What new food choices are you finding yourself making?

[yourdish]

Hi Everyone,

Here's one example, and I'd love to hear what you are doing, too.

I used to go to a salad bar and think I was  doing myself a favor to fill up on  proteins: cheeses, various meats, bacon bits and rich dressings. Now I select fresh fruits, raw veggies, a little chicken if it's lunch, and then assemble a  pea and corn salad in one corner of my plate consisting of blanched green peas, corn kernels, green onion bits, chopped or cherry tomatoes, edamame or any other beans on hand (chick peas, kidney beans, what have you...) I top it with a light Italian or vinaigrette and blue cheese crumbles, if available. I like it better than commercial bean salad which sometimes tastes a little sweet to my taste buds. It's tasty and my craving for wheat products has nearly vanished in just weeks.

Another new behavior is this:

I always buy a few ears of corn, which is in season here. I strip off the silk and cook on high for a minute and a half in my microwave. Then I spray on a dash of Pam olive oil flavor, and salt lightly. It makes a nice treat to add to a meal, or eat late at night. I prefer it to popcorn.

yourdish

Meg

[isthis4me]

the corn for me is a doer too
I keep it in the husk, nuke for 1-2 min, let sit, unhusk, put some lime and sea salt on it or PLAIN and 

I am also eating more at lunch, I truly am eating till FULL  and finding I am eating very little at night, last nite was NOTHING
tonight cos I had lunch earlier ( noonish) I am eating cherries only

[mom]

I have eaten more beans, I finally made and tried three and four bean salad, love it on top of my lettuce and other veggies (always drain the dressing off it well, even when I make my own), I made lasagna using zucchini strips instead of noodles, and gotta love poached eggs over refried beans.  Making my own soups, so they don't have no junk in them, my favourites are Little Mary's chicken/corn chowder, and tomato soup made with canned tomatoes, cannelini beans and chicken broth. 

[heretotheend]

I have always liked beans and ate them often....I find myself eating more veggies than ever before and I automatically reach for the corn thins when I make a sandwich or eat the soups........don't even miss the bread and crackers......

Cookie

[julie409]

Hey Your dish - good question!

I am continually surprised by what I am willing to try.

I am now an advocate for squash growers. Can't get enough of Butternut and Spaghetti!  Never had them before LDL.
Also new to me is the Bean family!  I love chick peas and make fresh hummus all the time.  I also now eat Butter beans, cannolini and white beans. I even tried refried black and red beans, even though I thought it looked like poo in a can  ! Not going there again, though!

Julie

[Gwennaford]

I could never choke down eggplant before, and now I cannot get enough of it in this Grilled Vegetable Ratatouille recipe:

http://www.letsdolunch.com/boards/http: ... 982#p43982

I also never roasted winter squash before.  Actually never bought it at all because the portion size was always so limited on previous weight loss diets that it wasn't worth the expense, time & effort it took to cook it.  But now I buy every new one I can find and roast away!  Roasted butternut or butterCUP along with carrots, cauliflower, onions, garlic, & pureed into soup . . .  OMG!  Be sure to roast a double or triple batch, because you won't be able to stop yourself from eating the roasted veggies right off the roasting pan. 

Roasted kabocha squash is my all time new fave.  It is so sweet and rich, I don't mix it with anything, although it is tempting to want to stretch it with other ingredients to make it last longer.  But doing anything to change its excellent flavor would be a crime against nature.

[julie409]

OMG!  Be sure to roast a double or triple batch, because you won't be able to stop yourself from eating the roasted veggies right off the roasting pan. 

Roasted kabocha squash is my all time new fave.  It is so sweet and rich, I don't mix it with anything, although it is tempting to want to stretch it with other ingredients to make it last longer.  But doing anything to change its excellent flavor would be a crime against nature.

Hi Gwennaford,

So nice to see you on the boards in that absolutely lovely hat creation. I am a hat girl myself!  How have you been feeling lately?

I had to laugh about the "eating right out of the pan" comment. I do that all the time. In fact I really have to be careful on cooking nights as I will eat too much before going to bed - not good!

And what is Kabocha squash, do tell!  What does it look like, taste like and how do you prepare it?  I am going to go goggle it right now.

Julie

[Gwennaford]

Thanks, Julie - I really miss everyone when I'm away.

You don't want to get me started!  You can search the boards for "kabocha" to see some discussion about it.  Following is my dissertation about my experiences with various winter squashes (or squash ... what IS the correct plural?)  I'm very enthusiastic about many subjects & just can't seem to keep it brief.

http://www.letsdolunch.com/boards/http: ... 399#p43399

[yourdish]

I'm chuckling to see how similar some of us are to each other...eating grilled veggies out of the pan, loving white beans, etc. Also, I get rhapsodic about butternut squash, which I like to steam in chicken broth and sprinkle with hot pepper flakes. My (skinny) adult daughter finally confessed to me that she isn't as crazy about squash as I am, and I thought I was doing her such a favor to serve it. She's more of a chard fan, and LOVES the Little Mary Soups, which appeal to her  vegetarian tastes.

[MandaM]

Love all these posts! I think the fact that I never thick twice about not eating bread/pasta/potatoes is the best change for me.  I haven't tried corn thins yet (I think I might get addicted!) but I don't miss any kind of bread!  It also helps that I haven't gone out to eat too many times since I've started.  I like the tastes of the recipes on the boards, and it is such a good feeling knowing everything I'm putting into my mouth.  This has also been extremely beneficial to my budget (which consequently has gone straight to my online shopping addiction! )  Also, my body is reacting in such a positive way to eating so much fresh fruits and vegetables, I love it!

[crickadoodle]

I recently tried butternut squash for the first time.  I went to the local farmers' market and one booth had them.  I really didn't know what I was going to do with it, but figured I'd find a recipe somewhere.  I did read a few on the boards, but someone had mentioned it tasted similar to sweet potato -- so, I prepared it like I did sweet potatoes.  First, though, I put it in the microwave for 7 minutes, because I read that somewhere.  Then I was able to easily scoop out the insides.  I put it in a dish, sprayed I Can't Believe It's Not Butter on it and sprinkled a mixture of Splenda and cinnamon on top.  I baked it maybe 10 minutes.  It was really good.  I will definitely buy more butternut squash next time I see it.

[crickadoodle]

Oh, I'm looking forward to trying spaghetti squash.  I never have had this before either, but haven't seen one to buy yet.  Are these in season at this time?  My husband loves spaghetti and I'm hoping he'll like it this way.  By the way, he isn't on LDL, but gives me lots of great compliments and shares with others what I am doing.  I think he said yesterday that he might start doing it too , but he wouldn't commit to the beans !  He likes white beans, as white beans and rice are a common meal in south Louisiana.  For some reason he will not try the delicious white bean soup (Little Mary's) which I could eat every day.  Go figure?

[crickadoodle]

Oh, one more.  Even though he(my husband) isn't doing LDL, he has been eating more fruit.  I keep so much in the house.  I freeze the grapes for him and rarely eat them this way myself.  (Sometimes super cold things hurt a little to eat.)  He loves ice cream, but sometimes I find him reaching for the grapes instead.  He's lost a little weight just because of this.  I think he said he lost 4 lbs.  Men do lose faster than women.  He told me that since God's Word says we are one, that means he gets to lose too -- like I'm eating this way and it'll make both of us lose.  Somehow, it really has, though.

[Kero]

I was totally addicted to cheese and breads -- especially fresh-baked bread and rolls -- BLDL (Before Let's Do Lunch) and thought it would be super hard to give those up. Happily, I haven't missed them nearly as much as I'd anticipated because I eat so much fresh fruit instead. One new food choice I've noticed in particular is when I've gone out to eat. Now I automatically go to the "Salads" section of the menu and I'm almost always able to get a Caesar Salad with chicken or salmon and order it without croutons and dressing on the side. And if I DO decide to have alcohol, rather than the gin and tonic I used to have, now I order a white wine spritzer and tell them "easy on the wine."

[yourdish]

Interesting that you are making the same restaurant selection I am...the Caesar Salad, no croutons, dressing on the side, with salmon.

Before LDL I ordered that once, but used up most of the dressing from the side dish. Now I dip my fork into it for the taste, and by the end of the meal, most of the rich dressing is still sitting there, unused.

Roger's fork dip idea really is clever.

yourdish