Instead of, I eat...

upgetupgetup

White or rose sauces: Greek yogurt stirred in (at the last minute, curdles if it cooks).

I did try to sub whole wheat pasta for white, but I learned they use insoluble fiber to make it 'healthy', couldn't deal.

Ice cream: vanilla greek yogurt & berries.

Brownies: I have tried to make substitutions, but none were great & I still ate too much. Found it safer to just buy a single serving and be done with it, if desperate, or have a different sweet thing like oatmeal and sliced apple, if not.

White bread: For day to day purposes, rye, after a detour through whole-wheat, whole grain, etc, etc. Still have a nice kaiser now and then, though.

Steak pan-fried in butter: grilled steak sometimes, but mostly it's still pan-fried in butter

jennifer_417

[I want to do this...but every time I use my protein powder it's all clumpy and ugly in my coffee...any tips would be GREAT!

You may feel a bit silly doing this the first few times, but it works, plus it makes a nice froth on your coffee. Take a wisk hold it flat between your palms. Put it all the way into your cup of coffee and spin it back and forth. It should do the trik!

tommygirl15

Instead of oil, I use chicken stock
Instead of pop.... soda water
Instead of candy... fruit

wcasie

instead of a king size snicker or 2 i buy the minis and throw them in the freezer. I can eat the serving size one time a day and no more. them being frozen takes a little longer to eat and is cold so i get that ice cream like fulfulment as well. so instead of nearly 600 calories I eat 2 minis for about 160.

dorothytd

Instead of oil, I use chicken stock

Just did this last night - a great switch. I also use it in place of cream in a lot of sauces, sometimes with equal parts skim milk. Just needs a little thickening agent. You can make a great scampi or Alfredo, etc.

This one may seem counter-intuitive to the above, but with the exception of dairy - stopped buying a lot of "fat free" or "reduced fat" items. Often the regular versions have the same or similar calories, and less sugar/fillers.

Imanido

Great thread and really useful tips.

Instead of salad dressing, I sometimes just put a bit of balsamic vinegar (no oil), or quark. I have changed a lot of sauces, for salad, chips, meat or fish and substitute it by Quark 0% fat and high in protein. It works great.

jo_marnes

Instead of rice/ pasta/ potatoes I eat roast veggies (pumpkin is my fave) or salad (dry slaw mixes are very filling)

Instead of oil I use stock/ water/ balsamic etc

Instead of meats I eat veg/ lentils/ tofu (sometimes - I'm not vegetarian)

Instead of overly sugary desserts, I eat fruit, natural yohurt and cottage cheese

Instead of gluten containing cereals, I eat homemade brown rice porridge from my slow cooker

Instead of butter I eat hummus/ dips spread on crackers and rice cakes

Synapze

Instead of the morning Iced Coffee or the late night munchies, i swap it for a fruit smoothie. Normally Banana, Mango, Strawberries and either Apple Juice or Guava juice.

Instead of meat (mainly lamb, i still eat chicken and fish) i swap it for a stacked Mushroom (capsicum, egg, little cheese, asparagus ect) or vegetable fritters. (Love the Zucchini ones)

Instead of putting sugar in my coffee, i swap it for none. :P

mareeee1234

Instead of butter and jam on toast, I'll have light cream cheese with fresh strawberries, (and maybe a little jam)

JBcat123

instead of mac n cheese I eat gluten free pasta with pesto sauce

instead of 3 cups of coffee I drink green tea

instead of a sandwhich from subway w/ chips I eat carrots/ or cucumber as a snack or a light whole grain vegetable sandwhich with avocado with nuts.

instead of a cheeseburger from burgerking I have a turkey burger w/ a bun and light mayo. very satisfying!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Some of these make me sad. :P

I have discovered quinoa, which I generally substitute for rice. It's especially awesome in my shrimp fried rice recipe.

Sweet potatoes are great and I agree with the comment about not needing as many toppings (I put sour cream on mine).

Danon Oikos makes a key lime flavor that is awesome and way lower-calorie than actual key lime pie. Since it's thick it actually has a similar texture to the real thing.

maryjay52

its not etched in stone but when i need sweets i take protein powder, a cup of frozen berries and a cup of cold water and make a shake ..its really sweet and creamy and tastes great ..also very filling .... also almond butter and sugarless jam on toasted arnold's bagel thin or sandwich thin is good too ... as opposed to ice cream or the typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white

ApexLeader

instead of chocolate chip cookies and oreos i'm eating peanuts or almonds

RECowgill

I don't have too many big dietary changes beyond these few:

Instead of soda, I drink water. How boring! :yawn:
Instead of Marie Callender frozen meals, I have a Healthy Choice frozen meal. Still really good but about 1/3 the salt. :drinker:
Instead of chips, I'll have a fruit. I'm addicted to oranges!!!
Instead of a fast food burger, I suck on air. :laugh:

_TEMPEST_

when sweet cravings strike, I make PB2 Mousse instead of reaching for a candy bar or cake/pie/cookies.

1 cup Kool Whip Free
1 tbs PB2

Stir them together until thick and creamy. If you want to be super indulgent, drizzle with a little Hershey's syrup.
Tastes naughty but is oh so nice!

Reinventing_Me

Bump! So many great ideas!

cleotherio

I'm also a nut snacker, lol. Instead of crackers or cookies I have nuts or cheese.
Instead of chips, I slice up cucumber or peppers and dip them in hummus, peanut butter or yogurt dip. They key is finding a nutritious dip that you crave. That will make you WANT to eat the vegetables.
Instead of just grabbing the first thing I see for lunch, I think ahead and plan out what I'm going to have.

pandorakick

I found that for lunch it is very easy for me to over do it on bread and toppings, because I don't feel full. So instead of lunching with sandwiches I have salad, baked eggs with veggies or leftovers from dinner that I keep in the freezer in lunch sized portions.

Debbiedebbiey

Instead of butter on my english muffin, I use 1 tblsp coconut oil-yummeee

mmocarr

Instead of French fries I eat really crispy roasted green beans.

laccy40

Instead of mayonnaise I'll use cranberry sauce or sweet chilli sauce. Well sometimes still some mayo but I used to put it on everything. I don't like low fat versions of things because I don't like some of the ingredients they add so I'd rather find a substitute and kep the real thing as a treat :happy:

strongmind_strongbody

Instead of chips, I eat popcorn
Instead of Sprite, I drink unsweet iced tea.
Instead of a whole roll of cookie dough, I eat my homemade protein bars.
Instead of a half-gallon of ice cream, I eat one serving of ice cream. :laugh:

danasings

I'm with Alex...I turn to protein a lot especially nuts. I have a variety of nuts in my pantry and in my classroom at work.

yes sweetie...we LOVE our nuts...

all varieties, shapes and sizes....

don't we.

Heheheheheh

I use protein powder and some lite Hershey's syrup with milk in my coffee instead of coffee mate. BIG difference in fullness, helps my macros tremendously, and oh, the calories...well, let's just say that when I first started measuring last January I discovered that I added @300 calories of that Italian Sweet Cream ish to my coffee every morning. Um, nothanksbye.

I want to do this...but every time I use my protein powder it's all clumpy and ugly in my coffee...any tips would be GREAT!

edited to fix my post because apparently I can't post without an error tonight......sighs

Put the powder in the mug first, then add a little bit of coffee. Stir and stir and mush all of the clumps out. then add more coffee, milk and/or syrup (i also use sugar free torani sometimes) to keep it from getting lumpy, add liquid very gradually and stir, stir, stir. Let me know how it turns out!

danasings

Instead of chips, I eat popcorn
Instead of Sprite, I drink unsweet iced tea.
Instead of a whole roll of cookie dough, I eat my homemade protein bars.
Instead of a half-gallon of ice cream, I eat one serving of ice cream. :laugh:

And check out the results...hot, hot, HOT!!

CoronerKris

Instead of Bourbon, stick to Beer!

terranowhere

I got a "chipster" from EPICURE and thinly slice a potato (or yam or apple or carrot or.....) and lay single layer on chipster, a dash of salt for flavor and "zap" for 4min- voila- chips. My teen-age son and daughter love them too and there's absolutely NO FAT, just the carb calories. We also use hummus instead of mayo- extra protein and use different flavoured ones for a change! great in tuna salad

caseyg9888

Instead of soda... Water
Instead of regular pasta.... Whole wheat
Instead of a big plate of white rice.... Only 1/3 or 1 cup of whole wheat rice
Instead of juice..... Unsweetened tea

Whole wheat rice?

bluelena

Instead of regular pie, I make protein pie. Instead of mint chocolate chip ice cream, I make mint chocolate chip spinach protein ice cream. instead of brownies I make.... Well, I haven't found a good substitution for brownies, (the protein ones don't compare), so I have brownies on special occasions.

Can I have the ice cream recipe? I love the idea of spinach hidden in there.

1 scoop of protein powder, (with vanilla the spinach will turn the shake green, with chocolate it will be greenish brown. I prefer vanilla for looks)

1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 cup milk
2 to 3 cups of spinach, or as much as you want. (if you freeze it first, it will help thicken the shake)
sweetener to taste.
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp dark chocolate chips. (optional)
blend in a blender.
I will either drink it as a thick shake, or freeze it in an ice cube tray. then I can pop out the cubes, and mix when I'm ready to eat it.

sometimes I'll top it with lite whipping cream, and chocolate syrup for a sundae.

Bump for recipe.

I use 2% Fage Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. I had been using fat free, but the 2% has a better mouthfeel and is a dead-on imposter for full fat sour cream.

kimosabe1

Instead of a donuts-eat TOAST!

thelovelyLIZ

I started eating fruit for dessert. I like something sweet after dinner, so fruit did the trick. I still eat chocolate sometimes though.