nutritious junk

When i am living at home (like i am doing now while taking a summer break from college), i tend to do the marketing.  But i rarely do the Costco shopping cause that involves heavy lifting of mass

since i see many people wanting me to post more recipes, i am gonna start doing more of that. I didnt come up with this recipe myself but i used to make these a lot when i was in high school (dont know why but i had ground turkey frenzy back then for some reason).

After the tiny sausage patty fiasco, i am suprised i picked up another Morningstar product. So these are from their breakfast specialties with two links weighing in at 80 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of protein. Nutritionally, yes, pretty good, and worlds better than real pork sausage links (and these are of course vegetarian friendly although they contain egg white so i guess this aint for vegans). Unlike the patties, these look nothing like they do on the picture, they look scary. they were gray, like pork sauage that expired may 18 2003! They tasted kinda ok, but the odd texture through me off and hence i dont think i am going to recommend this. It reminded me of airplane food, and it looked like it too. Granted it is healthier, if its links you want, try the Boca Links which are better share similar nutritional stats. I think i am going to take a hiatus from mornigstar farms (yea, right, like this gray sausage really came from a farm).

My mother never dared place processed, breaded, fried fingers of "fish" (aka, fishsticks). The first time i tried them, i was having dinner at my friends house when i was eight. Nowadays, i know why my mom never gave them to me, they dont taste that great and they are rather unhealthy. Nonetheless, they are easy to make, and if people want to eat fish, most are actually to intimidated to cook with it cause or prep or the smell or someother lame excuse. anyway, not more excuses! Gorton's grilled fillets are simple to prepare and keep your wallet nice and fat while keep you nice and slim. I tried the lemon pepper and it wasn't half bad. not fantastic, but i find really great fish is one bought fresh and flavored/marinated by you. I think its easy to really screw this fillet up if you over cook it so make sure to keep an eye on it while heating it up. Its not fishsticks, but its way healthier at 100 calories per fillet and 3 grams of fat (the good, unsaturated fat, naturally). So fish this out if your short on time and money and want to include more fish in your diet. But keep in mind fresh fish is simple to prep and tastes WAY better.

Sorry vegan and vegitarian friends, today i am gonna spotlight one of my favorite sandwich filler. I am all about tofurky and stuff, but i love my turkey. To be honest, this isn't the best turkey on the market. the BEST is the freshly sliced 98% fat free kind from Trader Joes. But that on is kinda pricy and as a student, something cheaper must suffice. This is where Hillshir Farms comes in. Its usually on sale 2 for $4 so it keep your wallet fat and does the opposite to your waist. 6 slice have just 50 calories and 10 grams of protien! they are slightly sweet and smoky so you really dont need very many condiments with it on your sandwich. i love animals, dont get me wrong my dear veggie friends, but i gotta get my fill of meat (i DONT eat veal and barely have beef cause i think cows are too cute).

Ah salmon...Its known as a nutrtional powerhouse for its high protien and omega-3 content. BUT....lets face it, although its full of good fats, its still fairly high calorie. That being said, its usually hard to know if your over eating it unless your fish monger cuts a perfect weighed portion for you. Well good news: Trader Joes has these nifty 99% fat free salmon patties (sold in the frozen food section in a pack of five). Each pattie has 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, and a very impressive 17 grams of protien. To be honest, the patties plain is kinda bland. But what do you expect, no extra seasonings or flavorings are added, its pure salmon. But, i had it with some mustard on some crunchy iceberg lettuce and it tasted divine. Of course, you could replace them for meat in hamburger buns, top a nice salad with them, or prepare a nice dill sauce and eat them as a great low calorie entree. Plus, what really cool is you can microwave them. It took about 5 mins on my pathetic dorm microwave, but yours may be more high tech and it could take less time. O, and one other bonus, they are super cheap, especially for fish! about $4.50 for a pack of five. Just remember, salmon overcooked tastes like a fishy hockey puck so be careful when cooking and check up on it (the fish, not the Beyonce song).

most of you may not be kosher or even be Jewish for that matter (heck i am aJew and i looooove myself a nice slice of ham!), but nonetheless, i do like choosing kosher meats. their taste arent that different, but i like that they practice "mercy" killling. Confused? basically, for meat to be kosher, the animal is cut in a certain point on its neck so it doesn't feel anypain. Now i am not vegetarian (id love to be, but i like chicken too much, sorry), but i feel for animals and anything that makes it better for the animal makes me feel better about eating it too. Sorry, i am going off topic. anyway, these dogs are pretty impressive nutrtionally: 1.5 grams of fat, 45 caloires, and kosher, of course. What i love about these is their size! they aren these tiny weenies, they are nice and long, maybe even longer than some buns. they taste meaty and juciy, and they are fantastic with grainy djion mustard. Bottom line, this dog is good all around and its so low in calories, especially when other dogs a filled with processed fat and can rack up to over 200 calories each! This dog even made Men's Health 125 best foods (http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100137314). I like it chopped up and mixed with some baked beans, or between a toasted Wonder Light bun (only 80 calories, and 5 grams of fiber per bun!) for a great 120 calorie mini meal or snack. Plus, youll make jewish grandmothers everywhere proud.

Traditional bacon has been a dietier's worst mightmare because its basically sodium infused pig fat. Then, when the Atkins hype began, Bacon was a dieter's best friend for its lack of carbohydrates. I think regular bacon sucks cause although it does lack carbs, its chock full of cute piggies and saturated fat! When i first bought the Jenni-O Turkey Bacon, i was simply looking for new sources of protein to stuff my wraps and sandwiches with. It was so simple to make (15 seconds for two strips in the microwave) in my tiny dorm that it was so convienient and cheap (about $2.50 per pack) that i prayed to God it would taste good. I am not religious, but my prayers were answered! These strips are DELI-cious!!! so yummy for mock BLT's, breakfast additions, or even made extra crispy and chopped up and tossed on a salad! Nutrtitionally, these strips also fare pretty darn well. They're 95% fat free, 20 calories per strip, no saturated fat, no carbs, and a fairly good source of protein. Go for these! and besides, piggies are WAY cuter than turkeys.