What's your favorite "Go to" food?

I'm a meateater too...but veggie burgers tend to have less fat than regular so that's when I started to try them. By far, gardein products are the most tasty.

I live in NYC so I get them through my online grocery store (Freshdirect) but I think that Whole Foods carries their stuff as well as other stores.

Check their website (www.gardein.com) and there's a product locator there.

Wendy's Chilli. It ussually hits the spot. Especially since I'm on the go alot. It's about the only fast food that I eat.

Every 3 days or so I thinly slice steak so that when I want to cook it that it doesn't take any time at all to pan saute it.. no more than 5 mins and it tastes great! I also keep sprouted almonds in the house (lemon) and steamed artichokes to grab and go. Also my homemade beef jerky.

Some of these foods require advanced preparation so I spend a few hours 1-2 days a week doing a bunch of food prep, so the rest of the week I really do have convenience foods handy. The artichokes take no time at all.. I just throw them in my veggie steamer for 30 mins.

The beef jerky takes me about 20-30 mins but I make 3 pounds of meat at a time since my whole family eats it and then I dehydrate overnight. So I might make the beef jerky before bed and then it's ready to go when I wake up in the morning. I also do a whole rack of ribs with low carb BBQ sauce in the crockpot and then cut the ribs up individually so they are ready to go.

That's mostly for my family but I'll eat ribs every once in a while. I've also made eggface's bites to have handy and various things made out of coconut flour for my family (which I would eat in maintenance). I make coconut flour or flax meal muffins and things like that for quick grab items for my family that are low carb (I have to eat much more strictly to lose).

I try to avoid just buying stuff that's already cooked because it's often full of sugar, salt and chemicals and that stalls my weight loss and is bad for my health. If you have a veggie steamer it is so handy because it is very quick to throw in meats for steaming and veggies too! Like I said, the artichokes are a staple for me when I want an easy and healthy snack.

Also I have a george foreman grill, so it's very easy for me to throw a hamburger patty on there.. I can throw it on there while I hop in the shower in the morning and when I get out it's done. I have also found you can do whole bone-in chicken thighs on the foreman. Just season, pop on the foreman and cook at 350 for 15 minutes.. easy and fresh and healthy!

For breakfast I eat Fage plain Greek yogurt - my weird concoction is a little Stevia & instant coffe mixed in. It's addicting :)

I was able to bring an electic skillet in to work so I can cook something fresh for lunch. This week will be chicken tenders and frozen zucchini or broccoli. Next week will likely be steak and the same veggies.

Dinner has been spinach and eggs lately. I will sometimes just eat the same stuff over and over because it is easier, especially when I'm busy. I should buy a package of those chicken burgers because they are so good and my DH really likes them too!

I like peeled, sliced cucumbers for a snack...they fulfill the need for crunch and if I have it on hand, I dip them in hummus.

my quick go to food is almonds. toast them myself. but as an entree i like to make turkey meatloaf. mix it in the cuisinart so it has a fine texture. very much a comfort food and healthy. i use a small amount of oatmeal in it instead of bread crumbs or other carbs. Diane

Dianne, can you post your turkey meatloaf recipe? My family might like that.

Sure. Here is the turkey meat loaf recipe:

1 and 1/4 lb lean ground turkey. (comes packaged in this size)
1/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
tablespoon wheat bran (optional)
half a chopped onion
a few squirts of catsup or a blob of tomato paste
two eggs
some chopped parsley or spinach (optional)
salf and pepper to taste.

I mix all this in the cuisinart until just combined. (started doing this when i hurt my hand and couldn't stir but now I like the finer texture it gives)

dump into an oiled loaf pan and smear a little more catsup on the top. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Cool just a bit before slicing. It has a finer texture so it goes down the old sleeve pretty easily. I sometimes make the same thing with grass fed beef. other veggies can be added into the mix like chopped red peppers or grated carrots.

Diane

 GG Scandinavian Brand Crisp Bread - 50 percent fiber!