Anything Healthy???

[mabr]

Folks, coming from me this is weird big time (just read my recipe for fish chowder). But I’m 50 now and man have things changed as I get older. The once young bullet proof guy I thought I was is no longer, and I’ve finally come to the realization that I need to make some changes. Both quitting smoking and changing the way I eat. One month without a cigarette due to the ecig and its great.

But now to the gut!!!! I’ve gained almost 40 pounds sense I went from working with my hands every day to sitting at the computer working with my brain. It’s unbelievable how much worse I feel after the last 6 years of this change. Im going to start a work out plan for that as well

So this morning looking in the mirror I’ve decided I’m going to make a change and need a few HEALTHY food ideas. Anyone got some good recipes to share? Thanks goodness I have lots of venison.

[ThunderLund78]

I've also been trying to eat, shall we say, wiser. Eyeguy2 had a really good chicken dish under the "Supper" thread from a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2791334/Supper#Post2791334

The Spicy Southwest Chicken Soup I just posted can be very healthy if you don't overdo the cheese on top when you serve it. It's the best soup I've ever personally made--use low sodium chicken broth:

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...ken_Soup#UNREAD

And tonight my wife and I tried slow cooker sesame chicken and it was fantastic and easy, give it a try:

Slow-Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)

Salt and pepper

1 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)

4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water

Sesame seeds

What you'll do:

Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

I'm sure there's other great non-chicken stuff, too Best of luck with your diet.

[nofishfisherman]

How much of the good stuff do you want to give up?

There are a lot of ways to make "normal" food healthier without going crazy. I think thats the best way to go since its more sustainable for most people.

A couple easy substitutions are sweet potatoes instead of baked potato, brown rice instead of white rice, and cous cous can subsitute for rice or pasta at times. Also whole grain breads instead of the white wonder bread type stuff.

I also really like almost any vegetable if its roasted which make good healthy side dishes for any type of protein you opt to have. I had rostated sweet potato along with my grilled chicked for dinner tonight in fact. Other good options are roasted cauliflower or roasted brussel sprouts. I just chop them to size and toss them with some olive oil, a little salt and pepper and then roast for maybe half hour.

One dinner that I really like starts with a nice steak or cut of beef, grilled with some light seasoning and then for sides I've done a corn/black bean/tomato/and avacado salsa served with some of the healthier baked tortilla chips.

And not that you asked for it but I'll offer one simple workout tip that most people at my gym don't do. A good workout should include both weight training and also some cardio work which is pretty basic knowledge. But what most people overlook is the order in which you do it. My tip is to start your workout with your weight training first. When you first start working out your body burns all the simple sugar garbage you take in throughout the day first before it starts buring fat. If you lift first you'll burn through those sugars before you do cardio so your time doing cardio will be more effective sinve you'll be burning fat 100% of the time versus maybe only 50% of the time if you do cardio first.

[KrabbyPatties]

Here's what I did yesterday. Very tasty and filling--all vegetarian and all on the grill.

After getting the coals going, I cut around the stem on a couple of pablano peppers and removed the seeds. Put the peppers right on the grill. They take the longest and I peeled the skin off when they were done.

Then, peeled an eggplant and sliced it lengthwise to make a few oval "patties". I brushed each slice with olive oil and Italian seasoning. Put these on the grill.

Brushed some sourdough bread slices with a little olive oil and grilled them on each side.

After flipping the eggplant slices, I put a couple of slices of Roma tomato on top of each and a slice of low fat provalone on top of the tomato and eggplant. Grilled until melted.

I then assembled the sandwiches as 1/2 of a pablano, the eggplant-tomato-provalone slices, and a big handful of baby spinach on grilled sourdough. You wouldn't believe how good this is and it's actually quite filling for something low calorie but with good fats from the olive oil. It's one of my favorites--in fact, I'm trying to grow pablanos, eggplants, and romas in the garden this year.

[deerminator]

Not a recipe but my recommendation is to eat lots of lean meat like venison, chicken and fish along with vegetables. Don't eliminate carbs but try and reduce them and use whole grains whenever possible. You can still eat like a king with a baked salmon fillet, roasted asparagus and a good salad - yes salad - with lots of veggies like peppers, cherry tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and a little light dressing.

For the salmon or whatever fish, I like to coat the fillet with olive oil, season it with some montreal steak seasoning and then dust with parmesan cheese. Next bake at 400 til done so it's nice and crispy on the outside.

Finally, excercise! Unless you're willing to really watch every calorie and crack down, I think 30-45 minutes of excercise (running, walking biking, whatever) a day is essential if you want to lose weight. Good luck!

[Chef]

If you're going to cut the fat off your body, you need to burn more calories in a day than you consume. This is accomplished by changing your diet and by excercise of course. Success doesn't happen "healthaly" by only doing one of these. If you can start your day with excercise, after age 50 it makes a big difference in your entire day and it's good for your mind/will power to stay on track.

One thing you should do in conjunction with eating leaner, if you drink alcohol of any kind, is to vastly reduce intake and when you drink, make it lite beer. Try to make it only weekend or 2 nites a week if you drink more than this already. Booze has so many bad calories and it hinders your sleep and desire to excercise.

Good Luck! Keep us posted.

[Getanet]

Another substitution idea that my wife just convinced me to try is plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I doubt it would work in cooked recipes that call for sour cream, but as a topping on tacos or potatoes or whatever I can't even tell the difference. And its good for you, so you can load it on without feeling guilty.

[OnAFly]

Here's a recipe that my wife made for me a while back. It's very good and good for you as well. I've been eating a low fat diet since my dad had a heart attack when I was 8. He was 37. It took a while, but eventually you find good recipes to replace the ones that you shouldn't eat anymore. It over 20 years later now, and he's still kicking, and eating lots of chicken and wild game

6 Chicken breasts

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons drained capers

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

[nofishfisherman]

One thing you should do in conjunction with eating leaner, if you drink alcohol of any kind, is to vastly reduce intake and when you drink, make it lite beer. Try to make it only weekend or 2 nites a week if you drink more than this already.

Whoa whoa whoa, lets not get crazy here.

You just suggested a man drink only lite beer!!!

[leech~~]

Taking these steps in the first place is the hard part. Better to do it on your own before the Doc tells you to.

I am eating a lot more Fish and skinless Chicken and have cut out the Friday night pizza's all together unless it is homemade low fat and salt. The e-smoke sounds like a good start on that end as well.

Good luck to a leaner-meaner "well maybe not meaner" You!

[reinhard1]

good stuff so far and a good topic as well. here are a couple we have during the week at times. weekends we do get into more of the regular meals but cut down on our servings.

Lettuce Chicken Wraps

1 head iceberg lettuce [i use romaine] i like the firm crispyness of one leaf, perfect for filling].

4 chicken breast fillets

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 8oz. can tomato sauce

minced garlic to taste

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

in skillet, cook chicken and onion until chicken is done and onion is tender. cut chicken into 1/4 inch wide strips. add tomato sauce, garlic, salt, and cumin. reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes. to serve, place hot meat mexture on lettuce leaves and top with choice of fillings. roll up burrito style. makes 10 serving.

Chili

2 lbs. lean ground beef or chicken

2 32oz cans diced tomatoes

1 cup water

1/2 white onion diced

4 garlic cloves diced

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cumin

4 tsp. chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

cook ground meat until done. remove from frying pan into a collander and rinse under hot water to remove all fat. return to pan and add the remaining ingredients. simmer for 20-30 minutes. eat fruit with the meal. good luck.

[ThunderLund78]

Another suggestion:

Instead of "easy" side dishes like tater tots or pre-made french fries along side that burger or brat, gill your veggies! We purchased a veggie grilling tray for less that $10 at Target and it's changed the way we eat in our house

One green pepper, one red pepper and one yellow squash or zucchini. Toss in a little olive oil and add a sprinkling of sea salt or kosher salt. Then grill over medium-high, turning them a few times. Make sure they get a little char on them. They're outstanding and about the easiest thing you can do.

[mabr]

Thanks folks, Keep em coming!!!

Im actually looking forward to this. Made for the very first time fresh spinach the other night and was amazed at how good it was. Now to start with other veggies.

[mabr]

Oh I forgot, what is the best oil to cook with? I see olive mentioned but is it the healthiest? Man I have alot to learn. Used to cook everything in butter, thank goodness we just bought a good set of non stick pans

[reinhard1]

i could be wrong but i use olive oil for the most part. i've been doing this "eating healthy" for about a year now. now that the grill will be used more it will be easier and tastier as the meals go. like i said, on weekends we go back to what we have always enjoyed and just cut down the servings. my now 7 months old lab keeps me going in walking daily in the park. realy does help a lot. before i had to get myself psyced up but now she takes me. good luck.

[OnAFly]

Olive oil is great. I use it a lot.

Here's an easy recipe for green beans:

Prep a half pound of green beans (wash, cut ends, and cut into ~2" pieces)

Saute a diced shallot in 1 TBSP Olive Oil

When soft, add green beans

Toss in the remaining oil and cover

Toss every few minutes to mix them up

Just before the beans are done, add Teryaki sauce and 1/2tsp sesame oil ans 1tsp sesame seeds

Let the beans cook an additional 3 minutes and stir the sauce to evenly coat.

This beans are really, really good and the only fat is from the small amount of oil used.

[leech~~]

Extra Virgin Olive Oil or some veggy oils. One thing you have got to learn is to start the boring task of label reading! But, it is the biggest part of finding other things to eat to make replacements to what you use to eat.

[reinhard1]

i think this is a very important thread. i hope more recipes come along here and i will do my part. we all like our meals that we have loved for years. we can still have them. we need to incorporate more healthy meals however. i just had my blood checked and everything was fine but my triglycerides were a little above the "ok" guideline. if left unchecked serious problems could occur down the line.

excersise, watching your fat intake, and still enjoying our meals can be challenging. so let's get the ideas out there. flavor and nutrition and less fatty foods are important in the long run. i'm hoping that this thread will be one of the more popular threads on here. remember, whatever you decide for your menue, get out there and do what you can as far as excersise. good luck.

[KrabbyPatties]

Yes. Olive oil is the healthiest oil you can cook with. The fat in olive oil is monounsaturated fat, which is actually linked to a reduction in coronary heart disease and helps raise the level of HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease LDL (bad cholesterol).

As a comparison, hydrogenated vegetable oils and oils from animal fats (except fish) have the opposite effect. (This is a little bit generalized, but is true in most cases.)

Now, don't get me wrong, you can still gain weight from the CALORIES in olive oil, but the FATS are much healthier fats than you will find from other oils.

Just about any fat or oil containing food can be made healthier by substituting olive oil in place of the 'usual' fat or oil. Making a grilled cheese? Brush a little olive oil on the bread instead of spreading butter. Panfrying a cut of meat? Use olive oil instead of butter, grease, or vegetable oil. There are plenty of opportunities for this substitution, and olive oil tastes great.

It's just a little spendy.

[mabr]

Thanks for the help guys and gals. It’s an eye opening experiences this whole thing. Ive got my wife and middle son working on it as well through myfitnesspal.--- and all of us never really thought about what we ate. My little fish chowder recipe I put on here had to be close to 4-5K calories alone per serving. And I’d eat that every day for 3-4 days when I made it.

I’ve never considered eating healthy until I researched it online and seen what I should be eating. Krabby I’m going to try the sandwich you posted with egg plant. I used to love it as kid but over ate one time and swore I’d never eat it again. But I do remember eggplant being real good if cooked right.

Forgot who it was that brought up alcohol, wholly cow I never thought of alcohol as having calories!!!! That is going to be a tough one there for me and my nite caps.

[reinhard1]

i dont think there is anything wrong with a night cap. i used to have plenty of night caps and day caps in my younger years up to about 20 years ago. then just beer and the "good stuff" [dark beer]. now there are some calories. i have cut down a lot over the years. now when i do have a beer it's a light beer. anything in excess isn't good for you except an excess in fishing and hunting and loving your family. my grandfather in Germany lived a long life. he had a night cap every night until he passed. good luck.

[nofishfisherman]

A night cap can be a good thing.

My wifes grandfather had 2 rum and cokes every night for 60 years. He finally switched over to rum and diet coke when he was in his 80's. He was healthy, active and mentally sharp up until he passed away in his early 90's after breaking a rib during a fall.

[itchmesir]

You should look into Quinoa(keen-wah).. it is an amazing grain.. it's a complete source of protein.. good source of iron and magnesium... high in fiber and phosphorus.. it's also gluten free

[LABS4ME]

mabr,

Posted up a Walleye and wild rice soup recipe a few weeks back. Look it up and incorporate it in to substitute for the chowder. I waas chowdered out and knowing that it is not the healthiest soup, I have limited making it to once a winter... This soup I posted is real flavorful and my daughter even did it with chicken breast as her fiance is alergic to sea food... she loved it with walleye though...

Good Luck!

Ken

[deerminator]

Alcohol in moderation is definitely not bad for you and can have a lot of positive benefits. I typcally have 1-2 glasses or red wine a night. BTW, I also take a statin to lower my abnomrally high cholesterol and the doctor agrees, so long as my liver tests are normal, no worries there. You'd have to be a fall-down drunk most of the time to see any negative side effects.

The same goes for food - moderation. It's all about as my doctor says, portion control. Seriously, I can't believe how much less I eat now than what I did in my younger years. You still get to enjoy great food, just one hamburger or brat, not two, and couple of beers instead of four at the cookout. : )

Finally, one tip I have for the treadmill or any kind of excercise: Instead of listening to music or talk radio, try audio books. I got a subscription to audible dot com where I get two books a month of my choice and I can't tell you how much I look forward to my daily excercise session. Plus I'm excercising my brain to boot! lol