Valentine, I think I'll try your recipe. I love beans.
Recipe: Chicken breast or fish (any) baked in aluminum foil w/ spinach, tomatoes, cabbage (slaw mix), broccoli, mushrooms, 2-3 tsbps. of Italian Lite Salad Dressing or Lemon Pepper Dressing; Rice; Slice thin-cut Multi-grain Bread w/ Hummus
Warning: you must like veggies to find this useful. Alice's garbanzo beans are great, use them or black beans combined with whole wheat rice, then add as much cut up carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, etc that you want. I add a curry sauce, spaghetti sauce, or sometimes just butter and a bit of salt. It tastes great and will fill you up. The trick appears to be low fat and therefore not a lot of meat - I use bison in spaghetti sauce if I'm using meat. Just switch up the beans/rice/whole wheat pasta and as much veg as you can manage. If you're not worried about weight cheddar cheese melted over everything is fabulous.
Try this for lunch and/or dinner. I swear it is better than twigs and leaves! I started this about 6 weeks ago, before I decided to quit smoking, and lost 5 pounds unintentionally, that is how filling it is.
Also when I feel like a drink (ie alcoholic), because I don't want to push my newfound non-smoker status, a virgin bloody mary or caesar with a good jolt of hot sauce tastes great and is also quite filling. Cheers!
My favourite healthy snack packed with fibre is roasted chickpeas! You just rinse chickpeas, blot them dry, place on cookie sheet, spice (cayenne, curry, garlic spice, etc), put in oven for 30-40minutes at 350. I find these great!
Also, I agree with Peteg with indroducing plenty of water. I have also started drinking pelegrino with lemon and ice. It seems like such a treat.
I would love to hear what other's do for healthy snacks and tricks to cope with the intense food cravings. My jaw hurts from all the gum chewing!
I don't as much a favorite recipe as I have a favorite challenge: I enjoy cooking, and am especially drawn to complicated meals with lots of sauces. My favorite part of the process was reaching a point where everything was far enough along that I could take a smoke break. (Outside, of course.)
Part of the process of getting the nicotene out of our system is introducing plenty of water and fiber into the diet, so now I enjoy the challenge of keeping the food prep as basic and minimal as possible, to enjoy the natural flavor of the food and to maximize nutrient levels. Not so much a commitment to eating nothing but twigs and leaves as it is a commitment to enjoying the food just the way God created it. It's been a lot of fun getting back to basics, and who knew that clean-up would ever be so easy!!
Sometimes eating healthy is difficult when you are quitting smoking. It is important to make nutritious and tasty meals that both satisfy and nourish. It is easier to eat healthy when you have healthy recipes.
Members, what are some of your favourite healthy recipes?
