Healthy Meals That Don't Taste Healthy

I lost 30lbs after both of my kids using a book called "The Formula" by Gene and Joyce Daoust. They have some great meals in there...tortilla pizzas, homemade sloppy joe, vegetable lasagna, stir fry, etc. I swear by it!

make foods that you like... with healthy ingredients! I LOVE a grilled turkey burger with avacodo, tomato, lettuce, mustard and 1 carb ketchup on a whole grain bun- MMMM! You can make baked sweet potato fries with olive oil and sea salt as a side, and they are delicious!

I got a lot of my diet ideas from the TV show "cook yourself thin"- I love the recipes on there, and their guidelines got me down 25 lbs lower than my pre-baby weight after my last pregnancy! (woohoo! and in time for this one!) I liked that it was simple, and I wasn't starving to death, tired, or bored!

There is also a cookbook with the same recipes that you can but off of amazon! If you have lifetime network... check out the show... I thought it was pretty awesome... and I am NOT a fan of dieting shows LOL!

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes

Good Luck- you are almost there!
-M.

Oh my the recipes I have. All my meals are basically as healthy as they can be. I get ALOT of my meals from EatingWell. They have a website and a magazine. One of my favorite recipes on there are the Lasagna Rolls! its with tofu- but don't let that deter you! But some basic principals that I use is:
*whole grain everything- bread, pasta, rice, crackers
*rather than ground beef- ground turkey, occasionally i will use ground beef for a treat- but i get the 95% lean 5%fat. Same for bacon and sausage- turkey all the way
*veggies, veggies (and fresh ones at that). I add veggies to EVERYTHING. Taco's- I use ground turkey and chop up mushrooms and onions and add it to the meat- you'd never know. Tonight I made beef stroganoff and added peas and carrots.
*drink lots of water
*i'm not a fish person but if you are, eat it.
*use olive oil instead of butter to sautee- or even water!
*drink skim milk
*buy reduced fat options for milk, sour cream, cheese

Seriously I have a million tricks up my sleeve. I have a husband who loves to eat and a 3 year old that eats what I make without an argument. If you to message me, I'm happy to share more. Let me know what some of your favorite dishes are and I can make them healthier for sure! Good luck and good for you for wanting to live a healthier life.

Well, last night I cubed some chicken, then sauteed that with onions and different color bell peppers. I added some fat free zesty italian dressing and tomatoes and heated that over medium heat. Then I mixed in some whole wheat rigitoni. Soooo yummy!
Turkey meatloaf is good. Turkey sloppy joes are good. Of course, you mix in your own fresh or frozen veggies with this. Use whole wheat buns for the sloppy joes. Use lean turkey meat.
You can make lemon pepper shrimp and serve over whole wheat angel hair pasta or brown rice.
Just a few things, but hope I could help!

Try www.allrecipes.com- I use this site ALL the time! There's a tag that is called Healthy Cooking. I haven't gone to this collection much, since, I just cook healthy..mainstream, not trying to cut calories. But, I'm sure there are some great recipes in there. The people who rate the recipes will often have some great suggestions as to ways to tweak the recipe, or people will tell you to cut back on _____, or use more of ______. Very helpful.

Good luck!

I love veggies- ALL kinds cooked or un-cooked! I like using hummus as a dip instead of ranch. I love fish- ALL kinds! Nuts, fresh fruits and dried fruits make healthy snacks. Fat free Greek yogurt is awesome.

Good for you! I find that adding different kinds of fruits to my salads helps quite a bit. My favorites include some combination of blueberries, pears, and blue cheese (with a few sugared almonds), mandarin oranges (or those little Clementines that are in season right now), cranberries, apples, strawberries, grapefruit sections or just about anything else that looks appealing. Instead of bottled salad dressing I often melt some orange marmalade in the microwave and add a little bit of apple cider vinegar to it. And when I get tired of grilled chicken salad I make a Chef's salad. Other things I have been incorporating into our diet include brown rice (instead of white rice) for dinner and green smoothies for breakfast (fruit, water and some kind of green like spinach or kale). Good luck to you!

Going to the gym is key! Good for you! Portion control is going to take you a lot farther than "low fat" or "low calorie." Make most of your meals 3/4 veggies and whole grains, with protein/fat 1/4 at most. Remember that a "serving" is usually around 1/2 cup. Skip the fat-free frozen yogurt - eat real ice cream, occasionally, but only eat 1/4 cup. Cook real food rather than prepackaged/frozen premade stuff. Remember that healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week, which means (realistically) it'll take you six months of hard work to lose 20 pounds.

Good luck!

It really depends on what your definition of "healthy" is. Me and my friends each have our own thoughts on that.

Anyway... here are some thoughts that might help you down this home stretch.

Wraps... make a salad as you normally would (mine would include Bibb lettuce, cilantro, black beans, cilantro, salsa, cilantro, a sprinkle of cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and some more cilantro!), mix it all together, and plop it down in a wrap. Wrap it up and off you go!

Chicken nuggets... sounds like it wouldn't be all that healthy, but I make them from scratch and they pretty much are. Cut up a chicken breast (chicken thighs are also great!), let them soak in milk about 5 minutes, and then dip them in seasoned bread crumbs. (When I'm out of bread crumbs, I grind up corn flakes or bran flakes and add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.) Put them on a baking sheet. Pop that in the oven at 375 for 12-15 minutes; flip the nuggets. Back in for another 5-10 minutes. Done!

I also really enjoy quinoa in place of rice, so try to make a some Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, or Thai food using quinoa. Tasty!

Hi there mom-
Good question.
Good rule of thumb-- eat for color.
When you look at your plate-- it should be colorful-- 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies a day and the only tan on your plate is the proteins- depending on your size and average woman needs 75-100 gm per day.
If you want to email me at ____@____.com, I can send you some tips in newsletters.
The lighter the color of the protein, the less calories in general. The darker the color in F and Veggie, the better antioxidant quality and likely glycemic index.
So cook like that-- eat one starch a day to maximize inch loss-- and you'll be back to pre-baby shape without losing lean mass in no time at all!!

About me: 50 yo perfusionist, wellness coach also doing a nationwide weight challenge online for $$ winnings, mom with 9 yo fraternal twin girls.

B. J

We're big fans of stir fry with our favorite veggies. We try to keep it more veg than meat, and go light on the oil, but all the flavors together - yum!

Look for some of the Weight Watchers cookbooks. They have a lot of really good recipes. I have made them for family and friends and they haveno idea it is "diet" food. My mom has also been using some diabetic cookbooks that have some great recipes too.

I love the cookbooks called The Flat Belly Diet. It's really not a diet, it's a "healthy eating plan." Almost all of the recipes that my husband and I have tried are really good, quite simple, and tasty. When I do a good job of sticking to healthy eating and portion control, it works really well!