WeightLossOmaha's Journal (original) (raw)

... and dr_phil_wlc, as long as I already typed it all out, LOL... here are some of the things that have worked for me thus far, although I'm getting a little tired of them and looking to branch out:

About once a week:
I stew or bake a whole chicken (67 to 88 cents a pound, WAY better than breasts) to have on hand at all times. If I crock-pot it, I take the skin off first, and use scissors to trim all the fat I can. I season with seasoned pepper and throw in some cut-up onion (I'd use celery but I'm allergic). When it's done and cooled, I just pull the meat off the bones and cut it into bite-sized pieces for salads, wrap-sandwiches with broccoli and a little cheese in a tortilla, or add to soup. I know they say "breasts only!" but I can't afford that, and when it's trimmed well, the fat differences are tiny.

I do the same with ham, for salads... I just tried buying a 1/2 boneless ham for $4.71, baked it and cubed it... came up with enough ham for 3 weeks, I bag about a week's worth and freeze it till I need it.

Ditto all salad veggies. I precut onion, carrot, and pre-TEAR lettuce, so it doesn't turn brown. Rinse and put the lettuce in a large baggie with a couple of dry paper towels, the moisture is just right. I keep frozen peas at all times, and run them under cold water a couple of times in a strainer when I start making salad - they come out cold and crisp. Toss all that in a bowl, cut up a tomato on top. Add some ham and chicken, some seasoned pepper, dressing, and Cheez-its (I use them for cheese flavor, and they're cheaper than croutons), and you have a meal in a bowl in 5 mins. I like the Montreal Steak Seasoning Pepper (Baker's has a GREAT generic of that, black lid, greyish bottle) and REGULAR Kraft 3-Cheese dressing - I don't care for Light Done Right!, but I don't use much dressing anyway, so I'm comfortable with that.

I make a whole package of that dry soup mix and keep it on hand. Check for fat/calories of course, but so far all of them have fit the bill.

then, my FAVE: Cheerios snack mix that I make myself, in a large baggie. Proportions are:
1 C. Honey Nut Cheerios (I buy generics)
1 C. Raisins
1/4 C. Peanuts
Of course I make more than that, but that's how you proportion it to get 280 calories & 5.5 grams of fat per 1 cup serving. Not the best, I grant you, but high in fiber (cereal and raisins) and protein (peanuts). Sometimes I eat too much of this in a day, but I try to be careful and would rather binge on that than cake or something.

And let's not forget Lean Pockets! I get the Pizza ones.... they're lacking a little bit on sauce, but I can live with that. They curb a craving pretty well, especially when they have CHEESE, which I've more or less given up.

Oh, I almost forgot pretzels.... for a salty snack.

AND... this is easily within my incredibly limited budget... in fact, the salads came along last summer when I was WAY broke and trying to figure out how to eat... the veggies were cheap, I figured out the chicken, and the ham is a luxury that sometimes I pass on...

Heh, that's enough for now, I'm done... LOL - Where is everyone??? I miss you!!!!!

Ever onward ~

Nancy