Newbie discovering healthy eating

[Fittea]

Hello! I'm new here but I'm on a diet to lose weight as I'm 25st / 158.7kg (started at 25st 3lbs / 160.1kg on Friday 1 October, went up to 25st 5lbs / 161kg on Friday 8 October, went down to 25st 3lbs / 160.1kg on Friday 15 October and then down more to 25st /158.7kg exactly today, Friday 22 October - yay!). For the first month my focus has been changing my diet, eating more veg etc. I'm a big lover of mushrooms and peppers. My most common meals have been omelettes (filled with mushrooms, onion, spinach, cheese and Quorn ham) and tofu stuffed peppers (filled with tofu, mushrooms, onion and spinach, topped with cheese).

I want to try new things so bought two new recipe books - BISH BASH BOSH and SPEEDY BOSH. I chose two recipes from them - falafels and butter tofu curry, and bought ingredients for them, but have yet to try them. I plan to try at least one of them this week though. I have also ordered The 5:2 Diet Book and 5:2 Veggie & Vegan by Kate Harrison which I hope will help me. I plan to try the 5:2 diet with LCHF. So if anyone has any advice or food / meal recommendations (I'm vegetarian / vegan) then please feel free to share!

I have always wanted to try avocado which I know is good for you but I have no idea how to cook or eat it. I have seen that you can apparently make mash and pies with it though. This particular pie from Diet Doctor looks really nice - dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto... . Can anyone recommend other recipes?

A quick Google of "LCHF vegetables" gives me a list that includes zucchini, cauliflower and eggplant. I haven't had any of these before and don't even know what zucchini is, although another quick Google shows that they look like cucumbers? Does anyone have any yummy recipes for these vegetables?

The list continues with brussel sprouts and broccoli but I don't like either of those. There's lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, onion and bell peppers though which I love so I'll continue to eat those which I'll start with an omelette and Quorn bolognese tomorrow!

[Cooper27 Administrator]

Hi fittea, glad you've joined us

You sound like you're hitting this with a lot of energy and drive, which is great, but I know it can be tough figuring out which way is up at the beginning. The best basic steps are to focus on real whole foods, and limit the refined/ultra processed stuff as much as possible.

Zucchini is the American word for Courgette, if that helps at all? They're coming to the end of their season right now, but you'd usually find them all year round in the supermarket - mine usually keep them next to the onions and aubergines (Americans call them eggplants).

I'm 50:50 on the texture of avocados, it's probably close to the texture of a slightly under-ripe banana? Not a strong flavour. I tend to make guacamole with them, but I also like to fry slices of them. Another one I like, is to mash one with tuna and a bit if lime (instead of tuna mayo). I'd suggest watching some YouTube videos on how to tell when they're ripe! They're a temperamental fruit 😁

Let us know if you need any more help 🙂

[Fittea in reply to Cooper27]

Hi Cooper - thanks!

I definitely am determined, and it can be a bit overwhelming or confusing but that's why I returned to HealthUnlocked (I previously used it for the Weight Loss Support forum which I still do but recently also found and joined more forums such as this one as the LCHF and IF ones). I have been trying to focus more on real food and vegetables instead of processed stuff. I have only cooked processed food 4 times I think - twice for Quorn spicy burgers and twice for Quorn escalopes. Other than that, I've been having omeletes, stir fries and stuffed peppers. I want to try and make things like curries, lasagna and pies but I haven't made any of those before so I'm a bit nervous!

I'm vegetarian, plus lactose and possibly gluten intolerant, so I'm technically vegan I guess lol. So most of my meals tend to include tofu or Quorn / fake meat. A friend messaged me earlier this evening saying that she made a really yummy taco salad with Vivera mince (never heard of this brand until now though) and Old El Paso Tortilla Bowls. It kinda made me want mince so tomorrow I'll probably have Quorn bolognese, or maybe some form of Tacos if my boyfriend also wants it.

Ooooh I didn't know that! I haven't had a courgette either. They're still like cucumber though right? But I think softer? Sure sounds it since you said the texture is like a banana. I don't like bananas lol. Another oooooh moment with the aubergines for eggplant lol. I guess I'll Google for some recipes for both avocado and aubergine.

Thanks

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

Hi Fittea ,

Welcome to the group.😀👍

When I have a big salad for a dinner, I add avocado to them. Depending on the size of the avocado, I either add the entire avocado or just put the half in and save the other half for another day/meal.

[Fittea in reply to Activity2004]

Hey Activity2004 - thanks!

I'm not very good at making salads, which probably sounds odd, how hard can it be to make a salad but I think I don't add enough stuff, like variety I mean. As it's usually just a bunch of lettuce with some onion, tomato, maybe sweetcorn. I never know what to put in it. I should try different greens, maybe cook boiled eggs and chop up or tofu. I don't know what sauce to use either, or how much.

I'm looking at some recipes now for avocado and some seem quite nice -

delish.com/cooking/recipe-i...

delish.com/cooking/recipe-i...

delish.com/cooking/recipe-i...

delish.com/cooking/recipe-i...

I don't know what avocado tastes like so I have no idea if either of those would taste nice - would avocado taste nice with mince or eggs? I would have Quorn mince for the taco recipe and no bacon for the egg one, maybe add mushrooms instead? I know there's Quorn bacon but haven't tried it. The pops make me think of mint chocolate! The salad seems nice, and colourful! Sounds like what you said too, I'd probably add some lettuce and onion, plus some kind of protein like Quorn pieces or tofu. I love how the recipes could be an entire day - egg boats for breakfast, avocado and tomato salad for lunch, taco stuffed for dinner and pops for dessert haha!

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

Avocado 🥑 is very smooth and creamy. You can always add mushrooms, avocado and eggs for an omelette. All these are all good also on salads for protein. Tomato salad is also a good idea for a side salad choice.

Tofu is good on salad and also with curry with vegetables. We use tofu for curry meals once a week.

[Fittea in reply to Activity2004]

Do you cook the whole thing (once you take the stone out)? One recipe I read (that I didn't link) mentioned peeling it - do / can you eat the skin, or do you scoop out and eat the inside part? I guess the creaminess makes sense since most recipes I have seen is for some sort of guacamole or mash recipe.

I definitely plan to try tofu in a curry as in one of the "BOSH" books there's a butter tofu curry recipe, but I've never made a curry before so I'm a bit nervous. I have always wanted to make a jalfrezi though as I love spice. A friend of ours used to make this super spicy Indian curry when my boyfriend was living in a student house with him and friends (he doesn't eat curries or anything spicy though). I might still have the recipe saved somewhere, if not I can ask our friend for it again, and vegan-ise it. No idea how to work out calories though with things like curries.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

For the curry, you can always use a mild curry sauce for your boyfriend if he doesn’t want spicy. I like mild and medium spicy, but not extremely spicy curry sauce.

You will clean the outside of the avocado before you cut it open. Get a spoon for scooping out the avocado insides after removing the avocado pit/seed. Add the avocado insides to the meal you want to do (omelette/salad) and then enjoy when done cooking.😀👍

I personally don’t count calories, but I count the amount of carbs. for each meal and snack since I have Type 1 Diabetes.

[Fittea in reply to Activity2004]

It's not just the spice level he doesn't like, he doesn't like curries in general as he doesn't like curries or rice. He literally eats Birds Eye stuff, burgers, chips, that sort of thing lol. Most advanced stuff he'll eat is spaghetti bolognese, tuna pasta bake, fajitas and tacos lol.

So no matter how I eat avocado, I always remove the seed? I imagine I do what you said - scoop out the inside which I can then cut into pieces to add to recipes such as omelettes or salads, but what if I want to have stuffed avocados? How do I eat those? Just scoop and eat the centre or can I eat everything? I don't fully understand if I can eat all an avocado, like the outside / skin?

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

You scoop out the green/inner parts and get rid of the seed and skin. The skin isn't eaten. That can be thrown away and you can either plant the seeds or get rid of them since you can't eat them. They come out of the middle before you scoop the rest out to eat/cook with/add to a salad and/or put in an omelet.

[Fittea in reply to Activity2004]

Ah got it! So scoop out the seed / stone (I've seen multiple people call it both things) then scoop out the lighter green inner part which can be eaten raw or cooked and used in whatever recipe you like - seemingly most common in salads, guacamole and mash. Although it's also popular to stuff avocados apparently, but I'm curious what food tastes good with avocado. I think I'll just try avocado first, see if I even like it, then after that just try and error to see what food combos I like lol. Egg seems popular. So does chocolate which is...weird but interesting lol.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

Exactly! Scoop out of skin and enjoy it! We put it in salad and sometimes use it with burritos and/or rice.😀👍🥑

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

Do you know, I've just realised to warn you to watch tips on how to remove the stone safely - apparently avocado hand is a thing (where the knife slips and goes through the hand 😳)

[Fittea in reply to Cooper27]

Ah yes this would be wise! Would it be smart to use something like a spoon or one of those small ice cream scoop things to take the stones out? Knowing my luck I'd fight the stone and stab myself lol.

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

I use my fingers to be honest, but it does kinda mean mucky hands 😁

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Fittea]

Sorry, I realised after I hit post that I mixed my words up - avocado is like banana, not courgette

Courgettes are very different, they go soft when you cook them, I can't think of a good thing to compare them to. It doesn't taste like cucumber, they're not a strong flavour, so I add them to loads of things 👍

[Hidden]

Hello Again Fittea and welcome to HE and thank you for introducing yourself.

I know that avocados are healthy but don't really enjoy them so eat other things and I think that this is the secret to focus on healthy foods that we really enjoy and try others like avocados.

You have more than taken the first step by joining the Communities and what is important for you to know is that you are far from alone in your need and desire to lose weight and we will cheer you on and its also important to remember not to beat yourself but literally take things one day and one meal at a time and you can achieve your goals.

I hope that you've managed a beachfront walk as fresh air and exercise is a magic combination for reducing stress and weight.

So I wish you well in your weight loss quest and I hope that we'll hear more about your journey.

Jerry. 😊

[Fittea in reply to Hidden]

Hello again Hidden Thank you!

I can't express just how grateful I am at everyones warm welcome and helpful advice so far! Every time I check HealthUnlocked I have a bunch of notifications and have to work out where they're all from so I can reply etc haha. Then by the time I'm half way through responding to most of them, I get more notifications!

Unfortunately I didn't manage a seafront walk as I woke / got up late due to being tired and feeling a bit unwell (wondering if I've caught something from a gaming event especially as there was some coughing going around). But I plan to try next week. I also didn't have the meals I planned but I had a very yummy Quorn stir fry which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Emma

☺️

[Hidden in reply to Fittea]

Your enthusiasm is contagious Emma so I’m pleased for as you’ve embraced a challenge as you’re enjoying it. And we will cheer you along as we all have our nemesis.

Your Quorn stir fry sounds a perfect meal too. 😊

[PhilAB]

Organic, gluten free, diary free, and cut out sugar completely. I gave up sugar for 6 weeks and went from 13 stone to 11.5 stone and I was eating 6 meals a day. I could only eat one piece of fruit per day, and only drank water.

[Fittea in reply to PhilAB]

I can probably do organic and dairy free, since I'm lactose intolerant, and maybe gluten free, but not sure if I can or should cut out sugar completely. Is that even wise? I'd probably have cravings which from experience if I try to ignore, get worse then I end up caving in or giving up completely. There's also no way I could eat 6 meals a day. How does anyone eat that many? I barely eat the normal 3. On average I eat 1, sometimes 2 if I have a bowl of cereal.

[HungryHufflepuff Meal Of The Month]

Hello and welcome 😊 I love avocados 🥑 and indeed all vegetables except celery. I think everyone has a vegetable they don’t like. (I do put celery in soup where it becomes undetectable, as it’s so healthful) Food should be something you find delicious and fun. If you’re eating food you don’t enjoy, you’ll be miserable and struggle to continue with the healthy eating. If there’s a vegetable you don’t like, just don’t use it again. Avocados are hard to compare to another vegetable. I love them and have them with all kinds of meals. I’ve never cooked one, I just eat them as they are, either sliced and put with a meal or a salad, or with something piled in the middle (again, that can be anything you like) The skin isn’t edible. You can either scoop the avocado out, or sometimes you can get the skin to peel off. 🥑

[Fittea in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

Hello HungryHufflepuff Thanks for the welcome and message! Love the name!

I'm not sure if I have had celery. I know I don't like broccoli, brussel sprouts or swede. I love mushrooms, onion and bell peppers the most. Normally I don't like cooking, I struggle with energy levels and impatience, but I've been trying to push myself to do it and learn more. Now I'm actually kinda enjoying it, plus I've been watching a lot of cooking and baking shows on Netflix which have inspired me.

Ah so you can eat avocados raw? Thank you for confirming that you can't eat the skin, so I would either scoop out the avocado to use elsewhere (like in a salad or mash) or if having some kind of stuffed avocado then just eat the inside and leave the "shell" of the skin? Or maybe peel it so I can eat the whole thing? If that makes any sense lol.

[HungryHufflepuff Meal Of The Month in reply to Fittea]

It’s great you’re learning more cooking skills. Cooking does become enjoyable when you become more confident. I’m not always very confident but do try new things, I love discovering new foods which this community is great for.

Avocados can be difficult to peel, they have a strange kind of skin. It’s definitely much easier to just scoop out the avocado, if you’re lucky you can get the whole half to then use sliced or mashed or however you want. Or you can eat it in the skin, but scooping it out as you go, and leave the skin. Whether you scoop out the whole half, or eat it in its skin, the hole where the stone was makes a great place to put an accompaniment like salsa or hummus or garlic or whatever you like.

[Zest]

Hi Fittea

Welcome, and I would like to wish you success with your goals. Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Zest

[Fittea in reply to Zest]

Hi Zest

Thanks for the welcome and kind words! I hope you also have a lovely weekend!

Emma

☺️

[BluebirdX0]

Welcome to the forum!

LCHF means low carb high fat?

[Fittea in reply to BluebirdX0]

Hello BluebirdX0 Thank you for the welcome!

Yes LCHF = Low Carb High Fat but I don't plan on doing the Keto version of LCHF as my research showed me that it's more restrictive and sustainable, especially for beginners. I also saw something called the Keto Flu, not sure how true or common that is, but the "symptoms" listed are all things I regularly have so I'd rather not increase the chances of having those or making them worse lol. I'm inclined to believe it's a thing too because I mentioned all my diet stuff to a friend and she said her boyfriend's mum tried Keto and "felt awful, drained". I guess it's just one of those things that works for some people but not everyone.

I just personally think from the small research I have done already, the 5:2 suits me so I'll try that first. I did order some books about it - The 5:2 Diet Book and 5:2 Veggie & Vegan by Kate Harrison (ordered on Wednesday and even paid extra to be delivered by Friday but no sign of it yet, not even an email saying it's been posted or any tracking... which is highly annoying) so I hope those help me. At the moment I'm continuing to eat healthy which is mostly include as much veg as I can, not too many carbs and count everything.

[BluebirdX0 in reply to Fittea]

Thanks for explaining it to me. I eat the opposite way: high carb and low fat, so I cannot be helpful for recipes and those kind of stuff. Good luck on your journey!

[poseymint]

Jamie Oliver works his magic on an avocado here-

youtube.com/watch?v=xjYCjsR...(Not working as expected?)