Five Ingredients or Less...

Jul 11, 2012

Last night at one of my support group meetings, we received a challenge: Keep a journal of your food, and get credit for eating five ingredient meals.

I have to say, the other group members are in for a good fight, I have been keeping my food journal for over two years - well, the current one on my phone is only 10 months old, but I have been keeping it daily.  My approach to eating has been the theory of less processed foods for a very long time -- that is where the five ingredient or less comes into use.  If it walked or was picked, that is ONE ingredient, or just the simplest food you can start with.  When you start adding oil, processed binders to any dish, it starts to sound more like a school science project.  I like the acronym, KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.  Hey, whatever works, right?

Anyhow, what I have planned for tonight's meal is simple - chicken breast that has been cooked in a tomatillo sauce (chicken broth, seasoning, and tomatillos), and stored in the refrigerator over night (I am in love with the flavor).  I then take corn tortillas, dip them in hot water, and stuff them with the chicken that has been stored in the tomatillo sauce.  Roll them and place them open sides down in a casserole pan, then pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, and add low fat cheese before baking.  It's easy, and less than 5 ingredients, if you don't count the seasoning.  Since I control what goes in, a full, non bariatric serving is around 250 calories.  I also make non-fat beans by cooking my own pinto beans & just mashing them with some bouillon.  Its a little more work than just buying a can, but it's worth it!

I wrote before about my orange chicken, I was bored and just started looking in the fridge for something to cook.  Orange juice with a little seasoning (I like a touch of garlic & onion, pepper to taste) in a frying pan with some veggies is FABULOUS.  Easy to make, tasty, and very healthy.

When I moved out on my own, I had to learn how to cook, my mom wasn't very domestic.  I am also a fairly picky eater, I hate mayo, am leery of fast food (I was 19 before I knew I could order a Big Mac with only cheese & lettuce), so I would create sometimes great, sometimes not so great dishes.  Apples in the microwave, unpeeled, are fabulous!  Sprinkle a little cinnamon, and attack with a fork!  You don't like cooked broccoli?  Have you ever simmered it in chicken bouillon?  Just do not cook it to mush.  Corn on the cob without butter?  I take my corn, remove the silk & save the husk,  a little olive oil then I grind seasoning that I use on my salads, pull the husks back up & tie with loose husks -- grill for 15 minutes, YUM!

In this world where it is so easy to just buy a box & microwave it, have you ever looked at the ingredients?  If I cannot pronounce it, I try not to buy it.  I make full use of my bulk foods section at my grocery store, it is fun to see what they have!  Quinoa is great to use as a filler in meat loaf or in the place of a rice dish.  If you purchase foods less processed in the bulk foods section, you are saving money, and getting a chance to flex you creative muscles.

When you stop and think about meal preparation, sure it can take a little longer when you make it from scratch, but you also know what went into it.  Before I had surgery, I ate very healthy foods, so I did not have cholesterol issues, nor problems with blood sugar.  I was severely morbidly obese, but I had a very healthy - just too large in quantity - diet.  When I cook, I try to find double uses for my meals -- I have lots of left overs, so I have become even more creative.  My family eats what I eat, so we are all healthy.  I am proud of my daughter for turning her nose up to fast food, when I have served the dive thru fast food because I was too lazy to cook.  "MOM! I hate this greasy garbage!"  My saving grace for drive thru - the grilled chicken salad!  Those folks at Wendy's found a way to get me to buy from them a couple times a month, damn it! 

Taking the time to eat right is what you should do for yourself.  If you are worth the extra half hour, then why aren't you taking advantage of fresh ingredients?  If you limit the trips to the fast food drive thru, not only will you start saving money, you will eat better and your family will enjoy sitting down together -- instead of the "grab my bag & go..." eating I used to allow.

For the next month, why not try having at least three home cooked dinners, and see if you can stay in the five ingredient challenge?

Stay Positive!
Brenda : )~

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