Need ideas for 100 -200 snacks and 500 cal dinners What do you guys eat? I'm bored with the same

Karlayito1

Ok, so I've gained back the 17 lbs I lost two years ago. Feeling bored and stumped on food prepping. My go to snack cucumbers with lime and tajin is not so tasty anymore. But I really don't want to fall off the wagon. If only I didn't love sugar, bread and fat the way I do... I know if I did it once I can do it again. But it is so much more than calorie counting, it is truly a struggle when junk food and lack of discipline is an addiction:( any yummy healthy go to recipes. FYI mother of two full time college student g-u-l-p, want to be healthy, but lives cakes n chocolate, n wine

MelaniaTrump

Could you throw all the junk food away? Tell your kids if they want something, they have to get in their car and go get it and keep it out of your sight?

jenniferpiotrowski0

For when your tempted you could try healthy treats and desserts that are sugar free and just swap out bad stuff for good stuff. www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com has helped me a lot when looking for lower calorie options or if I have a sweet tooth. I'm not the type of person that's eating 100 percent clean cuz I feel that it doesn't work for me..if you can do that go for it. But as far as snacks go you can do apple slices with a peanut butter dip or a cheese stick,you make homemade healthier chips by baking corn tortillas and dipping them in salsa or something. Sometimes whole grain cereals are good to do for a snack and are usually 110 calories per 3/4 cup or a cup. You could do watermelon or any fruit. You could always switch to whole grains too since they are healthier so you wouldn't have to give up the pasta and bread

Michael190lbs

Move more you can eat what ever you desire.. My 2 cents. Mcdonalds meal $6 or 8 ounces of shrimp, or a good fish making the correct choice is key. If your a big eater like I am eat twice a day instead of multiple times a day. When I'm not cutting I typically eat two 1200-1500 calorie meals and am full all day. Mind you I bike 600 miles a month so adjust calories to activity.

debtay123

Have you tried stirfry- do not use oil but you Pam or Fry light something like that- or just use water or broth to stirfry your veggies- then you can use various proteins and sauces to make them different

dlkfox

For snacks, I love strawberries. I also like Oatmeal Squares cereal as a dry snack.

Wicked_Seraph

Karlayito1 wrote: »

Ok, so I've gained back the 17 lbs I lost two years ago. Feeling bored and stumped on food prepping. My go to snack cucumbers with lime and tajin is not so tasty anymore. But I really don't want to fall off the wagon. If only I didn't love sugar, bread and fat the way I do... I know if I did it once I can do it again. But it is so much more than calorie counting, it is truly a struggle when junk food and lack of discipline is an addiction:( any yummy healthy go to recipes. FYI mother of two full time college student g-u-l-p, want to be healthy, but lives cakes n chocolate, n wine

Just keep the foods you find problematic out of your house. I friggin' love Cheez-Its, but I don't have them in the apartment because I will easily devour an entire box within an hour or so. Your kids are college students - if they wanna eat something different, have them go and get it themselves.

You need to stop thinking of yourself as powerless against junk food. Remove its power. Track and weigh your food - this means you can have whatever you like, within a certain quantity. Remove those items that you know will derail your other good habits. Restock your house with treats you can enjoy: popcorn, rice cakes, pickles, fruit, and so forth.

The backbone of a low-cal meal is LOTS of veggies. If you make a stir-fry, focus on adding veggies and lean sources of protein as the focus. Veggies are wonderful as a means of bulking a meal without bulking its calorie content too much.

TR0berts

I find that protein bars can usually (although not always) satisfy sweet cravings. I particularly like Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe. 180 Cals, 21 g of protein.

tryett

I have 2 sons (age 22 and 23) who live with me. They are eating meals I prepare for dinner, I do add some additional sides for them and their portions are larger. Tonight we are having Caprese Chicken with a side of Angel Hair pasta. Last night we had Caramelized Onion and Bacon Smothered pork chops with Lima beans. Twice last week we had my version of Cashew Chicken twice, Red Curry Chicken and Caprese Chicken and they had Beef Stroganoff (homemade) and I had Beef Stir fry. We also had Chicken Dijonaise one night this week. Tomorrow night we are grilling strip steaks.

For snacks I do pick up some junk for them but it is usually stuff I don't like but they do. What I am finding is they are eating less if that and more of what I have around for me.

All of the dinners are around 500 calories or less.

suwala2t

Depending on how much cheese you do, this is my go to 500 cal meal. I get 5 servings out of it. http://www.melskitchencafe.com/cheesy-skillet-chicken-and-rice-with-green-beans/

ashleyShades

I like cottage cheese and fruit as a snack. Check Pinterest for whole 30 or 21 day fix meals. I'm not following either of those, but do like a lot of the recipes.

dashaclaire

Michael190lbs wrote: »

Move more you can eat what ever you desire.. My 2 cents. Mcdonalds meal $6 or 8 ounces of shrimp, or a good fish making the correct choice is key. If your a big eater like I am eat twice a day instead of multiple times a day. When I'm not cutting I typically eat two 1200-1500 calorie meals and am full all day. Mind you I bike 600 miles a month so adjust calories to activity.

A 190 pound man with big muscles who is bragging about how many calories HE gets to eat is NOT helpful! Does being more active earn you more calories? Sure it does! But you are eating roughly 2x what a woman who has less than twenty lbs to lose gets to eat... even if she works out a lot (because we burn less than you) she never going to lose weight eating 2400-3000 calories a day! You are just rubbing it in.

Now to what you asked for, OP:

Snacks:
-Apple Slices and a 35 cal laughing cow light swiss wedge
-Good Thins "the Potato One" Crackers 24 for 130 cals
-Popsicles I make with almond milk or cashew milk, instant pudding box (vanilla or chocolate) and banana slices (or any fruit you want) 50-60 cals a popsicle depending to the size of your molds
-Fiber One Brownie 90 cals (I microwave a few seconds to make it warm and fresh)
-Entenmann's original chocolate chip cookies 140 for 3 cookies (microwave trick)
-Weight control instant Oatmeal 160 cals


I feel your pain on the sweet tooth:)

Michael190lbs

dashaclaire wrote: »

Michael190lbs wrote: »

Move more you can eat what ever you desire.. My 2 cents. Mcdonalds meal $6 or 8 ounces of shrimp, or a good fish making the correct choice is key. If your a big eater like I am eat twice a day instead of multiple times a day. When I'm not cutting I typically eat two 1200-1500 calorie meals and am full all day. Mind you I bike 600 miles a month so adjust calories to activity.

A 190 pound man with big muscles who is bragging about how many calories HE gets to eat is NOT helpful! Does being more active earn you more calories? Sure it does! But you are eating roughly 2x what a woman who has less than twenty lbs to lose gets to eat... even if she works out a lot (because we burn less than you) she never going to lose weight eating 2400-3000 calories a day! You are just rubbing it in.

Now to what you asked for, OP:

Snacks:
-Apple Slices and a 35 cal laughing cow light swiss wedge
-Good Thins "the Potato One" Crackers 24 for 130 cals
-Popsicles I make with almond milk or cashew milk, instant pudding box (vanilla or chocolate) and banana slices (or any fruit you want) 50-60 cals a popsicle depending to the size of your molds
-Fiber One Brownie 90 cals (I microwave a few seconds to make it warm and fresh)
-Entenmann's original chocolate chip cookies 140 for 3 cookies (microwave trick)
-Weight control instant Oatmeal 160 cals


I feel your pain on the sweet tooth:)

Didn't think I was bragging and never told her to eat what I eat or the 3000 calories you state. My point was simply move more and you can eat more.

DancingMoosie

100 cal snacks: coca roast almonds, fiber one brownie, light Greek yogurt, banana, apple, quest cereal bar
For low-cal dinners I usually pair a lean protein with lots of veggies. You can add shirataki noodles to bulk it up without the calories.

DancingMoosie

Ooh, I forgot to add protein fluff, that's a fun snack!

BarbieAS

I really like the varieties of "skinny" (~35-45 calories/cup) popcorn for those times when I know I'm not truly hungry, and I've had a big glass of water and walked around to take my mind off it and waited 20 minutes and chewed a piece of gum, but I still can't shake the "I MUST have something sweet/salty to eat" feeling (usually right before bed). I do kettle corn for sweet cravings and usually white cheddar or salt and pepper for salty. You can have a big ol' bowl of it for ~100 calories, and if you eat it slowly (1 piece at a time) it can totally knock out a craving.

For dinners, most of my dinners are 500 calories or less unless I'm dining out or purposefully splurging. I've got a husband and 2 little kids, so a lot of the time our meals are a very standard protein/starch/vegetable. I find it really easy to stay <500 by mostly skipping the starch and just having the protein and vegetable. I go into dinner with the mentality that I'm going to have a "taste" but not a serving of the starch - 3 tater tots instead of 10-15, a spoonful of couscous or rice instead of 1/2C or more, etc (and yes I log it). That way I don't feel totally deprived of my beloved carbs but my meal still fits my macros (by the time I have my coffee in the morning and my fruit in the afternoon and pre-log my popcorn and eat my huge salad for lunch I'm usually almost out of carbs anyway).

Roadchickie

Michael190lbs wrote: »

dashaclaire wrote: »

Michael190lbs wrote: »

Move more you can eat what ever you desire.. My 2 cents. Mcdonalds meal $6 or 8 ounces of shrimp, or a good fish making the correct choice is key. If your a big eater like I am eat twice a day instead of multiple times a day. When I'm not cutting I typically eat two 1200-1500 calorie meals and am full all day. Mind you I bike 600 miles a month so adjust calories to activity.

A 190 pound man with big muscles who is bragging about how many calories HE gets to eat is NOT helpful! Does being more active earn you more calories? Sure it does! But you are eating roughly 2x what a woman who has less than twenty lbs to lose gets to eat... even if she works out a lot (because we burn less than you) she never going to lose weight eating 2400-3000 calories a day! You are just rubbing it in.

Now to what you asked for, OP:

Snacks:
-Apple Slices and a 35 cal laughing cow light swiss wedge
-Good Thins "the Potato One" Crackers 24 for 130 cals
-Popsicles I make with almond milk or cashew milk, instant pudding box (vanilla or chocolate) and banana slices (or any fruit you want) 50-60 cals a popsicle depending to the size of your molds
-Fiber One Brownie 90 cals (I microwave a few seconds to make it warm and fresh)
-Entenmann's original chocolate chip cookies 140 for 3 cookies (microwave trick)
-Weight control instant Oatmeal 160 cals


I feel your pain on the sweet tooth:)

Didn't think I was bragging and never told her to eat what I eat or the 3000 calories you state. My point was simply move more and you can eat more.

For what's it worth, I didn't think you were bragging in your reply at all. You're also correct...for the most part. However, move more/eat more only works if you're eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods. You can't out-run/out-move a crappy diet. So, the "eating more" should be of whole foods, not junk food.

To the OP - I love spiralized veggies with a lean protein for dinner. I can eat a whole bowl of zoodles (zucchini noodles), swoodles (sweet potato noodles), or roodles (rutabaga noodles) with some sauteed shrimp and cherry tomatoes in a tsp of ghee mixed with coconut aminos and red chilli paste and be well under 500 cals for dinner. You can make so many totally satisfying "pasta" meals - it's worth buying a spiralizer (you can get a decent one on Amazon for under $40). Also, broth soups with a variety of flavors will give you a lot of bang for your buck, especially if you add in a lot of veggies. Think Thai soups or blended soups using strong spices.

Another dinner option is an omelett. You can make one with one whole eggs and then liquid egg whites to cut down on calories. I add cottage cheese to mine (trust me, if you like cottage cheese, this is a delicious combo!) along with spinach, tomato and mushrooms. It always fills me up and for so little calories.

As for snacks, I typically grab a piece of fruit with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt or Kale chips (oil-free kind) with hot salsa. Boring but quick and easy. I'd rather save calories for meals, but that's just me.

Try exploring Pinterest if you haven't already and search "Whole 30" "Whole 9" "Pegan" "Paleo" "Vegan" and "Plant-based." You will be floored with the amount of creative, whole-food recipes that you can use as snacks and meals. Whole food will not only fill you up but it will keep you from the types of sugar loads/crashes junk food inevitably leads to. Nothing wrong with a little chocolate and wine, but just a little goes a long way!

cjw6

Hairy dieters fast food cookbook is great for calorie counted healthy dinners

Witchdoctor58

I like a huge salad with mesclun, shredded carrots, sun dried or fresh tomatoes, onion, feta, and whatever other fresh ingredients I have, like zucchini, cukes, avocado. Dressing is extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, with oregano. Mix with 1/2 cup legume and or corn, and add protein like chicken, salmon or tuna, egg, etc. When all is added up, it's about 500 calories or more, depending upon how much feta you use.