Naturally Good Food

[gallantwarrior]

Make your own granola.
Basic Granola Recipe - CHOW
Don't add the dried fruit until after the granola has been toasted and cooled down. Then stir it in.

I sprinkle granola over lowfat Greek yogurt. Often add a fresh cut up apple. It is good for breakfast and also makes a good evening snack. Processed cereals tend to have sugar and salt in them. If you make your own, you know how much sugar there is. I don't put salt on anything, ever.

I used to try being salt-free but there are some processes that absolutely require salt. Making cheese and curing meat are two. Bread comes out better with a little salt, as well, but I usually cut that portion in half. You're right about making things yourself, you have a much better idea of what you're putting into your body.

I gave up sodas and drink water now but salt, cheese and butter would be rough. I don't have problems with cholesteral or my weight. The thrust of the thread is nutrition that tastes good, anyone salt, cheese, butter/fat totally free?

If you have to eat foods with fat content, better natural foods like butter and cheese than greasy chips, margarine, GMO corn oil, shortening, and such. We require some salt in our diets but certainly not as much as most manufactured foods contain. Preparing meals from scratch may take a bit more time, but have much better control over what you eat using fresh foods.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I used to try being salt-free but there are some processes that absolutely require salt. Making cheese and curing meat are two. Bread comes out better with a little salt, as well, but I usually cut that portion in half. You're right about making things yourself, you have a much better idea of what you're putting into your body.

I gave up sodas and drink water now but salt, cheese and butter would be rough. I don't have problems with cholesteral or my weight. The thrust of the thread is nutrition that tastes good, anyone salt, cheese, butter/fat totally free?

I am not totally salt free because if I eat out or eat any kind of processed food, there is salt in it. However, I have not kept salt in my house for nearly 30 years and do not add salt to anything I cook. Same with sugar, except for recently I've been using a little bit of brown sugar for this and that, but not much. You can't be totally fat free; that's not healthy. You should have at least one tablespoon of canola or olive oil in your diet everday. I do like cheese, but try to limit. By far, most of my dairy intake is low fat milk or lowfat Greek yogurt.

I have heard that coconut oil is also a good substitute, equal to olive oil in nutritional value. Funny as it sounds, right now I have about 200 lbs of salt in my "pantry". As mentioned, you cannot make cheese or cure meat without it. So salt a an important staple for me. I just don't tend to dump it into my food. Most manufactured foods are way too salty for me. Sugar is another item that Americans in particular tend to overuse in food preparation.

I'm cooking up a fresh batch of yogurt right now. Yum!

 

[gallantwarrior]

I gave up sodas and drink water now but salt, cheese and butter would be rough. I don't have problems with cholesteral or my weight. The thrust of the thread is nutrition that tastes good, anyone salt, cheese, butter/fat totally free?

I am not totally salt free because if I eat out or eat any kind of processed food, there is salt in it. However, I have not kept salt in my house for over 20 years and do not add salt to anything I cook. You can't be totally fat free; that's not healthy. You should have at least one tablespoon of canola or olive oil in your diet everday. I do like cheese, but try to limit. By far, most of my dairy intake is low fat milk or lowfat Greek yogurt.

I'm going to try to incorporate more greek yogurt. I'm thinking in salads and maybe with some berries.

Use it as a substitute for sour cream if you have recipes that require it. Initially, it tastes a little "off", but not badly so. You'll get used to it.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I gave up sodas and drink water now but salt, cheese and butter would be rough. I don't have problems with cholesteral or my weight. The thrust of the thread is nutrition that tastes good, anyone salt, cheese, butter/fat totally free?

I am not a soda person either. I prefer iced tea.

Another good idea to replace sodas.

Unsweetened ice tea?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Pizza.....

Could be nutritious. Anything special?

Done right, pizza is an entire meal, containing representative ingredients from every food group.

 

[Esmeralda]

Pizza.....

Could be nutritious. Anything special?

Done right, pizza is an entire meal, containing representative ingredients from every food group.

Agree. Pizza was the food that sustained peasants in Italy. They would put, essentially, left overs and whatever was availble on it. Real Italian pizza has a thin crust and is lightly covered with a tomato sauce and some cheese, with veggies and available meat or seafood on top, or not. It can make a healthy meal, but not the type you get in the pizzeria, which has tons of cheese on it and a sauce with salt and sugar, plus often lots of meat, often greasy meat. You can make your own pizza crust or buy them premade and make a pizza in a few minutes by using leftovers in your kitchen. The pizza that we normally eat, I have read, is the fattiest fast food Americans eat.

 

[Sarah G]

Could be nutritious. Anything special?

Done right, pizza is an entire meal, containing representative ingredients from every food group.

Agree. Pizza was the food that sustained peasants in Italy. They would put, essentially, left overs and whatever was availble on it. Real Italian pizza has a thin crust and is lightly covered with a tomato sauce and some cheese, with veggies and available meat or seafood on top, or not. It can make a healthy meal, but not the type you get in the pizzeria, which has tons of cheese on it and a sauce with salt and sugar, plus often lots of meat, often greasy meat. You can make your own pizza crust or buy them premade and make a pizza in a few minutes by using leftovers in your kitchen. The pizza that we normally eat, I have read, is the fattiest fast food Americans eat.

It's another good idea. Where do you buy your own pizza crust, in your grocery store?

 

[Sarah G]

I am not a soda person either. I prefer iced tea.

Another good idea to replace sodas.

Unsweetened ice tea?

So far, I've just been drinking water. Fruit juices are too sweet for me, I drink milk with meals sometimes but yeah, unsweetened tea would be what I'd go for without using sugar alternatives too.

 

[Synthaholic]

Kale.

It's the #1 food you can put into your body.

I always include a small handful in my daily Vitamix smoothie, along with raw cabbage and carrots. When liquified along with the blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, and apples, you never taste it.

Another way is to lay kale out on cookie sheets, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake into chips.

How to Make Kale Chips | Kitchen Treaty

Baked Kale Chips Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Crispy Kale Chips Recipe : Melissa d'Arabian : Recipes : Food Network

 

[Synthaholic]

Done right, pizza is an entire meal, containing representative ingredients from every food group.

Agree. Pizza was the food that sustained peasants in Italy. They would put, essentially, left overs and whatever was availble on it. Real Italian pizza has a thin crust and is lightly covered with a tomato sauce and some cheese, with veggies and available meat or seafood on top, or not. It can make a healthy meal, but not the type you get in the pizzeria, which has tons of cheese on it and a sauce with salt and sugar, plus often lots of meat, often greasy meat. You can make your own pizza crust or buy them premade and make a pizza in a few minutes by using leftovers in your kitchen. The pizza that we normally eat, I have read, is the fattiest fast food Americans eat.

It's another good idea. Where do you buy your own pizza crust, in your grocery store?

I get this at Costco, and it's only $5.99 for 4 crusts and 4 sauce packets. The sauce is excellent.

 

[Esmeralda]

Done right, pizza is an entire meal, containing representative ingredients from every food group.

Agree. Pizza was the food that sustained peasants in Italy. They would put, essentially, left overs and whatever was availble on it. Real Italian pizza has a thin crust and is lightly covered with a tomato sauce and some cheese, with veggies and available meat or seafood on top, or not. It can make a healthy meal, but not the type you get in the pizzeria, which has tons of cheese on it and a sauce with salt and sugar, plus often lots of meat, often greasy meat. You can make your own pizza crust or buy them premade and make a pizza in a few minutes by using leftovers in your kitchen. The pizza that we normally eat, I have read, is the fattiest fast food Americans eat.

It's another good idea. Where do you buy your own pizza crust, in your grocery store?

The bread department in many stores has them, especially health food stores. Also, Syn has a good idea.