From reading the blog so far, you might have assumed we’re now only eating fish and chicken. Not so. We love our red meat! Watch for future posts about lamb and pork, but today we’re sharing our newfound appreciation for BISON (also called buffalo). Continue reading
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A great no-cook meal, using leftover grilled chicken thigh meat, chopped up and mixed with tomatoes & chopped fresh basil, tossed with a little balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette, just the balsamic vinegar), and served in romaine lettuce cups!
Healthy Noms recipes involving proteins are tagged lean, leaner or leanest. What’s up with that? Simple: portion control.
The guidelines we’re following sort proteins into those three categories. Basically, there’s little or no protein out there that you “can’t” have when eating healthy. (Well, OK, sausage isn’t a great choice, neither is bacon. But neither of those actually offers much protein either, just mostly fat. You get my drift.)
Instead of saying we “can’t have” something, we’re saying go ahead and have what you want, but adjust portion sizes and added fat accordingly.
For example, for the proteins that fall in the “leanest” category we can have seven ounces (cooked!) and we can add two servings of a healthy fat to the meal. This category includes many fishes, most shellfish, game meats, and very lean ground meats (>97% lean).
For the proteins that fall into the “leaner” category we can have six ounce portions (cooked) with one healthy fat serving permissible. This includes chicken breast, light meat turkey and ground meats (>94% lean), as well as some fishes.
Finally, for the “lean” category of proteins we can have five ounces (cooked) with no additional fat servings. This includes some fishes, lean beef, lamb, pork, ground meats (>84% lean).
This exercise in portion control has been a real eye-opener. Shrimp falls into the leanest category. Seven ounces of cooked shrimp is a LOT of food! No feeling hungry after gettin’ that down!
By the way, the program does account for meatless options in all three categories, but they often carry their own measures. For example, three whole eggs is a serving of lean, while 14 egg whites are a serving of leanest. Tofu, veggie burgers, EggBeaters and other meatless options can all be worked into the program.
Another favorite! This was a happy accident. We had some homemade kimchi in the fridge that needed to be downsized to a smaller container, leaving us with excess marinade that had been “percolating” for over a week. Sitting right next to that was a package of chicken breasts we had no plans for. “Hey,” I said to Brian, “do you think the kimchi marinade would be good for the chicken?” We both thought it was worth a try. Poured the marinade over the chicken and added salt to make it a brine. Let it sit for two days, then grilled it. Came out beautifully! Sliced it up and served it over a salad of chopped romaine, cucumbers & yellow bell peppers in small romaine lettuce cups. (Seasoned the salad with some low-fat honey mustard salad dressing.)
One of our favorites! Another quick & easy one-pot dish. Panang curry powder is a smokey, mildly spicy red-colored Thai spice blend. If you like, kick up the heat with some Sriracha or Sambel Olek or similar. Change out the protein (chicken or tofu?) and veggies to your liking. Continue reading
What’s up with the name “Healthy Noms,” you ask? Simple, really. Years of eating out together and with “foodie” friends had spoiled our palates for home cooking. A lot. Unfortunately, the food we were eating out features oversize portions, and includes excessive amounts of fat, sugar, and carbs. So we’re learning to cook meals that satisfy the senses while staying on program. Nom nom nom, but in a healthy way!
In order to be successful on this program, we had to make eating at home as pleasurable as we’d found eating out to be. To do that, we recognized that we had to put a little bit extra into the preparation of our meals. This means paying attention to details, including:
Additionally, of course, like most families, we don’t have the time or inclination to spend hours preparing dinner when we get home from work. Quick & easy is important.
Hence, “Healthy Noms” = healthy dishes that satisfy the senses like chef-prepared meals do.
A quick & easy riff on the classic Korean Kimchi. Its spicy heat and crunchiness make this an ideal snack when you’re feeling hungry. We often keep some in the fridge and just grab a bite or two (or three) if our tummies are growling ahead of schedule! Continue reading
Quick & easy. We pulled cleaned & peeled raw shrimp out of the freezer in the morning before work*, stopped at the Farmers Market on the way home and picked up some veggies and threw this meal together in 20 minutes. Continue reading
After years and years of eating out more than cooking at home, preparing semi-homemade meals at home, using highly processed foods and lots of oils and butter, consuming portion sizes way larger than needed to satisfy basic nutritional requirements, and fighting weight gain sporadically with a variety of “magic bullet” diets, fasts and other desperate measures, this year Brian and I decided to get serious.
We watched our friend Troy drop some serious weight in a short amount of time. Brian watched this happen on a daily basis, since he sees Troy at work. I see him much more occasionally and my experience was much more dramatic: one day I saw him as he began the program, and then I saw him a few weeks later, many very noticeable pounds lighter. I didn’t know he’d even started a program to lose weight, so the difference was a shock! Continue reading