Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with food and healthy

Is Green Tea Good for You even when it's cold?

lynnie-the-pooh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:09:17 -0800

I heard Green Tea is extremely good for you. If I drink it cold, will it give me the same benefits as hot green tea? I like the Snapple Green tea drink you can get in a glass bottle and you drink it cold. Thanks, Lynnie-the-pooh

Cheap + Healthy + Quick = Impossible?

sciencemandan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:30:26 -0800

I'm starting grad school and will be living in a residence hall with shared kitchen facilities. I need your ideas for quick, cheap, and healthy meals. I am going to be living alone, but I won't have my own kitchen. There is, however, a shared kitchen for the entire floor to use, so I have access to a stove/oven, but I won't be using it all the time.

I would really like to eat healthy, and I will have a refrigerator/freezer, a microwave, and a toaster oven in my room. I also picked up a hot water kettle, and I'm thinking of buying a food steamer as well.

I need food ideas that are cheap, healthy, and quick to prepare. I'm definitely okay with ideas that involve making a large batch of [fill in the blank] and freezing individual portions. Any creative tips on how best to do that would also be appreciated. I'm not vegetarian/vegan, but I'm not altogether opposed to the idea of going that route if it would be cheaper, so get creative with your ideas. Ideally, I'd like to have a list of staple foods that I can run to the grocery store and pick up.

Help me plan a healthier daily diet.

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:42:27 -0800

Help me plan a healthier daily diet. I really want to eat healithier. I don't think I'll be able to cut out meat from my diet entirely, especially not right away, so I'd like to work my way up to it. I also don't have any great love for most vegetables so that is something I'll have to work up to as well.

I've recently cut way back on fast food. I don't eat out more than once or twice a week, but I'd like to make that not at all, or at least very rarely.

I also have a job where I want to take a lunch or dinner type meal to work with me. I have access to a microwave and a refrigerator there.

Currently a typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: bowl of cereal, usually Oh!s or Honey Bunches of Oats (with cinnamon), with 2% milk. Sometimes I'll cut up a banana and add it in. On rare mornings, I'll scramble a few eggs and have buttered toast. I always burn bacon when I try to fry it.

Lunch: chicken or roast beef (from the deli, not pre-packaged) sandwich with fat-free mayo, lettuce and havarti cheese on multi-grain wheat bread with crackers and maybe an apple.

Dinner: This is where I have the most difficulty. I'm just now trying to teach myself to cook. Some nights I'll just go without. Other times I'll heat up a salmon patty and have some macaroni & cheese with it.

I can cook, I'm just lazy about doing so. I've taught myself to cook some delicious chicken pasta, but that's about the extent of my skill so far. I want to include more fruits and vegetables in every meal, and preferably have more frequent, smaller meals/snacks throughout the day.

To help, here are some of my likes and dislikes:

Like: melons, bell peppers, black olives, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, onions, apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, chicken (white meat only), beef, most any kind of fish (but no shellfish), pasta, avocado, pineapple

Dislike: pork, ham, pastrami, mushrooms, spinach, anything too spicy or sour

Willing to try: beans, just about any other vegetable

Links to sites with good tips, info, and recipes would also be appreciated.

I don't always have a lot of time to prep meals, so quick-prep meals are a plus. I also have two crock-pots (one large, one small), a toaster, and a blender at my disposal at home.

Bonus points if you can recommend something good to drink (besides water) that is not too sugary or expensive.

Help a health-conscious snacker bake!

schmoo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:28:08 -0800

Please suggest me some snacks, light or portable dishes that are both healthy and involve baking or cooking. I love to cook. I especially love to cook recipes that involve lots of chopping, stiring, mixing, frying or baking. I don't like recipes that are just an assembly of ingredients, or which only take 2 minutes. I like to be in the kitchen! That said, I'm not looking to spend hours in the kitchen, so something that takes 3 days isn't really an option!

I cook a lot of meals like this in the evenings, but I'm looking for snacks that I can bake or cook. - Things that I can take to work in my lunchbox, snack on after work, or leave in the fridge and graze on for a few days.

However, I'm also pretty health-conscious and trying to, if not lose a few pounds, definately not put any on. This rules out the normal things that I think I would find fun cooking - cookies, cupcakes, muffins, quiche, samosas, breads, etc. That list seems biased towards sweet things, but savoury are just as welcome, if not more.

The kinds of things that I am looking for, and have experimented with already are: falafels (baked, not fried), healthy lo-cal dips (would welcome more of these!) and glazed nuts (not the most low-fat of snack but at least has health benefits). I would love any and all suggestions for things along these lines. I would also welcome low-calorie versions of the things that I don't bake - cookies, cakes, etc.

So - give me your recipes for low-fat, low-cal or just plain healthy snacks and light dishes which involve cooking or baking.

I have searched previous posts, and while there are many on health snack ideas, none that meet my particular criteria! Thanks in advance!

Name my Health Blog!

HPag — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:25:36 -0800

hey all! So I really want to start a blog about the subjects I'm most passionate: eating and exercising. I need help naming it! (more inside!) I'm full of contradictions; meaning that while I eat healthy and LOVE to cook, I will not turn down that piece of perfectly fried chicken, either. I can be lazy and have a couch potato movie night, but the next morning I'm sweatin it out at the park or in my pilates class.
To me, it's all about balance. People are not perfect (and why would we want to be?) and I'm tired of reading blogs from hardbodies who never falter from eating their one huge salad a day.
I eat well, live well, stay healthy, and I want to talk to people about doing the same!
Sooo...without sounding too "new age" or cheesy, what should my blog's name be?
Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Aw Mom, we ALWAYS have bagels...

Osrinith — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:02:46 -0800

MeetingFoodFilter: Help me find a healthy alternative to bagels and cream cheese for an upcoming meeting! I'm a graduate student in a mid-sized lab (16 people) at a university in the Midwest. Every Tuesday morning we have our lab meeting, during which one lab member presents the progress he or she has made on their project since giving their last lab meeting. The tradition of the lab is for the person who is presenting to provide the food. Usually people just go out and buy two dozen assorted bagels and some cream cheese and call it a day. Two problems: A) this gets boring quickly, and B) it's not very healthy.

The last time I gave lab meeting, I mixed up some non-fat yogurt with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, walnuts, and pecans and sprinkled some cinnamon on the top. It went over relatively well, with only a little bit of the usual "different = bad" grumbling from the more hidebound members of the lab. I'm not opposed to making that again, but I thought I'd query the hivemind for other suggestions for a healthy snack type food to serve my lab mates while I shower them with data (really, it's more like a vigorous trickle...). I should mention that I have a decently long commute on public transportation, so portability is key. Also, we have a very basic food preparation area with plates, utensils, and a microwave, but that's it. As a graduate student, budget is a consideration. Falling back on bagels is definitely an option, but I'd really enjoy the opportunity to provide food that tastes good and is healthy to boot. Thanks for any suggestions!

What are your favorite high-protein, low-fat, quick and easy recipes?

Pontius Pilate — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:33:57 -0800

What are your favorite high-protein, low-fat, quick and easy recipes? In looking through the archives, it seems like people have given some great advice with regard to good protein bars, protein shakes, and the like - however, I haven't found much in the way of actual cooked meals. I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise about 4x a week (mostly lifting), but am finding it difficult to get the recommended daily dose of protein of 1 - 1.25 grams per pound of weight.

So - if anyone has good high-protein, low-fat, quick and easy recipes, let's hear them: ground beef, chicken, salmon, whatever you got! The best would be something that's palatable, could be cooked in large quantities and kept in the fridge for a while, and not requiring particular culinary skills. Thanks, all!

Share your slow carb recipes

sid — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:50:34 -0800

Give us your slow carb recipes! We are attempting a slow carb diet, which for us means cutting out or severely reducing all flour, rice, potatoes, and bread. Our carb sources would be pulses, legumes, and sweet potatoes. It's going pretty well so far but I think we are going to soon grow tired of hummus! Please share any delicious recipes that would fit the stated parameters.

I quit cooking

b33j — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:05:33 -0800

What do I need to know about frozen diet foods in Australia? Mr b33j and I need to lose weight, hate cooking and like different types of foods than each other (I'm more adventurous, he's more meat and 3 vege). We’re thinking about trying the frozen diet foods route for while. What can you tell me about Lean Cuisine, McCain’s, Lite & Easy, Jenny Craig, the Diet Factory etc?

I've noticed not all have the Heart Foundation tick - is this important? If we have a high fibre cereal or toast for breaky, and a sanger for lunch, are we going to meet our nutritional requirements? By the way, we need to go shopping every week anyhow, for the offsprings' food (they cook their own) and cat food and toiletries and stuff.

Tips? Good or bad experiences?

Help me figure out how to stick to a good healthy breakfast.

actionpact — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:24:13 -0800

Eatingfilter: I'm an admitted chronic meal-skipper, trying to mend my wicked ways. Help me enjoy a healthy filling breakfast and stick to it! I know there were a few similar questions on MeFi, but none really solved it for me. So here goes!

When I was a kid, I ate normally. When I got into high school, I often skipped lunch for the library; and then the crazy schedules of college left me eating erratically and sometimes in all you can eat portions. Now, at 24, I'm finding it insanely hard to eat breakfast. My eating habits are okay, but need improvement. I sometimes don't feel hungry at all, and othertimes overeat in big portions/crave snacks/multiple meals. I'm trying to get fitter, but also regain more energy and feel more productive (as a freelancer who works from home, productivity and self-motivation are super-important!).

I am trying to eat healthy: I've cut out approximately 80% of high fructose corn syrup out of my diet, adding whole grains into the mix, as well as bulgur and beans to start. I don't each as much fruit and vegetables as I'd like, because I live with someone who doesn't care for vegetables, and lately the selection's been not so great. Still, I eat them when I can. But breakfast eludes me. I'm retarded about it-- even though I wake up from 8-9am each day (I am shooting for getting up between 6-7, but I think breakfast is a good first step? I find it hard to drag myself out of bed early just yet), I find it hard to put together a healthful breakfast without a lot of muss and fuss (read: dishes). Much less keep up at it consistently for longer than a week. Today I picked up a box of Kashi GoLean cereal and some organic milk and bananas, and while it's not very sweet and gives me a touch of heartburn, I'll eat it for now.

So what I'm looking for are your good suggestions for breakfast. If the three big factors are easiness to prepare, healthiness, and cheapness, I'll go with the first two, because even though I'm on a budget I'd rather spend a bit more to feel healthier than shovel junk down my throat. Of course, budget options are also appreciated :)

I know eggs are a good solution, but they seem to be more effort than I'm capable of in the morning. I don't want to eat bagels or granola, I'm not a fan of hot cereals or oatmeal, and certainly not cottage cheese (anything with that consistency, or is like mayo/cheese based typically makes me queasy). I am a big fan of foods I can batch-prepare/cook (perhaps in a crockpot?) and eat throughout the week with easy reheating-- would even be happy to learn a healthy muffin recipe or some such thing. I like almost all fruits except for grapefruit; and breakfast ideas can be savory or not typical American breakfast foods too. So what of it, Mefites? I know I'm picky on what I like, but you may be the thing that actually makes me like breakfast again. For that, I love you in advance!

Healthy chips and dip?

XMLicious — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:24:31 -0800

Healthy chips and dip? Lo, long have I quested thro' the dales and deep, like Bilbo for the One Ring, seeking chips that art not crap for my diet. (That would be “crisps” for you heathen Brits. And yes, I know Tolkien was British.)

Recently I happened upon Snyder's of Hanover sunflower and corn chips. They have a very nice texture but the flavor is meh.

In dip news, I like Middle Eastern food in general. I like حُمُّص بالطحين but besides putting it in falafel I've never found much else to use it with, much less dip in it.

But… Whoso putteth these chips in this dip, shall be the King of the Britons! There's a snacktacular gestalt between these two things, creating a Nietzschean Über-Snack, that I find delicious. And looking at the nutrition facts the combination doesn't look too bad health-wise: no trans fat, not too much fat overall, average carbs and below average sodium for a snack food. Definitely better than potato chips and onion dip, in any case.

So I ask you, me droogy droogs, what sort of healthy chips / crisps do you know of that I could put in my hummus, or healthy dip that I could dip my Hanoverian sunflower chips in, or other healthy combination of chips and dip?

Heathy Eating in Northwest Houston?

swhitt — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:05:05 -0800

Where can I find healthy, great-tasting food at a restaurant in northwest Houston? Asking for someone else. I just moved to the northwest part of Houston, around where 290 meets the Sam Houston Tollway. One of the big problems I've been having is finding a good place to eat lunch with coworkers. Some place relatively healthy (for me) that has good food for everyone else (my coworkers). I used to like Fresh City up in Boston, but they don't have restaurants outside of the northeast. I'm quickly getting sick of Subway and Quiznos. Houstonians - do you have any advice?

Tasty whole-wheat pasta?

radioamy — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:29:59 -0800

Are there any decent-tasting whole-wheat pastas? So I took the leap and joined Weight Watchers. One of the things they recommend is to eat more whole grains. So I'm trying to switch from regular pasta to whole wheat. So instead of buying my regular delicious De Cecco penne, I bought a box of their whole-wheat penne. I knew it would be different than regular pasta, but I didn't expect it to taste so...horrible! It was barely palatable. I really would have been better off just putting marinara on the shrimp and broccoli and skipping the pasta.

I know there must be better-tasting whole wheat pastas out there. Please, health-conscious hive mind, help me! What do you recommend?

FWIW, I live in the Southern United States. I prefer to shop at the regular run-of-the mill chain grocery, but I will go to Whole Foods if that's what it takes!

Oh, right... peak oil. What should we eat?

pseudostrabismus — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:45:03 -0800

Seeking ideas for healthy, balanced, kid-friendly meals that use local (ideally Ontarioan) ingredients, don't require the expenditure of electricity, and could be made by an 8-year old with minimal supervision? I'm doing some work for a youth organization, and we're trying to help kids understand the amount of energy that goes into getting food to their door. As a challenge, I want to suggest a few meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner) that are healthy, kid-friendly, and extremely planet-friendly. The guidelines:

1. Local- Should use foods that are locally grown (Southern Canada). The foods don't have to be organic- I'm hoping to keep costs down so the recipies are accessible to all income brackets.

2. Accessible- The ingredients should be easy to find- say, even at a rural grocery store- and easy to prepare, not daunting and unfamiliar (no sprouted-spelt-germ type recipes), so that the meal is easily recreatable.

3. Human-powered- To show kids how reliant we are on electricity, I was hoping to find meals that required no electricity to prepare- so no oven, and bonus points if no food processor. But also no campfire- these must be indoor recipes.

4. Healthy- The meal must be balanced, with a good protein source.

5. Peanut-free- Because of the prevalance of peanut allergies, avoiding peanuts is probably best. Other kinds of nuts are probably ok.

6. Kid friendly- Ideally a second-grader (7-8 yrs) could make this meal, almost unsupervised. Using a knife is fine.

7. Tasty- Kids and parents should enjoy eating whatever-it-is.

It's okay if these meals turn out to be big, varied salads, or little tapas plate collections- I've been thinking about this for a few days and that's what I've mostly come up with.

If you feel there's some aspect of "planet-friendly" I could re-examine, I'll welcome your advice on those topics as well- I've done some research, but I don't pretend to be an expert.

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to your suggestions!

Call of the Cauliflower

Ambrosia Voyeur — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:11:55 -0800

I love Cauliflower! It's healthy and delicious! Help me find good ways to eat it! Right now, I've got one white and one golden head just waiting for adventure! Recipe suggestions?

What grocery stores in Canada carry healthy(er) foods?

irishkitten — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:50:29 -0800

What grocery stores in Canada carry healthy(er) foods? Mr. Irishkitten here:

I recently moved from the USA to Canada (Ottawa specifically) and am having a rough time finding some of the healthier foods that I regularly bought in the states. The most confounding part of this is that what I'm looking for isn't that out of the ordinary.

What I'm looking for are simple things like turkey sausage, turkey bacon, fat free cheese, light (or fat free) salad dressings or marinades, and even things like light macaroni and cheese. I'm not interested in Soy cubes, organic produce, or anything that's typically found in specialty stores. Just stuff that I'm used to finding in local grocery stores.

Are there any Canadian grocery chains that keep these sort of things in stock? I've found some of them here and there but never all in one store and never regularly stocked. There's an A&P and a Loblaws near me but neither one have enough of these sorts of items to fill my list.

i wanna bacon double chocolate butter cake in my tummy all winter long!

twistofrhyme — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:49:50 -0800

stop me from fattening up for the winter. it's cold and dark outside, but it's warm and creamy inside.
i've spent the last week eating like a bear about to hibernate. big chunks of cheese, chocolate, buttery toast, pudding, an entire package of cookie dough, several boxes of sugary cereal. and for the past 3 days, i've been fantasizing about making and eating an entire tray of fudge. this cannot go on.

i know i shouldn't buy this stuff- i usually don't- but right now, the real problem is how bad i WANT it. i bought some healthy treats, like melon & pomegranates, to snack on instead, and i end up eating those, and then finding some candy. this is laughable. i'm like a bear with one hand in the honey pot. i've put on 3 pounds in the past 10 days. my internal monologue has turned into "i wanna eat a chocolate piggy in my tummy here!" usually i crave junk food in healthy quantities- i'll buy some and it lasts all week- so this is kind of new to me, and it has to stop, stat. help me, please!

what should i do to kill the cravings? what should i eat instead to satisfy them?

Anything wrong with a Big Mac a day?

gttommy — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:32:28 -0800

Anything wrong with a Big Mac a day? As long as I avoid french fries or anything fried which would be full of trans fatty acids, I could eat at McDonald's everyday without any worries right?

Looking at the nutritional content of the burgers, the macro nutrients like protein, fat and carbs seem pretty ordinary, on the contrary it seems healthy to have in moderation (roughly once a day).

Cheap, healthy places to catch a bite in London?

ontic — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:24:38 -0800

Cheap, healthy places to catch a bite in London? I'm going to be spending some time in London and have to live on a bit of a budget with the exchange rates being what they are. That said, I don't want to be cooking every single meal in my apartment and miss being in the city. Bonus points for vegetarian and/or fish-but-not-fish-and-chips opportunities.

Thanks!

Non-tots

oflinkey — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 19:42:48 -0800

Foodies of AskMe, help me with a food-substitution puzzle-- specifically, Tater Tots. (Any other healthy substitution suggestions also welcome). I am looking to try to make a tot-like item (knowing full well they are not entirely replicable). I am thinking of using cauliflower, but I need some advice for shaping/molding/extruding the tot. I am also looking for ideas on binding the ground/mashed cauliflower.

The back story is that DH is going away for a month this summer and I would like to take this time to adjust my eating habits (and then by extension, his). Left to my own devices, I enjoy healthier foods, but separate preparation in our tiny kitchen is near impossible. I also work a lot. The good news is that we are moving and I got a better job. So, I have plans for a month's worth of culinary experimentation.

We both have put on weight and are not getting any younger. He has a family history of heart attack, and I have one of diabetes...and so on. However, Mr. Oflinkey was raised on a very middle-American diet, where potatoes rule, meat is king and every meal ends with a sweet. He was in college before he had ever tried rice-- and spices? Imagine Marge Simpson: "Or uh ga no? What the hell is that?" Bread must be bleachy-white. Forget yogurt in place of sour cream or mayo. Tofu? Right.

While we have made strides in the last couple of years and we eat more fish and almost no beef or chicken (this is in part because of a desire to not eat factory-farmed meat), we need to move away from some things. One thing I know he will have difficulty with is Tater Tots.

Any other advice from those of you who have moved your SO to more healthy eating would also be greatly appreciated.

What are your healthy alternatives for your guilty pleasures?

WCityMike — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:04:15 -0800

What healthy -- or at healthier -- alternatives do you eat to fulfill cravings for emphatically unhealthy food? Clarification and examples inside. I am on a path towards an end goal of losing a considerable amount of weight, and basically, a lot of the places I've already found success have been where I've successfully substituted one food for another, while still concentrating on fulfilling the craving. I took a food quiz that indicated that my eating problems were very sense-based, so I've tried to concentrate on things that have strong flavors.

An example: instead of Ben & Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch, I've found that the very tart taste of a Edy's Whole Fruit lemonade bar is strong enough to fulfill the "cold, strong flavor" craving that I often have after dinner. Or, instead of a king-sized Snickers bar, I might have a piece of Life Savers Chocolate and Caramel hard candy, or maybe a small piece of Dove dark chocolate. (No, this isn't a Pepsi Blue post, I'm just giving examples of what I've used.) For some people, Triscuit pizzas might fulfill the pizza desire. And so on.

Basically, though, what I'm asking is: what successful substitutions have you found that fulfill your cravings for something emphatically unhealthy? If you have Craving X, and Product A that fulfills that craving is too high calorie, high fat, whatever, what is your Product B that manages to (happily?) fulfill the urge? Product B doesn't necessarily have to be healthy, in and of itself, it just has to be healthier. For example, in the example above, gorging on the hard candy wouldn't be healthy at all ... but two hard candies is going to be a hell of a lot less calories than a king-sized Snickers bar. Get my drift?

Ask MeFi braintrust, don't fail me now! ;-)

Yummy yummy in my tummy

masymas — Tue, 30 May 2006 11:18:27 -0800

Quick & healthy food pairing suggestions? In an effort to adhere to a better diet, I'm looking for additional food pairings that are (1) fairly healthy, (2) quickly and easily-prepared, and (3) good-tasting.

Examples:
- apple slices + peanut butter
- toast + honey + banana slices
- cottage cheese + pineapple chunks
- wheat crackers + gouda (or other) cheese
- tomato slices + mozzaralla

Thanks.

Teach Me to Cook

tirade — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 19:21:39 -0800

Cooking for the lazy and overworked. I eat a lot of overpriced crap lately - think boxed/frozen/microwaveable, or even just takeout - and for a number of obvious reasons I'd like to stop doing that. I think most of America is in the same boat with me, but can those of you who aren't give me some tips on learning to cook for myself? Right now I'm a pretty lousy cook, and I'm really slow to boot. I also don't like to cook and don't think I ever really will, so come dinner time after work - when I've just gotten into the time left for MY day - the last thing I want to do is spend two and a half hours chopping, cooking, eating, cleaning, etc. It's a lot easier to just nuke something and be done with the whole process in a half hour.

Now, despite the above, I don't want to keep putting bad stuff in my body, or wasting money on bad food. What I really need to learn is how to prepare varied meals quickly and without much effort. Like I said, I don't think I'll ever really like to cook, but I love to eat, and I want to be healthy, so I'm willing to put in the effort to get to where I need to be.

I'm not really sure where to start, though, so I guess I'm just asking for some general pointers. I think part of the problem is that most of the "cookbooks" I have are really just collections of recipes - they don't teach you the skill of how to cook if you don't already know. How can I pick that up?

Difficulty Level: Vegetarian, but beyond that there's just about nothing in the way of food that I don't like.