Breaking my healthy eating for a day, what would you eat?

[swbsam]

My wife and I have changed the way we eat for a good while now..A month, which is a lot for us because we're currently very stressed out at work and use food as a crutch. But we've been forcing ourselves to cook every meal and have stuck to lean proteins and veggies, without slipping once. We use fit day and are pretty religious about it all. I've lost about 10 pounds and she's lost 8 so far.. Long way to go!

We're ok with it but i think this is the point we're going to flip out, so we cut our meal plan by 200 calories a day plus upped our working out by 10 extra minutes (only 3x a week) to basically justify one day this week (no, not every week) where we can eat "freely." I put freely in quotes because all you can eat joints won't be allowed.

We're going to start the day off tasty but relatively healthy - egg whites, turkey bacon, and whole wheat waffles.

What do you guys suggest for lunch and dinner?

Also, I'm a little worried that I've personally conditioned myself to not think of food as anything but a life necessity - the things we're eating are so bland that cheating on our diet isn't really that appealing (everything in our fridge and cabinets are healthy ingredients, not tasty convenience foods).. I'm a bit paranoid that tasting yummy, salty, fatty food will have a bigger psychological effect than caloric, kicking us out of our "food for life not enjoyment" mode.

Does that make any sense? Thoughts?

edit: I also quit smoking and drinking, so I'm jonsing a little harder than some

 

[surfsatwerk]

Brains!

 

[ElFenix]

ribs, ribs, and more ribs. then maybe chicken wings.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: surfsatwerk
Brains!

Wrapped in bacon!

KT

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
ribs, ribs, and more ribs. then maybe chicken wings.

I like your style.

I absolutely love ribs.. But also miss burgers and pizza. My wife's only request is a slice of pie. She's more sensible.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Usually it's the other way around. You get a free meal or day so you can satisfy your cravings and don't burn out from eating clean all the time. Some people do a day or some should stick to a single cheat meal.

I go with beer.

 

[shiner]

Something animal style....doesn't matter what....

 

[Gillbot]

turkey dinner

 

[ebaycj]

Pizza - Lou Malnati's deep dish - Extra cheese / Extra sauce / Extra pepperoni / mushrooms / buttercrust.
Add Malnati salad.
Add Side of garlic bread + sauce.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Pizza

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: ebaycj
Pizza - Lou Malnati's deep dish - Extra cheese / Extra sauce / Extra pepperoni / mushrooms / buttercrust.
Add Malnati salad.
Add Side of garlic bread + sauce.

Looking at the website.. Drooling.. Alas, no NY locations Unos isn't bad, but 1,000+ calories for a personal pizza... Hmmm.. Their desserts are awesome too...

 

[effowe]

You know not all your healthy food has to be bland and not taste good. You can even make food that sounds like it would be bad, healthy. Why is your food all bland? How are you cooking it, using enough spices? A whole wheat veggie pizza made at home could be tasty and healthy. You just need to look into how to make your "healthy" food something that you actually enjoy eating.

 

[Saint Nick]

Find a mom and pop burger joint.

Or a mom and pop pizza joint.

AND GO BANANAS!

I say mom and pop because they always have the greasiest, nastiest, most delicious food you can get!

 

[CRXican]

Chipotle, or a real mexican burrito

 

[gophins72]

lunch: pizza or pasta... or sushi

dinner: filet mignon from a GOOD steakhouse with wine and scotch

 

[Barfo]

Big fat steak.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: effowe
You know not all your healthy food has to be bland and not taste good. You can even make food that sounds like it would be bad, healthy. Why is your food all bland? How are you cooking it, using enough spices? A whole wheat veggie pizza made at home could be tasty and healthy. You just need to look into how to make your "healthy" food something that you actually enjoy eating.

You're right, but we've been too exhausted lately to get very gourmet with our cooking, and I'm an awful cook to begin with. My wife's not the greatest cook but, right now, slapping some chicken in the oven and stir frying some vegetables is as good as it gets based on our time and know how.

And we tried "healthy" spins on food. We lack the skills to make it work - our chicken nuggets came out gooey, the breading turning into more of a sauce.. Which was disgusting... I don't mind grilled/steamed/baked foods that are simple, in a weird way it makes things easier (since I'm never thinking "this turkey burger is ok, but I *REALLY* want a bacon cheese burger).

 

[D1gger]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Also, I'm a little worried that I've personally conditioned myself to not think of food as anything but a life necessity - the things we're eating are so bland that cheating on our diet isn't really that appealing (everything in our fridge and cabinets are healthy ingredients, not tasty convenience foods).. I'm a bit paranoid that tasting yummy, salty, fatty food will have a bigger psychological effect than caloric, kicking us out of our "food for life not enjoyment" mode.

Does that make any sense? Thoughts?

edit: I also quit smoking and drinking, so I'm jonsing a little harder than some

You are making a big mistake if you continue to try to keep a diet that is "bland" and believe that you can keep that change in your life. You will have a much greater chance of success if you put more effort into making healthy food taste better.

This is why most diets fail. People will put up with the bland uninteresting food for a while, but will fall back onto the deep fried fast food if they don't learn to cook more interesting healthy food (such as vegtable curry over brown rice)

That doesn't mean you can't have a night off for a decadent meal every now and then.

 

[effowe]

It's all about practice in the kitchen. I have been cooking seriously for about a year and a half now, and I still fail on some dishes. You just need to keep at it and figure out what you like that's healthy. That boring chicken breast can be delicious with some fresh herbs, perhaps stuffed with some sun dried tomatoes and a little cheese. You and your wife can take even one day a week to make a nice meal on the weekend, and that will give you both practice in the kitchen to come up with some solid meals that you'll both enjoy. I use Allrecipes.com for the majority of my recipes, just sub in healthy ingredients for some of the higher calorie ones you encounter, and you should be good to go.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: om3gawave
Find a mom and pop burger joint.

Or a mom and pop pizza joint.

AND GO BANANAS!

I say mom and pop because they always have the greasiest, nastiest, most delicious food you can get!

all we have is Five Guys around here and I go nuts.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: D1gger

Originally posted by: swbsam

Also, I'm a little worried that I've personally conditioned myself to not think of food as anything but a life necessity - the things we're eating are so bland that cheating on our diet isn't really that appealing (everything in our fridge and cabinets are healthy ingredients, not tasty convenience foods).. I'm a bit paranoid that tasting yummy, salty, fatty food will have a bigger psychological effect than caloric, kicking us out of our "food for life not enjoyment" mode.

Does that make any sense? Thoughts?

edit: I also quit smoking and drinking, so I'm jonsing a little harder than some

You are making a big mistake if you continue to try to keep a diet that is "bland" and believe that you can keep that change in your life. You will have a much greater chance of success if you put more effort into making healthy food taste better.

This is why most diets fail. People will put up with the bland uninteresting food for a while, but will fall back onto the deep fried fast food if they don't learn to cook more interesting healthy food (such as vegtable curry over brown rice)

That doesn't mean you can't have a night off for a decadent meal every now and then.

You're absolutely right and we'll figure things out. Honestly, we were so convenience based that I'm shocked that we actually have ingredients in our fridge/freezer vs. tv-dinners. Baby steps, after all.

But, right now, I haven't had a cigarette in 2 months or something greasy in about as long... I haven't lost a lot of weight, but that's ok, I know it's a process..

 

[gophins72]

Originally posted by: swbsam
And we tried "healthy" spins on food. We lack the skills to make it work - our chicken nuggets came out gooey, the breading turning into more of a sauce.. Which was disgusting... I don't mind grilled/steamed/baked foods that are simple, in a weird way it makes things easier (since I'm never thinking "this turkey burger is ok, but I *REALLY* want a bacon cheese burger).

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/b...en-nuggets/detail.aspx

I learned a great tip to crisp up chicken on the food channel show..Calorie Commando. Place chicken on a wire rack (like the kind you cool cookies on). This allows the bottom of the chicken crisp up as well. I use chicken tenders. I baked 15 minutes at 400, then broil for 5 minutes for extra crispness. Instead of butter if you want to save calories is to add a capful of vinegar to some milk (it is a substitute for buttermilk). This tenderizes the chicken as well and the coating sticks well to it. Then spritz with a light spray of oil and bake. This recipe also works well with Panko or cornflake crumbs. I've used this recipe to oven fry zucchini and mushrooms too. A much more healthy alternative than deep fried and they actually taste better! It's amazing how many calories you can save by using these simple steps. Thanks for the great recipe!

for turkey burger, try adding cajon seasoning and soy sauce.... really.

but I *REALLY* want a bacon cheese burger).

sounds like one of your meal choices for today has been picked

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: gophins72

Originally posted by: swbsam
And we tried "healthy" spins on food. We lack the skills to make it work - our chicken nuggets came out gooey, the breading turning into more of a sauce.. Which was disgusting... I don't mind grilled/steamed/baked foods that are simple, in a weird way it makes things easier (since I'm never thinking "this turkey burger is ok, but I *REALLY* want a bacon cheese burger).

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/b...en-nuggets/detail.aspx

I learned a great tip to crisp up chicken on the food channel show..Calorie Commando. Place chicken on a wire rack (like the kind you cool cookies on). This allows the bottom of the chicken crisp up as well. I use chicken tenders. I baked 15 minutes at 400, then broil for 5 minutes for extra crispness. Instead of butter if you want to save calories is to add a capful of vinegar to some milk (it is a substitute for buttermilk). This tenderizes the chicken as well and the coating sticks well to it. Then spritz with a light spray of oil and bake. This recipe also works well with Panko or cornflake crumbs. I've used this recipe to oven fry zucchini and mushrooms too. A much more healthy alternative than deep fried and they actually taste better! It's amazing how many calories you can save by using these simple steps. Thanks for the great recipe!

for turkey burger, try adding cajon seasoning and soy sauce.... really.

but I *REALLY* want a bacon cheese burger).

sounds like one of your meal choices for today has been picked

outstanding - I'm emailing this to myself and my wife for the next time we attempt oven-fried.. Thanks!

I really, really want a bacon cheese burger - five guys it is!

Thanks guys, pizza will probably be part of the plan and, if my wife is up for it, we may just make it at home with healthy ingredients

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: swbsam
I'm a bit paranoid that tasting yummy, salty, fatty food will have a bigger psychological effect than caloric, kicking us out of our "food for life not enjoyment" mode.

i found it was the opposite. when i woould pick a day to "splurge" eat a treat, i found the extra fat and sugars really didnt taste as good as i remembered it. i went to my fave pasta place and had fettuccini with grilled shrimp and broccoli.

i would say figure out what your fave food was back in the "dont care" eating days and have that again. usually the dissent with changing your eating style is that you tend to miss your fave food. eat that.

and have a couple beers, you can burn that off with a walk later on or something.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: swbsam
I'm a bit paranoid that tasting yummy, salty, fatty food will have a bigger psychological effect than caloric, kicking us out of our "food for life not enjoyment" mode.

i found it was the opposite. when i woould pick a day to "splurge" eat a treat, i found the extra fat and sugars really didnt taste as good as i remembered it. i went to my fave pasta place and had fettuccini with grilled shrimp and broccoli.

i would say figure out what your fave food was back in the "dont care" eating days and have that again. usually the dissent with changing your eating style is that you tend to miss your fave food. eat that.

and have a couple beers, you can burn that off with a walk later on or something.

I hope you're right! Actually, I'm the master of my own destiny - fuck that, I can eat a burger one day and healthy the next!