Which Diet Tools are Worth Your Money?

I spend a lot of time whining about not having enough money for things and I know there are ton of people out there who make the excuse that weight loss and eating healthy is too expensive. I won't lie to you and say that it's completely free (it hasn't been for me), but you can make well-informed decisions on what products are worth your hard earned cash. 

As someone who would rather spend her tax return on funding her cosplay adventures for the year than on practical household goods, here are the products I have discovered are "must haves" for those interested in doing more cooking and getting healthy. I'm started researching this article from the perspective of someone preparing to eat Primal but I've included recommendations from others who have succeeded in the areas of healthy weight loss and fitness.

Primal Pacs

I live in NYC. I'm on the go and when I'm at work I have to carry food in my pocket and get it down my gullet when I get a spare moment because I don't always get a break. One of my Nerd Fitness Rebel pals suggested Primal Pacs when I asked for jerky recommendations. This product not cheap, but the quality is high and it's perfect for being on the go and without a refrigerator. You can order the grass fed jerky or snack packs with a mixture of jerky, nuts, and dried fruit in large or small bags depending on your needs! You can check out the prices and more information on their website.

Weight Watchers 

I have friends that swear by their online program. They've lost the weight and kept it off. Similar to how I love to use Fitbit to count calories and make sure I'm staying in my deficit zone, the Weight Watchers app offers great on-the-go support to keep you on track and flexible in the real world. Plus if you hate calorie counting, then this could be a great way to stay accountable without the pressure of having to look up estimates constantly. The program accounts for any activity and exercise you log by rewarding you extra points to spend on food. It costs  $48 per month or $65 for 3 months. You can find more information on their site.

Fitbit

This device has changed my life and my diet plan. While I feel way more in control, I also feel a greater sense of freedom. I can monitor my statistics as they happen, I can log food and activity, and be flexible when I need to. Plus, there's no subscription fees for the online program and app. You buy the device for between $45 and $100+ depending on the model you select, and voila! You're ready to roll. I could spend all day espousing the benefits of Fitbit, but I already did that in my review so if you're interested in learning more, you can check it out.

Fit & Fresh 

When it comes to your health, fresh is always better! Primal and Paleo eaters swear by this Fit & Fresh lunch container set when it comes to bringing their meats, veggies, salads, etc to work. This set includes multiple high quality containers to keep everything separate and organized in bento box style plus a cold pack that will keep your food from wilting or going bad if you don't have access to a fridge. You can get it all for $9.09 on Target's website. The price is certainly right!

Dressing-2-Go

I love salads and the only reason I don't take them on the go is wilting (which I addressed with the previous item!) and the fact that I can't portion out my dressing and easily keep it separate. Well, with these little 2 tbs squeeze bottles, I can put my dressings in the bottle and pop them into my Fit & Fresh set so that they will stay cool until I'm ready to use them on my salad! Problem solved for just $7.38 by ordering from this website. 

Food Scale 

It's more important than people realize to measure food when you're on a diet. Learning correct portion sizes is instrumental in discovering how to get the most use out of the calories you have to spend for the day and when you start cooking for yourself, a food scale can help you ensure that when you say you're eating 2 oz of chicken, you actually are. I found I was so afraid of "over" feeding myself that I severely underestimated when it came to weight/portions of solid food and veggies which means I went into starvation mode and my weight loss slowed for months because I wasn't getting enough food. There's a lot of estimating when it comes to calorie counts and you can reduce the guess work exponentially by putting your money where your mouth is, literally. Measuring cups and spoons will only get you so far because measuring liquids is different than measuring solid food. You can pick up a good, affordable food scale from Amazon for just $25.

Paleo Central 

If you are considering a switch to Paleo or Primal, then this app is absolutely essential. You can enter any food or components of a recipe and it will tell you whether it's Paleo or not. It tells you what you can or can't eat in the most simple ways and will give you insight into borderline foods all for $.99 on the iTunes store. There's an Android app available as well.

If you have any recommendations for our fellow Slayers here at Project Reroll, please leave them in the comments!

Killer Guacamole Recipe

I mentioned this in Monday's blog post, but I am loving using Guacamole as a dressing on my salad. Of course you can easily buy guacamole at your local grocery store, but it probably has preservatives and a few other ingredients that you want to avoid if you're trying to eat paleo or primal.

There's only one man I turn to when I want good guac, and that's my father- or as he's been referenced before on the blog, Caldephron, Lord of the Moon, your friendly lvl 1 Night Elf Druid. He never made it off of Teldrassil, but damn can he cook. 

Caldephron's Paleo Guacamole

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

• 4 Avocados 
• 1 lime
• 1 Small tomato
• 12 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 1/4 Cup finely chopped onions 
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 Nacho slices (jarred pickled mild or
  medium Jalapenos), finely chopped
• 2 Cloves crushed garlic
• 1/8-1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Take your cilantro sprigs, remove the leaves and chop them up. Next, chop up your tomato, onions, Nacho slices, and garlic and dump the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add in your cumin and salt.
3. Cut the avocados in half. Easily remove the seed by giving the seed a quick rap with a sharp knife. If you twist, the seed will come right out. Hand chop or mash the avocado in a SEPARATE mixing bowl.
4. Add the olive oil and freshly squeezed lime juice to your avocado. You want to be sparing with the olive oil so only add it as needed to get your desired consistency. 
5. If you're ready to serve, then mix the ingredients from both bowls together and enjoy! If you're looking to use the mixture over the next few days, cover the two bowls with saran wrap. Store refrigerator and mix in the portions you want as needed. It only keeps for a few days so keep that in mind. If the avocado mixture begins to brown, you can scrape the brown bits off the top (it's only a reaction to oxidation).
6. If you need to keep it longer term, create the avocado mixture, freeze in airtight bags. Then you can thaw out your portions as needed and add in the fresh ingredients when you're ready to eat it.