Questions For The Healthier Eaters

[Stoneman]

I won't get too much into yet, but I've had to make some healthier lifestyle changes recently. I'd rather turn to a small local forum than social media in hopes there will be less irrelevant posts, but we shall see. One thing of super importance is that I'm no longer borderline Type 2. I've worked hard and been able to remove myself from the prediabetic list as well. No more monthly blood labs (6 month intervals now), no more monthly visits to my physician, blah-blah-blah. I'm not sharing numbers, but it was scary for a while.

My first question is about using whole grain flour in lieu of AP white flour. I'm seeing A LOT of conflicting conversion methods & equations but I'm looking for real world experience, not some regurgitated social media bullshit. The common thing I'm seeing is using extra amounts of liquid per cup of flour replaced. Anyone here have any real experience with this that's worked well for you? What extra liquid is best used if that's really the case? Oil of any sort is out, butter is out too (that's for later in this thread). We don't bake much and we don't use all that much flour for home use, but we do have a few uses for it.

Example: Big Shirl makes apple cake muffins from scratch using an old family recipe of my family's. Those that know, know how odd it is to hear Big Shirl is doing anything in the kitchen other than fucking shit up. But there's certain times of the year I simply can't live without 'em and she does an incredible job with those, so...

If we sub the whole grain flour in for the AP flour, would I be correct in saying we use the same amount of flour? What about the extra liquid I keep reading about? Can it be something as simple as like, an extra tablespoon per cup of flour of say, vanilla? Maybe a tablespoon of sugar-free applesauce? Egg white? Just water? I know nothing about how certain ingredients can alter the outcome of baked goods. And I have zero clue what the equation would be. Will the whole grain flour alter the flavor much (I can't stand whole grains breads & shit)?

Also, is whole grain flour an acceptable replacement for AP flour when air frying?

I know there's other flour out there that's probably better than whole grain flour as well. Almond, oat, etc., but let's just focus on this for now.

BTW - I've shed over 20lbs. and counting since mid-October by simply reading labels and putting the fork down. I was absolutely shocked at hidden sugars in a lot of the food I was eating that's supposed to be good for you. Totally blown away...

[RandyO]

sodium is my issue

[obsolete]

Our food on the inside aisles are wholesale fucking garbage. Full stop. Only reason I half like RFKjr. Dave's killer bread is a good alternative for bread things. The white done right is pretty solid. I had to change up a few things recently and can live with their stuff. I won't replace somethings and have experimented with others. the issue with asking us is that it is completely a matter of taste and no one is the same. I had to fuck around with some of our recipes and it was literally fucking around till it seemed right. Take a day, crack some wine and bake shit changing one ingredient at a time. Write the recipe down then write tasting notes. Treat it as a new food discovery. It will probably never be exactly the same but it could hit your palate better. I like oat milk better than regular milk. Never would have known had I not spent a few hours and too much money making americanos till I could see time.

[01xj]

I typed this out and deleted it a few times as it falls squarely into the old "answering the question without answering the question" forum trend but whatever. As good as apple cake muffins sound you can avoid all the substitutions, math and confusion by just not eating them. Grab a sugar free yogurt with some granola. Leave the baked good in the "once in a blue moon" category.

Ditch the flour when air frying. Use a little oil as a binder. Doesn't come out exactly the same but it gets you close enough, and honestly the less coating, flour and bread crumbs the less calories.

[MUZ720]

The wife who does make a great chocolate chip banana bread, Says using whole wheat flour will not make for good tasting muffins or cookies and to cut the flour in half using both will make the muffins better tasting while giving you some of the benefit of whole wheat. The nut flours will require a different mixture and recipe.

[PurplePackage]

Sugar is the new tobacco. Worse than alcohol. That's all I know.

[Point37]

Our food on the inside aisles are wholesale fucking garbage. Full stop.

^^^this...it's about limiting your shit food intake a limiting exposure to toxins...i've been slowly switching things out...switching to pyrex food containers, went to ceramic coated pots & pans, went to wood cooking utensils over plastic, probably going to ditch the air fryer due to the nonstick coating, only using extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, butter, lard, ghee, tallow to cook with...etc...seeing how manufacturers have 2 different recipes for the same product...1 for the unhealthy US and the other for the rest of the world where they have sensibly banned the use of many of these toxic compounds...FDA allows these things to be in our foods and tells us actual healthy foods are bad...almost like they are literally trying to make us unhealthy to help big pharma/insurance/medical...it's bad enough that there's PFAS in everything if feels like...hope RFK Jr fixes some of this

[Stoneman]

I typed this out and deleted it a few times as it falls squarely into the old "answering the question without answering the question" forum trend but whatever. As good as apple cake muffins sound you can avoid all the substitutions, math and confusion by just not eating them. Grab a sugar free yogurt with some granola. Leave the baked good in the "once in a blue moon" category.

Ditch the flour when air frying. Use a little oil as a binder. Doesn't come out exactly the same but it gets you close enough, and honestly the less coating, flour and bread crumbs the less calories.

We've already found a viable workaround for the sugar. These are a 3-4 times a year thing, I look forward to them, and I'm not willing to give them up. Other than that yeah - I have sugar free low-fat greek yogurt every morning with a sprinkle of low sugar "good fat" granola and fresh fruit.

[Stoneman]

^^^this...it's about limiting your shit food

I've been extremely successful in limiting and trying to eliminate the shit food all together.

[Stoneman]

sodium is my issue

I have my blood pressure under control with some meds and diet/lifestyle changes...

[Stoneman]

The wife who does make a great chocolate chip banana bread, Says using whole wheat flour will not make for good tasting muffins or cookies and to cut the flour in half using both will make the muffins better tasting while giving you some of the benefit of whole wheat. The nut flours will require a different mixture and recipe.

I certainly appreciate the input! But "good tasting" would be kinda subjective to each person, no? The half & half thing will definitely be worth a shot next time around. Big thanks to the wife on that!

[RandyO]

We've already found a viable workaround for the sugar. These are a 3-4 times a year thing, I look forward to them, and I'm not willing to give them up. Other than that yeah - I have sugar free low-fat greek yogurt every morning with a sprinkle of low sugar "good fat" granola and fresh fruit.

oatmeal for me, working on reducing the sprinkle of brown sugar

[e30addict]

3-4 times per year? Why not just treat yourself and enjoy?

[MUZ720]

By taste she means it will be dryer and not as sweet but to each his own. Cutting sugar is never a bad idea but one of the hardest things to do as its in everything. Even things that are supposed to healthier for you like protein bars.

[Point37]

started to soak all our fruit in baking soda/water solution for 15 mins then let it dry to remove the pesticides

[obsolete]

3-4 times a year? Don't change it unless there is an allergy or negative reaction you can't deal with. Eating healthy is important, so is enjoying life. I have lactose intolerant friends that will have ice cream if they can spend the next day near a toilet. It's all balance and what you can live with. It really seems like something you love, call it a cheat and fix other liveable areas.

[obsolete]

We've already found a viable workaround for the sugar. These are a 3-4 times a year thing, I look forward to them, and I'm not willing to give them up. Other than that yeah - I have sugar free low-fat greek yogurt every morning with a sprinkle of low sugar "good fat" granola and fresh fruit.

Same here, then I have oatmeal as a snack to up the fiber then a healthy lunch. Diner, I don't fucking care. I love steak and pork chops and will continue to enjoy them

[Stoneman]

3-4 times per year? Why not just treat yourself and enjoy?

Because then they won't be a treat for me any longer. And if you only knew what it takes Big Shirl to cook ANYTHING, you'd be happy with the 3-4 times a year!

[Stoneman]

3-4 times a year? Don't change it unless there is an allergy or negative reaction you can't deal with. Eating healthy is important, so is enjoying life. I have lactose intolerant friends that will have ice cream if they can spend the next day near a toilet. It's all balance and what you can live with. It really seems like something you love, call it a cheat and fix other liveable areas.

Same here, then I have oatmeal as a snack to up the fiber then a healthy lunch. Diner, I don't fucking care. I love steak and pork chops and will continue to enjoy them

I'm not exactly killing myself! LOL! A few times a week I toss all caution to the wind. But it's usually from my Gout angle. Fuggit, I can't always NOT eat beef & shellfish!

[butcher bergs]

Next meetup at Hilltop or Back Door, I'll get the waters and salads!

[Stoneman]

Next meetup at Hilltop or Back Door, I'll get the waters and salads!

Hahaha! Like I said, I'm not killing myself doing this! I'm not really drinking much beer (plenty of vodka & tequila though!), so BD is out. Although, the same peeps that opened Diomedes in Chichester recently put lipstick on the old JJ's and reopened it (Lower East Side Restaurant & Pub).

[RandyO]

had my annual wellness physical today, no changes to meds, A1C 6.0, glucose 108, bp 109/68, just gotta reduce my salt intake, feet are swollen, shoes don't fit

[Stoneman]

had my annual wellness physical today, no changes to meds, A1C 6.0, glucose 108, bp 109/68, just gotta reduce my salt intake, feet are swollen, shoes don't fit

Reducing your sodium intake isn't nearly as hard as it may seem.

[Stoneman]

So, now I'm down about 25lbs unofficially. I really need to get my own scale so I can use it as a baseline since I'm no longer going in for monthly check-ins...

My body is going through some incredible changes, other than the obvious physical appearance (which really isn't all that incredible, I'm still an ugly fuck). Perhaps one of the most annoying so far is how fuckin' cold I get now. Not long ago I was "that guy". You all know the one: wears shorts well into winter, always the first to turn back to them in the spring. Used to get by almost all winter with just a couple layers and a hoodie. Not any fuckin' more!

Fuck me! And it's REALLY been a struggle with this shit-ass weather we're currently in. Normally I'd keep the house around 65 in weather like this and I'd laugh at Big Shirl for bundling up like an arctic explorer. I'd usually lounge around in shorts and a long sleeve. Now I find even keeping it at 70 will keep me in jeans and at least a couple layers of shirts. It's rare right now that I'm not kicking it at the house with at least a long sleeve & hoodie. And let's not forget we're absolutely blowing through our firewood now.

I guess the upside is maybe I won't be a fat, sweaty lob of goo this summer.

[RandyO]

oatmeal