Tue 11 Jan, 2005 10:53 am
I had a high speed metabolism and could eat anything I wanted until I turned 40. Then I quickly gained a bunch of weight and managed to take it off without changing my diet by walking 4 miles almost every day. That worked until I turned 45 and then my metabolism went to sleep again so I started weight training in addition to walking and still didn't make many changes to my diet. It was mostly effective except my annual binge on Christmas cookies and Jan/Feb recovery.
Over the last few years I've modified my diet to eat mostly whole grains, quality fats, fruits and veggies and lean proteins. What I've had a problem with is 'low fat' versions of many of the foods I like. My biggest struggle is low-fat cheese. I love cheese and because I grew up in a dairy state I ate it at least once/day. LF cheese is like rubber and although I've found a couple lf choices that I can eat I really miss full fat cheese and treat myself to it occasionally.
Here's my question... Are there certain foods that you particularly like the lf version of over the ff version and are there certain lf foods that you just can't convert to?
Another one for me is ice cream. If it's not premium ice cream I'd rather not eat it.
I can only eat low-fat Peter Pan pb. The full one is yucky.
low-fat yoplait with capful of wheat germ put in it - my fav!
I can't do the cheese. Not because of anything tasting like rubber, but I feel like I must substitute 1 piece of regular cheese for 2 pieces of low-fat. So ...i just get the regular kind now.
ice cream = full fat unless it is Ben&Jerry's Low-Fat Marshmallows Smores icecream. They don't make the regular version (not in any stores I've seen). I can also do the low-fat versions cookies and cream and such. Though i'd rather have a lot more cookies and cream ...I can deal with less.
fat-free chocolate and strawberry milk (with the bunny on the cover that comes in bottles) is so delicious.
Check the label on Dreyer's Grand Light line. It's good stuff, and an improvement in carbs & total calories. I don't remember, but I think the fat was down (but not gone) as well.
Looking at carbs, now, instead of fats, check out Dreamfield spaghetti and other pasta products. I have done a ball park verification of their claims on net carbs. Though the label lists the same calories per 2oz serving, I suspect that's a label required to to relate to total, not net, carbohydrates.
i love wheat pasta
love adding peas and other veggies instead of sauce on all my pastas
i will never stop purchasing my potato and hawaiian bread. love love it esp. heated in the microwave for 10 seconds
I'm ok with ww pasta but I still prefer the white kind. The ww version is good with steamed asperagus, shrimp, and a parmasean cheese sauce made with anything from 1% all the way up to full cream.
I haven't tried any of the newer 'low carb' pastas that are made with white flour. Not sure how they're pulling that off.
J_B wrote:
I haven't tried any of the newer 'low carb' pastas that are made with white flour. Not sure how they're pulling that off.
From what I've heard, the low carb pasta has something in it that makes a lot of it just slide through....if you know what i mean.
Non-fat yogurt is just about the only non-fat version of anything that I can eat. I'd rather skip the full fat object instead of eating the non-fat version. Well, some non-fat cheeses are ok in omelets, or as a cheesy sauce for pasta. I think feta hasa less fat than many other cheeses.
That being said, prepared foods, like soups, for example, can be really good even if they are low-fat.
Ok cheese lovers. Hard cheeses, such as parmesan reggiano, are naturally lower in fat than their softer cousins. They also pack in more flavor, so you can use less.
As far as non-fat goes, I do drink non-fat milk, but only because in California, by law, they add back non-fat milk solids so it has a creamier mouth feel. When I go back east, I typically drink 1%, because anything less than that is blue.
lol, Kristie - I got the visual.
I too mostly stick to 1% milk (I'm not in CA) and I do like non-fat yogurt.
I only tried lf peanut butter once. I bought it as a BIG treat for myself during one of my cookie recovery seasons. I spread it on an english muffin and took the first bite. I gave the rest of the jar to my neighbor - it was just too sweet for me.
I've recently converted to natural pb. I use the "REAL" brand in the refrigerator case. The fat sits on top and you have to mix it in so I usually scrape it off instead. Peanut oil isn't that bad for you however so I don't get too balistic about it.
egg beaters instead of eggs. healthier and tastes great!
they did a taste test on the Today show (the morning show w/Katie Couric) and I think only 1 person could tell the difference between scrambled real eggs and the stuff that came out of the carton.
on a side note (random fact): I was a national poultry judge for 2 yrs. Nothing like coming home and smelling like chicken crap.
Buffalo instead of ground beef, if you can find it. Safeway carries it.
I've heard that about buffalo but haven't tried it. I think Trader Joe's has it frozen and maybe Whole Foods has it fresh. Not sure why I've stayed away from it, I'm usually pretty adventurous to trying new foods. I'll give it a try.
We don't have Safeway here.
Aside: cj, did I see that you lived in Naperville, IL at one time? I'm not too far from there - you wouldn't believe how built up it is now.
Not me, never lived in IL.
Another side note: chicken crap ain't nothin', Joahaeyo. Not if you've ever spent time in a commercial chicken coop with 5,000 young chickens. That feather odor will stay in your nose for days.
Have you ever had to judge a chicken and/or turkey? Ever have on take a crap on you while you have it laying across your arm to measure it?
Then I must ask... have you seen the size of turkey crap?
oh, and how about slipping in the juices of chicken carcass' (something else we judge - grade of meat). almost as bad as the time i fell into a trashcan up to my neck of pig crap.
what i do for an easy college elective.
Just to change the course of this thread a little:
God answered by prayers by sending us low carb pasta, but not all low carb pastas are alike. Some are awful. Look for a brand called Dreamfields (ShopRite has it) - can't tell it from regular pasta and only 5 carbs per serving (as opposed to 45 for regular pasta). I have the kind of metabolism that will put on a pound from just sniffing a plate of spagetti, yet I can eat the low carb without instant weight gain. It's a miracle!
ooooh, I think eggs are a great food with a bad rap. The yolks have a lot of nutrition to them - not lots of fat all-in-all.
Safeway here sells what they call "skim supreme" milk. I could never stand skim milk until I discovered this stuff. Its excellent.
This is not really low fat but a good tip nevertheless: I had to have shortening for a recipe and I had not bought shortening in ages and ages. I discovered that Crisco makes a 0 trans-fat shortening now (plus, it comes in sticks like butter so its easy to use). I couldn't tell any difference.
Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Original cheese wedges are delicious with whole wheat crackers...mmm.
Lean Pockets Chicken Parmesan are very tasty, and if you didn't know they were "lean," you'd never suspect it.
turkey bacon is pretty decent. It is much crispier than real bacon and tastes pretty similar.
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