What are your favourite, unexpectedly low calorie comfort foods?

sportynad9

Hi,

I am always on the lookout of the little gems we find when on a low calorie or maintenance lifestyle. What do you eat when you get these cravings or are having a day that could easily turn into a binge eating day? Where do you go to eat out? Have you found any restaurants that have very satisfying dishes that are fairly low calorie?
I'm a vegetarian, so I am finding it quite hard at times to stay within my calorie boundaries. The piece of meat that I used to have when I was younger which used to fill me up a lot has been replaced with carbs in recent years and let to some excess weight that I'd like to lose.

So every now and then I come across these dishes/food products that are surprisingly good, satisfying and (for my standard) fairly low in calories.

Here are my favourites (UK based):

M&S ultra thin wood fired mozzarella di bufala pizza [/b]- 468 calories (I tend to top it with some more veggies, rocket salad and a tiny bit of chipotle mayonaise which fills you up quite well)

Ping Pong (asian fusion tapas restaurant, UK) has some amazing, fairly low calorie dishes

Halo Top ice cream (sold in bigger Tescos and Sainsburys) has been my absolute go to dessert recently. I whole tub (size of a Ben & Jerrys tub) has around 280 - 300 calories (and I'd never even manage to eat a whole one, I generally have half or less)

When I really really fancy a piece of cake every now and then, I try to convince myself to have a doughnut instead I love them anyway, but since they are so fluffy they have a lot less calories

Crispy roasted Chickpeas - I just made these for the first time and was amazed by how lovely and satisfying they are. Pop a can of chickpeas into a baking tray, spray with a little bit of vegetable oil and season with smoked paprika, chilli or whatever you like. I bake them for around 20 minutes or more on 200 degrees celsius and they should come out fairly crispy They make a nice replacement to crisps, but I also use them in salads to add some excitement.


I'd be super interested to hear your favourites!

IsETHome

Pickles (different varieties - I like dill, which is typically 0 to 5 calories, I have a variety of pickle types, so if I want to be snacking . Also rice - I was reading the "dry" serving size on the package as if it was already cooked. So basically whole grain rice, is a lot lower in calories than I thought per 1/2 cup. Also I add mint sauce to cubed cucumbers, for a really low calorie Calorie count, even make cucumber lettuce wraps with a little rice. Thanks for the tip, I have a can of chickpeas and I'll go back and take a look, interesting idea to roast them.

sportynad9

IsETHome wrote: »

Pickles (different varieties - I like dill, which is typically 0 to 5 calories, I have a variety of pickle types, so if I want to be snacking . Also rice - I was reading the "dry" serving size on the package as if it was already cooked. So basically whole grain rice, is a lot lower in calories than I thought per 1/2 cup. Also I add mint sauce to cubed cucumbers, for a really low calorie Calorie count, even make cucumber lettuce wraps with a little rice. Thanks for the tip, I have a can of chickpeas and I'll go back and take a look, interesting idea to roast them.

Ohhhhh I love the sound of your rice dish as well! Enjoy the chickpeas

TavistockToad

Breyers is much nicer than halo top

toxikon

Popcorn!

texasleahgirl

The high-protein, low-fat cheesecake recipe lifted from this site and I also like cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon. Basically, anything with cheese is comfort food to me!

Running2Fit

TavistockToad wrote: »

Breyers is much nicer than halo top

Accurate. It actually tastes close to real ice cream!

neugebauer52

Toasted coconut chips.

JosieMay100

Itsu seaweed thins!

sheloves89

Popcorn. I air-pop it, spritz it with a quick blast of olive oil, then mix it with nutritional yeast and dried dill... delicious!

I hear you on the protein issue (also a veggie). I have a protein shake that I can't live without, anymore. They sell it at Aldi's, it's called Elevation and it comes in Vanilla or Chocolate; I stick to Vanilla. 2 scoops + 1/2 cup almond milk + a handful of ice cubes blended and it's amazing - rich and thick and creamy, it's almost a milkshake! It's about 180 calories so I don't know if I'd classify it as a snack, but it's got 30 grams of protein. On days when I have my shake, I find myself battling cravings of any sort far less frequently!

Seffell

@sportynad9 try the small Taste the Difference pizzas by Sainsbury's. Yesterday had one with sundried tomatoes and mozzarella. Lovely and around 600cals. (Might need to check in store as online is only the bigger version which is 1000cal. )

Also Sainsbury's own brand gin and tonic sorbet. 100cal per 100g. Not as low cal as halo top but cheaper and absolutely refreshing.

danigirl1011

I find that if i work out before dinner and then eat dinner i am always hungry right about 9. I don't want to net too low of calories or not feed my body when i am truly hungry, but i HATE eating late or right before bed. I discovered little ghirardelli bunnies we had in our cupboard from Easter (no they are not expired lol). They are less than half the calories of a regular ghirardelli square and i get out just one, walk away from the cupboard pretending the rest of the bag doesn't exist, sit on the couch and eat it slowly. It hits the spot perfectly and is only about 30 calories.

danigirl1011

Oh..i saw others mention ice cream as well. That is a big down fall for me. someone on MFP told me about a brand called chilly cow. It's a low cal ice cream similar to halo top, but actually tastes good. They are also measured out in what looks like half pints. So, you can eat one they range from about 180-200 calories and it has a good amount of protein and fiber.

HeyJudii

texasleahgirl wrote: »

The high-protein, low-fat cheesecake recipe lifted from this site and I also like cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon. Basically, anything with cheese is comfort food to me!

I sprinkle a packet of Splenda on a 1/2 or full cup full fat (4% milk fat) cottage cheese, add cinnamon and mix it up. It is so good and only 110 or 220 calories (not counting the Splenda which adds about 4 or 8 calories. According to the USDA site, the amount of cinnamon I add, is 0 calories.)

debtay123

I love chil or soup esp broth based soups- low calories and can be delicious according to what veggies you put in them

elisa123gal

coffee with steamed skim milk. my morning oatmeal. I like my egg white omlet...and ground chicken breast meatloaf.

SCoil123

Baked crispy brussel sprouts with a little sea salt

nowine4me

No contest - Roast butternut squash with chopped pecans.

amyjoan1

I love to hear what people snack on, especially vegetarian/vegan snacks. I like to bake a banana sprinkled with cinnamon and then top it w raw honey from the hive. I like to eat think brown rice cakes and a single pack of guacamole ( like to add olives). Or the rice cakes w nutritional yeast and some peanuts. Also Enlightened broad beans. Also I will make yummy banana cookies- two ripe bananas, 1-1/2 packets of oatmeal, hemp hearts, some dark chocolate, lil vanilla- mix together let sit for half hr then in oven 375 about 15 min. I like to keep an eye on it so it’s soft consistency like banana cake cookies!! Also love to season and play w veggies!!

funjen1972

- Fat free plain Greek yogurt with splenda and dry crunchy cereal
- 1 or 2 Kit Kat miniatures
- goat cheese and topping of choice (sweet or savory) spread on low carb wrap
- roasted root veggies - love these!
- small portion of seasoned sticky rice, Asian veggies topped with a soft cooked egg and maybe some nori.

thiosulfate

I'm sure this is odd, but I love heating up a can on sweet peas and cooking up one or two eggs. Usually comes out to about 350 calories depending on the eggs. It tastes good (imo), is a decent amount of food, quick, easy, and fills me up decently.

Jadesfire93

Another one for pickles! Ice cold dill pickles are the best!!

I'm eating cottage cheese with cinnamon and a little left over graham cracker crumbs at the moment (because I ran out of pickles), trying to convince myself it's "cheese cake." Yeah, that's not working. I've got the protein cheese cake recipe from this site bookmarked. I need to make time to try it out.
And I like the idea of the chick peas. That sounds tasty.

jelleigh

To feel like im eating a lot, i like melba toasts work sliced tomatoes, a sprinkle of feta, and either a bit of honey mustard or low cal Italian dressing. You can have 5 toasts which fill a whole plate for a pretty low cal count. Also it's quite crunchy which helps my snacking craving.

akh9486

So I have been making my own turmeric latte at home that is replacing my hog chocolate. I mix vanilla almond milk, stevia, turmeric, and pumpkin pie spice. It is the best!

KungfuPandin

Love these ideas! Stealing them..
I have been into the chia pudding recently, I make it myself with almond milk cocao powder and stevia. I'm a vegan. I would eat dairy but it makes me sick.. fairly sever dairy intollerance going on.
Most days I have a vegan protein shake with blue berries. Love hummus and vegetables.. isn't hummus a food group 🤣, roasted or steamed edemae or roasted chick peas with curry powder.. Love sour kraut with salads and roasted veg. Chocolate Sorbet is heaven... Oven baked curried potatoes with gravy is yum. Vege chips company makes a low calorie vegan chips perfectly portioned. And table of plenty dark choc rice crackers are yummy. Also vegetable soup makes a good snack if I can be bothered to make it in advance.
I love crispy norri and snack on marinated tofu and falafel with hummus.

sportynad9

TavistockToad wrote: »

Breyers is much nicer than halo top

Thanks very much, I will totally give this a try

sportynad9

texasleahgirl wrote: »

The high-protein, low-fat cheesecake recipe lifted from this site and I also like cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon. Basically, anything with cheese is comfort food to me!

This sounds absolutely amazing! If you ever find this recipe on here again, please let me know Would love to give this a try!

GottaBurnEmAll

A pot of brewing chocolate with Fairlife milk. Comes in at 120 calories in the quantities I use. I have it with Jordan's salted caramel skinny syrup.

Roasted winter squash.

GottaBurnEmAll

sportynad9 wrote: »

texasleahgirl wrote: »

The high-protein, low-fat cheesecake recipe lifted from this site and I also like cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon. Basically, anything with cheese is comfort food to me!

This sounds absolutely amazing! If you ever find this recipe on here again, please let me know Would love to give this a try!

Here's the thread with the recipe:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500016/low-calorie-protein-cheesecake/p1

There are also tons of protein recipes on this site, including cheesecakes. I really like some of the quick microwave cookies.

https://theproteinchef.co/healthy-recipes/

Note: Not all of these are necessarily low calorie since some of them are geared to body building. Some are, though. Some are low fat, some are high fat because they're for keto. There's something for everyone.

Edit: I always used Quest protein powders with his recipes, you don't need to use his protein powder.

sportynad9

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

sportynad9 wrote: »

texasleahgirl wrote: »

The high-protein, low-fat cheesecake recipe lifted from this site and I also like cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon. Basically, anything with cheese is comfort food to me!

This sounds absolutely amazing! If you ever find this recipe on here again, please let me know Would love to give this a try!

Here's the thread with the recipe:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500016/low-calorie-protein-cheesecake/p1

There are also tons of protein recipes on this site, including cheesecakes. I really like some of the quick microwave cookies.

https://theproteinchef.co/healthy-recipes/

Note: Not all of these are necessarily low calorie since some of them are geared to body building. Some are, though. Some are low fat, some are high fat because they're for keto. There's something for everyone.

Edit: I always used Quest protein powders with his recipes, you don't need to use his protein powder.

Thanks so much, it looks incredible

scribblemoma

Some of my favorites are:

- Elk jerky (habanero flavored)
- Cottage cheese with sugar free jelly
- Boom chicka pop
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Dill pickle spread with cream cheese and wrapped in corned beef (we call it cowboy sushi)
- Greek yogurt + protein powder