a super green smoothie with a lot of turnip greens (they are strong), and it actually tastes good. I used a big chunk of fresh ginger, bigger than 1" square, and half of a giant mango. I also added sweetened coconut water, protein powder, and ground flaxseed, since I need protein and fat to balance the carbs.