Comments on: How do you incorporate your favorite foods?

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:29:00 +0000

Weighing and measuring what I’m cooking make a huge difference for me — I find I rarely need as much oil to roast my veggies as I was using before weightwatchers and knowing how many points something is gives me motivation to lighten it up (I have a crunchy pea salad recipe I got from wondertime magazine (which is a fab parenting magazine, BTW) which was something like 8+ points per serving as written, and by using light mayo, replacing some of it with yogurt, cutting down on the nuts and subbing in turkey bacon I made an equally good version that’s only 3 points! The final thing I do is portion control. I buy those 100 calorie dark chocolate bars at Trader Joe’s — I know how much I’m eating and I enjoy it. For me, it’s all about cutting down on the mindless eating.

By: HappyBlogChick

HappyBlogChick — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:28:00 +0000

I’m like you – I find substitutions. The whole “have a little of the real thing” thing? It doesn’t work for me. First of all, I want these things TOO OFTEN. Second of all, stopping at a little? Not so easy. It’s easier to find really good substitutions that I enjoy.

Oooooooh, I need to try that pizza crust. Yeast and I, we don’t know each other, but I can give it a shot.

By: Crazy MomCat

Crazy MomCat — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:09:00 +0000

Oh, yay! I love pizza and I can’t wait to try out this pizza crust. Even if my family doesn’t convert over to the thin crust, if I have something I can make when they order pizza out I’ll take it gladly!

Right now, I’m finding I have a big weakness sitting in my pantry that is KILLING me. Trail mix. I bought a huge bag of it for my son and daughter. I realize that nuts and raisins are healthy, but uh…this is the kind with M&Ms and I KNOW it isn’t healthy. And, yet, I find myself craving the crunch and the chocolate and goign and getting a handful now and then. I’ve moved them to the top shelf…but I wont’ be buying that again for awhile.

I feel bad when my family is deprived of things they love because of my lack of willpower, but that’s just going to be how it is until I can get a handle on it I guess!

Substitutes for me: Laughing Cow, Dannon Light N Fit strawberry yogurt (just tried this–it’s SOooo good!), light popcorn and tonight I made spaghetti squash with my sauce and turkey meatballs and I loved it!

By: coral

coral — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:41:00 +0000

The longer you eat healthy, the more the bad cravings go away. At least for some things. While I do have a weakness for fast food, I still allow myself once a week, and fit it into my daily points. I used to eat a TON of chocolate, always had candy bars in the house, and I no longer do that. No pudge brownies, yogurt, skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, and chocolate chips have been my standby's for my sweet tooth.

now, i LOVE ranch dressing, and hadn't had it in over four months since starting back on WW. I had a little bit a couple weeks ago, and it was good, but I was amazed at how little I used compared to how much I used to eat.

cheese is another thing that is big for me. Like others have mentioned, I still have cheese almost every day. But now, I use the lowfat versions, and once in a while i will treat myself to a cheese plate of the "real" stuff and share with my husband.

It's all about moderation. i would be living a miserable life if i cut out all things delicious in my diet.

By: michelly

michelly — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:43:00 +0000

Peanut butter and chocolate is my biggest weakness. I used to eat peanut butter straight out of the jar! Now I eat the Recees 100 calorie wafers, Edy’s loaded peanut butter cup (it’s not 1/2 fat, but the NI is about the same for their 1/2 fat varieties), and add PB2 (powdered peanut butter) to my WW chocolate or vanilla smoothies. I also like Better n’ peanut butter. Brownies are another weakness, so I must always have the No Pudge brownie mix on hand. They are great “frosted” with cool whip free and PB2.

By: manya

manya — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:30:00 +0000

I love french fries. About twice a week, I slice some potatoes and fry them in 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil. Satisfies my grease craving and still on the Core plan.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:14:00 +0000

I do a lot of substituting, and your food blog has taught me so much. I do love pizza so we have your version at least once a week – the the light flat out bread, with turkey pepperoni, which I actually prefer now to regular GREASY pepperoni – UGH! We don’t eat a lot of the prepackaged meals – probably just a couple of meals a week when we don’t have the time to make something better. I love a grilled cheese so now we use the 35 calorie bread with low fat cheese and FF spray butter. A month ago, we had a get-together and we had WW lasagna, stuffed baked zucchini (modified to be lower fat), low fat breadsticks, and a WW choc. cake recipe for dessert. You would have never guessed any of it was lower fat – it was fabulous! I can only imagine the amount of fat and calories I HAVEN’T eaten just by modifying recipes and making healthier choices!
And, btw, I can’t wait to try your new pizza crust!!

By: Lynn

Lynn — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:16:00 +0000

I just wrote about one of my big comfort foods recently; something my great grandmother used to make for our family… kidney beans and bacon. It’s a depression era dish, just a side of bacon, a few cans of kidney beans, and onion. Nothing spectacular, but I hold it in a special place in my heart, because I loved my great grandmother so much…

I made it just the other day using turkey bacon, and it was almost as good as the regular, and 5 points for 1 cup, which is a good amount of dinner and a good amount of points. Quite happy.

Now, I just need to find a decent Mac and Cheese recipe that’s less than 7 points.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:53:00 +0000

Thanks for your efforts…insight…and honesty! I honestly believe that making your own food is the answer. Teaching people how to do it themselves helps us integrate these changes into our lives. For example….I think it is REALLY expensive to go to the store and purchase most of the prepackaged 100 calorie packs etc…Even the flat outs are fairly expensive(That is usually how I make my pizza). Then to top it off…I don’t feel like sharing the health with my family! We can simply create our own 100 calorie packs by baking our own and storing them in the handy dandy zip locks….freeze and viola! Then it is easier to share the health. Suddenly it is part of your life and your families life. Andy you have changed your habits and created healthy habits for your kids. Keep it up Roni.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Better ‘n Peanut Butter has changed my life. IF you don’t know what it is, it’s a peanut butter substitute – all natural, half the calories, that uses peanut flour. Anyway, I love nut butters, they are one of my trigger foods – but with Better ‘n Peanut Butter, I can have some and since it’s not quite as good as the real thing, not feel the urge to eat a tone of it at once (usually…) it’s nice to feel in control!