Unusual food combos that replace other things

lilyhall39

I had cold cooked green beans as a dipper for hummus instead of bread, or chips. The crispness of the bean had a similar snap of a chip, and the green bean is relatively tasteless so the hummus really comes through.

AlyssaPetsDogs

I use celery as the vehicle for all my favorite dips (ranch dip, buffalo chicken dip etc). I may have to try green beans now! Celery isn’t really unusual either!

I’m curious to see what other people say though!

lightenup2016

Nothing new, but zoodles in place of spaghetti. They don't have the same consistency, but everything else about them makes them go fine with pasta sauce and Parmesan, at least for me. Sometimes I'll have that as a side, along with a smaller portion of pasta than I would normally have.

JennJ323

Not very unusual foods, but it's different (and yummy). I love chicken salad sandwiches, but chicken salad can be high calorie/fat so to cut calories somewhere I use celery sticks as a spoon to eat it, instead of making a sandwich. So I get a bite of chicken salad & celery each time. It's quite good!

MonaLisaLianne

Sliced zucchini (cut width-wise) makes a good substitute for lasagna noodles, or corn tortillas in enchiladas.

jennifer_417

I love spaghetti squash in lieu of real pasta.

Alidecker

I used to like my tuna salad on crackers, the calories of those crackers added up. I started eating it on sliced cucumbers. As long as it was a good fresh cucumber, it gave me the crunch I wanted.

mbaker566

tuna salad and celery. idk if it's odd

aligazali3497

Lettuce instead of rice.
Well, I still have rice just less of a portion just lettuce. This makes me feel like I have a lot more rice then I really do. I do this with both fish and chicken, not steak.
This helped me with my biggest hurdle, how much rice I eat (700 Cals a day...)

kam3190

JennJ323 wrote: »

Not very unusual foods, but it's different (and yummy). I love chicken salad sandwiches, but chicken salad can be high calorie/fat so to cut calories somewhere I use celery sticks as a spoon to eat it, instead of making a sandwich. So I get a bite of chicken salad & celery each time. It's quite good!

I do this exact thing with carrots. It's so yummy and it gives a great crunch. Same with tuna salad

plythacur

I guess I’ve always eaten hummus and dips with veggies, so that one isn’t too odd to me. I add sautéed mushrooms and/or beets to Italian red meat sauces to bulk them up and sneak in some extra veggies. Shirataki noodles instead of ramen noodles in soup. Sour cream or Greek yogurt instead of mayo in chicken salad, artichoke dip, etc. Apple slices instead of crackers for cheese.

corinasue1143

Chicken salad on apple slices
Fruit crisp with very little crisp for dessert instead of cake, pie, cobbler

2fine1

Great substitutes for traditional pasta include green lentil or black bean pastas. I use the brand name "Tolerant" and have found them excellent! Each one is organic and loaded with protein and fiber.

contact5885

We like to take lentils and mix in sloppy Joe mix...We call them sloppy lennys. It's good on bread or really just plain. I will throw an egg over the leftovers in the morning which gives you even more protein to add to the lentils.

laur357

I add black beans to ground beef or white beans to chicken when I'm making tacos and enchiladas. Not necessarily because the calories are way less, but for more filling fiber.

MonkeyMel21

Sparkling water and lime juice with my spiced rum instead of coke!

Fitnessgirl0913

I will slice beets with my mandolin, coat them in apple cider vinegar and a little salt and roast them in the oven and eat them like chips. They really hit the spot when I need a crunch and I LOVE vinegar so that makes them extra satisfying for me.

no1racefan1

I recently saw an idea to bake pepperoni in the broiler to make pepperoni chips. I tried it with my turkey pepperoni and it turned out delish! Chips are my #1 weakness, so I'm always looking for something crunchy to fill that hole. I don't like raw veggies so they don't work for me.

Also, I got sick of my local supermarkets never stocking non-dairy yogurt because I like that with fruit and nuts for breakfast. So this morning I pureed a banana with some peanut butter and a little almond milk. It was close to the consistency of yogurt and I topped it with nuts. It was good but not great--I'll keep experimenting

lporter229

Being gluten free, I have gotten pretty good at this. I think my most creative was using sliced polenta (aka mush) from a tube in place of bread for an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. I have also made sandwiches using roasted sliced eggplant.

pinggolfer96

no1racefan1 wrote: »

I recently saw an idea to bake pepperoni in the broiler to make pepperoni chips. I tried it with my turkey pepperoni and it turned out delish! Chips are my #1 weakness, so I'm always looking for something crunchy to fill that hole. I don't like raw veggies so they don't work for me.

Also, I got sick of my local supermarkets never stocking non-dairy yogurt because I like that with fruit and nuts for breakfast. So this morning I pureed a banana with some peanut butter and a little almond milk. It was close to the consistency of yogurt and I topped it with nuts. It was good but not great--I'll keep experimenting

You should try chicaronnes if you like doing this

pinggolfer96

Nori wraps instead of bread is bombbbb during a cut. The saltiness goes well when stuffed with avocado and veggies

lightenup2016

We like to make pizzas using flour tortillas for the crust. They make a nice thin, lower cal crust, and cook in about 10 minutes. I can have a whole one for about 300 cal, depending on toppings.

I know there's cauliflower pizza crust, but I haven't tried that yet. Cauliflower rice is surprisingly good!

nicholahmola

I am always looking for ways to cut calories but maintain flavor. With hummus, I dip raw sugar snap peas- very crunchy. Also, pb2 (a must) instead of real peanut butter. Bagel thins versus normal bagels save approx. 130 calories per bagel. For salad dressings I use just vinegar, no oil, which can add up in cals, and load up on spices/herbs for flavor. Agree with PP regarding cauli rice. It is a great substitute for normal rice.

natalieann204

Beets instead of potatoes in beef stew.
Sauteed bagged coleslaw mix with sauces, chilli, etc instead of rice.

canadianlbs

fresh orange chunks in oatmeal instead of the milk and sugar. not a calorie-cutting thing when i came up with it, just a pregnancy workaround. nothing else except oatmeal killed my hungries, and i have never got along nicely with milk.

it's surprisingly good so long as you dont' have the oatmeal so hot that it actually cooks the oranges. because steamed or boiled orange is weird.

babysaffy

A sweet swap I discovered recently is instead of a 250+ cal individual apple pie, I add a teaspoon or tablespoon of apple sauce on top of a plain rich tea biscuit (cookie to Americans lol) and it tastes really similar yet comes in at around 60/70 cals or less

RamboKitty87

Quark or cottage cheese or even both mixed with tuna instead of mayo, I also mix quark or cottage cheese or both into my veggies with a little seasoning which make them super tasty in my opinion, not unusual to me but others I have told have said its weird lol trying to think of other things....

foreverhealthy3

I just tried air fried or oven baked seasoned chickpeas as a snack or substitute for peanuts, nice protein,being a bean and small amount needed for snacking. so many seasoned recipes to try. Good as tossed salad topper

cloudspirit55

I do use the zoodles they're okay I would like to try spaghetti squash it looks and sounds really good. Cauliflower rice I'm surprised I didn't think it would be that good as a rice substitute but it is really like it better than using regular rice.

what I really like is to take raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds place them on a cookie sheet and slow roast them after coating them in a little sea salt and different seasonings that I like it varies according to what I feel like at the time. very the flavoring according to what I am feeling like at the time. The the only calories is in the sees themselves which can be a little high at times so I just have about a fourth of a cup As a treat and within my calorie limit for the day but all they taste so good when you do it yourself and I like that slow roasted taste. I even eat themsometimes when their still a little still warm They taste so good I'm not a huge snacker so I don't have too much of problem with overdoing treats.

raeannmoss7861

Since zucchini lasagna was mentioned previously it reminded me of the zucchini pizza bite I used to make.

Delicious-- Slice zucchini into half inch circles, top with favorite pizza sauce, cheese and normal toppings. I usually go traditional with mozzarella and a lower fat turkey pepperoni. Bake at 375 for 8-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Not finger food!

Kelkat405

I use frozen fruit (with juices after thawed), on my salad instead of dressing