THE Low Calorie Recipe Thread of Awesomeness

happysquidmuffin

Light Funfetti Cake Dip:
(lower sugar/fat/calories, high protein)

.5 cup/ 127.5 g nonfat plain Greek yogurt (75 cal)
.5 cup/ 113.5 g unsweetened coconut milk (20 cal)
2 scoops/ 32 g Designer Protein - Lite Vanilla Cupcake (120 cal)
.5 pckg/ 14 g Jell-o Sugar Free Cheesecake pudding mix (50 cal)
.5 tsp/ 3.5 g vanilla extract (6 cal)
.25 tsp/ 1.7 g cake batter flavor extract
1 tbsp/ 12.5 g rainbow sprinkles (60 cal)
1 tsp/ .5 g granulated sucralose

Combine the Greek yogurt, coconut milk, protein powder, and pudding mix and beat with whisk until smooth & thick. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Entire recipe: about 305 grams/ 331 calories.
Makes 18x 17g (one level tbsp) servings.
Per 17g/Tbsp:
18.4 calories
2.1 g carbs
.3 g fat
1.8 g protein
.8 g sugar
50 mg sodium

2 tbsp funfetti dip is perfect for 1 whole graham cracker sheet. 37 cal dip + 65 cal cracker = 102 calorie snack. Double that for a more satisfying snack/treat. Or just enjoy half the recipe at a time with a spoon. It’s high in protein!

The dip isn’t overly sweet, but if you’re accustomed to the taste of artificial sweeteners, it’s surprisingly tasty and very low calorie, compared to similar full calorie, more indulgent recipes.

happysquidmuffin

happysquidmuffin

Fiddly Cauliflower Frankencrepes
(low fat, higher protein, moderate carbs)

590 g raw cauliflower
.5 cup/ 127.5 g nonfat plain Greek yogurt
12 tbsp liquid egg whites
.5 cup/ 78 g all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 (scant) tsp salt

1. Process the cauliflower into fine bits in a food processor (finer than cauliflower rice). Scoop into large microwave-safe bowl & microwave 3 minutes, stirring after each minute. Let cool.

2. Scoop cauliflower into a nut milk straining bag & squeeze out most of the water. Dump into large mixing bowl. Add Greek yogurt & egg whites & stir until combined. Add flour, baking soda, & salt. Mix thoroughly for several minutes to develop the gluten & incorporate air. Let batter rest while heating nonstick skillet, low-medium heat. Stir again.

3. Scoop slightly heaping 1/3 cup batter and scrape with spatula to get it all out of the cup as you pour onto the skillet. Quickly use the spatula to spread the batter into a large circle like a pancake, as thin as possible, but not too thin (about 1/4 inch thick). When the top is dry and there are many air bubbles, loosen the edges a bit with spatula, then shove the spatula under in one swift motion, and flip it over, should be lightly golden. Cook until it slides easily on the skillet and slightly golden browned on the raised parts of the top side.

Makes 8 flatbreads/frankencrepes.

Per Frankencrepe:
75 calories
.2 g fat
12 g carbs
6.4 g protein
285 mg sodium
2 g fiber
2.3 g sugar

They’re fiddly and have lots of steps and take a fair bit of time to make, but the result is a low calorie flatbread that isn’t too eggy or cauliflower-y and has a good, pliable texture. Can use a quarter cup scoop instead, for sandwich bread size frankencrepes. Best with savory accompaniments, but their mostly neutral flavor allows them to work with certain sweet applications! Great with peanut butter and jelly!

Batter:

Ready to flip:

Done:

happysquidmuffin

Once completely cooled, store in a saved tortilla or hamburger bun bag in the fridge. Lasts up to a week (or longer?)
You can also use less salt. 1/4 to 1/2 tsp is fine. This was my 4th attempt at this recipe, and they are borderline too salty at 3/4 tsp.

happysquidmuffin

”Instant Pickled” Cucumber Snack
Sliced English or regular cucumber
1-2 tsp “fancy” balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste

Arrange cucumber slices on large plate, sprinkle with salt, & drizzle with vinegar. I like to use a Neapolitan herb infused balsamic. Mmm.

Eat with a fork, sliding the cucumber slices into the vinegar that pools on the plate.
Take your time and enjoy each bite. Hopefully, your craving for a crunchy snack has been curbed for a mere 30-40 calories.

Pro-tip: Sprinkle with a small amount of a crumbly cheese such as feta as well, and you’ve got yourself some fancy hors d'oeuvres goin’ on!

happysquidmuffin

Spoonable Chocolate Bean Fudge

10 deglet noor dates, pitted (200 cal)
1 cup drained (about 170g) canned great northern beans (210 cal)
5 tbsp cocoa powder (50 cal)
6 tbsp PB Fit powdered peanut butter (210 cal)
1 tsp vanilla extract (12 cal)
1/4 cup white sugar (195 cal)
1/4 cup granulated Stevia (zero cal)
1/8 tsp salt

Soak dates in warm water for 10 minutes & reserve the water. In food processor, combine beans & soaked dates & process until as smooth as possible. Add some of the date water as needed to get the mixture wet enough that the food processor will grind up the dates.
Add remaining ingredients and process several minutes, until smooth.
Yields 400g of thick, spoonable fudge. It won’t set because there is no added fat.
Makes 16 x 25g (about a spoonful) servings.
Per 25g:
55 calories
.5 g fat
10.7 g carbs
2.4 g protein
95 mg sodium
6.7 g sugar
2 g fiber





I will be revising this recipe. I don’t believe the dates added anything meaningful (their intended purpose was volume + sweetness), and it was very difficult to get them to process completely smooth. I will be trying this recipe again without dates and adding chocolate protein powder in place of the stevia. Will try adding some real peanut butter too, to see if the fat helps it solidify like real fudge.

happysquidmuffin

I can’t edit my posts using the app for some reason. But I wanted to add that this fudge tastes REALLY quite good! But not very much peanut butter flavor, so I couldn’t call it chocolate peanut butter fudge. The PB Fit still adds some dimension to the flavor, and absorbs liquid to help thicken the fudge.

happysquidmuffin

Roasted Red Pepper Frankencrepe Pizza. Yum, eating 2 of these for lunch for just 280 cal!

happysquidmuffin

Cabbage Shirataki “Ramen”

15 g/ 2 tbsp minced red onion (6 cal)
10 g/ 2 tsp minced garlic (10 cal)
2.5 tsp chopped fresh chives (2 cal)
2 tsp Roasted Beef Better Than Bouillon (20 cal)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (40 cal)
122 g/ 2 cups finely chopped cabbage (30 cal)
1 package Nasoya Pasta Zero Spaghetti shirataki noodles (30 cal)
2 tsp potato starch (22 cal)
1.5 cups + 2 tbsp water, divided

Drain the Shirataki noodles & rinse well with hot water in a strainer. Run a knife across them a few times on a cutting board, so they’re not too long.

In a pot over medium-high heat, sauté the onions, garlic and chives in a small amount of water (2 tbsp) until softened and the water is almost gone. Add the boullion paste and nutritional yeast, stir well. It will quickly start to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add 1 cup water, stir & use spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Add the cabbage & Shirataki noodles & bring to a full simmer/ low boil. Stir the potato starch into 1/2 cup (cool) water. Pour into pot, stir well & bring back to a simmer. Turn heat down to med-low, simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
Let sit until cool enough to eat, garnish with black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Makes 2 servings, or you can eat the whole pot.
Per 1/2 recipe:

80 calories
16 g carbs
.1 g fat
5.2 g protein
2.3 g sugar
4.8 g fiber
702 mg sodium

Compared to packaged ramen, this is no-brainer way healthier. Yes, it’s high in sodium, but it’s still less than ramen noodles, and satisfies in the same way for less than half the calories, is high in calcium and fiber, and actually has some protein and B-vitamins.
You can make this vegan by using a different Better Than Bouillon base, like seasoned vegetable or roasted garlic.
This is a versatile recipe. You can change up the herbs, the bouillon flavor, add other veggies, crack an egg into it, add tofu or meat, use less or no bouillon for lower sodium, etc.

happysquidmuffin

Best Beany Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 can great northern beans, drained & rinsed (340 cal)
4 tbsp PB Fit (140 cal)
3 tbsp dark brown sugar (135 cal)
1 tbsp honey (60 cal)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (36 cal)
1/8 tsp artificial butter flavor
1/8 (rounded) tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp erythritol sweetener
2 tsp granulated stevia sweetener
2 tbsp cacao nibs (125 cal)
1 tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips (70 cal)

Add the first 10 ingredients (everything but nibs & chocolate chips) to food processor & blend until smooth.
Stir in the chocolate chips & cacao nibs. Chill, keep refrigerated.
Yields about 10 servings, 40g each (about 2 tbsp)

Per 40g serving:
90 calories
14.2 g carbs (12 net?)
2.3 g fiber
6.9 g sugar
4.2 g protein
1.8 g fat
190 mg sodium

Toddler approved! Mmm. It’s got just the right balance between fake sugar and real sugar, so that you can’t detect the fake sugar but it’s plenty sweet enough and gives you that cookie dough fix for way less calories! Hooray for white beans; they’re a versatile base for many recipes & full of fiber.

mytyglotz

Thank you so much for sharing these wholesome, nutritious, enjoyable, AND low-calorie recipes.
Please, please keep them coming!!

chris89topher

I agree. Keep it coming! Even though no one seems to be replying, we're all watching I'm sure. Lol. At least I am. I'm a "volume eater" for sure.

wanderinglight

These are awesome! Thanks for sharing!

thakurhimanshi815

When I was looking at the recipe image, my mouth was watering. It looks delicious. thank you for sharing

naomi8888

Thank you for sharing these!

happysquidmuffin

Oh thanks you guys! I’m glad you're enjoying these recipes. I was beginning to think I was just posting these for myself, haha.
I’ll keep them coming for sure! Tonight I made a lower cal homemade version of a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait... it’s in my diary. But I need to try it one more time to get the chocolate fudge sauce just right

FABRICWOMAN

For your frankencrepes you mention the weight in grams for the cauliflower. Is that a small, medium or large head of cauliflower? From the U.S.A. Sorry, but I do want to get this right. They look delicious and the pizza looks so good that I want to attempt it. Thanks for the recipes. Keep them coming.

FABRICWOMAN

Another question on the frankencrepes. In the ingredients you list "baking powder", but in the directions you say add "baking soda". Which is it or is it both? Please answer back ASAP, I want to make these this evening.

happysquidmuffin

FABRICWOMAN wrote: »

For your frankencrepes you mention the weight in grams for the cauliflower. Is that a small, medium or large head of cauliflower? From the U.S.A. Sorry, but I do want to get this right. They look delicious and the pizza looks so good that I want to attempt it. Thanks for the recipes. Keep them coming.

I highly recommend getting a food scale I’m in the USA too 🇺🇸
I used roughly 1/2 to 2/3 of a medium-sized head of cauliflower, I think. It was a lot of cauliflower; I had to process it in two batches in my food processor. You could probably get away with an entire small-ish head?
And it is definitely Baking Powder. Sorry for my mistake in the directions.
I hope these turn out great for you! Let us know how it goes. If your batter seems too thick, due to too much cauliflower, just add a few more Tbsp of egg whites or a little water and it should be fine. If it ends up too runny, like thinner than pancake batter, just add more flour.

happysquidmuffin

Low-Cal Sour Cream & Chives Salad Dressing
3 tbsp/ 45g light sour cream (60 cal)
2 1/4 tsp (6g) ranch salad dressing mix (15 cal)
3+ stalks fresh chives, snipped/chopped (or dried chives, to taste)

This is my 105 calorie salad:


Iceberg lettuce, white mushrooms, green bell pepper, Roma tomato, green onion, and the above dressing. Way better than low-fat ranch (nasty!). Homemade, simple, satisfying.

Another dressing hack: Want a light dressing for taco salad? Forget the store bought salsa ranch with a million ingredients. Simply top your salad with 3-4 tbsp light or regular sour cream, plus as much salsa as you like. (I probably use a 1-1 ratio.) Add some sriracha or Tabasco or other hot sauce if you like. (Extra Taco Bell packets come in handy!) Add a splash of lime juice. Yum!

happysquidmuffin

Vegan Scrambled Breakfast Burritos
For volume eaters!

72.6 g /7-8 small white mushrooms, sliced (16cal)
25 g /1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (5 cal)
19 g /a big handful fresh spinach (4 cal)
61 g extra firm tofu, hand-crumbled (100 cal)
5 g /5 sprays olive oil cooking spray (10 cal)
9 g /1 small stalk chopped green onion (3 cal)
4 tbsp chunky medium salsa (20 cal)

Seasonings: fresh chives, salt, pepper, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, parsely, oregano to taste (2 cal)

Add cooking spray to pan over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms & bell pepper until mostly cooked, then add the tofu & spinach & cook until spinach wilts. Season as you go, to taste. Add green onion & salsa (& fresh chives if using) at the end. The salsa will help deglaze the pan if anything starts to stick. No more than about 4-5 mins total cook time.
Makes enough filling for 2 generously filled burritos.
I had this for breakfast with 2x 90-cal taco sized tortillas, for a total of 340 calories. It was very filling and satisfying.

Per recipe (filling only):
160 calories
16.9 g carbs
7.1 g fat
14.8 g protein
7.8 g sugar
6 g fiber
560? mg sodium

happysquidmuffin

Mushroom Lovers’ Soup
Vegan, low-cal, meal-prep

393 g/ 13.9 oz/ 7 cups sliced white mushrooms
370 g/ 13 oz/ 6 cups sliced brown (crimini) mushrooms
93 g/ 2 stalks/ 1 cup diced celery
24 g/ 4 small/ 1/3 cup chopped green onions
2 tbsp/ 30 g minced garlic
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable
2 tbsp/ 10g nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp each black pepper, ground sage, ground thyme
1/2 tsp crushed rosemary
2 tbsp/ 16 g cornstarch
5 cups water, divided

1. Add 1 cup water to large wok or pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, green onions, & garlic. Cook, stirring intermittently, until the mushrooms start to shrink.
2. Add 3 more cups water. Add the bouillon, nutritional yeast, and all herb seasonings. Bring to a boil.
3. Stir the cornstarch into 1 cup cool water, add to pot, stir frequently. Lower the heat.
4. Simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, let cool, divide into portions.

This is great eaten as is, or served over rice. I have made mushroom gravy/soup many many times, and it’s different every time. Add more vegetables, change up the herbs, the bouillon flavors, use potato starch instead, etc. You could stretch this a lot further by adding 1-2 cups chopped cabbage, and some regular onion. This particular batch was the largest I’ve made so far, with a huge amount of beautiful, gigantic mushrooms.

Yield: exactly 7 cups of soup.
Per 1 cup serving:
54 calories
.2 g fat
9.1 g carbs
4.3 g protein
426 mg sodium
1.6 g fiber
2.3 g sugar

happysquidmuffin

Skinny Peanut Buster Parfait

2/3 cup/ 85 g Halo Top Vanilla Bean light ice cream (100 cal)
.75 oz redskin Spanish peanuts (120 cal)
4 tbsp/ 10 g Fat-Free Reddi Whip (10 cal)

Fudge Sauce (30 cal)
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp PB Fit peanut butter powder
1 tsp granulated erythritol
.5 tsp granulated sucralose
.5 tsp sugar
1/16 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
tiny pinch xanthan gum

Mix the dry fudge sauce ingredients until thoroughly combined in small container. Add vanilla & almond milk, stir well. Let sit in fridge at least a few hours. It thickens into this lovely, almost pudding-like consistency! Stir well again just before serving.

Layer the ice cream, peanuts, and fudge sauce to your heart’s content. Top with fluffy whip.



Skinny PB Parfait: 230 calories
12.3 g fat
254 mg sodium
29 g carbs
7.3 g fiber
13.4 g sugar
13.3 g protein

Regular DQ PB Parfait for comparison: 710 cal
31 g fat
350 mg sodium
95 g carbs
3 g fiber
71 g sugar
16 g protein

Wow.

PAPYRUS3

regarding that DQ PB Parfait...so scary cause as a little kid, that's what I'd always have when my family went there...

happysquidmuffin

PAPYRUS3 wrote: »

regarding that DQ PB Parfait...so scary cause as a little kid, that's what I'd always have when my family went there...

I’ve had my fair share of these throughout my life... I’m just slightly grossed out by the nutrition profile now. I don’t think I can handle that much sugar all at once anymore.
And Dangit!
The Skinny PB Parfait has 260 cal total, not 230. Oops.

PAPYRUS3

^yes...I'm fairly sure that DQ 'thing' wouldn't be very enjoyable for me now either...along with just about all those things I use to love as a kid (cotton candy being one too😫). Thanks for sharing

happysquidmuffin

I hate this app almost as much as I love it. Had a post all done, and the app crashed as I was uploading a photo. Not the first time it’s happened either. I was stupid and hadn’t copied my text yet. I wish the app wasn’t so buggy. It crashes on me randomly almost every day. Now I have to start over. /rant

happysquidmuffin

I don’t have a stand mixer with a whisk, or a super-duty food processor, or even ice, but I wanted to try protein fluff since I’ve heard good things. Here’s my version with frozen banana.

Banana Protein Fluff
109 g/ 1 medium ripe banana, frozen (97 cal)
85 g/ 6 tbsp nonfat plain Greek yogurt (45 cal)
24 g/ 1.5 scoop Designer Protein Lite Vanilla Cupcake (90 cal)
7.5 g/ 1 tbsp Jello-O Sugar free cheesecake pudding mix (23 cal)
1 tbsp monkfruit (& erythritol) sweetener
.25 tsp vanilla powder (4 cal)
tiny pinch xanthan gum

Add all ingredients (except for xanthan gum) to food processor & blend until smooth & fluffy. Stir in xanthan gum at the end.

260 calories
.4 g fat
24.2 g protein
42.2 g carbs
8.9 g fiber
16.1 g sugar
460 mg sodium



This was very sweet, flavorful, creamy and filling! I was surprised at how long it actually took to eat, and how full I felt after eating it. I remembered to take a photo after I already started eating it, so it’s in a new, smaller bowl so it looked better haha. This was really tasty and I would definitely make again. I think some ice would have added even more volume without compromising the flavor.

On a side note, I bought some monkfruit sweetener to try out and I really like it. It doesn’t have that sweet slight aftertaste of sucralose, and it’s not bitter like stevia. I think stevia is my least favorite. I’ll have to use it up somehow, but I think I’ll be using a lot more monkfruit erythritol. My Winco now carries it in the bulk section.

ssooooz

Omlettes are always a winner 😁

sushi9234

I have a low calorie fudgy brownie recipe... Although I did use walden farms caramel sauce on top for extra sweetness

Ingredients:
Dry:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup sweetener of choice (I used stevia)
- 1 tsp baking powder

Wet:
-3/4 cup yogurt (or greek yogurt)
-1/4 cup almond milk
-1 whole egg or 2 egg whites (only a couple calories of difference here)

Extras:
-walnuts 1/4 cup

Mix and bake 20 mins at 400 F

Calories: about 50 calories per brownie with the walnuts (makes 9)

( You can add other topping but adjust calories accordingly)

happysquidmuffin

I’ve been working on an interesting experiment: Cauliflower Noodles.
I just attempted this for a third time (first was ok and second was DISASTROUS), and I think I’m close. My only complaint is that these were a little soft on the bottom and I had to be very careful removing the baked pasta sheet from the parchment paper. Any suggestions for how to get these to cook drier on the bottom without upping the calories significantly would be appreciated.

Caulinoodles

600 g (1 whole small head) raw cauliflower

Wash, cut, and steam the cauliflower until soft. Let cool.
Squeeze the water out of the cauliflower as much as possible using a nut milk bag, reserving the cauli-water in a bowl. Weigh the pulp. Squeeze more water out or add a little water back in to yield 375g.

Put cauliflower pulp into food processor with:
22g/ 6-7 tbsp instant potato flakes
18g/ 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
5g/ 1.5 tsp xanthan gum
40g/ 5 tbsp all purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tbsp liquid egg white

Combine in food processor about 2 minutes, until smooth.
Spread on parchment paper on a cookie sheet (18x12?) as evenly and smoothly as possible. Will cover the entire bottom of the pan. Bake at 300 F for 30 minutes.
Let cool completely. Carefully separate the pasta sheet from the parchment paper. Roll up like a cinnamon roll and cut into thin slices. Unroll the slices into noodles.

The caulinoodles were surprisingly flexible, soft and similar to regular fettuccine, just thicker and less chewy.
I weighed the resulting noodles and the final weight was 300g. Recipe made 3 servings of 180 calories each, which was about 1 1/3 cups. So you get a little more volume for less calories than regular pasta, plus it’s made of mostly cauliflower so that’s pretty cool. Much more nutrient dense!