Okay so I said that I was going to start a new diet plan... but what I really plan to do is manage what and how I eat and try to exercise more. I am not going to guarantee that I will be absolutely successful. But I will have success. This means that I probably will not lose 160 in the first 4 months.. but I might be able to manage it in about 2 years or so. Hopefully sooner than that but you can never tell. So I plan to keep a record of what happens during the next few months and hopefully I'll be saying something positive about all this.
First.... the spaghetti dinner secret.
The first thing you do is buy the following ingredients:
1)either fresh tomatoes or get 2 cans of 17oz whole tomatoes or diced. It depends on how long you want to cook the sauce. The shortest time.. diced.. short time...whole-- which you cut up... longer.. fresh tomatoes.
2) ground hamburger meat ( the bigger the family the more meat you want) I use about 4-6 lbs.
3) tomato paste (1 small can) I like Hunts but use what you want
4) noodles (depends on how many you are cooking for) I usually have about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of thin spaghetti noodles..... you can use the kind you like
5) and here is where it can get tricky.... 2 packs of French Italian Spaghetti sauce (dried herbs)
The reason this is tricky is that I have a hard time finding it... so we use the Piggly Wiggly version sometimes.
Now when I can (without the family finding it out) I use a little fresh shaved garlic and a basil leaf...which I take out after the simmering. Sometimes I add green and red peppers...but this is optional.
So I usually put the water on for the noodles first.. because I don't pay attention enough to keep up with the boiling otherwise. Then I heat up a pot for the meat. I brown the meat thoroughly before adding anything to it. Once it's browned.. I drain the grease out of it. This keeps the fat content down. If you would like to leave a little of the grease in it, that's okay but think on this.. I usually end up with about 12 oz of grease if not more.
Notice I still haven't mentioned the boiling water.. that's because I just remembered to check it. If it is boiling let it.... back to the sauce. I add the packs of sauce herbs into the meat once all of the meat is brown. I mix it well and let it cook on low heat. Let the herbs get into the meat and simmer. Now I get the noodles...Place the noodles in the boiling water a little at a time. Keep it stirred as you place the noodles in.
Back to the sauce.... add the paste in first. Mix it well. Then add the tomatoes and let it simmer. Stir it occassionally and stir the noodles enough to keep them from sticking together.....
Now I like have garlic bread with my spaghetti so you might want to see if you can find a low calorie low sodium version... if not just remember to limit your bread intake.
**** A NOTE ABOUT THE NOODLES
If you are looking to lose weight you may want to switch your noodles to a wheat or spinach noodle. The taste of the wheat is not much different than the white noodle version and it's healthier for you.
**Okay so here is the secret... not a secret.. don't fill your plate to the brim with spaghetti and don't go back for seconds. If you want more... eat a small bowl ( about 3-5oz) about 2-3 hours later. This will keep you from overeating.
***If you are like me and love a good salad with your spaghetti that's great. Make sure you have about 4-6 different veggies on there. Eat this about 10 minutes before the spaghetti. It will also help keep you from overeating. Plus.. if you like fruit- eat that on an empty stomach and about 5 minutes before your regular meal. Fruit helps with digesting... if you eat it after your meal you are more likely to get gas and/or as my dad calls it (the runs).
**** questions? post a comment and I'll try to answer as quickly as possible.
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