So, if your on a diet do you tend to smoke less. I am currently on a diet and I tend to smoke the same amount but I freeze the leftovers for another day. I bought a vacuum sealer for that purpose. I just wondering what other people do. So do you smoke more or less.
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Last edited by rlozinak; May 4, 2022, 08:18 AM. -
Well, hard to say. Not on a diet, but did have 3 kids get married and move out over the past several years, and I am most certainly grilling and smoking less now than I was in 2018.
I think if you are smoking say a whole butt, and freezing most of the pork for future meals (it freezes well in those vacuum sealer bags), you will smoke less often than you were before. Just like my kids moving out, your diet means less food consumed, therefore less food prepared, and smoking less often.
I think the biggest thing I am finding is that I grill more and smoke less, since smoking tends to be larger cuts of meat that are also higher in fat (ribs, butts, brisket). I can grill steaks and chicken, even burgers, in smaller quantities more easily. I also find the flat top grill or a wok to be good for trying to cut back on meat, and eat more veggies. I.e. lots of stir fry, even fajitas, that are quick and easy cooks.
The last brisket I purchased, 18 pounds I think, I unpacked, trimmed, and separated the point from the flat, and then split the flat into 2 pieces, and I vacuum sealed as point, flat, flat, so that I can cook a smaller 3-4 pound hunk of beef rather than 15-18 pounds, when I feel the need for brisket for just the two of us. I pulled out a 4-5 pound hunk of that brisket recently, and it fed the two of us 3 nice meals. I may start splitting stuff like brisket or even butts down like that more often going forward, so that I can smoke something every week or two, but not smoke a huge quantity. While pulled pork freezes and reheats well, cooked beef tends to dry out.
All that said, I do recommend picking up a carbon steel wok or a flat top cooker, if you are into dieting, and want to move to more healthy eating. Lean proteins and veggies with a little bit of avocado oil to keep them from sticking, and a little low calorie teriyaki sauce (not the thick sugary stuff) make for a nice meal.Last edited by jfmorris; May 4, 2022, 08:32 AM.-
Sincerest apologies Jim
I'd like to blame it on poor eyesight, and small phone screen, but it's more just inattention..
I owe you a beer if you ever happen to be in the first state...🍺 -
Hey Finster Don’t feel bad my friend, I get my own name wrong half the time. 🥸 -
Finster no worries! I wouldn't have piped up unless Panhead John said something first...you are not the first person to call me Jeff on here!
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Do you mean the no grillin, no Q’in diet? Or some kind of "other diet". From what I can gather ya didn’t go vegetarian or veganist. Whut are we talkin here? Meat is good! Nuff said.
PS. I recently wrote a note to a young friend of mine & ended with Nuff said. Bein 13, she asked her mother, "who is Nuff".Comment
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Hey - not directly related to your question, but I thought I would share these bags with you - someone else in the pit turned me on to them - fzxdoc maybe - and they are great if you need to vacuum seal larger cuts of meat, as they expand. Pricing is also better than the Foodsavr bags I can buy at Sam's Club. Only drawback if you want to call it that, is that the roll is too big to fit in side my Foodsavr machine, but I can deal with that:
They expand to handle larger stuff, and I was able to vacuum seal a couple of prime ribs that I got back in December using these, and they expand enough to handle something like the brisket point and flats I cut down recently, better than the standard 11" stuff would.Comment
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We don't really do left overs, but when I'm trying to lose a few pounds I actually smoke more. I just start looking for creative healthy things to smoke like cauliflower, fish, hummus, etc... because of the experimentation I tend to cook more those weeks.Comment
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Depends on the diet. If keto then nope, I smoke just as much delicious foods if not more. I do try to watch my portions but that's been easier lately as I just can't eat what I could in my 20s.Comment
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I have lost quite a bit of weight in the last year due to my change in eating and exercise. For BBQ, I still smoke with the same frequency, but I tend to make sure there are a lot of guests to eat my products. I've gone from eating five or six ribs to eating two or three, and cutting down on the amount of meat/poultry that I eat at one time.
I've also gotten good at smoking panko encrusted cod and sea bass, and at veggies.
In addition, I've gone to low-carb sides. Instead of macaroni and cheese or potatoes, I tend to do roasted/blackened peppers and mushrooms with onions. Mashed/cheesy cauliflower is also a go-to. I also do beans with no added sugar, making them savory instead of sweet.
Of course, on the rare occasion I get off the wagon and indulge, but not like I used to.
Best wishes to you in finding a balance that works for you!Comment
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Like jfmorris, it's just the wife and myself for most meals. It isn't that we are eating less grilled/smoked food, we just don't go through as much as fast. I buy at least a quarter and most often a side of beef at a time. We have them package steaks 2 to a package, but usually that means we have 2 nights worth. The T-bones and Ribeyes are generally so big that we only need 1 between the 2 of us. Could I eat a whole steak by myself? I probably could. Do I need to eat a whole 16 oz steak by myself? No, and these days I don't feel like I'm depriving myself. When I was on a diabetic diet it was pretty much keto. These days we have a still generous helping of protein, with either a fruit or green salad. If I'm not smoking/grilling as much it's just because I can cook enough for 2 or 3 nights at one time.
Going to add a PS. We do eat a fair amount of veggies, along with the fresh fruit. But a lot of those get grilled as well. Once in a while use a wok or steam them, but my wife likes to have me grill a lot of them. This is the time of year we have bought a few bundles of asparagus, but if we ever get past the rainy cold weather we've been having, we'll be getting all the fresh asparagus we can eat from friends with farms. Love it grilled.Last edited by Bogy; May 4, 2022, 10:45 AM.Comment
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As jfmorris posted above, if you don’t have a wok, get one! I absolutely love mine, an el cheapo $20. model…works great. And it’s also a great way to incorporate more veggies in your diet, plus it’s fun to cook on. And it’s just like anything else, it’s not too bad if you do it in moderation. I’ve cut back on my binge drinking from 7 days a week to 6. 😂Comment
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DogFaced PonySoldier I do use my wok on the gas cooktop, on high heat the entire cook, and often wish it had more BTU's (I think the burners are all 12,000, and a 6,000 BTU simmer burner). Not sure how they do on induction.
You can do a lot of the same stuff on a flat top griddle, but there are some cooks where a wok just excels, due to the way you can pull stuff up into a cooler zone up the sides, with the hottest zone being down in the bottom.
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Since we're Empty Nesters as well I've been trying to cook just as often but in smaller quantities. It is so hard to slow my eating habits but we're trying. It's definitely a work in progress! I'm a huge believer in Vac Sealers, Woks, and Grilled Vegetables too.Comment
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Like others above I'm usually cooking for just 2 so I am working to explore other ways to grill & smoke that don't render huge amounts of leftovers. For an example check out my smoked lamb meatballs with Pho post in the SWYC thread. When I do cook a rack of ribs or big cut of meat I try to do it in conjunction with some guests joining us and then I do freeze the leftover in vacuum sealed bags.Comment
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No, been on a diet since '72 lost almost 400lbs over the years.
....sadly have put 402 back on over the years.
Still feeding 4 mouths here so we haven't cut down.Comment
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I’m like smokin fool I seem always need to be on a diet. And sometimes I actually focus and actually do it. And like him, I’ll lose a ton but gain back a ton and change. Maybe I will figure it out before it kills me.
But I don’t think the answer is smoking less. It’s EATING less. Also, less beer in the process along the way. So I cook the same amount as always, try to eat less, and vac seal what’s left. Sometimes……. 🤷â€â™‚ï¸Comment
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I don’t change too much with smoking and grilling, if anything I might cook more outdoors. When I diet (like wife and I both are right now), it’s usually about cutting carbs. Less pizza, sugared soda, breads, sweets, alcohol, etc. I do tend to put more poultry in the rotation, but don’t really do ribs and butts all that often anyway. The other night still did burgers, but with thin sliced cheese, grilled zucchini and a small serving of air fried fries. Last night was grilled thin crust pizzas with measured amounts of cheese. Lunches however, are usually low carb wraps with chicken or leftover proteins with salad, cottage cheese, or a few baked chips (weighed instead of straight from the bag).
Some of the WW plans work well with outdoor cooking as skinless white poultry is ‘free’ along with most veggies. Strip, Sirloin, leaner roasts, chops, pork loin, etc. are pretty low points. So far it’s working, down about 10 in 3 weeks, just hope it will keep coming off. It’s a lot about trades, you can still eat ribs, but you can’t do a full rack or pair it with a bunch of bread, fried foods, and banana pudding.
Fiber One bars have been my life saver, they have 70 calorie lemon, cinnamon coffee, and birthday cake bars that are only 2 points, hit the sweet tooth cravings, and are actually really good. They also have brownies my wife likes (I cannot eat chocolate though to tell you if they’re good, but take her word for it).
Another thing is sugar free and fat free stuff usually just flat out sucks, but many reduced fat and light products aren’t that far from the original. So, I use a lot of 2% cottage cheese, light dressings, reduced fat sour cream, etc. We’ve been playing with the Truvia brown sugar some too, it still uses molasses, but with stevia sweetener instead of real sugar. Made some cinnamon sugar apples that way that were great (think Cracker Barrel’s fried apples).
I’ve done this like 3 times over past 15-20 years, where I fail and put it back on is after a few years when I get lazy and slowly over time start buying all the full fat stuff, start drinking multiple Pepsi’s a day, and don’t make smart trades eating out. This pandemic put me in a don’t care mood and I threw on 25-30 lbs because Pepsi and full fat everything was always in stock at the store combined with less steps everyday working at home. Plus extra carry out food for nights off cooking during the pandemic and the healthier trades don’t travel as well, so made a lot less smart trades.Last edited by glitchy; May 4, 2022, 01:19 PM.Comment
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I stopped dieting years ago and aggressively changed the way I eat. I was able to reach a weight and hold it going on 2 years now. I do not worry about how much meat I eat at all.Comment
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