good healthy low calorie alternative Brown rice?

jenniator

Hey everyone My family are huge carbs fan and they always cook dinner with pasta, rice, or potatoes. So I've been looking to healthy alternatives that are less in calories. I recently just learned you can make a healthy spaghetti dish using spaghetti squash and I thought it looked delicious. I was wondering if anyone knew any healthy alternative's to Brown rice that are not too high in calorie. I know that Quinoa is healthy, but it still has too many calories, especially since my family like to make big plates of rice, pasta, ect. I heard of cauliflower rice and it looks yummy, but we only have a blender and not a food processor. I'm not sure if you can make it in a blender. Also my husband is against the idea since he hates cauliflower. So I was wondering if anyone else has any other suggestions.

I would also love to hear anymore tricks or tips to make meals healthy since I just recently heard of the spaghetti squash and cauliflower rice. Thank you.

jgnatca

If your family loves mashed potatoes, boil half-and-half cauliflower with your potatoes. Mash them together and your family will never be the wiser. It fooled my hubby.

By the way, picking these new staples like spaghetti squash, brown rice and cauliflower, you aren't reducing the calories so much as adding fiber. But fiber is plenty good. Spaghetti squash though, is significantly lower in calories from pasta.

SnuggleSmacks

Personally, I'm not a fan of spaghetti squash. It's the only winter squash I don't like. Butternut is my favorite food, but spaghetti squash and I just never got along.

I love brown rice and can't think of a good reason to substitute it, though, so I would be more likely to add this cauliflower rice to the real rice.

Unless you're experiencing some sort of medical issue which requires it, there's really no need to cut those foods out.

jgnatca

Acquired taste but maybe your family is up for a challenge. Roasted yam or butternut squash.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/10/maple-roasted-butternut-squash.html

jgnatca

How about adding wild rice to the brown rice, and simmering in stock?

jkwolly

White rice? Rice noodles?

IMO, I use what I like and just less of it if I have to. Otherwise I make whatever I want fit.

If that still doesn't help, try other vegetable carbs to replace it such as you said spaghetti squash, yams/sweet potatoes, zuchinni, mushrooms, etc.

gamesandgains

jkwolly wrote: »

IMO, I use what I like and just less of it if I have to. Otherwise I make whatever I want fit.

Winner!

ninerbuff

How about just eating "less" of any rice or pasta dish? The reality is that most people trying to lose weight substitute a lot of foods with foods and programs they normally wouldn't continue consuming once they reach goal. And that's when regain happens.
It just makes much more sense to learn how to portion what you like to eat and what you're going to continue to eat without going overboard.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

lemurcat12

Actually, using winter squash or cauliflower in place of rice or pasta does generally lower the calories a lot (and may or may not add significant fiber). I don't especially like rice and am usually so-so on grains (I like pasta, but am not insane for it), so often save calories this way (I LOVE roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, though, so just watch portion size for them). What works for me, although everyone is different, is not to try to pretend like the substitute is something it's not. Spaghetti squash is naturally pasta-like, but more often I just roast some winter squash or root veggies or cauliflower or pan-fry my zucchini, and if I'm having a pasta sauce kind of meal, add it to the top. You could do that for you and have the pasta for everyone else.

Similarly, I'll just do a stir fry like meal without the rice.

I can't tell if you are trying to cut calories for everyone or just for you, though. The calories in these foods aren't that high if you enjoy them (like I said, I have pasta from time to time, potatoes, and also quinoa, among other starchy carbs), so long as you control portion size. It seems like you could control your own portion easily enough, so that's why I'm wondering if it's about getting everyone to cut down.

jkwolly

ninerbuff wrote: »

How about just eating "less" of any rice or pasta dish?

Too easy, must find a more round-about difficult answer.

jgnatca

Hey, I like trying new things. For me, that's my normal.

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jenniator

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I see a lot of people say just to have less of the rice or pasta. That is a good idea, but I have a problem controlling myself around rice and pasta since I love them so much. I always try to eat less, but I always take more. That's why I thought it would be better to find a alternative that is lower in calorie.

robsonv

Quinoa is a good alternative, lower in carbs and higher in protein...Spelt or Bulgar is also good....still gives you the satisfaction of eating carbs. and you don't need near as much as it's more filling

SnuggleSmacks

Why not try cooking less so there's only enough for one serving for each person? Or just skip it altogether. Legumes are a good substitute in some dishes. You can make an excellent stir fry with lentils or black or red beans as the base.

jenniator

I was thinking of trying Quinoa, but I was a little off put by it since I seen it was the same calories as brown rice. I've actually never heard of Spelt or Bulgar.

I don't always do the cooking, so I don't have control of how many portions or what type of food is made. There are 6 people living here in total and we rotate who cooks dinner for the night. We all have one cooking night a week. That's why I wanted to make a meal that was healthier since all the other days usually include something with rice, pasta, or potatoes My family also has been wanting to eat healthier even though not everyone has a lot of weight to loss, but they haven't made the change yet. So I think it would be nice to have a lower calorie dinner at lest once a week.

lemurcat12

jenniator wrote: »

I always try to eat less, but I always take more. That's why I thought it would be better to find a alternative that is lower in calorie.

As you can see from my answer above, I think finding some alternatives is a perfectly fine idea, and you might discover new foods you love.

But if portion control is the issue, there are some tricks to that too, like not relying on your eye alone, until you are used to what a portion should be. I generally measure out my portion and that's it. I tend to make a sauce that's lower calorie and where the serving size is more generous--lots of veggies and so on--and add that, and the combination is satisfying. (This is the opposite of what I was told to do as a kid, when I was told that Americans ate too much sauce, but it's what I always wanted to do anyway.) It's just a mental thing--a specific serving size vs. "how much do I want," which can definitely lead to taking too much. Once I eat and wait a bit I never find that I wish I had more food.

jgnatca

The higher fiber (complex carbohydrate) choices are all good because you fill up faster with less.

jgnatca

Corn! How could I have forgotten corn?
Here's a recipe with spelt groats. I would trade out the "capon" with a roasting chicken.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/savory-roasted-capon-with-spelt-and-corn-salad-recipe.html

Francl27

There are no similar foods to all of those. There are just other options, like veggies (including cauliflower everything) and squash. And you can just skip the rice if you don't want the calories (and it might be easier to eat less if you don't eat any at all for a while).

lemurcat12

Doesn't corn have basically the same calories as other starchy carbs? Nothing better than fresh corn, but I tend not to eat it at other times of the year.

jenniator

Thank you lemurcat12. I have always wanted to try spaghetti squash and I think it would taste really good as spaghetti since I love squash. Yeah I do have a bit of a problem with portion control but that's alright since still learning to control myself and do better. It doesn't happen over night and I know it will take time. I really don't rely on my eyes since my eyes will eat more than my stomach ha ha. I also love a lot of sauce and have been working on adding less of it. It is difficult controlling the portion since most of my family sets it up on the plates already and it's difficult for a lot of people to not eat everything on their plate since they don't want to waste it. I always tell the person whos cooking not to put so much rice or pasta on my plate, but they think it's not so many calories. Most of them don't know how quickly calories add up or how much calories those foods contain ha ha.

Also I know there are no similar foods to those, but that's why I was looking for a alternative I always cook with brown rice when I can instead of white rice and I think that's a step in the right direction.

ninerbuff

jenniator wrote: »

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I see a lot of people say just to have less of the rice or pasta. That is a good idea, but I have a problem controlling myself around rice and pasta since I love them so much. I always try to eat less, but I always take more. That's why I thought it would be better to find a alternative that is lower in calorie.

Is the intent to keep eating that lower calorie alternative and nix rice and pasta out of your diet entirely? Again, if not and you're doing it just to lose weight, then what's going to happen if you decide you want to eat rice and pasta again? Control can be learned. Don't believe it can't be. I'm sure there are lots of things you'd like to rage about to a person if you saw wrong done by them. But you restrain from doing it because of control.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

One of the best ways to learn portion control....................use a smaller plate.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

kgeyser

I just measure out less rice. I haven't found anything else that is comparable in terms of calories and macros, and honestly, 1/2 cup of rice is more than enough for me now. I'll be weighing it out and be surprised at how much there is, I don't think I'd know what to do with an entire full serving (1 cup) of rice. Filling the plate with veggies seems to help with the visual/psychological aspect, as there just isn't much room on the plate left for rice when the majority is protein or veggies.

Need2Exerc1se

For pasta, check out Fiber Gourmet brand pasta. It has half the calories of regular pasta and is still pasta. I love spaghetti squash, in fact, I have 18 in my root cellar right now. But it doesn't taste like pasta. It tastes like summer squash. I eat it as a vegetable, not a grain.

I don't know of a substitute for rice. I, too, have heard of riced cauliflower but have never tried it. I love cauliflower, but I also love rices so when I want rice I eat rice.

sheepotato

Quinoa? It has slightly more calories than brown rice per dry measurement but you eat less of it to feel sated.

SweatLikeDog

Bulgur wheat (spelled 10 different ways) has 150 cals per cup vs 210 for brown rice and looks and tastes almost identical.

lyttlewon

Try riceing cauliflower. Rough chop it in a food processor and steam it. Without knowing what the dish is it's harder to suggest. When I make Indian food I use lentils instead.

Eta you can use a blender.

middlehaitch

black rice 90cal 1/2 cup, white rice 102, brown rice 108, so a small saving on black rice, but I bet it costs a fortune.
If you are not willing to just cut your intake of rice and pasta, cut down your carb & cal consumption for the rest of your meals so you can enjoy the quantity you want and are still within your cal and macro goals. It is all down to priorities and will power.
Cheers, h.

BruceHedtke

Spaghetti squash is a substitute for pasta in looks only (and barely, at that). Certainly not in taste. Unless you can commit to eating spaghetti squash instead of pasta, as others have said, stick with eating less pasta. Where spaghetti squash wins is low calories.

According to the calorie chart on MFP, 500 grams of spaghetti is 690 calories. That same 500 grams of s/s is 155 calories. You can eat over four times as much spaghetti squash before equaling the number of calories in spaghetti. In that regard, it's a great trade-off but, again, it's not pasta...it's squash. It took some adjustment to find how to get it to my taste, but I made the switch to spaghetti squash and am happy I did so.