Seeking Advice on Cooking Healthy

Go to savingdinner.com, you can choose what type of menu is best for you, and get weekly recipes, it's a great help!

Hello K.,

Check out our blog: http://healthyhouse4u.blogspot.com/
On the right in Links you'll find quick and healthy cooking recipes. I have found that cooking from scratch with fresh herbs is great. I have heard that Flax seed is great to add to your diet as well. Cutting down on portion size can do wonders to ones health. Hope this helps!
Blessings, C.

fitwatch.com is a great way to compare what you want to eat.

Check it out!

T.

My offering to some tried & true healthy (low fat, low calorie) recipes...

http://www.healthdiscovery.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=4

This is a link to the recipe forum of a Weight Watcher support board called Bootcamp Buddies. There's a good mix of WW recipes as well as the everyday recipe that has been tweaked to lower calories and fat.

K.,
I think it depends on what you consider healthy. My mother has a cookbook out that uses honey rather than sugar, and whole wheat instead of white. She's a health nut, and growing up I was exposed to a large range of viewpoints about what is and isn't healthy. Some of them were completely off-the-wall and some had valid points. She was pretty good at weeding out the weird ones.
Something we do (because my husband's mother did it) is try and have a salad at every dinner. The salad is lettuce in a bowl, and then in a divider, 6 or 7 different vegetables and toppings, with a variety of dressings on the table. There are tons of toppings to go on salads and if you put different ones out each time, it's pretty much like a mini salad bar. I find that I like salads more when I do it this way, and even my 3 year old (who used to spit anything out that had lettuce or other green veggies in it) is eating salad almost every evening-- as long as he gets to make it himself.
I've also found that things I like from the store, like chicken noodle soup, are a lot tastier and healthier when I do it at home. It's not hard to find a good noodle recipe (try Better Homes and Gardens) and then add in all sorts of good vegetables and seasonings. (Again, I happen to use Better Homes and Gardens homemade chicken noodle soup recipe at the moment.) You tend to bypass the msg, overabundance of sugar and sodium, and dyes and preservatives that way.
Two internet resources I like are www.allrecipes.com and www.cooks.com because they have a comprehensive range of recipes.
Have fun,
A.

After I had my second baby, I was about 40 lbs overweight and had high cholesterol. I stay home and didn't have extra money to join some of the weight loss groups so my Dr. suggested the South Beach diet. I lost 35 lbs in 6 mo and have kept if off for 2 yrs. My kids did not follow the diet but it made me more aware of what we were eating. I make the same things, just made simple changes like changing to whole wheat noodles for spagetti and wheat bread. No soda (except Fresca or Crystal Light) & more salads & everyone had to eat one serving of vegetable at dinner.
I started walking in the mornings and bought a workout DVD for when it was too cold. Things don't change instantly so be patient. Good luck.

Cooking Light magazine also makes a great all-around cookbook with all sorts of things. Tasty and healthy recipes. I think you can order through magazines website or I got mine through a Southern Living party. CL website also has lots of free recipes to download.

You've had some good advice already. I also love allrecipes.com and cooks.com. I do Pampered Chef and we have a great cookbook called "It's Good For You", all light & healthy recipes. You can check it out on www.pamperedchef.biz/erinjensen.

I like Betty Crocker's "Best of Healthy and Hearty Cooking" cookbook. Also, I had gestational diabetes during my last pregnancy and had to adopt healthy eating habits. I found a lot of low carb/low sugar recipes (that tasted great) on the American Diabetes Association website under the "virtual grocery store" section. Good luck!

When I am looking for a recipe, I go to the google search engine and type in what I am looking for. You may want to simply type in healthy recipes and see what it pulls up. I also Reader's Digest has some great recipes.

Hi K.,

I always cook healthy, and if you're just getting started, you should start with a few basic, very simple alterations to cooking habits. That is, don't use butter or margarine or spreads. Instead, use extra virgin olive oil or a natural cooking spray. No fried foods, just steer clear of those. And if you love your mexican food, just cut out the butters and refried beans, and that will make a big difference. Also, cut back on some of the cheese too. Eat lots of fresh or frozen veggies and fruits as they have so much nutritional value in them, including fiber which helps with fat absorption (absorbing the good ones, discharging the bad ones), and antioxidants, which battle free-radicals, which are what break down healthy cells, increasing chances of cancers (cancer attacks damaged cells). Stay away from canned veggies as they have next to no nutritional value. And don't microwave your veggies, ever. The high heat kills all nutritional value. That's a rule of thumb while cooking veggies (and just about everything, unless you're boiling) on the stove, too. Don't cook on high heat, or you'll destroy the good you're trying to put into your body.

Best,
C.

Hi K.-
Weight Watchers is pretty awesome. My mom struggled with weight issues and is now a lifetime member of WW. They have a great website and tons of cookbooks. I basically grew up eating that food because that is what my mom cooked and it was great. I don't have weight issues, but I still use their cookbooks, just because they are good and healthy. Their points system is very easy to follow and you still get to eat what you want and you don't have to buy any weird food!

You are a great mom to think of your daughter and want to change your eating habits for her and yourself. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi K.,

I too have been over weight most of my adult life. I have joined weight watchers and that is a program where you eat what you want, it is all about portion contol. I have a lot of WW receipes that I would love to share with you. I am a mother of a very picky 3 year old and she has eaten every WW meal I have made. Let me know if you would like me to send you some recepies to your home email. I would be glad to help. I have been doing the program for 3 weeks and have lost 15 pounds....very successful.

Food TV...or foodnetwork.com I believe...has a lot of recipes, and I think a lot are healthy versions.

Try Google-ing those websites. I also LOVE mexican dishes...as much as I can...and yes, they do cause extra LBS.