Wonderful stuff. Being able to cheat, I like to put margerine on it. Last summer I had several spaghetti squash volunteers, from seeds that survived in my compost pile, and fresh spaghetti squash is even better than store bought - though it lasts forever.
I’ve never found it a good pasta substitute though, I like it on its own merits.
I’m doing WW, too, WhyNot. Just rejoined for my mumble-mumble-mumble time.
The Near East brand wheat pilaf is really good and really high in fiber, so its point value for a 1/2 cup is better than plain ol’ rice. (Don’t have a package handy to run the numbers on.)
For those who like the taste (like me!) turnips can be a good starchy taste without nearly the calories and carbohydrates of potatoes. I like to boil them until they are almost done, then slice them and fry them with onions and Smart Balance (I adore Smart Balance).
Another good substitute for potatoes is celery root. I’ve made celery root home fries before that were pretty darn good. But usually I go with my half-way solution: half potatoes and half celery root.
You can make a pretty good mashed potatoes substitute from cauliflower-- just steam it or boil it until soft, then mash it like the real thing. I’ve never actually made it myself, but I had it made for me and it looked pretty easy to do. I was very surprised that I liked it because I do not like cauliflower when prepared the usual way-- like broccoli.
That’s a good idea. I’ve never tried any cooking with celeriac. I’ve had it in salad before.
WhyNot I think I came off wrong in my previous post. Everyone has their own strong preferences and the style of eating that works for them is the one that accomodates those preferences. For me, I would rather die than eat a butter substitute. I sure CAN believe its not butter thus… low-fat diets just do not work for me! It was rude of me to phrase things the way I did. Sorry. 
Back to topic I replace potatos in stew with turnips – once they soak in the meat juices they are pretty good. Mashed, they do in a pinch but not my first choice. My dad mashes celeraic into potatoes to lower the starchy carb count and it is really tasty.
Sweet potatos and butternut squash are yummy and rich in vitamins. Roasted they are an alternative to white potatos (The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook has THE best roasted butternut squash recipe).
I’ve been doing WW Core for about a year and it’s worked great for me. By and large I just don’t eat things like white rice, regular pasta and bread anymore - took a little getting used to but I just don’t crave the stuff these days.
Instead I go with complex carbohydrates - lots of whole wheat couscous and brown rice, whole wheat pasta now and then. Sweet potatoes and yams are also great instead of regular potatoes (which I do still eat on occasion). This on top of what I get from my larger fruit & veggie intake.
Following Core pretty strictly took me a few weeks to get used to but now it’s just part of my daily routine, I don’t have to think about it.
Hey, no hard feelings. I was in the grocery store tonight with a package of low-fat margarine in my hand for the first time in 15 years, and I just couldn’t do it. Put it back and got the butter. As you say, there are some things I just can’t compromise on - and I can’t see eating artificially flavored trans-fats instead of a teeny bit of real cow juice fat. I’d rather halve the butter in the recipe than use margarine. The cheese though, I’m telling ya, it’s not bad on a salad! (2%, not fat-free, of course.) I’m not willing to eat fake food products, including the majority of those off-the-shelf fat-free chemistry experiments, but there are plenty of naturally derived and “gently” modified food choices that are better than the ones I was making.
One thing to be careful about-- if you buy a dried out root it will take like lumber. They’re about the size of a baseball and should feel heavier than you think they’d be when they are still fresh. If it feels like a piece of balsa wood, it probably will taste like that, too.
WhyNot: Be careful of those fat-free or low-fat products. Many of them just substitute carbs (of the highly refined type) for fat and you end up with the same calories. Learn about good fats and bad fats, and don’t worry about the good type. Watch out for anything that has “high-fructose corn syrup” listed as one of the top few ingredients. That stuff is everywhere!
Yep! Those tend to be the “chemistry experiment” types of things - Snackwells was infamous for this back in the 90s (I don’t even know if they’re still around). In my mind, there are three types of lowfat foods:
Foods that nature “makes” lowfat: most vegetables, legumes, rabbits…uh…rice and other starches off the plant. I have no problems eating those (de-emphasizing simple carbs), and these are what I’m primarily trying to focus my dietary changes on.
Foods that people can make lower fat in their kitchen: Skimmed milk, cheese made from 2% milk(well, they can be made in a farm kitchen, anyway), chicken breast with the skin cut off, brownies made with applesauce instead of vegetable oil. I’m not scared of these, although, as you mention, that applesauce carries quite a few calories on it’s own, and just because it’s low fat doesn’t always mean it’s low calorie. And the difference between lower-fat and non-fat is worlds. Non-fat sucks.
Weird shit with words I can’t begin to pronounce on the label. Now, not all of these are bad, I’m not a chemistryphobe. But generally speaking, the more syllables, the less likely it’s evolved in concert with the human body. I like the idea of 2 million years of product testing to ensure food safety, and these don’t have it. I’m pretty much not on board with foods that contain safety warnings, and any mention of “anal leakage” is definitely a deal breaker. 
I am finding myself making an exception for Sucralose in yogurt and the like, partly because my dad worked for the company that makes it (although his maxipads sucked, so maybe that’s not great assurance!) and partly because it has been around for a long time with no non-tinfoil worries so far, but mostly because I can’t find jack shit without it anymore.
I had spaghetti squash last night (and the night before), with meat spaghetti sauce and parmesan. Love it. Much tastier than pasta.
There’s a bread from Nature’s Own that’s called Double Fiber Wheat. One slice is zero points (and 5 carbs).
Also, I exclusively do WW Online, and I only use IE for the site. It’s actually my IE homepage, because I only use that browser for a few things. I’ve never had much luck getting it to work correctly with Firefox.
For yoghurt you can buy plain yoghurt and top with frozen fruit (which is cheap), a squoosh of lemon juice and mix in some Stevia. I stopped buying fruit yoghurt a long time ago-it’s a ripoff. But I prefer non-fat greek style, which is creamy like a pudding.
The Nature’s Own products are a good choice if you want low point-count carbs. When I was on WW (lost 30 lbs. and have kept most of it off for several years), I’d make garlic bread using a slice of their Butterbread, Promise’s Fat-Free Spread, some garlic salt and some 2% milk cheese. I’d also toast a couple slices of Butterbread and spread a Laughing Cow cheese wedge on it for breakfast.
Land O’Lakes also makes a light butter in stick form - half the calories and fat of regular butter, and it works perfectly in recipes.
I’ve had issues with it before, but it seems to have righted itself over the past couple of weeks and I can use Firefox at home with it (IE at work).
WhyNot, I have the same issues, but honestly? I make room for a healthy starch at night. We’re trying to eat at the table as a family at night (which is freakin’ tough since we don’t get home until almost 6, but we’re working on it), AND get the miniature one eating more table food. I make a lot of mac and cheese, but instead of Kraft, we get Annie’s Organic Whole Wheat Mac and Cheese - my kid LOVES it. And I bulk up my own portion by adding onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms - so it pretty much doubles the ‘look’ of my portion - and helps fill me up. I’ve found it at Wal-Mart for about $1 a box, which is worth it to me for the whole wheat pasta. We have it usually twice a week or so. And you can make it with just milk - so no butter keeps the points down (and it’s just as rich, I think).
We also do baked sweet potatoes (I use a tiny bit of butter and some cinnamon).
Sometimes we have pasta night, which isn’t always the healthiest, but if we don’t have tortellini or ravioli, I use whole wheat pasta.
I’ve found bulking things like rice or mac and cheese up with veggies is my best bet. I think it’s tastier, too. 
E.
So I clicked on the links posted by romansperson and looked at the ingredients. (I’m always curious how they make low-fat/low-cal versions.)
Then I started wondering just what “mono- and di-glycerides” were, so I Googled.
Came up with this very interesting page , which says that the Promise Fat-Free Margarine probably contains 6 grams/56 calories of fat not mentioned on the label.
Just thought I’d mention it for those of you trying to watch your fat intake.
That’s a great idea, too. And over time I can do higher veggie percentages and wean myself off the need for starch. Thanks!
I read a recipe once to make mac and cheese with tofu instead of the pasta. I tried it and hated it soooo much, but I bet someone who is more talented than I am (it doesn’t take much) who could make that work. I was just trying to use a premade cheese sauce.
After gaining a bit of weight 4 years after gastric bypass and 15 months after a baby, I tried WW and it didn’t work for me. Perhaps my metabolism is messed up now. I was even doing cardio about 5 times per week.
So I started Atkins Induction 9 days ago. I feel better than I’ve felt in years, I don’t think about food, I’m not hungry and I don’t care if I eat another carb again (although I’ll add in more good carbs when I get to the next phases, of course).
I’m sorry your experience wasn’t very good. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to tear my hubands head off during the first 4 days if he so much as cleared his throat, but after that, I wasn’t lustfully craving bread. Giving up wine is the hardest part right now.
There are some low-carb sides that I haven’t tried yet, like the mashed cauliflower suggestion. I’ll have to add some cheddar cheese and onion to mine, as I saw here.
Good luck!
That’s an interesting combo. I could probably like it, but I doubt my husband would like it much. I use a LOT of tomatoes, though - so I’ve gotten where I eat a half serving of mac and cheese and a lot of tomatoes with some onion for flavor . I started doing that when I was vegan and eating a vegan mac and cheese - it added flavor to the ‘cheese’ sauce.
One warning about the mashed cauliflower - it’s actually really, really good, but it wreaks havoc on my stomach.
If you like buckwheat, try kasha. It looks and acts like a grain, but it’s really a fruit! And it’s packed with great nutritional qualities. It’s high in fiber, gluten free, and actually helps lower cholesterol by absorbing it and flushing it from your body!
http://www.thebirkettmills.com/nutrition_2005.htm
It has kindof a nutty taste (it always smells like I’m popping popcorn when I make it!), and is great by itself, or made like a “pilaf” with sautéed onions and mushrooms.
I will say, however, that I don’t follow the box directions exactly, but your mileage may vary. I omit the cooking fat (butter or oil) entirely, and simply put the egg-coated kernels into a dry, pre-heated pan. Sprinkle with salt and stir around continuously until the kernels are dry and completely separate (takes about 1-2 minutes). I use chicken or vegetable broth as my liquid, as opposed to water, which I just heat for a couple of minutes in the microwave right in the glass measuring cup, which makes it super easy to add to the kasha once it’s ready for that step. Oh yeah, and it’s FAST – only takes about 7-8 minutes to steam until done!