Ideas for Low calorie side dishes "Preferably home-made"

execrate2k15

Can some one please post your ideas and recipes for Low calorie side dishes "Preferably home-made"
ie: No processed food

Thank you

Abby2205

Sautéed shredded zucchini. Pan- or oven roasted Brussels sprouts, drizzle of oil and sprinkle of parmigiano reggiano. Actually broccoli and cauliflower are good this way too (hate them boiled). Caprese salad (tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil--the amounts are up to you depending on your calorie goals).

Wiseandcurious

Any root vegetable lightly steamed and then caramelized in the same pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. I particularly love carrots and/or parsnips and/or celeriac made this way.

Acg67

execrate2k15 wrote: »

Can some one please post your ideas and recipes for Low calorie side dishes "Preferably home-made"
ie: No processed food

Thank you

Take any known side dish recipe, portion it to make it "low cal" WOAH

execrate2k15

Lol

Acg67 wrote: »

execrate2k15 wrote: »

Can some one please post your ideas and recipes for Low calorie side dishes "Preferably home-made"
ie: No processed food

Thank you

Take any known side dish recipe, portion it to make it "low cal" WOAH

lemurcat12

Is this for a particular event? There are like a million potential answers. I'd bother being fancier/more elaborate for an event, and so it would be a bit less low cal, often.

For example--green beans sautéed with mushrooms in some olive oil with a bit of fresh dill is one I like. I often add pine nuts if I'm having guests.

gaurdgoose

I love roasted beets and parsnips

jane837

My go-to side dish is mixed vegetables chopped up and roasted with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. It's delicious, easy, and a great way to use up random veggies that have accumulated in your fridge.

TheVirgoddess

We do lots of salads and roasted veggies here. Or sometimes when I'm lazy, raw cucumbers and carrots

lemurcat12

That's how I cook most of the time. That's another reason why I was curious what the side dish was for. Normally I decide on side dishes based on (1) what protein am I having, (2) do I want more or fewer carbs, and (3) what veggies do I have on hand that would go, go together, and probably should be cooked the soonest.

I got used to cooking based on what I had rather than some idea of a perfect menu when I first started seriously trying to use up my CSA box (why that's a challenge depends on the season--in spring I have greens with everything), and now it makes things a lot easier.

techgal128

jane837 wrote: »

My go-to side dish is mixed vegetables chopped up and roasted with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. It's delicious, easy, and a great way to use up random veggies that have accumulated in your fridge.

Yes! I do this. I use onion, potato, carrots, and beets. You can also take out the potatoes and drizzle balsamic vinegar on them before baking.

deksgrl

Mashed sweet potatoes with butter.

Sued0nim

To go with what?

Butternut squash roasted chips
Asparagus
Watercress, spinach and rocker salad
Couscous with feta
Rice salad with pomegranate

WinoGelato

Agreed - need more info if this is for a particular event/meal - or just looking to expand your rotation of side dishes, and also what qualifies as "low calorie".

Regardless - side dishes is an area I struggle with as well so I'm in for ideas.

execrate2k15

"looking to expand your rotation of side dishes" We do a lot of pasta and vegetables but I have noticed that pasta side dishes are to high in calories.

bostonultd1

I like to make a cucumber, tomato salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette and a little fat free feta on top. Grilled asparagus is always delicious. Can't go wrong with steamed broccoli or a small portion of baked sweet potato. You'll want to use about half of a sweet potato per serving because they're high in carbs but very nutritious.

JoRumbles

For low calorie I would do roasted cauliflower instead of potatoes. It has the same "mouth feel" as potato but more flavour when roasted. Just needs a spray of oil and some seasoning. Spices are nice.

For chips I boil wedges for 5mins then roast with just a spray of oil. Very nice. Low calorie if you stick to maybe one potato worth- so eight chips.

Stir fry veg is good. Like kale with garlic- yum

tekkiechikk

Roasted asparagus, especially now that the asparagus is coming in and you can get it fresh- toss with 1 TBS of oil to coat, bake at 350 until tender and then sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese near the end. Of course, this is best served hot out of the oven.

If you are looking for a take along side dish or something you want to make ahead of time, an overnight salad (layered salad) is a favorite with my family. I skip the bacon and radishes and use low fat mayo and reduced calorie cheese. Here's a close version: http://www.cooks.com/recipe/i5ss5r2/layered-overnight-salad.html

PeachyCarol

Any vegetable, roasted. Vary the seasoning. Cauliflower and smoked paprika. Broccoli and garlic. Asparagus and lemon pepper. Brussels sprouts and garlic. All finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. Spaghetti squash is another favorite of mine with seasoned salt. You can eat a ton of non-starchy vegetables for very few calories. I usually toss mine with a teaspoon of oil and whatever seasoning I'm using and roast in a 400 degree oven on a parchment lined baking sheet until they're done.

Amitysk

We do a lot of roasted vegetables as well... Asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, potatoes...
I recently came across a recipe for roasted radishes that I am planning on trying... Sometimes, I'll do rice and/or couscous with a steam veggie mixed in too...

lifeguard23

Grill asparagus with a splash of worsheshire and garlic salt. Pretty good.

lemurcat12

execrate2k15 wrote: »

"looking to expand your rotation of side dishes" We do a lot of pasta and vegetables but I have noticed that pasta side dishes are to high in calories.

I never think of pasta as a side dish, but a main dish (or a one dish meal, often) that includes the veggies, meat or other protein, and starch. If you think of it that way the calories are quite reasonable, as long as you don't go nuts with the amount of pasta (or cheese, of course).

lemurcat12

Anyway, I tend to think of side dishes as of two kinds. First, whatever seems interesting to do with vegetables that day--I like roasting and sautéing and often having a mix rather than just one. Usually I don't do salad for dinner or have it in addition to cooked veggies (or sometimes put the cooked on the salad). Second, some kind of starch or starch substitute. This is the optional one, for me. If I want to cut the calories in a meal I replace it with a second or third veggie dish. Also the starch substitute may include what's really a veggie dish, like winter squash or roasted root veggies (carrots, turnips, parsnips, celeriac, beets, etc.). But quite often I have both veggie side dishes and a starch and just watch the portion size of the starch. (For the record, I'm including grains or grain-like foods as starches, so am referring here to corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, rice, barley, lentils or other legumes, etc.--basically any standard side-dish made up of something other than a non-starchy veg.)

Sometimes I do something like pasta or a stir-fry-like or stew where the side dish becomes part of the main dish and includes everything in one, and you can reduce the calories in these by using spaghetti squash or other winter squash or some other veg in the place of the pasta or rice, etc., but it's also just as easy to include the higher calorie starch if you prefer it and just modify serving sizes to have more veg and protein and less of the starchy portion. (This also makes me happy since as a kid I'd always be told that in with pasta one should use only a little sauce, whereas the sauce was my favorite part. Now I can make my veggie-heavy and delicious sauce and eat as much as I want on a little bit of pasta.)

fedup30

Steamed veggies, side salads, roasted potatoes....the possibilities are endless

SatiaRenee

execrate2k15 wrote: »

Can some one please post your ideas and recipes for Low calorie side dishes "Preferably home-made"
ie: No processed food

Thank you

I just posted a link to a free low fat recipe book in my stream. It may have some.
http://amzn.to/1E8yh3H

I try to share links to free books I find whenever I find them. If you don't have a kindle, you can always use the kindle app.

xbluehorusx

The easiest would be steamed/roasted veggies (brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, etc). If you like rice side dishes, I recommend making cauliflower rice in lieu of rice. I personally really like to make noodles out of zucchini, yellow squash, or sweet potatoes and cook that up and put a little goat cheese or feta cheese with some spices (Greek seasoning/ Italian seasoning/ whatever you want).

WinoGelato

I really like orzo as a side dish, mixed with a little lemon juice, olive oil, pine nuts, goat cheese, and whatever herbs I have on hand. I don't know if that meets your low cal criteria but I like it because it is good warm or cold.

My other favorite side, especially when weather warms up and we start grilling more, is a black bean and corn salad. There are lots of ways to make this based on what you have on hand, but I usually start with some version of this:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-and-corn-salad-ii/

This is another one that is great for leftovers (especially if you omit the avocado although I love the avocado in there).

carakirkey

rice noodles are a nice change, and not as high in calories as other starches.

execrate2k15

Wow There is some good info on this thread. "rice noodles" is a new one on me Ill have to look into this. Also "black bean and corn salad" sounds good and its been Years since I have had this. I appreciate all this info and I hope others will find it helpful as well.
Thank you

execrate2k15

"http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-and-corn-salad-ii/"
Bookmarked.

jgnatca

This week I prepared marinated pork chops on my George Foreman while the pasta boiled. On the crusty grill I put thin sliced bell pepper garlic and onion for a minute. Meanwhile I whipped low fat Philadelphia cheese with some Greek yogurt. The "cream sauce" I mixed in with the pasta and the veggies. Light "Alfredo".