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Like La Madelines Tomatoe basil soup? Here is a low fat version that tastes amazing! |
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A recent study at the University of Texas "found that female dieters consume an extra 253 calories and 16 grams of fat on the days that they eat out at restaurants". (Fitness Magazine) Personal trainer in Houston Melissa agrees that clients who eat out a lot have a more difficult time losing weight and she encourages clients to start getting in the habit of planning and making their own meals because there is usually a significant calorie savings.
 Also, when cooking at home, high fat ingredients can be eliminated (see tomato basil soup revision below) and can be revised (such as adding pickle relish to tuna salad instead of adding mayo.
If a person has to eat out for their job, one idea is to order a takeout bag in advance and put half the meal in it before eating any of the meal. Also, drinking a big glass of water or drinking a bowl of a broth based soup (as opposed to a cream based soup) before the meal will fill the stomach and make the smaller meal still feel satisfying.
Another idea is to carry a bottle or a package of lite salad dressing in case the house dressing or other choices are high calorie. A salad can be a great choice unless it is doused with a high fat dressing, because some dressings can have 120 calories per SPOONFUL.
Wine or any beverage other than water can make the calories add up fast so water is the best meal drink of choice. And when choosing the meat, Chicken without the skin and fish are usually lower calorie choices when grilled or broiled and not fried.
At Mexican places, salsa is a good salad topping and the grilled onions and bell peppers are veggies that can be ordered with the chicken fajitas. But stay away from the extra tortillas, beans, rice anc chips. At Italian restaurants, the minestrone soup and salad is a good choice as are any pasta dishes with a tomato sauce. (but the portion sizes are still usually large so need to be divided in half.) At Chinese places the steamed veggies are really tasty and the rice tastes good with it as long as it is not the fried rice. At each restaurant, its best to choose one thing to indulge in..be it the bread or chips in the beginning, the soda or glass of wine with the meal, or the small dessert at the end. To stay on top of an eating plan its ok to indulge but each choice needs to be balanced with a healthy choice that still works towards the weight loss goals.
Revised tomato basil soup (tastes like La Madeline's and is a lot less calories because there is no butter or cream..in the original recipe the soup has about 260 calories for a serving and 211 of those calories come from fat...this recipe removes eighty percent of the fat and actually tastes even better than the original because the tomatoes are sweet as if sundried )
In a 400 degree oven on a shallow baking dish, bake 15 quartered tomatoes (do not remove skin or seeds) and about six peeled garlic cloves that have been tossed in olive oil and basalmic vinegar. Bake for one hour and then pour all the tomatoes, garlic and juice into a blender. In a saute pan, saute one large chopped onion in olive oil until onion is clear and add to other ingredients in blender. Also add to blender one large bunch of chopped fresh basil and one cup of low fat milk (and one can of chicken broth which is optional) and about two tablespoons of salt or to taste. Blend until pureed and serve immediately. This is amazing tasting and is easy to fix and gives a POW of nutrition with the garlic, olive oil, basil and tomatoes.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 January 2008 )
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