Please explain: HOW do you make it fit your calories?

pebble4321

I'm on my own a lot at the moment as my husband is working away for four weeks at time. So I understand the dilemma around enjoying a little bit of a treat without wasting the rest. I have a few strategies:

- I buy or make smaller quantities if possible. For example, I made hommus a while ago and didn't use it all, so had to throw some away which annoyed me. Next time I will open a tin of chickpeas, make a half quantity and then either use the remaining chickpeas in a casserole or other meal or put them in the freezer for another day.
Or if I'm buying dip, I buy a smaller container. Once I open it, I portion out the amount I want, then make an effort to include that item in my meals for the next few days - eg, take some to work with veggies for a snack instead of taking a muesli bar or fruit.

- Over easter, I wanted hot cross buns (yum!) for breakfast but instead of buying a 6 pack from the supermarket I bought 2 single ones from the bakery. Yes, this is a little more expensive, but I didn't waste anything.

- Crackers or other purchased biscuits are fine for ages if they are in an airtight container. I've spent a bit on well-sealed containers recently so things don't get wasted.

- If I bake treats (like brownies or muffins) I put the rest in the freezer. Maybe you need to rethink your baking and choose things that freeze well (eg. brownies, they are great frozen!) or that can be reheated in the micro for a few seconds (eg. muffins) to freshen them up a little.

- I love homemade bread - so if I make it, I just pay attention to what I'm going to eat that week and include a bit more bread so it doesn't get wasted. The last batch I made was fig, hazelnut and fennel bread and it was delicious! I ate some fresh, took some to work as a snack, and used up the last few pieces in a bread pudding - it made three servings of dessert so I ate it over three days.
- I also want to experiment with freezing unbaked dough so I can cook just a little bit of bread at a time. If anyone has suggestions or info on this, I'd love to hear it!

- Sometimes in the past I've cooked treats when I have a function happening - so I left a few brownies at home for me, a couple in the freezer for later and took the rest to the party. Or I know I could take the leftovers to work, everyone would be very happy!

- I usually only cook dessert when I have visitors coming for a meal. That way I can enjoy some treats but I don't have too many left.

- Wine doesn't go off in a hurry. I usually use a bit in cooking (included in my recipes in the recipe builder!) so that's where my leftovers go.

Overall, I think the key is around planning - cook things in quantities that you can enjoy in moderation, and either find a way to store the surplus or to share them around. Spread the love!

lorrpb

pebble4321 wrote: »

I'm on my own a lot at the moment as my husband is working away for four weeks at time. So I understand the dilemma around enjoying a little bit of a treat without wasting the rest. I have a few strategies:

- I buy or make smaller quantities if possible. For example, I made hommus a while ago and didn't use it all, so had to throw some away which annoyed me. Next time I will open a tin of chickpeas, make a half quantity and then either use the remaining chickpeas in a casserole or other meal or put them in the freezer for another day.
Or if I'm buying dip, I buy a smaller container. Once I open it, I portion out the amount I want, then make an effort to include that item in my meals for the next few days - eg, take some to work with veggies for a snack instead of taking a muesli bar or fruit.

- Over easter, I wanted hot cross buns (yum!) for breakfast but instead of buying a 6 pack from the supermarket I bought 2 single ones from the bakery. Yes, this is a little more expensive, but I didn't waste anything.

- Crackers or other purchased biscuits are fine for ages if they are in an airtight container. I've spent a bit on well-sealed containers recently so things don't get wasted.

- If I bake treats (like brownies or muffins) I put the rest in the freezer. Maybe you need to rethink your baking and choose things that freeze well (eg. brownies, they are great frozen!) or that can be reheated in the micro for a few seconds (eg. muffins) to freshen them up a little.

- I love homemade bread - so if I make it, I just pay attention to what I'm going to eat that week and include a bit more bread so it doesn't get wasted. The last batch I made was fig, hazelnut and fennel bread and it was delicious! I ate some fresh, took some to work as a snack, and used up the last few pieces in a bread pudding - it made three servings of dessert so I ate it over three days.
- I also want to experiment with freezing unbaked dough so I can cook just a little bit of bread at a time. If anyone has suggestions or info on this, I'd love to hear it!

- Sometimes in the past I've cooked treats when I have a function happening - so I left a few brownies at home for me, a couple in the freezer for later and took the rest to the party. Or I know I could take the leftovers to work, everyone would be very happy!

- I usually only cook dessert when I have visitors coming for a meal. That way I can enjoy some treats but I don't have too many left.

- Wine doesn't go off in a hurry. I usually use a bit in cooking (included in my recipes in the recipe builder!) so that's where my leftovers go.

Overall, I think the key is around planning - cook things in quantities that you can enjoy in moderation, and either find a way to store the surplus or to share them around. Spread the love!

These are really good tips. Mostly I guess I need to get over my fear of freezing things.

rankinsect

Chips and dip - I don't use dip, but I have a lot of chips. If you clip the bag shut they last just fine for weeks. Not a problem to get rid of them. If I did use dip I'd either refrigerate or freeze the rest, or make smaller portions.

Bread and cake - for bread, which I love to make, I usually plan one or two sandwiches a day until it's gone. Yeah, it's a lot of sandwiches, but homemade bread is so dang good I don't mind. Even without preservatives I don't have a problem with refrigerating it for a week, don't even need to freeze unless it's longer.

For cake, one piece a day until it's gone. I portion my cakes (scale down recipe and pan size) until I get no more than eight pieces. I actually don't have a problem with my cakes after eight days, but I'll refrigerate and I make cakes that stay moist. Don't really have a problem with mold in only 8 days.

For cinnamon rolls, again I'd plan for a portion size I could finish in a week or so.

cwolfman13

lorrpb wrote: »

Lots of people say you can eat any food you want as long as it fits within your calorie goal. I understand the concept but How, in reality, do you do this? Please be specific. For example:

Potato chips & dip. If you eat 10 chips and a spoonful of dip, do you throw out the rest?

A package of cinnamon rolls. You have one or split one, do you let the rest go to waste? Even if I planned one per day, which I don't necessarily want to do, they would go stale first.

A glass of wine at home-do you keep the unused portion of the bottle on hand for weeks or months, then throw it out when it gets too old?

A cake or pie-you have one small piece that you want, then throw out the rest?
A loaf of homemade bread, you have one or two slices then the rest goes stale?

There are only two of us & we're both watching what and how much we eat, so its not like I would just nibble off a stash that someone else will eat up.

Helpful suggestions only, please. No sarcasm and no attacks. Thx.

A bag of potato chips is going to be fine for quite awhile if you seal it back up...but when we do chips we tend to get the small snack bags. I generally indulge in this kind of stuff when I'm camping or something...rarely at home.

For a cinnamon roll, I'm likely to walk down to the bakery down the street and get a fresh one...but this would be extremely infrequent for me...so much so that I wouldn't even worry about whether or not it "fit".

I drink wine pretty regularly...that's factored into most days.

I'm not a big cake or pie guy so really, I only eat it when someone else is providing it for a birthday or whatever special occasion...usually if someone leaves it behind like my mom did at Easter, it goes stale and gets tossed...just not a big cake and pie guy.

We like to make sourdough at home and we eat it regularly. Sometimes I'll have some sourdough toast in lieu of my oats for example...or I'll take a sandwich for lunch...or we'll have a slice or two with our soup, etc. We eat a variety of carbs from oats, lentils, legumes, potatoes, quinoa, etc and bread fits right in there with those.