Trying to switch from junk to healthy but need help.

[reveriereptile]

My husband is more less on a starve himself diet till he loses enough weight and then start trying to eat more healthy foods. I eat mostly junk and need to switch to healthy foods also to help him and for my health. I've been looking online to figure out what foods that claim to be healthy to avoid and what to look for in the ingredients. My problem is once I buy all the healthy foods then how do I turn it from single ingredients to a healthy but delicious meal. I've found some recipes on the eatingwell.com site that seem like they might be good and it gives the calorie information plus pictures which I like.

I'm a picky eater and he is too but not as bad. I do eat more things now than I use to and have learned that I don't mind some veggies (peas) in something that drowns out the taste. I do like those steamer bags in the frozen section since they are easy to fix, taste good, and don't have added stuff like the cans. I like the white rice with the veggies but I will most likely switch to the plain brown rice but add veggies to it and grill some skinless chicken to go along with it.

I'm clueless as to where to begin. I would like to try to get most of the daily nutrients in each day. I don't even know how to make scrambled eggs. I did well in my foods class in HS as long as I had a recipe in front of me. My husband and I don't really like the taste of eggs and I'm going to be getting some chickens again this year so I would like to learn some recipes that uses egg whites but also aren't strong in egg flavor. He will eat scrambled eggs with hot sauce but I don't know how to make them. I don't mind scrambled eggs or even french toast as long as it isn't caked in egg. I want more chicken recipes also since I know it is a healthier meat as long as it wasn't injected and incase we eat some of our chickens.

My MIL likes to cook but she is like a Paula Dean cooker. So her food has lots of butter, salt, and sugar. She even gets the instant butter flavor potatoes and adds a stick of butter to it. She also likes to try and add stuff to what you're cooking. I'd like to have everything ready when I cook and know what I'm doing so I can keep an eye on it so nothing extra gets added.

 

[Arcnadius]

I personally shop the edges of grocery stores; vegies, fruits, meats, dairy. I seldom buy anything in cans or boxes. Even "healthy" food can be bad if prepared in bad ways or in excess quantities, frying for example. Try to make sure every calorie consumed is beneficial so stay away from simple carbs like donuts, cookies, cakes, pastas, white bread. Multigrains digest slower so you feel full longer and they have fiber. Cookbooks geared toward diabetics might be a good place for you to start your recipe searching. I keep my food pretty simple so I don't use cookbooks enough to give you good recommendations but I know there are several books and magazines for those eating light and healthy so you should have many choices. Good luck to you both!

ETA: Don't let your husband starve himself. He needs calories, probably about 2000 at least, to keep his metabolism up. Too few and his body will kick into starvation mode and start slowing down so he won't lose weight as a safety measure! Eating smart and exercising is the best way to lose weight.

 

[reveriereptile]

He is eating but not that much. He is eating his fruits, nuts, chili, and oatmeal but barely any veggies. He said he was going to start adding more Sunday to his diet. That is one reason why I'm trying to figure out what to fix to eat.

I'm going to try to stick with the produce section for the fruits and get frozen veggies so they hold up longer. Then get some milk, cheese, and plain yogurt. The meat will mostly be chicken that is skinless and boneless. My husband has made chili before using the turkey burger but he keeps forgetting how he made it the first time so it doesn't turn out well.

 

[Arcnadius]

Some basic vegie additions can be sliced cucumbers with a hummus dip (you can find prepared hummus at most larger grocery stores in the dairy department), zuchini and yellow squash sliced and sauted lightly in a little olive oil (I also add sliced onions and minced garlic), baby carrots with some light ranch dressing, or small baked sweet potatoes with a tsp of butter and some cinnamon.

Chili sounds great, too! Lots of tomatoes, green peppers or celery, kidney beans, lean meat. YUM!

Add sliced tomatoes and lettuce to sandwiches with lean meats (ham, turkey, lean beef) but hold the mayo. That stuff is loaded with fat and calories!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

let me know if this helps

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=268945

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
My brother - in - law lost a little over 150 pounds doing just that. He sticks to meat, vegetables, fruits, dried beans, and some dairy. He doesn't drink milk but he makes homemade yogurt and he eats a lot of it. He goes through a half gallon of yogurt a week. He also uses cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and heavy cream. For snacks he eats nuts, smoked pork rinds, homemade jerky, and fruit. When we are having a family gathering I buy him a big bag of pork rinds and he uses them to eat his dips with. He has gotten off all his high blood pressure, heart and diabetic meds and has maintained his weight for about 8 years now.

 

[jenny_kap]

please, visit my blog. you will find some informations there. it is totally wrong that your husband don't eat. he's gonna lose 10 pounds now and when he start to eat normal again, he's gonna get 20 back.

 

[KenK]

I've lost and gained back a bunch of pounds in my life. Over the past two years I've reduced from about 320 to 198 pounds.

IMO, for most people that are chronically overweight, the only real solution is to find a way to control portion size. Easier said than done, I know. What I know for a fact doesn't work for me is trying to eliminate all fat and tasty foods from my diet.

Try some yellow squash or zucchini lightly sauted in good olive oil along with some garlic and red pepper flakes. Steamed broccoli tossed with a little butter and lemon juice. Cauliflower roasted in the oven and then tossed with a little oil and/or butter and some freshly grated parm. Go light on the oil and butter but a little bit makes it taste so much better. If you can find really good tasting leaf lettuce you can make a delicous salad with just a tiny bit of oil and lemon juice. Most salad dressings have an atrocious amount of calories, people think they are eating healthy while consuming 2,000 calories worth of ranch dressing.


If 98% of your daily calories come from fatty junk food, changing from white to whole wheat or brown rice isn't going to do much for you. On the other hand, I guess every little bit helps.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

portion control is what's working for me too . . . but soooooo hard at first! That new Hoodia stuff from costco really helped curb my appetite. I only used it once a day and after about a week I could manage my portions without it, I'm pretty pleased. For 20.00 it got me over that hump.

 

[Kim_NC]

Congrats on your decision to eat healthier. I wish you & your DH all the best on that endeavor....it'll be the best thing you ever do for yourself, each other and family. You will feel better and live longer.

Since you have kind of "a long way to go" (no offense intended), you'll probably find gradual change will be easiest. Not "cold turkey", drastic type change all at once.

You really do need to switch over to whole grains and get away from processed white stuff (white rice, white bread, white pasta). Try changing one or two of these at a time. Or try mixing (as an example) 1/2 whole wheat pasta with 1/2 white pasta as a first step, then progress toward only whole wheat pasta.

Snacks - again, start moving away from the junk food and toward fruits, nuts or seeds, yogurt, cheese, etc.

Keep starches/carbs to a minimum - less bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. And little or no fried foods.....we do that occassionally, maybe once or twice a month, and even then in moderation.

Little or NO processed boxed foods. I go past these aisles in the grocery store with the thought of raising my hands in a cross symbol as if warding off evil. LOL Look at those labels, the foods are so processed there's no nutrition left - AND they're filled with processed chemicals. A good rule of thumb is: if you can't pronounce the ingredients, then avoid it.

I have 29 favorite fresh veggie recipes posted at this link. Most are simple and easy to prepare, and very flavorful. Hopefully you'll find something inspiring there. Only 2 or 3 are fried, avoid those.
http://millriverfarm.com/recipes.cfm?catname=Vegetables

About meat....
Although poultry is often considered the healthiest, it also makes for a boring diet by itself.

Red meat like beef and pork do have more calories and fat.....but if you choose lean cuts it's very healthy and the fat level is comparable to poultry. Just try to keep the portions of LEAN red meat to around 4 oz per serving.

Seafood also adds a lot of variety for very high protein and Omega-3 fatty acids. Interestingly, seafood is consumed in large quantities in Japan and other parts of Asia. Consequently they suffer far less of certain cancers and diseases, and the link to seafood is confirmed through studies. Personally DH & I eat fish and other seafood twice per week. You might try starting out with once per week, or even once per 2 weeks and then increase over time.

Quote:
My brother - in - law lost a little over 150 pounds doing just that. He sticks to meat, vegetables, fruits, dried beans, and some dairy. He doesn't drink milk but he makes homemade yogurt and he eats a lot of it. He goes through a half gallon of yogurt a week. He also uses cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and heavy cream. For snacks he eats nuts, smoked pork rinds, homemade jerky, and fruit. When we are having a family gathering I buy him a big bag of pork rinds and he uses them to eat his dips with. He has gotten off all his high blood pressure, heart and diabetic meds and has maintained his weight for about 8 years now.

This is so true, and exactly what we do, especially when it's time to drop a few pounds after a long Winter, indulging on vacation, etc.

Again....best wishes.

Edit: Typos. Oh, I knew I couldn't post all that without one or two.