Guest Post: Fast Food vs. Fit Food

Hi everyone!

Nick and I got to his parents house safely last night to drop off the animals. The drive was pretty crazy – dealing with snow drifts and 50 mph winds wasn’t fun, but those conditions did keep the roads bare so we didn’t have to deal with many other drivers.

Once we got here last night and unpacked the car, we ate dinner, played with the pups and then got in bed.

Maggie and Roxy are going to have so much fun here this week, and I’m so thankful that Bob and Cindy offered to watch them while we’re gone.

Nick and I are about to get on the road again to drive to my parents house – we’re flying out of Norfolk with them, so we have another 3.5 – 4 hours on the road this morning.

See ya from Chesapeake! :)

Thank you to everyone that sent me guest posts – you’re all blog-savers this week ;)

Enjoy!

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Hello Bran Appétit Readers! I’m Cynthia and I write a healthy living blog over at www.Itallchanges.wordpress.com . Brandi’s was one of the first blogs I read and I love her perspective on food and fun. She’s my kind of girl. One thing I really love about her blog is that she makes no bones about making a quick meal for dinner instead of running out to get fast food.

When I first started losing weight (I’ve lost over 100 pounds) I was a fast food queen. I lived by myself and it just didn’t make since to cook food every night for me and have tons of leftovers. The people at the local pizza parlor and hot dog joint knew me by name. And when I wasn’t eating out I was doing what can only be described as preparing. You know, turn box over…read instructions for microwave time…insert into microwave and wait for the bing. I was known for eating entire boxes of Velveeta shells and cheese directly from my batter bowl I microwave it in. Thousands of calories in and hundreds of dollars wasted.

Now I cook meals most nights but let’s face it not every night can be something from the cover of Bon Appétit every night. Some nights we are lucky to get food on the table and we do occasionally eat out at gourmet places like …Subway. But to avoid this from happening too often we keep a few things on hand that allow us to make a meal in just a few minutes. Much quicker than it would take to order Chinese food or the Dominos guy to make and deliver my thin crust pizza.

Speaking of pizza that is one of our favorite quick and easy meals. We love to make individual pizzas and usually have all the toppings on hand.

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We like to use pocket less pitas for our ”pizza crust” but you can use anything from tortillas, to bagels to English muffins. Any circular bread like substance will work. Then add a little tomato sauce and some cheese. Then the fun begins. Toppings abound in my fridge and freezer (and even pantry). Anything from spinach and roasted red peppers last night to asparagus and broccoli. And the occasional chicken sausages that always abound in our freezer or black beans. Sometimes I even mix up the cheese and make Greek pizza with olives and feta or Mexican pizza with peppers, onions, black beans and cheddar. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 Degrees.

And look at the finished product.

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Who wouldn’t want to eat that lovely? And besides Hunni can make his own or they are fun for when my cousins come.

Other fun quick meals are easy and cheap. Cheap is the thing I love and the easy is a nice second. My pocket book and watch thank me.

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Annie’s Mac & Cheese with chicken sausages and lots of veggies. Makes tons of leftovers if you add some extra pasta. Perfect for leftover lunches on a busy week.

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Chicken Baseballs. This is the Major league of quick meals. J

– Drain the chicken. Mix with 4 wedges of Laughing Cow and any veggies you want.

– Unroll dough and pinch together two crescents to form 4 rectangles.

– Divide chicken mixture among dough and add Buffalo sauce to mine.

– Pinch closed and bake until golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).

– Serve with side of your choosing.

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Me and my George love to make waffles. Easier than pancakes because there is no flipping and its’ fun to watch it bubble over sometimes. Who doesn’t love eating the crunchy bits on the side? And mine are always super healthy because I mix good old fashioned Bisquick with buckwheat pancake mix. And they hold me over for a long time because these babies are not your grandmother’s waffles (sorry Granma).

I even make snacks fit to go instead of grabbing junk food. Who wants something that won’t rot…hello Twinkie? I think Michael Pollan mentioned that he had one that had been sitting on a shelf for 2 years without a speck of the green fuzzy stuff. That’s just gross.

So I purchased this to go thing that allows for fresh veggies to be taken on the go and kept cold. The little blue space pod thing in the middle is a freezie thing from lunches that goes in the middle to keep my carrots chilled and my hummus fresh.

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If you are no Julia Child like me or have the schedule of President Obama you don’t need to hit the local McDonalds for dinner. Just having simple ingredients on hand allow you to put together a meal in the same amount of time it would take you to watch the number click off the microwave or stare out the window for the delivery guy. Just take a few minutes next time to make fit food instead of heading out for fast food.

Are you more likely to cook or eat out?

 

9 comments

  1. Great post :-) I cook at home almost every night, but a lot of times I make quick meals like these !

  2. Safe travels, dear Brandi!

    I cook (or uncook) all of my meals. I rarely eat out anymore with my food intolerances but really enjoy it when I can. But, I am the queen of fast meals!

  3. So happy you made it safely. Enjoy your trip.

    I keep these type of meals on hand all the time so I don’t have to eat out.

  4. i’m definitely more likely to cook at home (granted this applies when i’m not at school and with a dining hall) but i tend to just open a can of tuna and steam some veggies. stuff that requires very little prep. i have to be wicked motivated to turn on the stove and really cook haha

  5. Lovely post, Cynthia! And congrats on your path to better health! :D
    I love to eat out, but I do enjoy cooking, too. It all depends on the mood…and the cash! Haha!

    BRANDI! I’m so glad you made it there safe and sound…Lucky, considering the fact that it stormed like crazy over there! Please stay safe, but too safe to enjoy yourself tremendously! CAn’t wait for your return, girlie!

  6. Great post!!! And congrats on losing all of the weight!
    I love pizzas made with sandwich thins and laughing cow light cheese is like.. the best thing since sliced bread. YUM.
    And I love that brand of chicken sausage, so yummy!

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  8. Thanks for this. We all love a bargain and your advice helps

  9. Pingback: Pigged Out + Goals « It All Changes

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