So we’re tracking our food. Focusing on WHOLE foods, simpler and cleaner eating. But what are you missing? Snacks, chips, junk food…. Nothing will beat Oreos for Father Foodie or queso blanco and tortilla chips for me but we’ve found some things that take the edge off and taste good! We all miss something so I hope to give you some substitutes we’ve found that help the cravings over the next few weeks.
Most of these items will be found on the aisle with the organic food and health snacks…for me it wasn’t an aisle I frequented until recently.
Chips
Tortilla chips up first, the substitute is plant based and pretty low in points compared to their restaurant or bagged counterparts. These come in three flavor options: sea salt, nacho and lime. Ten chips are 4 points.
Regular “potato” chips are missed from time-to-time. These will fool you easily and satisfy the craving fast! They also have a variation that are straws. We don’t gravitate to these but they do have snack bags for on the go in sea salt and zesty ranch. The snack bags are 3 points per bag. In the large bag you get 38 chips for 4 points!
Another chip variant we like are these cauliflower stalks. They’re crunchy and puffy with a little bit of salt. 13 stalks for 2 points.
This is a staple soup in our house. Originally this was a Weight Watchers recipe that we have modified more to our tastes. You’ll see why soon considering the flavor this soup has. I’ve added zucchini and squash to make a pot go a little farther before…think extreme chicken tortila soup. So delicious that Father Foodie wants it for lunch every week. It’s a regular in Sunday meal preps.
Ingredients: 2 medium poblano chiles; chopped 1 Tbsp garlic; minced 2 tsp chili powder 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp ancho chile powder 1 can diced tomatoes; 15 oz. 1 can black beans; 15 oz., rinsed and drained 2 cups onions; chopped 1 1/2 tsp salt; divided 4 cups fat free chicken broth 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast 1 can corn kernels; drained – reserve for after cooking
Once all of the produce is chopped I put everything in the instapot and turn the valve so that it cooks under pressure. I leave the corn out of the initial cooking so it doesn’t cook to bits.
I set the instapot to 20 min if I was prepared and thawed the chicken. If the chicken is frozen I go 28-30 minutes. Once the cooking is done release the pressure.
Once you can remove the lid get the chicken breasts out, shred them and return to the pot with the corn kernels.
Single recipe makes 12 large servings
Weight Watchers Blue Smart Points: Zero Points Calories: 370 per serving
This is a heavy duty blog…it’s long. Grab an apple and a big glass of water before you start reading. This is how I marathon a weeks worth of meals in a couple of hours…
Meal prepping and planning can be a HUGE aid in success of sticking to a diet. You remove the guesswork and effort of meals daily. You’re less likely to make decisions you may regret and stick to the plan you laid out for yourself. Also, how nice is it to come home after a long day and just eat without cooking?
And away we go….
Sunday after lunch is my meal prep time for the majority of food we’re going to eat for the week. I try to plan out what we’re going to eat to stay on track, do the grocery shopping ahead of time (not straying from the list) and then get to cooking right after Sunday lunch. Here’s a quick run through of how this works for me to keep every device busy without too many things going at once. This is where you’ll see the incredible use of the instapot and the extra insert showcased.
I usually start with the ancho chicken soup in the instapot. I have the recipe pretty much memorized. So it’s a dump and go recipe where it comes together easily and can cook quickly.
Preheat the oven to 350 and it’s time to start the frittata. Breakdown the cauliflower or broccoli, mushrooms and onion for my frittata and put it all in the microwave steam bowl to cook for 5-6 minutes. While those cook I start breaking and mixing the 15 eggs. Drain the cooking fluid from the veggies and assemble the frittata. This goes in the oven for 55-60 minutes.
This is the point where the extra instapot insert comes in. The other soup is usually still cooking and not ready for release, which can take several minutes to complete. So with the insert close by to the pot I start assembling the next soup or beans to cook. This means I can pull one insert out and drop the other in, put the lid back on and set the timer quickly. No downtime for the instapot and no transferring to storage bowls. The silicone lids mean these pots can also just go right into the fridge once cooled down as well.
At this point I move on to making zucchini noodles for my lunch. I have an electric spiralizer and it makes QUICK work of 4-5 pounds of fresh zucchini. I lay the spirals out on silicone baking mats on sheet pans to freeze before I transfer to my lunch containers and gallon bags for storage. I’ll proportion and bag these a few hours later since they need to freeze and it doesn’t take very long to do.
By now, I’ve probably traded soups in the instapot and have the second one well on its way. Always set the hot one on a trivet to help it start cooling down for storage. I’ve also taken the frittata out to start cooling down.
Once zucchini noodles are made and in the freezer I move on to portioning my lunch protein out for the week. I don’t have to do this every week as the large bags of precooked chicken from Costco last a few weeks. Our favorite precooked chicken at the moment is Tyson Blackened Chicken Strips. They have a great flavor and are zero points! In our area they have big bags at Costco and I’ve heard they’re also available at HEB.
At this point the second soup is wrapping up. I’ll take it out of the instapot to cool. The only thing left to do is breakdown any fruit (watermelons, cantaloupe, etc) and divide the frittata into containers for the fridge.
When we’re not in quarantine and working from home this is time that I take to wash, divide, and bag my fruit for work for at least 2 days, I like to make sure it stays fresh so there will be a little fruit prep mid week. Washed fruit molds and gets gross so quickly.
I eat breakfast and lunch at work so I like when I can just grab and go in the morning. Everything is already in a container, or bag, and ready for my lunch bag with zero effort on my way out the door.
Now to recap….
Father Foodie’s lunch (and sometimes dinner) soup for the week.
Dinner for the week.
My breakfast for the week.
My lunch for the week.
Big fruit (cantaloupe or watermelon) is ready to eat for the week.
Small fruit is washed and prepped for a couple of days.
Here is a much begged for recipe. I find it flexible to preferences and taste buds so let’s call it a guideline. This is enough for seven breakfasts. I have this with some fruit and breakfast is done. This is my breakfast seven days a week since Father Foodie doesn’t like eggs. As a note when I shop I buy the 30 pack of medium eggs…two frittatas worth in one shopping trip.
Ingredients:
15 eggs, beaten
Broccoli or cauliflower (it’s okay to use the steam bags from the freezer section as a shortcut)
8oz mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 can ro-tel, drained
Non-stick spray, just a spray or two
Preheat oven to 350. Steam vegetables in microwave for 5 min with a little bit of water. Drain when complete.
Spray your casserole dish with a little bit of non-stick spray.
Drain the rotel and put in the bottom of the pan.
Crack all 15 eggs into a medium bowl and beat until well blended, season as you’d like (I like Tony’s Cajun seasoning).
Assembly, spread the vegetables over the dish then pour the eggs over the top. I use a fork to push onto some of the veggies to get any air bubbles out and get them coated. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until nothing is runny.
Once a little cooled I divide into seven dishes and store in the refrigerator.
You’ll notice on all of my posts that I’ll try to note several things. Whether it’s calories or Weight Watcher Smart Points. These are TOOLS in this weight loss journey. I’ll hyperlink some tools below. This is not meant to advertise but just items that help us with accountability and getting us this far on our journey.
I’m not a nutritionist, dietician or doctor. Before starting any program you should visit with your doctor and get their recommendation. This entire blog is dedicated to our experiences.
To be completely transparent I may benefit in some small way from some of those links. Noom and Weight Watchers do not have free options that I’m aware of but other platforms do.
Tracking Tools: Noom: This is the first program I used in 2018 that really helped my relationship with food. It can be pricey but it does include a mentor and groups to participate in throughout your journey. This is based in calorie counting with a focus on caloric density of foods that get ranked red/yellow/green with associated calorie limits. The lessons are meaningful and short so it’s easy to learn and track your food. Noom Weight Watchers: We all know our grandma’s weight watchers. Reality is you can reset your relationship with food and be accountable. The new program is a bit more flexible. You have access to coaches online. You don’t need to go to group meetings like grandma did, unless that’s your thing. Weight Watchers LoseIt: app based calorie and fitness tracker MyFitnessPal: app based calorie and fitness tracker MyPlate Calorie Counter: app based calorie and macro counter, if you’re concerned with protein versus carbs or fat this is your best FREE option.
Kitchen and household Tools: Instant Pot – I advise when you get these marvelous cooker that you order the extra insert with the non-stick lining and the silicone lids. This is how I cook two soups in a couple of hours. While one is cooking I prep the other insert and just put it in the machine when I pull the other out to cool, more to come on this. Food scale – this isn’t 100% necessary but is handy if you tend to underestimate portions. This will help you zone in on how much food you’re eating for accuracy in your entries. You can easily find digital food scales at Wal-Mart or Target for under $20. Spiralizer or Mandolin – If you want to make green veggies more accessible you can turn zucchini and squash into noodles with these tools. You can use them with several vegetables including potatoes but we’re not eating a lot of those these days. Bathroom scale – do you remember what year you bought the one you have now? If not, order one. I have a Bluetooth scale from Amazon that has multiple profiles. Bluetooth Scale Fabric or Body Measure Tape: Oh how I wish both of us had taken measurements before we started this journey. Fact is there are going to be plateaus…and you’ll be mad, like mad mad. But some things will be changing, just not the scale. It’s good to be able to measure and see the changes as well. Garbage Can: Toss the junk food. Don’t wait to start on Monday, or next month. Start now and get rid of the crap you know you shouldn’t be eating. We’ll give you some great substitutes real soon that satisfy cravings and are a bit healthier for you. Big Water Cup: If it helps you drink more water order one on Amazon with all of the lines on the side for the times you need to meet in drinking your water. But reality is if you’re getting serious you need to cut back on the sugary stuff and get more water. What you need depends on your body but 3-4 bottle or foundation sodas a day is most of my calorie count in a day for food. This includes watching what you put in your coffee…or tea.
Motivation Items: Take a picture, right now: Saveit in a special folder and use it in the future. You won’t always see the changes your body is making while it’s happening. Before and after pictures are POWERFUL. They show progress you don’t see in the mirror, don’t take them for granted. Get real and take a picture. Goals: Write them down. Make small goals at first, 10-15 lbs at a time. Do NOT aim for more than 2lbs per week, that’s just not healthy, attainable or able to be maintained long term. Podcasts: I’ll probably quote the “Cut the Fat” podcast a lot. They’ve taught me so much. More about cutting the fat and being strong than just being “skinny fat”.
Comment below if you think there is something I forgot.
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Since April 1, 2018 I’ve been on a journey to get rid of some fat. In 2018 Easter fell on April 1st and in an awful joke there were family pictures, I cried that night. I felt like I looked awful. I was doing my best to cover up and hide what I didn’t like, but reality was I was about to go up a size of jeans. So I cried and then I started research to see what I could do that would last, and not be so restrictive. I’ll talk about programs later.
I did pretty well in 2018 and took of 35 pounds. Then in 2019 I dealt with some health issues and maintained the entire year while working on increasing my fitness later in the year. Now in 2020 my husband, Mike, decided that he was ready to do something with his weight and hope to kick his type 2 diabetes.
As of this post I am down 60lbs and he is down just over 50. He has been taken off of insulin and is still working hard to remove other medications from his daily routine.
April 2018 to August 2020
December 2019 to May 2020
Much of our weekly routine is me getting in the kitchen for a couple of hours and meal prepping on Sunday afternoons. We LOVE soup…so it’s easy to prep a couple of soups and other foods to keep the planning in place and leave easy choices remaining.
We’ve removed most of the “bad” things in the house and try to think with a lifestyle in mind. There’s also a whole lot of substitutions that we’ve found that make it feel like you’re treating yourself while not being so bad to your goals.
So keep visiting often as I post recipes, exercise inspirations and references I use for improving our eating habits.
April 2018 to August 2020
December 2019 to May 2020
Father Foodie and Sister Slim 