carb and calorie substitutes

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lucysmommy
lucysmommy Posts: 460
in Food and Nutrition
sorry if this has been asked before

I am looking to save calories when eating and i find a lot of my cals come from carbs.

i was wondering what people use to substitute carbs? so far i have seen courgette (zucchini) used as pasta and green beans with EVO made into fries. i am looking for more ideas and i pretty much love any veg.

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  • lucysmommy
    lucysmommy Posts: 460
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    bump
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'm not entirely sure I understand the question but you might find this helpful:

    Carbohydrate has 4 calories per gram.
    Fat has 9 calories per gram.
    Protein has 4 calories per gram.

    Food items are mainly composed of the above 3 macronutrients. If you're substituting a carb you are essentially either removing it or replacing it with protein and/or fat.
  • lucysmommy
    lucysmommy Posts: 460
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    sorry

    i was looking for vegetables that people have used instead of carbohydrates when cooking to reduce calorie intake - some people have used zucchini instead of pasta
  • Sarah_Wins
    Sarah_Wins Posts: 936 Member
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    I'm no clearly on your question than SS, but if you need some low carb recipes, here's my favorite site: genaw.com/lowcarb
  • Sarah_Wins
    Sarah_Wins Posts: 936 Member
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    sorry

    i was looking for vegetables that people have used instead of carbohydrates when cooking to reduce calorie intake - some people have used zucchini instead of pasta

    Ah. Spaghetti squash in place of pasta, cauliflower instead of potatoes (mashed, rice, etc), that kind of thing? Check the recipe site I noted before, you'll get some great ideas there in her vege section.
  • raylenebrooks
    raylenebrooks Posts: 137 Member
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    mashed cauliflower, and riced.

    Zuchini mushroom cauliflower and cabbage I use all the time
    another site I like is peace love and low carb
  • lucysmommy
    lucysmommy Posts: 460
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    sorry

    i was looking for vegetables that people have used instead of carbohydrates when cooking to reduce calorie intake - some people have used zucchini instead of pasta

    Ah. Spaghetti squash in place of pasta, cauliflower instead of potatoes (mashed, rice, etc), that kind of thing? Check the recipe site I noted before, you'll get some great ideas there in her vege section.

    thanks

    sorry about that i am not the greatest with words
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I prefer not to eliminate any of the foods I love, but add more healthy stuff so I don't feel like I'm limiting myself.

    For instance, one normal serving size of pasta is 2 ounces, at about 200 calories. Instead of just having pasta with marinara sauce, have a somewhat smaller portion of pasta, and add a pile of vegetables to the sauce. Baby bella mushrooms, spinach and sundried tomatoes go really well with marinara. Or get a bag of "Italian Blend" frozen vegetables and dump a pile in your sauce.

    You still get the flavor you'd like from the pasta, and if you add a cup of veggies, you can probably get away with only one ounce of pasta instead of two. So instead of 200 calories of pasta, you have 100 calories of pasta and maybe 30 calories of vegetables.

    (Personally, my calorie goal after exercise is pretty high, so I still have the full 2oz of pasta, but I have one serving, not two like I would have had before. :wink: )
  • lucysmommy
    lucysmommy Posts: 460
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    thanks

    i will be exercising, i am not planning on cutting any food groups out just looking at lower calorie options on the days i might not be able to exercise
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    Vegetables and fat are what I use to replace high calorie starchy foods. The fat is crucial though -- without it no matter how huge the vegetable potions are they don't satiate me. So I add butter, olive oil, full fat everything like cheeses, sour cream and heavy cream to all my meals and end up eating way less for the day because I stay full between meals and don't need to snack when I eat like this. It seems counter intuitive to deliberately add a couple hundred calories of fat to my meals but it works for me.
  • TarenMaim
    TarenMaim Posts: 12 Member
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    I tried substituting foods but found them mostly unsatisfying, instead I try to make dinners/deserts that are already lower in carbs (they are by no means part of a "low carb" diet, they just don't include pastas or breads) . Here is my list of dinners/deserts for next week maybe you'll find something you'll like

    Chicken Florentine
    http://www.oxygenmag.com/Health/Articles/Chicken-Florentine.aspx

    Chicken Tortillia Soup (makes enough for two nights)
    http://www.oxygenmag.com/Nutrition/Articles/Clean-Chicken-Tortilla-Soup.aspx

    Sweet and Smokey Turkey Chili
    http://www.oxygenmag.com/Fat-Loss/Articles/Sweet-and-Smokey-Turkey-Chili.aspx

    Flank Steak with Salad & Corn

    and for days I'm feeling satisfied I'll have a desert/snack like one of these:

    Apple and peanut butter
    Greek yogurt smoothie popsicle
    Pickles and 100 cal popcorn (sounds weird but gets rid of a chip craving)

    And for days I feel like I just HAVE to have something I'll compromise and have one of these:

    Funky Monkey: One small/medium banana, 1 Tbs peanut butter, 1 serving dark chocolate
    Cut the banana lengthwise, spread the peanut butter in the middle and break the chocolate over top, microwave for 30-45 seconds...watch out because the inside is HOT

    2 Oven S'mores: Graham crackers, marshmallows and two squares of dark chocolate melted in the oven.

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