hot dogs and sausages

A big mistake I have made in the past when on diets is that I cut out foods I really like. This is completely unsustainable for me and most others. The trick is to figure out how to eat what you like, eat less of it, and feel full when you're done eating. This is why "the heat" has been so successful for me; it is totally sustainable (i.e. it's not a diet) and I am always full when I'm done eating. Moreover, I'm not hungry 2-3 hours after a meal, which is my traditional trouble time. Even if I am a little hungry, I can grab one of many different smart snack choices (many more of these to come in future posts) and I'm good to go until the next meal.

With that said, let's look at sausages and hot dogs. Undoubtedly these are nowhere near any kind of diet plan you have seen, which to me is puzzling because they are relatively low in calories and it's pretty easy to get rid of a lot of fat from them (if you want to).

I'm from New York originally, so obviously my favorite type of hot dog, by far, is the....Chicago dog. I'm not going to waste time writing how to make one because you can find about 10,000,000 sites that have done that already. However, I will give a couple of tips to make it more filling.

1. Use a potato hot dog roll - these typically have less calories and more fiber than whole wheat rolls and they are a lot more filling
2. Skip the mayo, sauces, and cheese - wrapping a hot dog in a piece of grilled pastrami is way less calories (only about 40 calories) than any of these - think about that the next time you get a chili cheese dog
3. Speaking of grilling...some people are going to cringe at this, but if you have something fatty like a brat, split it open and grill it. I know this is sacrilegious, but consider this. If you grill a brat and it splits open, the juices that squirt out make the flames shoot up. This happens, in part, because there is a lot of fat in there. You can get rid of a lot of that junk, while still enjoying the brat flavor, if you split it open and grill it.
4. Add the heat - jalapeno spread, sport peppers, pick your favorite
5. Use think cut tomatoes and sweet onions - this is something I tried recently and is very good
6. Above all, make ONE of these the center of your meal and eat a healthy side dish like a vegetable (Mexican style sausage and black beans, for example)

Posted in: sandwiches,sausages