Foods I Find Useful

I have found certain low calorie foods very useful in keeping my daily calories down and healthy; these include (in no particular order):

Bread: thank goodness for Country Kitchen "Light Wheat Bread". At only 35 calories a slice compared to about 100 calories for standard wheat bread, it is a winner. Naturally it has less calories manily because it is smaller, but it still manages to taste OK, and has protein and fiber, which most diet breads are sorely lacking. It has a small amount of high fructose corn syrup, but then again I have found only two brands of regular wheat bread that don't use the fructose.

Butter: Smart Balance wins hands down - I use the regular for cooking (at 80 calories per tablespoon, it beats canola or whatever oil at 120 calories), and I use the light for sandwiches, toast, etc (one teaspoon at 15 calories is all it takes for a slice). I think the stuff tastes OK, and no trans fats period (none of this per serving BS).

Eggs: I eat a lot of eggs, the cholesterol does not bother me (my cholesterol stays around 155). I eat Eggland or other omega-3 enhanced eggs because: 1) they have the omega-3, 2) they feed a vegetarian (non animal byproducts) feed, and 3) no antibiotics. The best advantage of these slightly pricier eggs is that the are only 70 calories each, rather than 78 for a regular egg.

Oatmeal / oat bran: I found a great recipe for "super" oatmeal: 1 serving oatmeal, 1/2 serving oat bran, 2 tablespoon dried milk, and 1 servings raisins. This is not a low calorie meal, I gave up the raisins (130 calories), and it is still at least 272 calories. But is is filling and provides about 4 grams of soluble fiber which helps with the fat, among other things.

Smart Beat Cheese: tastes terrible by itself, which is good because I used to eat American cheese slices by the pound. However, in a sandwich it tastes OK, and at 25 calories and zero fat, it provides some calcium without breaking the bank.

Bagels, yes bagels. I am a big bread eater and bagels provide my bread fix. At 165 calories, plus 30 calories for Smart Balance they are certainly a better deal than 150 calories for a small piece of specialty bread (plus the butter, or worse, oil).

Splenda (sucralose): this stuff is good - it sweetens my oatmeal and takes any low fat, low calorie salad dressing and turns it into something palatable - couldn't live without it!

Boca Veggie Burgers, along with Boca ground burger - are a staple in my diet. At 60-70 calories per serving and only 1 fat gram - they replace every meat from bacon to hamburger. The boca burger and canned salmon replace beeef and chicken in all recipes.

Fish - mostly canned (wild) salmon for recipes, and canned (wild) tuna-like salmon for salads sandwiches etc. We no longer eat canned tuna. Note that the tuna-like canned salmon has little omega-3. I also eat a fair number of sardines for the omega-3, but my wife refuses to indulge. We eat salmon at least twice a week.

Well, that's it for foods that I have found to help me meet my calorie count. Other than that it is just a lot of whole wheat pasta, brown rice (ok, parboiled brown rice which is all I can take), potatoes, and lots of veggies. Hardly any meat as my wife is a vegetarian, though I do have broiled chicken breast once in awhile, and a roasted steak every few weeks.

Oops, I should mention the pizza - to get away from my cooking we have veggie pizza about once a week. After extensive research I have come to the conclusion that allocating 300 calories per slice is a reasonable guess - slices are divided as follows: 4 for me for dinner, 2 for my wife for dinner and two for her lunch the next day. We do not have pizza on Friday or Saturday night because I eat the extra lunch slices - so much for self control.

Finally maybe I should mention alcohol. I was happily having one 4 oz glass of wine a day (sometimes maybe two) until I had my medical event. Now I am trying to wean myself off the wine - it does not help the weak heart, and it worsens the sleep apnea, which is suspected as being the cause of the weak heart. Once I lose the weight I will reevaluate the situation, but for now, I am down to one or two 4 ounce glasses a week.