Replacing Sour Cream w/ Green Yogurt. Your Food Hacks?

tectactoe

Ever since the suggestion to replace sour cream w/ greek yogurt, I haven't looked back. Tastes great on tacos, in taco salad, on quesadillas... Its got that slight tang to it with none of the fat & a little protein boost!

Walden farms makes some good products (chocolate syrup, pancake syrup, raspberry vinaigarette) but they also make some awful ones - one of them (IMO) being the "peanut butter" spread. Nasty. However, I found that scooped into a protein shake in the morning w/ vanilla whey, it tastes fine! Adds a nice nutty flavor at no cost, & it's pretty much the only way you can eat that ****.

What other little "food hacks" have you discovered since you started your journey?

cosmichvoyager

I just saw a recipe that replaced some ground beef in meatballs with grated zucchini. I tried it and it was great!

I used 1 medium zucchini, 97% lean ground beef, breadcrumbs with sprouted spelt bread (Ezekiel bread), 1 egg, 2 cloves minced garlic, finely chopped fresh cilantro, some cumin, salt and pepper.

I baked the meatballs, then finished them off in a pot with a tomato chipotle sauce.

I was inspired by this recipe but I kept it light with lean beef (turkey would be good too I bet) and I didn't put onions in the meatballs: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Tex-Mex-meatballs-in-a-chipotle-tomato-sauce-451163

Super good

Jlmervin03

Applesauce instead of oil in my cakes. Tastes pretty good.

CookNLift

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

I also like to use sesame oil instead of butter since it not only adds flavor, but a little bit goes a long way. In the scheme of things, I would normally use about a tbsp of butter whenever cooking, but I only have to use about 1/4 to 1/2 of that with sesame oil, and it adds a nice asian flavor to the food, that makes it even better tasting.....some things still require butter imo lol

Swapping out pita chips for red peppers, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes has been a staple for my hummus dipping pleasures (no point in doubling the cals when you can enjoy it even more with lower calorie dippers)

LifeWithPie

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

There's no butter in Franks Hot Sauce.

Francl27

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

There's no butter in Franks Hot Sauce.

Yeah it's like 0 calories per serving, lol.

MG_Fit

I use cauliflower and black beans for everything.

CookNLift

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

There's no butter in Franks Hot Sauce.

there is in the buffalo sauce....or some butter flavoring with canola oil or something lol

LifeWithPie

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

There's no butter in Franks Hot Sauce.

there is in the buffalo sauce....or some butter flavoring with canola oil or something lol

LOL. It's minuscule and still 0 calories for a tablespoon. So I'm not sure "it makes a huge difference" or "contains buttloads of butter"

Strokingdiction

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

There's no butter in Franks Hot Sauce.

there is in the buffalo sauce....or some butter flavoring with canola oil or something lol

LOL. It's minuscule and still 0 calories for a tablespoon. So I'm not sure "it makes a huge difference" or "contains buttloads of butter"

"Buttloads" as a measurement always makes me giggle and shiver at the same time. The images conjured up by my mind are the reason for this.

CyberEd312

Turkey Bacon instead of Bacon......no I'm kidding, please don't do this.

I replaced Frank's Hot Sauce with Sriracha and Cholula's hot sauce and it makes a huge difference, since I don't have to worry about the buttloads of butter that's in franks, and Sriracha tastes 10x better anyway.

There's no butter in Franks Hot Sauce.

there is in the buffalo sauce....or some butter flavoring with canola oil or something lol

LOL. It's minuscule and still 0 calories for a tablespoon. So I'm not sure "it makes a huge difference" or "contains buttloads of butter"

Yeah I have like 10 bottles of it in the pantry and I use it (by the buttloads) just about everyday and at 0 calories it has never hindered my weight loss.... and OP to each their own but my sour cream is 35 calories for 2 Tbsp. and is so much better than replacing it with yogurt but again to each their own.. I do use applesauce on certain baking recipes instead of oil's. Best of Luck

seltzermint555

I find that I'm just as satisfied with most sandwiches open-faced (same toppings but 1 slice of bread instead of two) or using a sandwich thin instead of hamburger bun or bread. Saves calories.

Also, I leave off cheese from many things I used to cover in cheese, and barely even notice the difference. Then I can still enjoy it on pizza or a pasta bake now and then...but don't use it every day like I once did.

mvedwards87

I use ground turkey in place of ground beef in almost every recipe. I find that if you are making burger patties, meatballs, meatloaf, etc., they can turn out a little dry, so I just add in a small amount (like 1/4 cup per pound) of whole wheat breadcrumbs or steel cut oats. Helps retain moisture

I replace the mayonnaise in tuna or egg salad with greek yogurt. The difference is almost imperceptible. You could also sub in a little mashed avocado in place of mayo or miracle whip on a sandwich. Just make sure you don't go crazy with it, as it still has a good amount of fat, but it is by far more satiating and a better source of macronutrients.