Ideas

So I've got a mate who's dieting like crazy with his girlie. Unfortunately, she's more into the idea than the reality of dieting. So I've given him some tips, and I thought it would be nice to have them up here too.

If you have any to add, please do so. I have 3 weeks left of the challenge and fresh ideas will keep me going.

Snack ideas - low fat/low carb
Vegetables (celery/capsicum/cucumber/cherry tomatoes) with ricotta. Or tzatziki. Or any other low carb, low fat dip. This one is also quite nice with ricotta mixed with a little pepper, and a slice of deli meat (turkey, ham, pastrami). Ok, maybe 2 slices of pastrami. Its kinda small.

Ricotta can be mixed with;
mashed egg and cracked pepper
peanut butter
fish/ham/chicken paste.
I'd recommend mostly ricotta with a little of the other stuff just to give it some flavour. Definitely more ricotta than egg. Otherwise it gets a gluggy texture.

You can also bake ricotta. Mix with a little bit of honey and sultanas (this version is not low carb). Or frozen berries. Or cinnamon. Bran with small chunks of banana (again, this one not low carb). Milo. I mix mine with flavoured protein powders and just chuck it in the oven for about half an hour, until the top is golden. Of course, that's hard to tell with the amount of cinnamon I put on it, but even if its undercooked, the middle is still gooey goodness.

Low carb nuts. Just a handful. I don't know about you, but I can't ration them, so I don't have them. Same goes for avocado.

Mushrooms are nice if you can stomach them raw. Serve with a small amount of low fat cheese, 2-3 cherry tomatoes, a few olives and pickled onions.

Low kj cordial or flavoured tea can fill the gaps between snacks/meals.

Chewing gum and sugar free lollies are also good for keeping your mouth busy. But in moderation. They DO have a laxative effect and contain kj, with no nutritional value.

An egg. Seriously. Just an egg.

A low carb protein bar. Just make sure its less than 4g carbs per bar.

Low fat
Yoghurt. I recommend Nestle diet. Seriously, cannot sing its praises enough. No fat, no added sugar. Great, creamy texture and fruity taste. Yoplait 'for me' is also quite good (their apple pie flavour is delish!), but its a smaller serve (150g vs 200g), not quite so creamy, and has a bit of a fake sweetner aftertaste.

Berries. On their own if you want. Or with a small amount of yoghurt. And a sprinkle of oats on top.

If you're a total gym junkie (like me atm) and are into your flavoured protein shakes you can mix a half serve into yoghurt. Its kinda like cake batter and seriosuly nom tastic.

Vita weats are also quite good to snack on. You can put a little low fat cheese on it. Or cheese/tomato/pickled onion. Tomoato/cucumber/mayo. Or slice a pre boiled egg and top with a little dijonnaise. Or just eat them plain.

Fruit - pears, apples etc. I've heard that apples are quite good with a little bit of peanut butter. Or cinnamon (shake on cinnamon, bite. Shake on cinnamon, bite). No banana. Too high in sugar.

Weight watchers fruit snack cups.

2 square of DARK chocolate if you need the sugar hit. I find dark chocolate is more satisfying than milk, and less likely to have you running back to the cupboard for more in 20 minutes. Also, plain biscuits, like milk coffee or arrowroot. Just one serve. 3-4 biscuits.

Meal ideas
Ricotta mixed with lean bacon, fresh herbs and pepper. Sliced mushrooms on top of that. And mixed egg on top of that again.

Chilli mince. With vegetables (capsicum, onion, mushroom). For added kick I put in eggplant basted in peri peri sauce. Muchly hot little bits in my chilli. With beans if you're not going low carb. Seved on lettuce with tzatziki and low fat cheese on top.

Casseroles. On stock or tomato bases. Lots of veges.

Cacciatore - tomato, vege stock, browned chicken, onion, potato (cauli for a low carb option), fresh herbs. Braise. Serve with brown rice.

Home made soups. I particularly like chicken and sweet corn, made with (skinless) BBQ chook.

Lean meats. Marinated. Served with steamed veg (kinda obvious, I know). OR grilled meat with steamed snow peas, cauli, broccoli, beans AND grilled tomato, mushroom, eggplant, onion and zucchini. I call this one my 'fake roast'.

Tuna and salad. With a huge mix of veges (anything you can stomach raw), a small amount of cheese, a few olives (hey, its gotta be interesting), bean sprouts and alfalfa. Dressed with plain balsamic vinegar and cracked pepper.

Stir fry's. 'Nuff said.

Chicken skewers with vegetables. Served on brown rice.

Home made pizza on a wholemeal pita bread.