Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

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Max Peck
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Max Peck »

The Canadian Cancer Society has a few recipes for smoothies and pureed soups, several of which seem to be targeted at people who have difficulty with swallowing, altered taste, suppressed appetite, etc, so you might be able to get some ideas from them.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Alefroth »

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 1:13 pm Good. The kale made it very grainy, and the avocado made it creamier, but the two together made it creamy-grainy, which was a little hard to drink. The flavor was good, though. Not much green flavor. Next time I'll leave out the avocado and see how it does.
Try blanching the kale for about 30 seconds then back in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Blackhawk »

Alefroth wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 2:38 am
Blackhawk wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 1:13 pm Good. The kale made it very grainy, and the avocado made it creamier, but the two together made it creamy-grainy, which was a little hard to drink. The flavor was good, though. Not much green flavor. Next time I'll leave out the avocado and see how it does.
Try blanching the kale for about 30 seconds then back in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
I assume that has something to do with Rue McClanahan, but I'll google to make sure.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Blackhawk »

Next experiment:

1 cup kale
1 cup romaine
1 cup white grapes
1 cup almond milk
a couple of small mint leaves

This one's really nice. Thin and drinkable, which helps with the kale (note to self: don't combine kale and avocado - the thickness and the bits together are tough to drink.) Mostly grape flavor, very subtle, slightly sweet, and the mint really does set it off. It wasn't enough to taste minty, just enough to make the white grapes and greens taste... fresh. This one isn't my #1 experiment yet, but it's definitely a keeper.

I also picked up some other stuff that I'd seen recommended for smoothies. Cucumbers, a piece of ginger (I'm hesitant there), beets, a butternut squash. I'm also hesitant about the squash. I've generally don't like squash cooked, but we'll see.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by FishPants »

I've been working out with a trainer since July, and she set up an entire program for me -- from exercises to macros and daily coaching (I'm about to move to a lower contact plan where it's cheaper and we talk once a week now that I'm in full stride).

I find the exact same problem, especially at the beginning I was grossed out by the amount of protein and I found the key was to hit it early - if you skip breakfast or eat it closer to lunch, it's a SOB to hit your protein macro target. I'm currently eating 220g of protein a day, and that's down from 250g (as I drop weight the macro reduced), with 175G of carbs and 60G of fat.

Anyhow here's what a day will look like for me:

Breakfast:

3 eggs,
6 slices of applewood smoked butterball turkey bacon (this stuff is the shit),
Costco Everything Bagel
Premier protein shake (30g protein, costco)

Lunch:

350g of Buffalo turkey lunchmeat (low fat turkey deli meat basically)
2 slices of bread (maybe 4 because 350g is too much for one sandwich, but it depends on my week/day and whether I am carb cycling)
Velveeta cheese
1/2 fat mayo or ballpark mustard
Lettuce
Premier protein shake

Dinner:

400-500g chicken breast (or other lean protein) with some veg and carbs as required to round out the day.

If you can sit down in the morning and plan your day out in MFP based on dinner (that's the meal that's always variable in my house), then work your way backwards it makes it easy. Well easier anyhow. The premier protein (chocolate) I find really good, I also use Diesel whey isolate in the blender with powdered peanut butter (way less fat, at costco) and a banana and some milk.

Don't eat if you feel like you're going to barf, you may need to do smaller meals throughout the day -- but again it's all about planning. This morning I woke up REALLY hungry so I hit lean protein leftovers fast, otherwise bad choices would have happened -- I also don't adjust my macros/intake based on calories burnt exercising. That's where I get my deficit from to lose weight (I eat around 2200 calories which is my TDEE rate, then if it's a workout day I'm burning 900/1000 calories lifting etc but eat the same as if I didn't). All depends on your goals -- if you are thin and trying to bulk, yeah you gotta eat. If you are fat and trying to lose weight while bulking (that was my prob) I'd suggest getting your deficit through exercise and not factoring that into your intake.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Blackhawk »

Next experiment:

1 cucumber
1 apple
1 mint leaf
1 cup kale
1 cup almond milk mix

Not my favorite. Not bad, but not great, either. The biggest problem is that it was 100% cucumber flavored. I like cucumbers, but it was too much. The apple blended well with the cucumber, but the cucumber still buried the other flavors. Next time I use cucumber, I'll either try it with something with stronger flavor, or I'll use half a cucumber and add more (whatever.)
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Blackhawk »

I took my first (and favorite) recipe yesterday and substituted kale for the spinach:

1 frozen banana
4* cups shredded kale
1/4 avocado
1 cup almond milk mix

It was almost as good as the spinach version, but much, much thicker - again, kale. I need to get a smoothie straw. I repeated the recipe today with spinach, but swapped the avocado with blueberries just for the change. It was really good.

*4 cups instead of two, as I discovered recently that when raw, green leafy vegetables are measured at half volume for getting recommended intake, as they fit so loosely. So, to get two 'cups' worth of raw kale (or spinach, or lettuce, or whatever) you need to use four cups worth, not packed in.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Kasey Chang »

I was either a genius or created an abomination.

I made "ground beef and broccoli". WIth no recipe. It's not bad, but then I eat just about anything.

I have a couple pounds of ground beef in the freezer and I kept thinking "I have to use them somehow". And I can't cook 2 pounds in my tiny air fryer. (I've done 1 pound)

So I just grabbed my stock pot and dropped the brick of frozen 2 pound lean beef (label says 97% lean?!) in. Then I realized I was being stupid... The bottom will BURN before the whole thing's defrosted. I ended up adding 1.5-2 cups of water, and I just added some salt, some black pepper, some chili powder, and a dash of dark soy sauce, brought it to boil, and left it simmering in low heat with cover on, periodic stirring to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.

When all the beef have browned, I was like, wait, how I am going to eat 2 pounds of beef? So I look through my fridge, and there's a big package of broccoli, frozen. I said this is perfect, so I emptied the whole block (frozen) in, lower the heat to minimum, close the lid, and give it a few minutes. Then started stirring. The ice quickly melted and broccoli is mixed with the now mostly done beef. I think I cooked it for a few more minutes. It's not something I've serve anyone else, but it seems perfectly edible. :D
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Kasey Chang »

I tried a slightly different way of making my instant ramen, and it does taste better, with no pot involved.

One microwave-able bowl. Add ramen and seasoning.

If you have frozen vegetables like spinach, add a small dallop now.

If you have any nori (Japanese seaweed sheets) add one or two sheets here, shredded.

Add meat as to taste. Deli meat is fine, 2-4 slices of whatever meat you got. Spam is probably too salty and only small cubes should be added. One options I had never considered before: small bits of beef jerky. I've also tried pork or turkey breakfast sausage, and slice of bacon (cut up into smaller pieces).

Add sriracha sauce and soy sauce to taste. A teaspoon of each, maybe.

Add hot/boiling water enough to cover the noodles.

Put bowl in microwave and nuke at max power for 5 minutes.

Add one egg upon removal, cover and let cool for a minute or two. Mix and serve.

Noodles will be softer than if you cooked on stovetop or microwave alone. The egg makes the broth taste much better.
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Unagi
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Unagi »

I can’t believe you go through all that and feel like you are doing less than just boiling a pot of water.

I mean, you even require boiling water for your microwave method ?
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Kasey Chang »

I have one of those hot water dispenser bottles. ;D
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Madmarcus »

Slice one large baby bok choy, 2-4 brown mushrooms, and a stick of homemade lap yuk (Cantonese air dried pork sort of like jerky) into spicy Shin ramyeon as you make it (following the package directions in a pot on the stove to cook the bok choy a little and soften the lap yuk). Great stuff. Way too much salt to eat it all the time.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

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A lot of people seem to be eating ramen to stay healthy!
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Jeff V »

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:43 am A lot of people seem to be eating ramen to stay healthy!
It's as healthy as a sodium-induced heart attack!
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Sudy »

I'm frustrated there are so few low sugar drink options. I'm trying to drink fewer soft drinks, but flavoured seltzers/sparkling/mineral waters just aren't enough. I wish I could try a Mountain Dew with 10g of sugar per can, and not a whopping 46, etc. I was reading about creating syrups, but it seems to be difficult to get to them to dissolve in carbonated water, and I don't want to go to the trouble anyway.

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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Image

Or try the drink enhancers, which you can mix as strongly as you prefer.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Blackhawk »

The thing about sugar is that once you give it up, you stop wanting it. Our tongues aren't designed for that level of sweet, and when we taste it as often as we do, our tastebuds adapt, which makes the 'sweet' things we evolved to taste seem bland. When you're used to heavy amounts of refined sugar, for instance, fruit doesn't taste as sweet, as the sugar throws the calibration off. But when you give up those things, while it is challenging for a month or two, your tastebuds eventually reset. When that happens things that tasted bland before suddenly start tasting better. Fruit is sweeter, for instance, as are many vegetables. The flavored sparkling waters even start to taste sweet. And when that happens, things like soft drinks and deserts start to taste awful. Instead of tasting sweet, they taste overpowering. It's like drinking maple syrup. It makes you not want them at all.

Salt is the same way. When you stop using it for a while you stop missing it, after which salty foods taste like you've got a mouth full of pure salt.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Holman »

I should read the whole thread to know if this has come up before, but meanwhile I'm here with the news you can use: I completely empty my bowels every morning.

Seriously, I could not be more regular. I have a healthy green salad with dinner every night (and have done so for 25 years or so), and for the past decade I've had stove-cooked oatmeal (plus coffee) for breakfast six days out of seven.

I can set my watch by my toilet. I'll be there doing important work precisely 35-40 minutes after that breakfast.

There's no need to thank me for this information. Bragging about my poop is its own reward.

(Anyway, the point I'm making is: fiber.)
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Madmarcus »

Jeff V wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:49 am It's as healthy as a sodium-induced heart attack!
I did say my ramyeon was too salty to be healthy. I'd never claim it is good long term but I wanted to play off of Kasey's thoughts on using jerky.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by em2nought »

Great Value has a green smoothie that's pretty good IMO. I don't think I could make it for a cheaper price. $3.76 for a half gallon https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value- ... /926058884
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Sudy »

Isgrimnur wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:24 am [picture of Rose's Simple Syrup]

Or try the drink enhancers, which you can mix as strongly as you prefer.
Thanks, that actually occurred to me, but I wondered if there would still be solubility issues. But simple syrup is used in cocktails, so it can't be that bad... it's not like I'm intending to mix large quanities of beverages in advance. I haven't been able to find pre-made simple syrup locally, though I did find Rose's Grenadine and Lime Cordial. The Grenadine seems less sweet than I'd expected in smaller quanities so that may not produce the desired effect, but it's still something I could mix with plain mineral water for a lightly sweetened drink.

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 5:28 pm The thing about sugar is that once you give it up, you stop wanting it. Our tongues aren't designed for that level of sweet, and when we taste it as often as we do, our tastebuds adapt, which makes the 'sweet' things we evolved to taste seem bland. When you're used to heavy amounts of refined sugar, for instance, fruit doesn't taste as sweet, as the sugar throws the calibration off.
I largely got off sugar for nearly a year when I was trying to trim down in advance of meeting Mrs. Nym for the first time. When I "had" to have a soft drink with a fast food combo or something, I actually got to the point that I kind of enjoyed Diet Coke (which I think is objectively gross despite its bizarre-minded adherents). But in the past 10+ years, stress and a lack of pride (and especially intermittent night shift) have sent me on a downward spiral to the extent that I've probably been drinking an average of a litre of pop a day over the past couple years, often more.

The good news is that I've been transitioning to flavoured sparkling/mineral waters over the past couple of weeks, and the cravings haven't really been that bad. (Probably because I've had a lot of pastries around to snack on, but I'm still cutting back overall.) I'm drinking some sugar substitutes as well, but not a lot... I'm wary of their effects, and generally I just don't like the taste. Though I don't mind Fresca, and Fruit2O is better than I expected. Mostly I reserve the sugar substitues for when I need an energy drink for night shift. (I can't do coffee as it activates my bowels... which is unfortunate, as I enjoy it black.) Otherwise, I'm digging the sweetener-free flavoured sparkling/mineral waters, and various mixes and lighter sodas like Perrier+Juice and San Pellegrino, which tend to range from 10-30g of sugar. Yeah, some of them (especially the Pellegrino sodas) still have a lot of sugar, but it's a good step-down, and a heck of a lot better than doing 2-3 cans of Mountain Dew a day at 46g a shot, or worse--a whole 2-litre.

Like I say, the cravings have been maneageable. But I do miss Mountain Dew's citric acid tang.

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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by YellowKing »

I haven't given up soft drinks completely, but I'm down to maybe one a week. I'm a huge fan of carbonated waters, so I keep the fridge constantly stocked with Bubly, Aha, La Croix, Waterloo, or whatever is on sale the week I go shopping. When I do have a Coke it's usually diet (even though I know that's bad), because regular Coke makes me physically sick from the sweetness now.

Fortunately I've never had a huge sweet tooth, which makes it a bit easier when I go on one of my sugar-free kicks.
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Re: Seriously, what is everyone eating to stay healthy?

Post by Sudy »

I haven't found a preference yet, but I've loaded up the fridge with just about every sample I can find. I'd like to try La Croix, I wish we had it here. I've actually never had any problem drinking plenty of ice water, but I often crave the novelty of something carbonated, especially with meals.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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