I am starting a diet tomorrow, my goal is to lose 2 stone. Do you have any healthy food recipes to share?

I don't really have much time to exercise as I have a 13month old daughter. My current eating habits are terrible. I do not have any allergies. But foods I would like excluded from recipes are shellfish, liver/heart etc..





Thanks in advance!I am starting a diet tomorrow, my goal is to lose 2 stone. Do you have any healthy food recipes to share?
Ok,... a few small tips before we go into recipes... what you should do is cut out regular soft drinks and replace them... so say either a glass of orange juice/diet soft drink a day and water otherwise, saves you a LOT of sugar and calories... swap regular bread for lebanese bread, still enjoying carbs but not overloading... if you have a pasta dish, have say half a plate of pasta and half a plate of either steamed veggies/salad so again not overloading... stirfries... have say a scoop of rice, a handful of meat and a STACK of veggies... Obviously avoid snacking on biscuits, potato chips, chocolate etc (try fruit instead or lite yoghurt if can eat it) and fried foods/takeout, excessive amounts of cheese etc.





What I do is I have six days a week where I follow the above rules and one day as a ';cheat'; day to satisfy my cravings that have had all week, for example, I will have one takeaway/restaurant meal that day and regular softdrink as well as one snack I have been wanting all week. That way it makes teh rest of the week seem easier...





As for meal ideas....





Hearty chicken soup


Ingredients


Stock


1.3kg whole chicken


1 brown onion, chopped


1 carrot, peeled, chopped


2 large celery stalks, chopped


10 whole black peppercorns


2 dried bay leaves


5 flat-leaf parsley stalks


Soup


2 teaspoons olive oil


1 medium leek, trimmed, halved, washed, diced


2 garlic cloves, crushed


1 medium carrot, peeled, diced


2 large celery stalks, diced


1 medium (300g) swede, peeled, diced


1 medium zucchini, diced


1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves


crusty bread, to serve


Method


Make stock. Wash chicken under cold water. Pat dry with absorbent paper. Trim any excess fat from chicken. Place chicken in a large saucepan. Add onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves and parsley stalks. Pour enough cold water into pan to just cover chicken. Cover with lid. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through, skimming surface during cooking. Remove from heat.


Carefully lift chicken from broth. Transfer to a plate. Strain broth through a muslin-lined sieve over a large heatproof bowl. Discard vegetables. Cool stock. Cover, refrigerate overnight.


Meanwhile, remove and discard skin and bones from chicken. Shred chicken. Cover, refrigerate overnight.


Make soup. Remove stock from refrigerator. Skim any fat from surface. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until leek is soft. Add carrot, celery and swede. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until celery starts to soften.


Add stock and chicken. Cover saucepan. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Add zucchini. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve soup with crusty bread.








Thai Beef Stirfry (less meat, more veggies, substitute)


Preparation Time 20 minutes


Cooking Time 10 minutes





Ingredients (serves 4)


1 1/2 tbs peanut oil


500g Heart Smart beef stir-fry strips


2 carrots, cut into short thin sticks


1 red capsicum, cut into thin strips


1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped


4cm piece fresh ginger, thin sticks


3 garlic cloves, crushed


1 1/2 tbs soy sauce


1 1/2 tbs sweet chilli sauce


1 tbs lime juice


2 cups bean sprouts


1 cup fresh coriander leaves


1 cup fresh mint leaves


Steamed jasmine rice, to serve


Method


Add 1 tbs of oil to a wok on high heat. Add half the beef and stir-fry for 1-2 mins. Repeat with remaining beef.


Heat remaining oil over mediumhigh heat. Add carrots, capsicum, lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for 2 mins. Add soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and lime juice. Toss well.


Return beef and toss through. Remove from heat and toss in half the coriander and mint. Serve with remaining coriander, mint and rice.








Indonesian-style stir-fry (again substitute meat amounts for more veggies)


Ingredients (serves 4)


1 tbs vegetable oil


600g rump steak, thinly sliced


2 tsp ground coriander


2 garlic cloves, crushed


1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks


1/4 cup (60ml) kecap manis*


1/4 cup (60ml) rice wine vinegar


150g snow peas, sliced


1/4 small Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced


Steamed rice, to serve


Method


Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or large, deep frypan over medium-high heat. When hot, add half the beef and stir-fry for about 1 minute or until brown all over. Remove from pan and repeat with the remaining oil and beef.


Reduce heat to medium and add coriander, garlic and carrot. Stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add kecap manis, vinegar and snow peas and simmer for 2 minutes or until snow peas are bright green. Remove from heat and stir in beef and cabbage.


Serve with rice.








Spaghetti Bolognaise with salad/veggies or chilli con carne (just remember to portion it right)











SpaghetI am starting a diet tomorrow, my goal is to lose 2 stone. Do you have any healthy food recipes to share?
DO NOT START A DIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have a baby who is 18 months old too but you are going to need energy for your new baby and you are going to have to use the stroller or get help with your baby while you exercise!!!!!!!!! JUST do not diet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





IT will only give you headaches, make you feel weak and you will catch yourself yelling back instead of answering ha ha but seriously just sleep 7 to 8 hours eat a good healthy breakfast or a fruit the answer is go running and walking every other day around your block at least 4 times around increase that later it will be a challenging but I promise it will become SO Easy later and when you are SORE in the begining just take warm to hot showers and you will feel great That just means that what you are doing is working!!!!! So dont forget to eat lunch and dinner and even Ice Cream but keep your routine. Doing this for one month will make you start to weigh more but your cloths will be fitting a little better after 2 months you should have lost inches around your waist and might still weigh more but do not worry (You are getting your muscles builded up) and suddenly everyone will be noticing that you are disappearing haha and I promise you will have SOOOOOOOOO much energy that everything gets done even a spotless house and you will be swimming in your old clothes you just have to keep it up because you will need to go shopping for a new wardrobe i did this and now i feel so much better. IF you do not exercise the calories will add up and creep up onto you so burn them away running, dancing, just stay active!!!!good luck Just NO DiETS Thay make you feel terrible and get you fat!!!!!!!!!
Lets not talk about that very dirty 4-letter word - DIET.





Yes it is a very dirty 4-letter word and should be eliminated from the language.





Lets talk about lifestyle food plan instead. You cannot just lose the weight and then go back to the way you ate before. The weight will jump back twice as fast as it was to remove in first place.





3 ounces is a serving of any meat product! Cook the meat any way you like it cooked, and whatever meat you like. Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Pork, Fish, all come in this catagory.





Dark green leafy stuff is almost unlimited. 2 tea cups packed is a serving.





tomato, celery, peppers, onions, olives, whatever else you like on your salad.





Dressing on the side!! Always on the side, not poured over the salad. Have real dressing, not the vinegary sour low fat stuff that doesn't taste good.





Any other green veggies you like! An amount the size of your clenched fist is a serving of cooked veggie and twice that is raw serving.





Any fruits you like, same serving size as the veggies.





Avoid root veggies, grain and cereal products, and limit most milk products.





Remember you are setting an example for your daughter in all of this.





Take her for a walk. Pram or carriage is fine. Nasty weather? have you ever walked in a museum? or a large store? It works too.





Do be sure to have a ';cheat treat'; once a week. Just half a normal serving of something you have forbidden yourself. It prevents cravings and chucking the entire plan.





You can do this!!
Do not dietttt


If anything, change your eating habits for life.


If you diet and cut out meals or anything like that, your body starts storing energy as fat cells and whatnot because your body thinks you're fasting. And when you stop dieting, you put the weight back on twice as fast because your body thinks you're going to need it when you fast again.


So, eat everything in moderation. Try not to eat too late at night, because then you dont work it off from walking or anything
The best thing you will ever do for yourself is to cut sugar and large amounts of sodium from your diet. If you can discipline yourself to prepare your own meals you will be amazed at how easy it is. All those pre-packaged frozen meals like Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones are convenient, but they can be packed with sodium to make them taste better and to help with preservation. Making your own meals allows you to control the ingredients.





I usually start my day with a piece of fruit or yogurt and toast or a bowl of cereal. I snack on low fat cheese sticks and raw almonds. I like big salads for lunch. I make my own dressings, but you can buy some decent ones in the market. I stick to well-balanced dinners. I always think of my plate as a piece of art. I make sure that it has lots of color in it. Color, when it comes to natural foods, equals nutrition.





PS- If I am craving something sweet or salty, I keep like 6 different varieties of 100 calorie packs around. It is a quick way to keep you going. They have soooo many different kinds. My sister-in-law buys them for her kids. They are a great way to allow your kids to snack without giving them too much sugar.





Also, always, always, always, cheat once a week. My cheat day is Sunday. I let myself eat wings, pizza, or whatever I am craving. This helps to keep you grounded.





If you don't have time to exercise, take your child outside to ride bikes, or walk around the block, or put her in a wagon and drag it behind you. There are plenty of ways to get exercise especially with kids.
I'm not a real healthy eater, but I LOVE pasta and chicken. They are my vices - I don't think a person really needs to 'diet' but you can enjoy your food by making small changes which are more healthy for you.





E.g. - For my pastas I use wholemeal pasta instead of white, it tastes exactly the same but is so much better for you. I also have gone from using cream based sauces, to tomato and vegetable based


- For chicken, I bake my snitzels or kievs instead of frying or even *gasp* deep frying.


-I don't use any oil what-so-ever for frying. It's unnecesary. I use non stick pans and a spray of canola oil which is so much healthier than using the liquid form


-If you are craving takeaways, make them yourself! Pizza - buy a pizza base, add your toppings, whack it in the oven, and YUM pizza! Make your own burgers at home, using wholegrain rolls


-When eating salad, go without the dressing or ask for it on the side





- Most Asian style meals are quite healthy, just stay away from the battered meats or things like dim sims.


Stir fry's are great, just buy a cheaper cut of beef (e.g. blade stake) or some chicken meat, cut it into strips and fry with some onion. Add your vegies (as many as you can!) I put in, brocolli, snap peas, carrot, capsicum and whatever else I can find in my fridge! Toss through some Hokkien noodles and soy sauce and you have a delicious and very easy to prepare meal while looking after your daughter!





I know these aren't very special or interesting ideas, but they ARE healthy, like I said before, a full blown diet isn't really necesary, just eating regular, healthy meals with a bit of exercise each day and you'll lose 2 stone soon enough!





Good Luck =]
fill yourself up with fluids everyday.. do try to drink 8 glasses of water and try to stay away from energy drinks and fruit juices. you wont need energy drinks if you are eating correctly. for snacks, eat fruits. i know its hard to not buy the chips, but fruits will help your cravings, and you don't have to feel guilty about making the wrong decisions. stay away from dark meat and try to eat alot of turkey, and chicken breast. red meat is okay but minimal. the key is fluids, and healthy snacks.. don't starve yourself, because you will want to eat more and you will start back at the beginning if you binge
Always remember, the best diet is the one you make and can stick to. You already know what your doing wrong, so eat more of the right stuff and stay away from sweets and fried food. Good Luck! - R
Im not on any diet, because of my good metabolism, but I loveeee smoothies! Also, when im craving something sweet, I have a banana milkshake. Chocolate is too fatty.
DON'T KNOW BUTT i get to eat pizza burgers and lotsa junkfood