[dolfinonmi]

I am trying to do a weight loss program and am looking for recipes and instructions for meal ideas that could be canned in half pints to help on portion control and for times when family wants something that I'm trying to stay away from right now, such as them wanting spaghetti and I'm trying to stay away from pasta right now.any help would be greatly appreciated Tia

 

[Spirit Deer]

IMO, it's easier to freeze things like that than can them.

I use WW recipes from several of their cookbooks and freeze them. See what cookbooks you can find from your library. WW has moved more towards whole grains and less refined carbs, so look for cookbooks that have copyright dates within about the past ten years. Two of my favorite WW cookbooks are Take-Out Tonight and In One Pot. Both are older books but there are some newer ones that are pretty good too. Soups will freeze especially well.

One WW recipe that's really good and reheats well is called Skinny Chimichangas. Those freeze well, and reheat in the micro. My husband likes that one, and if your family likes chimis, they probably would, too. It has a tortilla but you can use whole grain tortillas. Ww Skinny Chimichangas Recipe - Food.com

Just an unsolicited tip: Don't tell your family if you're serving them "diet food". Just serve it without comment, or say you're just trying a new recipe. A lot of the time, they won't even realize they're eating something healthy. For some reason, some people equate healthy food with icky food, so don't tell them and they might not notice. Seriously!

As for canning foods, I don't have a lot of good recipes but maybe chili would work.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Which program are you doing? Low calorie? Low carb? Sugar Busters? Hard to suggest recipes when I don't know your restrictions.

Have you checked the website? Most of them have sites with recipes.

Agree with SD that lots of things can be portioned and frozen. This time of year you can make lots of fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to keep in the fridge, too.

 

[dolfinonmi]

Thanks for the info spirit deer and contrary housewife. I am doing weight watchers but this past week have been having a lot of fibromyalgia problems and am almost convinced its food related. I am trying to reduce gluten, NutraSweet and potatoes to see if I can feel better.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Check out some South Beach cookbooks from the library. Since it's lower carb there may be ideas you can use to avoid the gluten and potatoes. Can you use Spenda instead of NutriSweet? It tastes better anyway.

I'd say focus on veggies with the right amounts and types of protein and see if that helps.

One thing I do when I'm behaving myself is eat repetitively. So I'll make up a batch of soup, for example, divide it into individual dishes properly portioned, and put it in the fridge, and that's my lunches for the next six days. You could do the same with suppers or breakfasts.

Again when I'm behaving, I set up a giant 'bento box' in the fridge with the entire day's food in it. Then it's easy to keep track of my food. I can't eat anything that day that's not in the box, and when the box is empty, I'm done. Here's a day's worth of WW food:

And here it is, all packed up.

I try to make up my meals in a batch, like I said, but I also try to keep WW chili, the chimis I linked to above, and just a few dishes in the freezer, which can be grabbed in an 'emergency' when I don't want to cook. Having perfectly portioned chili in the freezer has saved me more than once, but most of the time I do cook, so I don't need to keep bushels of things ready. The main thing is that it has to be something that always sounds appealing so I'll want to eat it. If I'm not really interested in my emergency food, it's not going to do me any good, most likely.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Are you keeping a food diary? Just a thought.

Ok, so if the family wants pasta you can do something like a tray of lasagna or ziti and freeze individual servings, or make a small one they can eat, while you have foods on your list.

Or you could put together some crockpot "dump" freezer recipes with meat and vegetables that everyone can enjoy. Just pull the bag out and start it. Good on low energy days. There are a lot of blogs with recipes. I have found that simple ones with fewer ingredients work better.

You might also check out some paleo recipes. They focus on fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs and fish, and restrict processed foods, starches, grains and sugars.