TIP: I don’t know about you, but I HATE milk… and that makes it even more difficult to get my dairy in each day than it already is. It’s difficult just to know what I can have instead. It seems as if there are so few things that constitute a full dairy serving. A calcium pill doesn’t cut it, since there are many more things in dairy that we need than just calcium. Only the following items are considered a full dairy serving: 2 ½oz of powdered milk, 4oz of ricotta cheese or condensed milk, 8oz of milk, yogurt, yogurt drink, or instant pudding, 12oz of latte, milk shake or cottage cheese, 16oz of cappuccino. A dairy diet shake (like Slimfast) works, too. Hard cheeses have more fat than value (and therefore are highly pointalicious) so try to avoid using them to get your daily dairy; you’d have to eat an awful lot of cheese to check off that little box…
TRICK: We all know portions at restaurants are out of control. When placing your order, also ask for a box to go. When your food arrives, immediately put 1/3-1/2 of your meal in the box and set it aside. Do not eat it while you are at the restaurant. If you boxed up lunch, then eat the other half for dinner; if for dinner, save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch. However, if you’re like me, you’ll tear into that box almost as soon as you get home. Even THAT would be better than eating it at the restaurant, because either way you were going to eat it… but by taking it home and drawing the process out, you won’t eat that additional snack. Other restaurant tricks? When placing an order, you must make it clear that you want your vegetables steamed, your condiments on the side (like salad dressing for dipping rather than pouring), your butter substituted for olive oil, and any other healthy requests honored. So why is a baked potato at home 2 points when the one at the restaurant could be as many as 5? You better believe they brushed it with butter. Be assertive, always ask before ordering, and never assume that vegetables are plain.
RECIPE: I myself struggle with breads, but since, according to last week's poll, 40% of the group identifies chocolate as its biggest problem, let me suggest a simple recipe for satisfying the sweet tooth. Buy a box of Fiber One cereal and a bag of regular baking chocolate chips… those are all the ingredients you need! Microwave two cups of chocolate in a mixing bowl until melted (not long), then mix in one sleeve (each box has two) of Fiber One cereal. Quickly form the mix into 24 no-bake cookies, or 48 mini-drops. One whole crunchy, chocolatey cookie is only 1 POINT! I especially like the mini-drops because you can have one and then eat the other later for the same single point. Because it’s real chocolate, it definitely satisfies the craving, and the extreme fiber keeps the pointage to a minimum. Eat up, chocolate lovers!
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2 comments:
How to slim down a 1/4 pound burger:
McDonald's Quarter Pounder = 7pts
96/4 hamburger, lite bun = 4pts
96/4 hamburger, lettuce wrap = 3pts
portobello burger w/cheese, lite bun = 3pts
portobello burger, lite bun = 1pt
portobello burger, lettuce wrap = 0pts
Depending on whether or not you can eat a portobello burger (some of you can't, and you know who you are, haha), you could forgo the 7 point burger and opt for a 0-3pt burger that will fill you up exactly the same. Using a lite bun and a portobello mushroom, I add tomato, lettuce and a quality 2pt piece of cheese to make a great burger. You can cook your mushroom in a pan with 2tsp water, or you could cook it with 2tsp healthy oil. That adds 2 more points, but you need the oil anyway. It takes practice, but it makes an excellent lunch or dinner!
A tasty new snack I tried tonight:
Slice a roma tomato. Arrage on a backing dish. Drizzle with balsamic vinagar. Divide 1/4 c fat free cheese onto the slices. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melty. Toast 2 pieces of light bread. Cut into triangles. Put 1 tomato slice on each triangle. Eat and enjoy. Yum! I figure this at 2 points (1 for cheese and 1 for bread).
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