Some of you will have no doubt seen my posts in various weight-loss threads in the past, and remember that I’m dieting. While I’ve been pretty successful so far, I am in a rut and need some help.
What I am looking for are some low-fat recipes which I can cook for the whole family. Dave will eat just about anything, and so will the baby; the 12-year-old is a bit of a jerk when it comes to food and doesn’t like experimenting.
Basic, low-fat, yummy. Please, and thanks!
Anyone?
What kind of stuff have you been making?
Have you looked around allrecipes.com, epicurious.com, and other cooking/recipe sites for ideas? I’m pretty sure that allrecipes has a low-fat section, or a search function that will help you find low-fat recipes.
Most of my everyday cooking (on days when I don’t just make a sandwich or something) are pretty simple: steam some broccoli, grill a chicken breast, stir-fry some veggies. Salad for lunch. That kind of thing. But then again, I’m only feeding myself when Mr. S is at work, and there are no kids in the equation. When we “cook” cook, it’s usually something a little more sinful.
(If there’s nothing useful in this post, at least it’s a bump 
)
2 thoughts:
Don’t *let *the 12 year old be a jerk. The 12 year old is old enough to make her (his?) own meal if she doesn’t like what you’re cooking. You are not a short order cook. Provide three healthy meals a day, and anything else is her perogative. She won’t suffer from missing a few meals before she decides it’s better to make her own or eat what mom made. (I know some parents who take this a step further a charge their kids for their own meals - the thinking being that the family meal is provided for by mom and dad, but if you’re going to choose not to eat it, you need to “buy” your own groceries out of the pantry. I’m not that hard-core, but I do see the logic.) Also consider getting her to help you cook dinner, or entirely take it over one day a week or something. 12 is a good age to start learning to cook, and planning a healthy meal within the dietary guidelines of your diners is an important part of that. And, she’s much more likely to eat what she prepares herself, even if she wouldn’t eat it if you made the same dishes.
The baby, barring unusual advice from your doctor, should NOT be on a low-fat diet at all. If you feed her what you eat (which is great), make sure you suppliment with rich, high quality fats like olive, fish and flaxseed oils. Her little brain is made up of fat, and won’t grow properly without good fats in her diet, and quite a bit of them.
And the final thought:
I really like Recipezaar. They let you search for low-fat recipes and have great free features like creating your own cookbooks and shopping lists. It’s also intuitive enough for a 12 year old to use, and would help her with organizing and shopping for a meal.
What sort of food do you like to eat? Low-fat food is a broad spectrum. There are a lot of soups that are tasty and low-fat. Anything that isn’t too heavy on cheese or meat, really. Black bean, curried squash, green pea, anything chicken. Nigella Lawson has a fabulous section on dieting in How to Eat, with some great recipes. Veggie curries are a good option if the picky one will eat them.
Here’s some of my favorite low-fat recipes from my Cookbook at recipezaar:
Hellmann’s Parmesan Crusted Chicken (Low-fat Version)
Crispy Oven-Fried Cod Fish (I use cooking spray instead of the 6-7 T of cooking oil called for.)
Caramelized Apple and Chicken Saute
Pasta With Tomatoes, Black Olives and Capers (reduce the fat even further by “sauteeing” the onions in the microwave with a bit of water instead of on the stove with oil.)
Not certain how easy these books will be to find outside of Canada, but they’re definitely worth tracking down.
There’s three books altogether, and every recipie I have tried has worked out just fine. (oh, except the cheesecake. Some things should not be lowfat, period) The books are a bit silly, but the recipies are sensible, with ingredients that you can get anywhere.
(He’s a boy) He eats what we give him. He argues from time to time, but he eats what is cooked. My mom was not a short-order cook, nor will I be.
(He is also a boy) He certainly eats much more than just whatever entree I make for supper. He’s absolutely in no danger of wasting away. Grandpa is a pediatrician and any nutritional questions I have, go to him.
Thanks for the recipe suggestions. I think I’ll try that taco soup tomorrow night, Dave loves Mexican.
Ginger, have you been to chowhound.com? The message boards there are excellent, and if you search there will be hundreds of low-fat suggestions.
My suggestion for the adults and 12 year old: vegan foods. (Almost) guaranteed to be low fat and healthy.
A lot of crockpot recipes have little added fat, so if you start with a lean cut you’re in good shape.
I highly recommend Dean Ornish. The recipes I’ve made are delicious, very low in fat, flavorful and healthful. In fact, I’ve taken several dishes to potluck luncheons at work and had to copy the recipes and distribute to half the staff! Many of the recipes take traditional yummy dishes and spin them in a low fat, vegetarian direction.
Enjoy.
Thanks for the suggestions!