Substitutions -- Yes or No?

beachwoman2006

I've always said that I wasn't willing to give up anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to give up forever. I think you can, after all, sometimes teach a new dog new tricks.

Here are some of the things I've found I'm willing to SUBSTITUTE. To me, this is different than giving something up.

Butter -- I have never and never will use "fake" butter (think I Can't Believe It's Not Butter). I also don't use margarine. If I want butter, I want butter! But I've found that I like the light butter as well as the full-fat version. My favorite is Land-O-Lakes light butter.

Sour Cream -- I've recently discovered (thanks to my son) that light sour cream is just as tasty as the full-fat version.

Milk -- This isn't a new discovery. I had always used 2% milk until I switched to Core years ago and found that skim milk didn't cost me any points. Now that's all I drink.

I was at a friend's house recently and she gave me a small container of full-fat milk that some people had left after visiting. She doesn't drink milk at all so gave it to me. Yesterday morning I decided to have a bowl of cereal for breakfast (very unusual for me since I don't really like cereal in the morning). I didn't have any milk so decided to use that milk. It was like drinking cream! I had forgotten how different it tastes than low-fat milk. It's not that it was bad. But it's definitely not worth the difference in calories.

These are just a few that I've thought of. I'm sure there are others.

What about you? Any substitutions you've discovered that work well for you?

Out_of_Bubblegum

I'm more on the "No" side for substitutions at the ingredient level... If I am going to make a specific food that calls for a specific ingredient.. that's most likely what I'm going to use, unless trying for a "variation on the theme" which for me, is more about taste than calorie reduction.

However, I do substitute quantity of my choices, and quantity for quality.

Instead of a small salad and large steak... I eat a large salad, and a small steak.
Instead of cramming desert into an already full stomach, I eat a smaller portion if I want something sweet.
Instead of eating a piece of chocolate pie, I eat a square of high quality dark chocolate.
Instead of a 2nd glass of milk at dinner, water or iced tea.

DavidKuhnsSr

Well, I substitute for some things. I, too, have found I can't taste the difference so I go with light sour cream and low fat cottage cheese. I do use margarine for some baking, but that is because butter has more water content and it affects how some cookies, etc., come out. For health, I stick to butter, on everything else. Really, I stay away from all the "diet" stuff. I use sugar, whole eggs, and whole milk. I buy half and half for my coffee., eat some chocolate every day, enjoy some bacon, now and then, and have stayed below goal for more than eight years. Just a matter of attention, not sacrifice.

88olds

Egg beaters. When I started and was counting points, the WW book said 1/4 cup was 1 pt. Then I crunched the numbers on the Costco brand we had and found out I could get 1/2 cup for 1 pt.

Then I'd get some veggies and a WW English muffin that I think was 2 pts. And, get this, sugar free jam. I think it was a freebie.

I was living large on 3 pts.

Except for milk, I couldn't stand FF dairy. But the LF was good enough for everything else.

I'd try anything to save a point. Well, odd but after drinking it by the bucket for years, no lite beer. Real beer or no beer.

beachwoman2006

DavidKuhnsSr wrote: »

Well, I substitute for some things. I, too, have found I can't taste the difference so I go with light sour cream and low fat cottage cheese. I do use margarine for some baking, but that is because butter has more water content and it affects how some cookies, etc., come out.

Actually it's just the opposite. If a recipe (cookies, cakes, etc) calls for butter, using margarine can alter the outcome greatly. Real butter is nothing but cream so has almost no water content. Look at the ingredients on your margarine container and compare them to the list of ingredients on the butter container. Light butter does have some water. But full-fat butter doesn't.

That's the one time I *DO* use full-fat butter -- where it's called for in recipes for desserts.

beachwoman2006

I don't do Egg Beaters. Ever. Everyone is different, but I can definitely tell a difference with them and I don't like them. So I don't use them.

88olds

I only do real eggs now. And plenty of them. Think its kind of funny, for years the only thing worse than a whole egg was a cigarette. Now eggs are health food.

Just saying that when I was losing, I would try anything if I thought it get the scale to go down. Sugar free jam= YUK!

countcurt

Hmm...

I frequently substitute 2% greek yogurt for sour cream. I find this to have a better taste and mouth feel than lite sour cream.

I substitute turkey pepperoni for traditional. Particularly in cooked dishes where it doesn't let off a lot of grease.

I don't consider skim milk to be a substution although I usually prefer it to other milks. I find it more thirst quenching. Once in awhile I find a 2% just seems to hit the spot.

I don't do egg beaters either, although I will add a couple of egg whites to a frittata.

I don't use 'low-fat' salad dressings, although I have found that a really good quality balsamic vinegar allows for much less oil to be used.

I substutute chicken tenders for chicken wings for buffalo chicken. This works out really well because I don't like eating the wings- too messy.

*****Some things I don't substutute:

Butter. Only the real thing will do.
Pasta- if we're having spaghetti, we're not having squash. I like spaghetti squash but I prefer to think of it as the tasty vegetable it is.
Cheez-its (or any other cracker)- never with the reduced fat version. Ick.
Half and Half- I drink hot coffee black, but I like a splash of the real thing in iced coffee. Doesn't require much, but skim milk would never cut it.

podkey

My trick is to like them (oŕ not) for their own flavors and mostly don't compare. I like tacos made with various hot sauce real cheese fat free yogurt and 99% fatfeee ground turķey breast. Less greasy,nice taste . I like fatfree yogurt w green taco sauce on potatoes too. I only use real butter when I want it. I usually prefer taste of FF yogurt to sour cream .
I too add extra egg whites to whole eggs but not eggbeaters.
Portion control but real chocolate and craft beer.
Not a lot of sweets but no artificial sweeteners except rare diet coke . Tried low point bread but hated the artificial sweeteners so use real bread for lunch but just one slice cut in half for my sandwich.
A friend likes coleslaw shredded with India red curry sauce. Another with kohlrabi cooked and spritzed w oil and seasoning but don't think of it as white rice per se.

podkey

Oh and real prime rib or rib eye rare thank- you. Not often or large amount but real deal. And real bacon foŕ a small treat. Two BĹTs most summers with homegrown tomatoes more or less.

minimyzeme

bwmalone wrote: »

I'm more on the "No" side for substitutions...

However, I do substitute quantity of my choices...

Along these lines for me. I do have a substitutions or two, but for the most part, I enjoy the flavors of the real deal and can usually be satisfied with less of it than its substitute (whatever it is).

The only exception I can think of is that now I eat fat-free (or largely so) deli meats--something I never did pre-WW.

Rachel0778

I'm allergic to milk so I have to sub Almond Milk. I'm just sad the protein level is so low (I try to limit soy).

Oddly enough I can do yogurt and hard cheeses. I'm okay subbing fat free yogurt, but fat free cheese is just sadness in a slice so I stick with the real stuff.

I sub ingredients all the time in baking. I add pumpkin to chocolate cake, greek yogurt to vanilla cake, and black beans in my brownies. I oftentimes get complimented on how moist my cakes/brownies are and I think that's why.

I know a lot of people hate sugar free stuff, but I don't mind it. I do a lot of Crystal Light because it makes me happy. If they find out it's poison I'm screwed, but since aspartame has been around since the 70s I'm feeling pretty safe about it.

I'll do low fat dressings (but not fat free!). I'm also okay with doing lean cuts of meat, but I don't count that as a substitution since I would have likely made that choice anyways.

And I'll sub Halo Top all day any day for regular ice cream. I love that stuff!

myallforjcbill

I am used to Non Dat milk for cereal. Like others lite sour cream is any easy substitute. We go use lite mayo and a reduced sugar ketchup when available. We use alot of 0% Greek yogurt which works well. For baking and cooking I use butter for the flavor and margarine doesn't bake as well. We do use Smart Balance Light on toast when I don't use a bit of marmalade or preserves.

misterhub

Butter - I only use real butter. If I am going to use a fat, I'll use a real one.
Milk - Depends on what I need it for. I don't typically drink milk. Not that I don't like milk, I just seldom have the desire to drink it. For baking and cooking, I tend to use full-fat or buttermilk. For cereal, I use 2% or skim.
Sour cream - Light is fine.
Eggs - Real eggs only.
Most everything I use the full fat version. I just limit the portion size.

MurpleCat

Milk - 1% if at all
Cheese - I'll use the kind made from 2% milk but not fat-free
Sweeteners - I drink Diet Coke, Crystal Lite, etc.
Light sour cream
Low carb tortillas
Egg beaters
Splenda/Sugar blend for some things
Sugar-free cough drops (more for diabetes than calorie reasons)

0ysterboy

Have you guys tried Halo-Top?

MurpleCat

Oh yeah, forgot about that. Love me some Halo-Top although its expensive!

beachwoman2006

I need to find Halo-Top. The grocery store here on the island doesn't have it. I'll have to look at Harris-Teeter and/or Lowe's the next time I go across the bridge.

Some of the posts here have reminded me of some other things.

Fat-free cottage cheese -- I found that I prefer it over full-fat or reduced-fat
Turkey pepperoni -- I've been using it so long that I forgot about it. I found a long time ago that I preferred the taste and texture. Plus they don't leave my pizza swimming in grease.
Chicken tenders for wings -- I've even found a sports bar here that uses them (if you ask). They call them "boneless chicken wings".

Al_Howard

Cindy, see if you can get Enlightened ice cream. I hear it's darn good too.

imastar2

Yes Fat Free Sour Cream
Yes Skim Milk
Yes Frozen Yogurt in stead of Ice cream.
Yes FF Plain Greek Yogurt
Yes Egg Whites
Yes Sweet n Low
No on Diet Sodas Just drink water or tea
No on Jams
No on Honey
Yes Light Multigrain and Wheat Breads
Fruits and Vegetables all fresh or raw. No canned anything.
Yes on Some Salad Dressings

podkey

Chicken tenders sounds good. I don't like fighting the bones that much.

MurpleCat

I didn't realize boneless chicken wings weren't common elsewhere in the country; many places here offer the choice. I suspect restaurants don't want to deal with all the mess either!

beachwoman2006

MurpleCat wrote: »

I didn't realize boneless chicken wings weren't common elsewhere in the country; many places here offer the choice. I suspect restaurants don't want to deal with all the mess either!

I've found that more places are offering them around here.