Oney's Eat Right NOT Shite Thread.
Oney, I think you did great with the home-made lasagna, potato and side salad. It sounds like a great meal to me. Like Molly said, take-out once in a while is fine. We have it once a week, usually pizza or souvlaki and I make a nice salad to go with it. No big deal.
I promised you a couple of recipes and here is one for my favourite salad. You can make it in many combinations depending on what ingredients you add.
This is the salad base. Use an equal amount of each type of lettuce.
1. Curly red lettuce
2. Curly green lettuce
3. Iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce (iceberg is sweeter)
4. Arugula (optional but it adds a special taste to the salad) (use half of the amount you use of the lettuces. If you use 1 cup of each kind of lettuce, use 1/2 cup of arugula. It has a smoky taste so I use less so it doesn?t overpower the lettuce)
5. Fresh dill, however much is to your liking
6. 1 heaped TBSP of grated Parmesan or similar cheese for each serving (more if you want to)
7. Salad dressing
I use a store-brand mustard-flavoured vinaigrette dressing . If you want to make your own, there are lots of recipes available on-line. The one I use has dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, mustard seeds, lemon juice and corn oil, salt, sugar and pepper. I sometimes make my own using olive oil instead of corn oil, regular mustard, and a dash of cayenne pepper, plus the other ingredients above. Play around with the proportions. I would start with 2 TBSP oil, 1 TBSP mustard, 1 TBSP of vinegar and then slowly add the other ingredients til you come up with a combination that you like. Write down the amounts as you go along so later you can double or triple it for your salad or make even more to have on hand. Store in a glass jar in the fridge. In case you don?t like mustard or you can?t be arsed making a dressing, you can use any store-boughten dressing or just use olive oil and red-wine vinegar, which in spite of its name, doesn?t have red wine or any alcohol in it.
Then add any of the following that you like...
Chunks of boiled or grilled chicken, skin and bones removed (I usually use skinless, boneless breast or thigh parts cut up and boiled til done and save the broth for soup)
Ham cubed. I get low fat ? only 3%.
Whole wheat croutons
Spring onions
Red onions
Sweet corn, canned or frozen
Kidney beans (canned) rinsed
Chop up the lettuce , the arugula and the dill. Place in a bowl. Add the parmesan cheese and the dressing. Add any of the other ingredients that you think you?d like, stir well and taste. Add more vinegar if you think it needs some.
I usually add a hand-full of chicken for each serving and a heaping TBSP of whatever else I?m adding per serving. I use 1 TBSP dressing, 1 TBSP of EVOO and ? TBSP of balsamic vinegar for each portion. You can add more or less according to your taste.
And here are a couple more salad recipes...
Confetti Salad
Iceberg lettuce
Chopped tomatoes and English cucumber. Since you don?t like them, you can substitute them with chopped red and green bell peppers
Sweet corn (canned or frozen)
Red onion
Gouda cheese cubed (I use low-fat ? 11%) A small handful for each portion.
Ham or chicken cubed. Again, you can get low fat or just use regular, whatever works for you.
For the dressing, I use 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 TBS Ketchup and 1 TBSP red wine vinegar for each serving. If you don?t want to use olive oil, use mayonnaise if you like it. It?s not as healthy but it?s very tasty.
I sometimes add a can of tuna in brine, drained instead of the cheese and ham or chicken.
Three-bean salad
Kidney beans, green beans and chick peas combined in equal amounts, with chopped red onion and fresh parsley.
Toss with EVOO and red wine vinegar to taste. Add a dash of cayenne pepper and salt to taste. If you don?t want to try it with the green beans, again, use chopped bell pepper instead.
I hope they help to give you a couple of ideas. Another thing, if you like Chinese food, sweet and sour chicken is really easy to make and you can eat it with brown rice. Just put in the veggies that you like such as carrots, onions, peppers, celery, and you can get things like bamboo shoots and water chestnuts canned at the supermarket. Cook the veggies and small chunks of chicken in a bit of water until they're done - about 15 minutes - make sure the chicken is cooked, then add a store-bought sauce or make your own with pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar. It's really easy. I'm sure you can find recipes on-line.
But don't get yourself worked up about not plunging in here with both feet. Baby steps. Even just eating breakfast every day and slowly getting more fruit and veggies into your diet is a start. You do need to drink the water tho'. I like a bit of lemon juice squeezed into mine. One thing you might like to try is to have a small glass of water on the counter in the kitchen where you will be sure to notice it. Drink one glass every half an hour, then fill it and have it waiting there to remind you to drink it again. That way you're not forcing yourself to drink a big glass, say every hour and not liking it. Drink a smaller amount more often and you'll be surprised at how much it adds up. If you like flavoured teas, you could make up a big bottle of cold tea and drink that instead of the water. Mind you, it would be best if you didn't put sugar in it but a little honey to sweeten it would be good.
Oney, I think you did great with the home-made lasagna, potato and side salad. It sounds like a great meal to me. Like Molly said, take-out once in a while is fine. We have it once a week, usually pizza or souvlaki and I make a nice salad to go with it. No big deal.
I promised you a couple of recipes and here is one for my favourite salad. You can make it in many combinations depending on what ingredients you add.
This is the salad base. Use an equal amount of each type of lettuce.
1. Curly red lettuce
2. Curly green lettuce
3. Iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce (iceberg is sweeter)
4. Arugula (optional but it adds a special taste to the salad) (use half of the amount you use of the lettuces. If you use 1 cup of each kind of lettuce, use 1/2 cup of arugula. It has a smoky taste so I use less so it doesn?t overpower the lettuce)
5. Fresh dill, however much is to your liking
6. 1 heaped TBSP of grated Parmesan or similar cheese for each serving (more if you want to)
7. Salad dressing
I use a store-brand mustard-flavoured vinaigrette dressing . If you want to make your own, there are lots of recipes available on-line. The one I use has dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, mustard seeds, lemon juice and corn oil, salt, sugar and pepper. I sometimes make my own using olive oil instead of corn oil, regular mustard, and a dash of cayenne pepper, plus the other ingredients above. Play around with the proportions. I would start with 2 TBSP oil, 1 TBSP mustard, 1 TBSP of vinegar and then slowly add the other ingredients til you come up with a combination that you like. Write down the amounts as you go along so later you can double or triple it for your salad or make even more to have on hand. Store in a glass jar in the fridge. In case you don?t like mustard or you can?t be arsed making a dressing, you can use any store-boughten dressing or just use olive oil and red-wine vinegar, which in spite of its name, doesn?t have red wine or any alcohol in it.
Then add any of the following that you like...
Chunks of boiled or grilled chicken, skin and bones removed (I usually use skinless, boneless breast or thigh parts cut up and boiled til done and save the broth for soup)
Ham cubed. I get low fat ? only 3%.
Whole wheat croutons
Spring onions
Red onions
Sweet corn, canned or frozen
Kidney beans (canned) rinsed
Chop up the lettuce , the arugula and the dill. Place in a bowl. Add the parmesan cheese and the dressing. Add any of the other ingredients that you think you?d like, stir well and taste. Add more vinegar if you think it needs some.
I usually add a hand-full of chicken for each serving and a heaping TBSP of whatever else I?m adding per serving. I use 1 TBSP dressing, 1 TBSP of EVOO and ? TBSP of balsamic vinegar for each portion. You can add more or less according to your taste.
And here are a couple more salad recipes...
Confetti Salad
Iceberg lettuce
Chopped tomatoes and English cucumber. Since you don?t like them, you can substitute them with chopped red and green bell peppers
Sweet corn (canned or frozen)
Red onion
Gouda cheese cubed (I use low-fat ? 11%) A small handful for each portion.
Ham or chicken cubed. Again, you can get low fat or just use regular, whatever works for you.
For the dressing, I use 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 TBS Ketchup and 1 TBSP red wine vinegar for each serving. If you don?t want to use olive oil, use mayonnaise if you like it. It?s not as healthy but it?s very tasty.
I sometimes add a can of tuna in brine, drained instead of the cheese and ham or chicken.
Three-bean salad
Kidney beans, green beans and chick peas combined in equal amounts, with chopped red onion and fresh parsley.
Toss with EVOO and red wine vinegar to taste. Add a dash of cayenne pepper and salt to taste. If you don?t want to try it with the green beans, again, use chopped bell pepper instead.
I hope they help to give you a couple of ideas. Another thing, if you like Chinese food, sweet and sour chicken is really easy to make and you can eat it with brown rice. Just put in the veggies that you like such as carrots, onions, peppers, celery, and you can get things like bamboo shoots and water chestnuts canned at the supermarket. Cook the veggies and small chunks of chicken in a bit of water until they're done - about 15 minutes - make sure the chicken is cooked, then add a store-bought sauce or make your own with pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar. It's really easy. I'm sure you can find recipes on-line.
But don't get yourself worked up about not plunging in here with both feet. Baby steps. Even just eating breakfast every day and slowly getting more fruit and veggies into your diet is a start. You do need to drink the water tho'. I like a bit of lemon juice squeezed into mine. One thing you might like to try is to have a small glass of water on the counter in the kitchen where you will be sure to notice it. Drink one glass every half an hour, then fill it and have it waiting there to remind you to drink it again. That way you're not forcing yourself to drink a big glass, say every hour and not liking it. Drink a smaller amount more often and you'll be surprised at how much it adds up. If you like flavoured teas, you could make up a big bottle of cold tea and drink that instead of the water. Mind you, it would be best if you didn't put sugar in it but a little honey to sweeten it would be good.
Comment