What Are Your Food Alternatives

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13

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  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    maybe turkey bacon...but all things are in play within your calorie goal.

    I refuse!!! I have a feeling it just wouldn't taste as good. Hahaha.

    i eat turkey bacon almost every day. I agree it doesn't taste exactly like bacon, but it does taste pretty good. Jennie-O and Oscar Mayer brands are the best. I also have been eating egg whites instead of regular eggs to bring down my cholesterol levels.

    No it doesn't.
    latest?cb=20130617053335
  • 808Trish808
    808Trish808 Posts: 122 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    maybe turkey bacon...but all things are in play within your calorie goal.

    I refuse!!! I have a feeling it just wouldn't taste as good. Hahaha.

    i eat turkey bacon almost every day. I agree it doesn't taste exactly like bacon, but it does taste pretty good. Jennie-O and Oscar Mayer brands are the best. I also have been eating egg whites instead of regular eggs to bring down my cholesterol levels.

    No it doesn't.
    latest?cb=20130617053335

    well that's your opinion. I happen to like it alot
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Do you guys have any go to alternatives for the not so healthy food you love?

    Instead of potato chips what do you have?

    Multibag packs of chips, not the big family bags ...my go to are Walkers Pops smokey bacon and cheese and Quavers (both under 90 cals) I also like basic Walkers multipacks (130 cals)


    Instead of a chocolate bar what do you have?
    A chocolate bar or a few pieces of dark chocolate or strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and left to set, or a nestle fab ice lolly (all around 100)

    Instead of bacon wh....there is no substitute for bacon! :'(

    Bacon ..2 grilled back bacon rashers are 120 calories


    Would love to know your healthy alternatives.

    But old pile of no need for substitutes
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Do you guys have any go to alternatives for the not so healthy food you love?

    Instead of potato chips what do you have?
    Instead of a chocolate bar what do you have?
    Instead of bacon wh....there is no substitute for bacon! :'(

    Would love to know your healthy alternatives.

    Never been a big potato chip eater. I do have popcorn regularly.
    I have a stash of dark chocolate kisses. When I want chocolate I have one of those.
    I am not big on eating bacon. When I want bacon, I just have regular bacon. I don't hate turkey bacon but it isn't as good in most cases.

    I might susbstitute milk for cream in a recipe... reduce oil or salt in a recipe. Use less cheese in a recipe.
    I would choose spinach instead of iceburg lettuce. I don't think iceburg lettuce is unhealthy but it doesn't have as much flavor or nutrients as darker greens.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
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    Do you guys have any go to alternatives for the not so healthy food you love?

    Instead of potato chips what do you have?
    Instead of a chocolate bar what do you have?
    Instead of bacon wh....there is no substitute for bacon! :'(

    Would love to know your healthy alternatives.

    1) Parsnip chips
    2) Dark chocolate - 90% and above. The more bitter the less I'm able to binge eat it.
    3) Bacon, just plain regular ol bacon!
    4) Instead of mashed potatoes - Mashed cauliflower whipped with garlic, cream cheese and butter. More vitamins, more fiber, more filling and better for you.
    5) Instead of take out pizza - Fathead pizza, or if you're not doing low carb, mini pizzas using english muffins as the "dough". So easy and better for you.
    6) Instead of wheat spaghetti - spaghetti squash. Bake the whole thing for an hour, then chop it in 1/2 and scoop out "spaghetti". I pan fried it in garlic and butter once I had scooped it all out and it was delicious.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
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    ktekc wrote: »
    My problem with the frozen banana thing instead of ice cream is by the times you have added the granola and whatnot so it dosent just taste like banana there is more calories in it than the ice cream you were trying to avoid.

    Not the same amount though. I use frozen bananas, frozen berries and mango then add a mix of seeds/nuts/dried fruit that's 210g altogether for 223 calories. Most ice creams are a lot more calories for 210g of ice cream.
  • NicoleMichael62
    NicoleMichael62 Posts: 50 Member
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    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    4) Instead of mashed potatoes - Mashed cauliflower whipped with garlic, cream cheese and butter. More vitamins, more fiber, more filling and better for you.

    That sounds so unique. I have never tried mashed cauliflower. Is the consistency and texture just like mashed potato?
  • tayloranne98
    tayloranne98 Posts: 8 Member
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    chocolate rice cakes with peanut butter on top...delicious!!!
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    edited September 2016
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    @NicoleMichael62 It tastes similar if you add enough cream cheese, yes. I liked it more than mashed potatoes. I chop up a whole head and steam it in the microwave on high for 10 mins at a time until I can poke it with a fork and it easily goes through a piece. Then I put it in a food processor with garlic powder, salt and add at least 4oz of cream cheese, adding more if needed until it's fluffy and there's no lumps left. Once it tastes right I add chives at the end and put it away - it makes a huge container and lasts me about a week.

    Here's a recipe for it: http://www.food.com/recipe/mashed-cauliflower-with-cream-cheese-511772

    You can also make a mock version of Mac n cheese with cauliflower instead of the noodles! I haven't tried that one yet but I need to because I love Mac n cheese.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    4) Instead of mashed potatoes - Mashed cauliflower whipped with garlic, cream cheese and butter. More vitamins, more fiber, more filling and better for you.

    That sounds so unique. I have never tried mashed cauliflower. Is the consistency and texture just like mashed potato?

    No. It lacks the starchiness that makes mashed potatoes what they are, so it's not a successful substitute. And it tastes of cauliflower, not potatoes. It's good though if what you want is cauliflower.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I don't think of things as substitutes. Some foods I do have rarely (like chips) whereas other similar foods (like roasted potatoes) I have more often, but roasted potatoes aren't supposed to be chip replacements. Chocolate I have when I want it, but smaller pieces of high quality chocolate (or a serving of chocolate ice cream/gelato when I have the calories). I also have some low cal unsweetened ground chocolate that makes a coffee-like drink that's reasonably low in calories--that's more a hot drink then a chocolate fix thing, though. Bacon I can usually take or leave, but if I want it, I have it. Like others have said, it's not that hard to fit in (less so than I used to think when I used the wrong entry, since mine doesn't come in a package).

    I sometimes choose to go with lower cal options like winter squash instead of pasta as a base for a pasta sauce, or a lower cal root veg or another veg option instead of something like potatoes, but again this isn't as a replacement -- just another option I also like that happens to have fewer calories.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    ouryve wrote: »
    I don't substitute anything. I just have the high calorie stuff less often and don't have seconds.

    And I make a point of only having the"treat" foods I really love. If someone is handing round mediocre chocolates, I can happily decline. Before, I'd have taken a few and probably eaten them all, even if I didn't enjoy them.

    Yes, this!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    4) Instead of mashed potatoes - Mashed cauliflower whipped with garlic, cream cheese and butter. More vitamins, more fiber, more filling and better for you.

    That sounds so unique. I have never tried mashed cauliflower. Is the consistency and texture just like mashed potato?

    No. It lacks the starchiness that makes mashed potatoes what they are, so it's not a successful substitute. And it tastes of cauliflower, not potatoes. It's good though if what you want is cauliflower.

    Although I personally think cauliflower tastes better non-mashed (and I like cauliflower just as much as I like potatoes -- both are delicious, just different). I am always mystified by the effort to make a perfectly good food like cauliflower dress up like other foods that it's not really like. If you think potatoes are too many calories, eat less of them or eat something else, don't pretend like the something else is potatoes, IMO. But of course everyone is different, I just don't get it. It's like cauliflower isn't good enough unless it's masquerading as something else.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
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    It's so good when it's done up like potatoes! I like it because it fits my macros and my calorie goals - potatoes don't. This thread is about alternatives so that is one of my favorite alternatives. It does make a good snack raw on it's own too though.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Do you guys have any go to alternatives for the not so healthy food you love?

    Instead of potato chips what do you have?

    Multibag packs of chips, not the big family bags ...my go to are Walkers Pops smokey bacon and cheese and Quavers (both under 90 cals) I also like basic Walkers multipacks (130 cals)


    Instead of a chocolate bar what do you have?
    A chocolate bar or a few pieces of dark chocolate or strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and left to set, or a nestle fab ice lolly (all around 100)

    Instead of bacon wh....there is no substitute for bacon! :'(

    Bacon ..2 grilled back bacon rashers are 120 calories


    Would love to know your healthy alternatives.

    But old pile of no need for substitutes

    Quavers! Now I must get some for my snack stash. Currently got Space Raiders in there.
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Do you guys have any go to alternatives for the not so healthy food you love?

    Instead of potato chips what do you have?
    Instead of a chocolate bar what do you have?
    Instead of bacon wh....there is no substitute for bacon! :'(

    Would love to know your healthy alternatives.


    5) Instead of take out pizza - Fathead pizza, or if you're not doing low carb, mini pizzas using english muffins as the "dough". So easy and better for you.

    What makes the flour, yeast, salt and water in an English muffin better for you than the flour, yeast, salt and water in pizza dough?

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Also, I am always pleasantly surprised by how much mashed potato I can have! As long as it isn't 1 part potato to 1 part butter that is. I don't eat potatoes much, not my go to but I sometimes get a Gousto/Hello Fresh box with a recipe with mash and am always astonished at the volume of mash.

    Also, when making cauliflower into mash, don't you have to boil it to 80s levels of mush and therefore lose all of the nutrients?

    I am here in defense of the humble tatty!
  • mordant57
    mordant57 Posts: 58 Member
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    I don't have a lot of them, but often do pork rinds instead of chips. Satisfyingly crunchy, no carb and high protein!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Also, I am always pleasantly surprised by how much mashed potato I can have! As long as it isn't 1 part potato to 1 part butter that is. I don't eat potatoes much, not my go to but I sometimes get a Gousto/Hello Fresh box with a recipe with mash and am always astonished at the volume of mash.

    Also, when making cauliflower into mash, don't you have to boil it to 80s levels of mush and therefore lose all of the nutrients?

    I am here in defense of the humble tatty!

    I agree mashed potatoes are only "scary" because of all the butter, but I do like a cauliflower mash sometimes when I want lower calorie cauliflower that is other than roasted (all the other variations I adore are pretty high in calories). I have learned the hard way that boiling is a big no. The result is a watery grainy cauliflower "soup". Microwave is the way to go.
  • Catawampous
    Catawampous Posts: 447 Member
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    For me ... no chips. If I eat chips I turn into Mrs. Potatohead in the closet stuffing my face with a whole bag of them. LARGE family sized bag. Don't know what the deal is with those but I can't touch them. I have no control.

    The rest, I eat! Mmmmm bacon!!
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,987 Member
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    I love salty snacks, so transitioned from chips...to pretzels...then to pickles and olives for my daily salt fix.

    Dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate because I tend to eat less and more slowly.

    Unsweetened iced tea instead of lemonade.

    Wine instead of margaritas.

    Mind you, I still sometimes eat all those "bad" things, just not as often.