I require alot of food. More than most men. It’s not because I’m bored, or depressed, or PMS’d, or whatever – although all of these things can contribute.
The bottom line is: I’m just freakin hungry! I’m hungry all the time. Even when I’m on my deathbed sick, I have an appetite. As a kid, my mom never believed me when I said I was sick because I always ate.
Anyway, when I’m dieting it’s important for me to be able to eat: and I have to eat the right things.
On the weekends, I’ll make a huge pot of spaghetti sauce. The sauce includes onions, bell peppers (any color), mushrooms (fresh or jarred, doesn’t matter, I love em) sometimes I add yellow squash and zucchini, and tomatoes. The veggies are sauteed in chicken broth (which I use for everything except cereal) and then thrown in the pot and cooked in with the tomatoes and tomato sauce and seasoned italianically.
A cup of this stuff might have 200 calories with maybe 10 fat calories. I eat it by the bowlful, use it as a dipping sauce for bread (which I don’t deprive myself of- most bread is low in fat as long as you don’t put butter on it – I see no reason to deprive myself. I’m very selfish you see), use it on pasta (also low in fat). I’ll eat it hot or cold. It’s delicious. It’s also one of my “unlimited” (ala weight watchers) foods. I can eat as much as I want. It lasts the week.
I keep on hand:
Canned chickpeas (I try to get the 2 serving size) I eat the whole can, with salt, garlic and lemon pepper.
Canned butterbeans – I’ll eat the whole can, salt garlic and Louisiana hot sauce.
These 2 things I eat out of the can. I’m a strange eater. They come in handy when I’m starving. You know, you walk in the door from running around all day and oh-my-god- if-you-don’t-eat-now, you’ll either die or eat the nearest human being kind of starving. (I’m also hyperglycemic-most women are. Go get yourself tested *before* you have your period). These 2 things have saved me innumerable times from blowing it.
The beans are limited to a point. If I happen to have an extra hungry day, I won’t kill myself for eating an extra can. I mean what’s better: a can of butterbeans at 300 calories and 15 fat calories or ice cream or potato chips loaded with calories and fat calories? And can you actually eat the recommended serving of ice cream or chips? I can’t.
Pineapple and no fat cottage cheese. Or pears or fruit cocktail. Canned. (I have an aversiion to fresh fruit for some reason….)The fruit is in it’s own juice, although for the first week or 2 if I need to I will use the “in heavy syrup” stuff as I adjust to less sugar.
Another fruit snack I just love. This one is jarred. In the produce section of most grocery stores, you’ll find jarred fruit. I like the citrus: with oranges, white and pink grapefruit. I get the biggest jar they sell, dump the jar in a big bowl, add a can of pineapple chunks, and half a jar of marachino cherries and juice. The cherries are cut in half. Delicious, refreshing and will cool you off. It’ll take care of that sweet tooth as well. Unlimited.
Any kind of vegetable, fresh or frozen. One of my favorites is a package (yes the whole package – there’s maybe 250 calories total for the whole thing, no fat calories) of frozen brussel sprouts, sprayed with a bit of butter flavored pam, with salt, garlic and lemon pepper and nuked for 9 minutes (I like em well done). The family simply adores me on the days I eat them too 馃檪
Potatoes. (can you tell I’m a carb freak?) What do I do with potatoes? Well, I’ll bake one, spray butter pam on it with salt, pepper and sage and eat it. I also like cutting up some onion, and a pepper real small, mix with non fat cottage cheese and put it on the baked potato (this was invented because when I started the lowfat diet way back when, the only thing on the market you could get fat free was cottage cheese), I’ll do the same with little red potatoes, I’ll slice potatoes in wedges and spray with olive oil pam with salt, pepper and garlic. Very satisfying. And again, potatoes don’t have any fat, and relatively low in calories.
Wow! Look a Book! I’m getting wordy in my old age. I’ll add more as I think of more.