TRY THIS::Eating Right

The year is half over. I’m tired of feeling tired all of the time! Summer is here and I’d much prefer to be out of doors but in order to have the energy for outdoor fun I need to lose some poundage.

With a very busy schedule during the week it’s nearly impossible to cook healthful meals. Often I don’t get home until 7 p.m. so cooking means not eating until 8 or 9 p.m. The solution is fast food on the way home or a completely unbalanced meal of cheese quesadillas, a glass of wine and turkey pepperoni slices for added protein (uh, that sounds kinda nasty now that I put it to “paper”).

Last year, my trainer tried creating an eating plan consisting entirely of frozen diet meals. This proved to be difficult as many frozen meals use isolated soy protein in combination with whatever meat product is in the entrée. So chicken is chicken meat blended with soy formed into “cutlets.” Due to a medical condition, I can’t eat soy. The realization that my years of a heavy soy based diet was primarily responsible for my illness was a dire blow to my eating pattern. For years, my snacks were soy based – often steamed edamame, main meals were healthy teriyaki stir fries of chicken and veggies a few times a month and tofu based scrambles almost daily. I wasn’t vegetarian ( I did make an attempt in my mid-20s however due to medical reasons, my doctors suggested a return to meat based iron) but I did think these were healthier choices for me. Alas, my body reacted to soy as a poison. To control the tumor growths I was plagued with, my new team of radiologists and endocrinologists said NO MORE SOY until I reached menopause.

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of direct mail from my local Vons on a line of products labeled “Eating Right” that I just ignored and threw out figuring they’d be soy-based protein. Last Sunday, while grocery shopping at Vons, the Eating Right meals were right next to the Lean Cuisine Pizzas (no soy in these) that I was heading for. The Eating Right line caught my eye because they were on sale for five for $10. I picked up a five grain with beef meal and read the ingredients… No soy! I put it in my basket figuring if nothing else, I’d get five of them. I picked up the lasagna… the protein was from a beef sauce and low fat cheese and again – NO soy. I picked up 10 different meals and none had isolated soy protein (soy lecithin is usually present but it’s trace amounts are not harmful to me).

I’ve had a few different meals now and have to say, I’m quite pleased. The meals, especially when combined with a small green salad, are satisfying and quite tasty. So far, I’ve only had one that I wouldn’t buy again: the Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes. The meatloaf was a bit bland and I found the mashed potatoes rubbery. I’ve tried the Lasagna, the Five Grain with Beef, the Santa Fe Rice and Beans, the Chicken Enchiladas and the Sesame Chicken with Noodles. My favorite so far? The Five Grain with Beef. The grains were perfectly al dente and full of nutty flavor and the beef was tender and tasty.

I hear there is a line of soups too... I'll check those out next.