What would be hardest for you to give up?

[redlight]

For me, dairy with pasta a close second.

 

[redlight]

That choice should read dairy, not diary. Stupid typo, and I'm not sure I can fix it.

 

[Pakey]

I don't eat much red meat and wouldn't miss it if I had to give it up completely.

 

[Imzadi]

That choice should read dairy, not diary. Stupid typo, and I'm not sure I can fix it.

That's okay, I'm not giving up reading other people's diaries, so I didn't pick it.


As for PASTA, people don't have to give up pasta anymore, especially if it's because of the high carbs. Unless you are allergic to chick peas, try Barilla Plus Pasta. It is the ONLY pasta I eat now as it is made specially to be high protein and low in carbs. Barilla Plus is made with chick peas & other high protein, high fiber & Omega 3 ingredients. Yet it tastes like regular pasta. It is a better choice for anyone who would still like to eat pasta, but not all the carbs. And it does NOT taste like boiled cardboard the way "whole wheat" pastas do. You do have to cook it a bit longer than regular pasta.

You can check the chart for the ratio of protein, fiber & Omega 3's vs. other foods:
Barilla Plus pasta. It is more expensive than regular pasta, but in exchange for buying/adding less of other protein fodds, it's probably still less expensive - and more heart healthy & filling.

As it is a great protein replacement, you can actually use less meats in a dish. You can add cooked chicken to the Rotini (corkscrew) pasta & salad greens to make a chicken pasta salad.

If you make a simple tomato spaghetti sauce, you can still know you are getting a lot of protein, without making a more expensive meat sauce. Or you can make a paata primavera (pasta & veggies) drizzled with olive oil, garlic, S&P, and still get a good amount of protein.

(No, I do not work for Barilla. All usually disclaimers apply, yada. I just need YOU to eat it so they will keep making it for ME! Otherwise, I'm going to have to change my answer to this poll. )

 

[Planogirl]

I'm still not clear on why red meat gets such a bad rap from some people. Lean red meat is way lower in fat than dark meat poultry and if you buy it from the right source, it can be free of hormones and other junk. I will never, ever completely give up red meat even though I eat way less of it than I used to.

I also love cheese and milk. Cheese can be my downfall because I don't care for the low fat stuff. I normally just use a little to garnish something.

 

[redlight]

I'm still not clear on why red meat gets such a bad rap from some people. Lean red meat is way lower in fat than dark meat poultry and if you buy it from the right source, it can be free of hormones and other junk. I will never, ever completely give up red meat even though I eat way less of it than I used to.

I also love cheese and milk. Cheese can be my downfall because I don't care for the low fat stuff. I normally just use a little to garnish something.

I think the reason red meat gets a bad rap is more about environmental concerns (it has a larger carbon footprint, etc) and ethical feelings (in terms of animal welfare) than it is about health.

 

[SundaeAfternoon]

Dairy for me, followed by sugar (other), then pasta. I could very easily give up red meat, in fact I've been thinking about it.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Dairy for me!!!!!

If Diet Coke was a choice it would have been tough....

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I am a sugar junkie. If it has frosting, I'm soooooo there.

And yet, last year, for Lent, I gave up all forms of sugary sweets and snacks. Just about killed me, but I did it.

 

[C.Ann]

Dairy - specifically whole milk..[/

 

[LaraK]

The dairy was the hardest. I miss cheese.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

That's okay, I'm not giving up reading other people's diaries, so I didn't pick it.


As for PASTA, people don't have to give up pasta anymore, especially if it's because of the high carbs. Unless you are allergic to chick peas, try Barilla Plus Pasta. It is the ONLY pasta I eat now as it is made specially to be high protein and low in carbs. Barilla Plus is made with chick peas & other high protein, high fiber & Omega 3 ingredients. Yet it tastes like regular pasta. It is a better choice for anyone who would still like to eat pasta, but not all the carbs. And it does NOT taste like boiled cardboard the way "whole wheat" pastas do. You do have to cook it a bit longer than regular pasta.

You can check the chart for the ratio of protein, fiber & Omega 3's vs. other foods:
Barilla Plus pasta. It is more expensive than regular pasta, but in exchange for buying/adding less of other protein fodds, it's probably still less expensive - and more heart healthy & filling.

As it is a great protein replacement, you can actually use less meats in a dish. You can add cooked chicken to the Rotini (corkscrew) pasta & salad greens to make a chicken pasta salad.

If you make a simple tomato spaghetti sauce, you can still know you are getting a lot of protein, without making a more expensive meat sauce. Or you can make a paata primavera (pasta & veggies) drizzled with olive oil, garlic, S&P, and still get a good amount of protein.

(No, I do not work for Barilla. All usually disclaimers apply, yada. I just need YOU to eat it so they will keep making it for ME! Otherwise, I'm going to have to change my answer to this poll. )

Thank you for this, I have just started to cut down on carbs, and I am trying to cut out "white" foods. I have tried whole wheat pasta before and it tasted "grassy"..I am definitely going to try this.

 

[imabrat]

Probably all of those the three. The easiest to give up would be pasta though.

 

[JOCAmom]

I had to vote pasta because I love it so much. I don't eat it as often as I like but I could never give it up completely.

Imzadi, thanks for that information. I'll have to check that out the next time I go grocery shopping.

 

[The Princess]

Pasta here also.

 

[FireDancer]

I voted dairy, mostly because I have fruit and yogurt as a snack every day. To be honest though, if the thread is health related, you don't really have to give up any of them. As a PP said, there are pastas out there that are more than just empty carbs. Many times the sauce is worse than the pasta. There is a lot of sugar added to many canned sauces, and if you are concerned about simple carbs it doesn't get much simpler than sugar.

Red meat, especially the right cuts, are healthy in the correct portions. Many are, as previously pointed out, better than dark meat poultry.

Being a bit adventurous in your choices can also yield healthy results. My red meat of choice is Bison. It takes a little getting used to cooking because of the low fat content but it is a great choice instead of beef. Deer, elk, lamb, goat and kangaroo are all good lean red meat alternatives, though the availability of them depends on where you are. If you do like beef there are cuts that are not bad. Hormone free and grass fed is best, whatever choice you make.

I am a fan of whole grain flax pasta, but also love couscous and quinoa. Quinoa is one of the few grains you find that is a complete protein. If you prepare it with some diced tomatoes and basil it tastes like a nutty pasta.

The one single thing I think anyone can do to be healthier is to keep a food diary. It makes you look up what is in what you put in your body and, maybe more importantly, makes you look at what a single portion size is. Many times the problem isn't what we eat, it is how much of it we do eat.

 

[jlmarr]

Definitely "other", i.e coffee.

 

[Rora]

Pasta, for sure!

 

[M&N]

Imzadi --- Thanks for the commercial. I definitely need to look for that in the store. You hopefully will get more converts!

 

[N.Bailey]

First for me would be fish/seafood.

From this list however, I'd have to choose red meat, followed or just as close would be chicken breast.

After that would be pasta.

Personally, I'd hate to give any of them up. It's all good in moderation.