How do you stay within your calorie budget?

pamperedlinny

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

springlering62 wrote: »

OMG so many substitutions……

Diet soda for full sugar

Sugar free lattes with skim versus the calorie laden coffee shop drinks

Low fat yogurt and cottage cheese versus full fat

Lower cal cuts of meat versus the fattier ones

Liquid egg whites for eggs

Applesauce for oil or butter when making cakes or brownies

Part skim cheeses versus full fat

Full fat “soft ball” mozarella versus shredded. The stuff you shred yourself is lower cal, even full fat, than the part skim shredded. Happy day when I learned that!

I cut my homemade pizza crust recipe in half and still make a satisfying full sized pizza.

Walden Farms zero cal syrups and salad dressings

Sweet balsamic vinegar in leiu of salad dressings or syrups (it’s fabulous over fruit)

Salsa is very low cal and can be used as everything from a sauce to a salad dressing to a marinade

I threw a pork roast seasoned with honey aleppo, liquid smoke, salt and pepper in the crockpot a couple of days ago, intending to add some bbq sauce at the end. It was so fragrant I didn’t have to add anything else and it was delicious on toast.

Lewis Bakeries low cal breads are quite good. I often use a single 30 cal slice in leiu if a hotdog or burger bun. Serving that shredded pork in the toast was also delicious.

A Carb Smart type soft tortilla as a wrap for lunch sandwiches or as a tortilla. A large tortilla is about 35 cal or so.

Stir fry on cauliflower rice, or even better, “real” rice mixed with cauliflower rice. It’s also great with red beans and sausage poured over it, and cauliflower is negligible calories. It’s so visually similar to rice it even tastes like it if it’s mixed with rice. Great bulk extender.

Browning meat? Invest in a Ninja nonstick skillet (no Teflon etc). If you preheat it very hot for five minutes or so, you can brown meats or stir fry with no oils and it cleans up with a simple swish of the sponge. It also goes straight in the oven.

When you put your mind to it, there’s almost always a lower cal substitution.

Thank you sooo much! such a helpful post

I can add to this list.

Cook lentils and make half lentils / half ground meat for things like tacos or other loose ground meat mixtures. It's cheaper, adds a bunch of fiber and helps you feel fuller than just the meat alone.

Another ground meat addition for taco salads or somewhere you want a crunch when you eat... add water chestnuts. They absorb the seasonings you cook with and add crunch. No need for tortilla chips if you have the water chestnuts.

Skinny Syrups (www.skinnymixes.com) have some of my favorite flavors. I add them to water, coffee, tea... even club soda to make my own zero calorie sodas.
I also use the syrups for other things... add some water to the salted caramel in a spray bottle and spritz my air popped popcorn, add a drop of the cinnamon dolce to my homemade sloppy joe mix, etc.
Add some of the skinny syrup to nonfat plain greek yogurt for any flavor imaginable. Mix in berries, tiny bit of cereal or crumbled piece of cookie for a homemade parfait.

Add steamed or sauteed veggies to your pasta to make the portion seem bigger.
We use similar shaped veggies like steam green beans with elbows, spiralized zucchini or broccoli slaw with angel hair, steamed cut carrots with wagon wheels, etc. Marinara sauce is pretty low calorie so add plenty of sauce and a protein (meatballs, chicken, shrimp) to help fill up too.

If you need chips look for a high serving count. I always feel more satisfied with 17 veggie straws than I do with 7 tortilla chips. Calorie wise and weight it's the same but the number of crunches make me feel more satisfied.

Make dip mixes by using half light sour cream and half nonfat plain greek yogurt instead of real sour cream with real mayo.

Anything that can be a sandwich or wrap can also be a salad.

Keto tortillas are lower in calories than regular ones. Toast them on a skillet for more texture and flavor.

If you are on a limited budget but still want healthier alternatives Aldi has a bunch of Fit & Active products (like 35 calorie per slice bread) cheaper than the bigger stores.

Turnips make a pretty decent potato replacement... especially if you make your recipes half potato & half turnip. I only make mashed "potato" with the half & half method now and no one seems to have noticed.

Turnips in the air fryer can also be a decent fry replacement with your condiment of choice (I actually like "buffalo fries" where I toss them in buffalo sauce and then dip in light ranch)

Microwaved apples with a tiny smidge of cinnamon and/or caramel taste like baked apples without having to add a bunch of sugar.