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Bodies: Cooking at Home Saves Calories and Money
Healthy Recipes
by
Gay
Riley, MS, RD, CCN
NetNutritionist.com
 Dining
out has become a way of life in America.
Americans eat from two to 21 meals away from
home each week (that’s 104-1,092 meals a year).
We have more bad food choices than ever
before, most with hidden calories and additives
and convenience food is available to us 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. The food industry and
inactivity have made Americans one of the
fattest and I would argue unhealthiest people on
earth.
Most
of us choose about 10 of the same foods on a
regular basis. By preparing those 10 foods at home with
healthy whole food ingredients rather than eating
fast foods, dining out, or eating convenience
foods you can save a bundle of calories and feel
better.
Restaurants add fat (mostly more saturated
fats), salt and additives for flavor, satisfaction
to save money and to keep you coming back for
more.
The excess intake of fat, additives and
preservatives can cause havoc to the waistline,
digestion, brain function, immune system, energy
level and overall health when consumed over the
long term.
Preparing
food at home has many advantages.
-
You
can save money.
-
You
control the calories, saturated fats, sugar, and salt.
-
You can clean your foods properly and know
the ingredients are healthy
-
You
burn calories because preparation requires
exertion. Even for a quick meal, you must
shop, prepare and clean up.
-
Cooking can be very relaxing and cutting can
really be a stress relief!
Keeping
healthy, delicious foods close at hand is a good
way to lower your risk of impulse eating. If you
come home from work and there’s nothing to eat,
you’ll probably opt for fast food or home delivery.
However, if you have food ingredients on hand
and a couple of favorite menu options for
putting together a healthy quick meal impulse
eating is not as much of a risk.
For
example: If you brown some lean (best choice is
organic or free of antibiotics and hormones) ground turkey breast
with seasoning such as cumin, chili pepper and a
little salt. Add it to lettuce, tomatoes, red bell pepper,
onions and top it with a little grated cheddar
cheese you can make a low-fat
taco salad in just a few minutes. Compare the
calorie and fat savings of a quick meal at home
versus a fast-food version. A typical fast-food taco salad
is about 905 calories with 61 percent of those calories
from fat. However, a homemade taco salad with
1 ounce of baked chips is around 532 calories and just 17
percent fat.
Tips: Make a file of your favorite
quick recipes, adapt your favorite take out with
your own home recipes, try to keep recipes
simple with 12 ingredients or less so you can
memorize them for quick preparation, keep a
running grocery list at home to remind yourself
when you run out so you always have something on
hand to prepare, buy small amounts of
perishables and produce so they do not go bad,
prepare large quantities of soups and foods that
can be frozen in containers for another day,
prepare double portions to take to work or have
for breakfast the next day. Pretty soon
you will be eating out much less! Saving
money, and feeling good.
Try
the following recipes for quick and tasty dishes.
BREAKFAST
PUDDING
Alternative to bakery muffin 400 calories
2
cups nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 cup raw rolled oats or muesli
1 cup fresh fruit (cherries, blueberries, peaches)
Mix
well and chill. Serve with a slice of whole grain
or gluten free toast. 4 servings. Serving size: 1 cup
Per
serving: 240 calories, 2 gm fat, 15 gm protein,
47 gm carbohydrates, 8 percent fat
BEAN BURRITOS
Alternative to fast food burrito 600 calories
16
oz black beans (cooked)
4 large whole-grain high fiber tortillas
½ cup chunky salsa
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2-oz low fat or nonfat shredded cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp. low fat sour cream (if desired)
Preheat oven to 400. Fill
each tortilla with ½ cup beans, 4 tablespoons
salsa, 2 tablespoons tomatoes. Sprinkle with ½
ounce of cheese. Roll
up and bake until the cheese is melted. Top with
sour cream. Serve with a
salad. Serving size: 2 burritos. 2
servings.
Per
serving: 492 calories, 5 gm fat, 21 gm protein,
90 gm carbohydrate, 9 percent fat
BAKED APPLE
DUMPLING
Alternative to fried apple pie 400+ calories
1
apple cored
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple juice
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons rolled oats
Cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla nonfat yogurt (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 or 400. Core
apple and place in pyrex or oven proof pan. In a separate
bowl, combine liquids, then add oatmeal. Stuff
mixture into apple and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake until apple is soft about 20 minutes.Top with yogurt
if desired. 1 serving.
Per
serving: 293 calories, 1.5 gm fat, 5 gm protein,
67 gm carbohydrates, 5 percent fat
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