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Can’t Use Your Mama’s Excuses

Can't Use Your Mama's ExcusesrIn the olden days, when we had to walk across the room to change the TV station and gyms still had butt-belt vibrating machines, losing weight included a lot of skinned chicken and copious amounts of cottage cheese. (“Just add a canned peach or pear, sprinkle with cinnamon and viola – a delicious desert!” Yeah, right.) Making ‘good choices’ was downright boring.

But we have options now that weren’t available back then. Options that are tasty AND convenient. Five great “can’t use your mama’s excuses” products that exist today to help spur us toward our goals are:

1. Frozen vegetables. We have gone way beyond the famous starch trio of corn, peas and carrots. From steamer bags to vegetable medleys that can be tossed with a protein to create a 5-minute stir fry, a variety of already-cleaned vegetables are a freezer walk away.

2. Pre-portioned 100 calorie snacks packs. Having smaller amounts of cookies, chips, and crackers doesn’t turn them into health food. But it does satisfy a craving without risking the temptation and lack of control that can be brought on by opening a package of yummy that won’t have a dent in it even after going back for seconds and thirds.

3. Good-for-you cereal that actually has flavor. Remember when Grape-Nuts was about the only ‘healthy’ option? (Oh-so-crunchy and less-than-delicious!) With numerous cereal companies competing for your breakfast dollar, there’s no excuse for not finding something nutritious and tasty to start your day off with.

4. An unprecedented amount of low-fat salad dressings. Do you realize there was a time when store-bought dressing came in three flavors? And none of them had low-fat versions. Now as you wander down the salad dressing ROW, you’ll find so many options to enhance your salad it can make your head spin. Bonus: many make a flavorful marinade for meats and fish – no gathering of spices or assembly required!

5. Grocery store cheese gone wild. No more deciding between a block of cheddar that will have dried edges before you’re half-way through and a tasteless, plastic-wrapped American “cheese product.” Not only are the good-for-you options mind boggling, many come in on-the-go individual portions. (Helloooooo Babybel LIght!)

We have convenient, tasty, nutrition at our fingertips so we can’t use our mamas’ excuses to derail our get-fierce plans. Heck, we can’t even use our own excuses from 20 years ago when we had more respectful metabolisms. Our fierceness has no limitations!

WHAT’S YOUR ‘CAN’T USE MY MAMA’S EXCUSES’ FIND?

0 Comments

  1. Oh, wow, is this ever true. I remember when my mother joined Weight Watchers back in the ’60s. We could count on having “barbecued”-tuna-and-green-beans (yes, it was all combined) at least three times a week. It didn’t vaguely resemble barbecued anything and was NEVER as “delicious” as my mom insisted it was. I joined WW at the beginning of this year, and I promise I haven’t sacrificed any taste. The main change I see in my diet is that it’s healthier.

    1. Ewwww – glad my mom didn’t join until the ’70s – the lame cottage cheese ‘desert’ doesn’t sound so bad now! I agree with you that the WW program has come a long way from those days and limited menus. – EL

  2. I love the steamer bags for the veggies, makes it so easy. I’ve never been big on cereal for breakfast, it doesn’t seem to stay with me for very long. I like protein, usually two hard-boiled eggs and cottage cheese….it keeps my stomach from growling to early.

    1. So it’s notjust me? I like cereal (always eaten with a generous topping of fresh berries), but after 2 hours I’m hungry again (unless it’s oatmeal). Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing I suppose if one is doing the mini-meals-throughout the day thing. But I have to agree with you, Jill, that something with more protein has more staying power. – EL

  3. Sugar free and low sodium choices. Calorie intake is lowered from less sugar as well as my blood pressure from less salt.

  4. Grape Nuts were scary. They’d break your teeth! 🙂 Yep, our excuses are waring thin and running out, but I’m not giving up … not yet, anyway. LoL.

    1. Way to hang in there, Kim! There was an alternative to Grape Nuts that I failed to mention: Bran Flakes. With or without raisins, nasty stuff – should have been called Bran Mush. – EL

  5. I remember my mom used to do the grapefruit diet. She would eat a half grapefruit at every meal. Yuck! The 100 calorie packs work great for me (portion control) I especially like the Fiber One brownies! I haven’t tried the veg steamers. May need to pick up a few next time I’m out.

    1. I remember the touted magic of grapefruits – as if the citric acid burned away calories that followed – WISH it were true! I’ll have to give the Fiber One brownies a try – thanks, Kristyn! – EL

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