The Healthy Weight and Eating Thread

[AutumnEvenings]

Not sure if this is the place to ask, but, whatever.

I grow herbs and my basil is completely out of control. It's choking out my dill and parsely and even oregano. :( We eat pesto a lot, I throw basil in risottos, salads, and sandwiches. I'm stealing an idea from Iron Chef and making basil pasta (like spinach pasta). I also give it away at work to those who want some. But it's still totally out of control. I don't want to kill it, because I really like basil.

Any ideas on what else to do with it?

[Xray the Enforcer]

First off, put it in its own separate pot. One should do this with mint as well. That way, you won't have to cull it all the time.

Next up, make basil oil or basil-lime mojo and put that on fish. Make a pistou and add it to soup. Stir fry it quickly with tofu (or meat), Thai-style. Put it in salads. :)

[VigoTheCarpathian]

Any ideas on what else to do with it?

You can make a bunch of pesto at once, and freeze it in ice cube trays: whenever we get surplus basil, that's how I end up using it. It's good for throwing into soups and sauces, as well as just defrosting and using in the typical fashion. Plus you get to have homemade pesto all year 'round.

[cjfshaw]

It depends :devil:

It's often a much smaller amount that many people think. Read the nutrition label on prepared or most recipe foods to find out how much or how many is considered a serving (like 1/2 cup of ice cream, 1/2 cup uncooked pasta, 1 cup prepared CoCo Wheats, are each "a serving", etc). If you're looking at a something home-prepared for which there are no serving suggestions*, the "rule of thumb" I have heard is a tennis ball size of food. Or, if you can't visualize a tennis ball, the size of an average adult fist.

*often, cookbooks will have this information, but not always.

Yeah, well because it varies so much with each type of food I was wondering if maybe it was a size thing, or maybe even a calorie amount thing.

[Lord of Oop North]

Just start putting basil in everything that you eat. Marinades, soups, pastas, salads, whatever. It is pretty much awesome in all situations.

[Angalin]

Not sure if this is the place to ask, but, whatever.

I grow herbs and my basil is completely out of control. It's choking out my dill and parsely and even oregano. :( We eat pesto a lot, I throw basil in risottos, salads, and sandwiches. I'm stealing an idea from Iron Chef and making basil pasta (like spinach pasta). I also give it away at work to those who want some. But it's still totally out of control. I don't want to kill it, because I really like basil.

Any ideas on what else to do with it?

I have a Thai basil chicken recipe somewhere around. I think you can also chop the leaves finely and put them in ice cube trays with a little water. Freeze them, put them all in a plastic bag and bring out to add when needed. two versions

[Stego]

Capo, for meat....a serving size is ~ the palm of your hand, sans fingers. Eat six of those a day. More if you want to gain.

(Sorry, I basically only eat meat and whatever greens the wife provides. I do not limit my green vegetables at all, in any way, shape, or form.)

[lokisnow]

I am joining a CSA again next week! this one is a helluva lot cheaper (15/week rather than 65/two weeks) and since I'm moving into my own space I'll have refrigerator room for the box o veggies. I ate more veggies while on a CSA than ever, and learned to like things like grape fruit. :-p

I can't wait to move into my own place, I can get a crock of saurkraut fermenting, have room to make pickles and pickled okra, and begin making some Alton Brown box fan and furnace filter beef jerky

[lokisnow]

as a single guy, that was why I stopped getting the CSA, it was just too much food.

well it's not, if it apportioned out to 40-60% of the food you ate over two weeks. but it was more vegetables than I was inclined to eat, even when they were amazing.

oh those bags of really fresh arugula though :D

This I think is smaller, and if not smaller, then it's helluva great deal. :)

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

I survived family dinner at Pizza Hut. I had the bbq chicken salad with light dressing (no tomatoes or crutons) and 1/2 a breadstick. They made it easy by ordering a pan pizza, which I never really cared for anyway (hand tossed crust would have made it very hard to be good)

[Stego]

Good for you, Lany. Eating out can be very hard.

[ztemhead]

I'm down another pound, bringing the total up to (21) down, 19 to go. I ignored donut day yesterday.

the moral of the story here is, the next time you sit down and eat an entire dominos 16" pizza over the course of an afternoon, gaining three pounds in the process, all is not lost! In just a month of strict diet and exercise, you can be back on track. :P

My legs look buff, if a little sunburned.

[Greywolf2375]

I'm down another pound, bringing the total up to (21) down, 19 to go. I ignored donut day yesterday.

the moral of the story here is, the next time you sit down and eat an entire dominos 16" pizza over the course of an afternoon, gaining three pounds in the process, all is not lost! In just a month of strict diet and exercise, you can be back on track. :P

My legs look buff, if a little sunburned.

What else did you have with the pizza? I mean, you're not wrong in the all not being lost by cheating once in a while, but a body isn't going to retain all of the weight of the food you eat - some is going to be excreted when you, well, take the kids to the pool.

the 3lbs could have been from any number of factors. How often are you weighing yourself? If it's more than monthly, hold off.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Good for you, Lany. Eating out can be very hard.

I am learning self control. It's not always easy, but I have figured if I really want something bad, just get it when I am with my son and give him half. :lol: Also, an occasional treat should keep the binging at bay (that that I was a huge binge eater, but it did happen once in a while)

[ztemhead]

What else did you have with the pizza? I mean, you're not wrong in the all not being lost by cheating once in a while, but a body isn't going to retain all of the weight of the food you eat - some is going to be excreted when you, well, take the kids to the pool.

the 3lbs could have been from any number of factors. How often are you weighing yourself? If it's more than monthly, hold off.

eh, I started a longer post about this, but it's hard to phrase properly. suffice to say I understand the philosophy of "hold off," but some people are well practiced at the art of self delusion that comes with any measure other than one derived from hard data. realistically bodyfat % would be a better bet, but I don't know how to get that from home.

[Rubies & Jade]

I don't want to kill it, because I really like basil.

Any ideas on what else to do with it?

My favorite summer salad:

a couple of cups of rice at room temperature (use left over rice or make it in advance and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours)

add & toss:

(all chopped) basil, kalamata olives, cucumber, red bell pepper, a tomato

olive oil & lemon juice to coat and salt and pepper.

you can add some cubed feta cheese if you like. its yummo. serve cold or at room temperature. toasted pine nuts if you like 'um (I do!)

raw sauce for pasta (basil, tomatoes, olive oil & lemon juice--let sit for an hour or two and throw over pasta with toasted pine nuts)

There is a really good stew with basil... I might have to look it up at home for the exact recipe, but basically just chop 4 or 5 tomatoes (keeping all juice in there!), a couple of bell peppers & an onion. saute onion in olive oil and then throw everything else it with a couple of handfuls of basil and kalamatas. cover and simmer until all veggies are cooked but not peppers haven't completely fallen apart. salt & pepper. serve with crusty bread.

or just mail the basil to me. I like basil. :thumbsup:

[Greywolf2375]

eh, I started a longer post about this, but it's hard to phrase properly. suffice to say I understand the philosophy of "hold off," but some people are well practiced at the art of self delusion that comes with any measure other than one derived from hard data. realistically bodyfat % would be a better bet, but I don't know how to get that from home.

Oh, absolutely...changing body composition isn't just about the stuff you ingest, it encompasses all the aspects - how a person views his/her body, how to track it, stress...changing those perspectives so that they are positive about the changes wanted.

the scale we use for our classes is a Tanita BC 557 - very accurate weight/BF %, adjustable for gender, height, age, activity level. It's not submerssion test accurate, but the % I get from the scale is within tenths of what I get at the Drs office.

[cjfshaw]

My favorite summer salad:

a couple of cups of rice at room temperature (use left over rice or make it in advance and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours)

add & toss:

(all chopped) basil, kalamata olives, cucumber, red bell pepper, a tomato

olive oil & lemon juice to coat and salt and pepper.

you can add some cubed feta cheese if you like. its yummo. serve cold or at room temperature. toasted pine nuts if you like 'um (I do!)

raw sauce for pasta (basil, tomatoes, olive oil & lemon juice--let sit for an hour or two and throw over pasta with toasted pine nuts)

There is a really good stew with basil... I might have to look it up at home for the exact recipe, but basically just chop 4 or 5 tomatoes (keeping all juice in there!), a couple of bell peppers & an onion. saute onion in olive oil and then throw everything else it with a couple of handfuls of basil and kalamatas. cover and simmer until all veggies are cooked but not peppers haven't completely fallen apart. salt & pepper. serve with crusty bread.

or just mail the basil to me. I like basil. :thumbsup:

You have no idea how hungry that just made me. Everything you just described sounds awesome. And pine nuts? Nice! I didn't think anyone else ate those, lol. They are really good in pasta sauces.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Had an awesome dinner last night: herb and baby greens salad with a shallot and sherry vinegar dressing, tossed with some smoked bluefish I got at the farmers market, plus a bit of baguette drizzled with mint honey.

[Minaku]

Yesterday wasn't so good. Even though I met my personal deadline and I have officially in every single fucking respect finished all my duties for the school year I ended up not eating much. Woke up around 7, didn't eat until noon. Didn't eat again until about 7:30 after that, and then went to bed around 1. I will do better today, mostly because I don't have to sit hunched in front of my computer editing and mixing sound files.

FREEEEEEEEEEDOMMMMMMMM!

If I am ever so stupid as to volunteer to record and cut a whole studio album again, someone hit me.