Getting frustrated

I need some idea for some 400-450 cal meal ideas...I am not getting enough calories. I like to eat light...I hate the "too full" feeling...I need some ideas that have most criteria..
BTW: cant eat a ton of dairy (lactose sensitive), and I am trying to stay away from a lot of carbs too.

Replies

  • lilcassers
    lilcassers Posts: 163
    How about whole oats with almond milk and mixing in protein mix or shakeolgy? that's what I do. Chocolate oatmeal... omg YUM.
  • that is an awesome idea! any ideas for lunch and dinner?
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    A mix of nuts and seeds? Higher in calories for small amounts and tasty.
  • Irockursocks87
    Irockursocks87 Posts: 56 Member
    Fish is always a good option :)
  • flitabout
    flitabout Posts: 200 Member
    On nights like that I will have a boneless skinless chicken thigh or 2 with green beans and about a teaspoon of bacon bits in the beans for extra flavor. I make a pouch with tin foil add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of season salt toss them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they are at least 165 degrees. I boil the green beans (if it's just for me I do about 2 cups of green beans) with the bacon bits. toss it all on a plate and you are good to go. High protein, low sugar, low carb, might be a little dicey on the sodium. But it tastes super good and the fat in the chicken thighs makes it taste good and makes you feel like you just got away with eating something naughty! With the fiber in the beans you'll be full till morning.
  • On nights like that I will have a boneless skinless chicken thigh or 2 with green beans and about a teaspoon of bacon bits in the beans for extra flavor. I make a pouch with tin foil add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of season salt toss them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they are at least 165 degrees. I boil the green beans (if it's just for me I do about 2 cups of green beans) with the bacon bits. toss it all on a plate and you are good to go. High protein, low sugar, low carb, might be a little dicey on the sodium. But it tastes super good and the fat in the chicken thighs makes it taste good and makes you feel like you just got away with eating something naughty! With the fiber in the beans you'll be full till morning.
    That sound taste and i could make it ahead of time:D i don't cook with salt, so that doesn't bother me at all either:)
  • Fish is always a good option :)

    What salad dressing goes with salmon (preferably a vinaigrette)
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    If your food diary is accurate, then you are eating righteous amount of vegetable:drinker: but I would just add more of the chicken or turkey to each meal.
  • Jsneel
    Jsneel Posts: 24 Member
    For lunch I like to eat a laughing cow cheese50cals and use pretzel sm sticks (25ish) it's about 55cals then lunch meat rolled with a 1/2wrap is somewhere around 50cal for 1/2wrap plus lunch meat calories I've sub lunch meat for egg with 1/3 tbs of maioniase and 1/3 yellow mustard a sm amount of salt n pepper and crushed red pepper for spice and somewhere I think I heard peppers can help metabolism...you could eat an apple or banana also and still b reasonable on cal count! Watermelon is a good fruit with not too many calories!
  • these are all great ideas:) keep them coming! Please and thank you!
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    Open diary here. The lunches are admittedly repetitive and a few meals deliberately jacked up for the sake of making calories but those are relatively easy to portion down or skip parts of.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/
  • Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.
  • erbell3
    erbell3 Posts: 22 Member
    I made the most amazing dinner tonight and super easy. Chopped up russet potatoes, mixed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, threw in a steamer bag full of diced squash and sliced brats. Mixed all together and then spooned into small squares of aluminum foil that had been sprayed with nonstick spray and wrapped up into a packet. Cooked on the grill on high for about 20-25 minutes and then served with a poached egg on top. Even my kids liked it :) It would be really easy to throw in additional veggies like sliced peppers. I made mine without the brats because I'm vegetarian, but it was really good and really easy to make several servings at a time for later.
  • jannaayl
    jannaayl Posts: 2
    Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.

    Go for organic, natural nut butters. They are high in fat, but it's healthy fat, not the added fat, sugar, and preservatives in processed peanut butter.
  • you guys are amazing thanks for the help!
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.

    Avoid the ones with hydrogenated oils. Those have a lot of polysaturated fat, which is fairly bad for you (peanut butter is often guilty of this). If it's pretty much pure nut butter, though, it provides a good source of healthy fats. You need a decent amount of dietary fat on a daily basis to ensure that you are able to uptake certain fat-soluble vitamins (which you cannot absorb in food without eating fat as well). Natural fats such as in nuts and avocados are good for you. Fat doesn't make you fat, excess calories do (I wish people would use different terms for adipose fat and dietary fat to avoid this confusion, but so it goes).
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    Fish is always a good option :)

    What salad dressing goes with salmon (preferably a vinaigrette)

    Salmon pairs really well with soy, ginger, honey, miso, lime, mustard, dill, and capers. I like broiling my salmon with honey mustard to create a crust then placing it over a salad with a little olive oil.
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    Check out Eating Well.com they have a few really good recipes, and sections for calorie limit meals.

    for instance: http://www.eatingwell.com/blogs/food_blog/4_quick_healthy_400_calorie_recipes_for_dinner
  • jakkisr
    jakkisr Posts: 175 Member
    my diary is open, my dinner (main meal of the day) is pretty much consistently between 4 and 500 calories. Last night was a yummy steak! I generally eat chicken and fish (and I eat good oils - they are necessary for womens health! your body cant store oestrogen without them!)
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.

    So what is it, too many calories or too few? The first post is "How do I get enough calories?" This one is "Oh, too fattening."
  • divaprincess86
    divaprincess86 Posts: 10 Member
    prawns are really good, low in fat high in protein, i normally have a handful of those with a massive salad.. then that also leaves room for pudding which is mainly low fat greek yogurt and fruit mainly berries, blueberrys raspberrys etc!!
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Fish is always a good option :)

    What salad dressing goes with salmon (preferably a vinaigrette)

    My new fave dressing to go with salmon is Poppy Seed. Ken's has a light version that is half the calories if you like. I also like raspberry vinagrette. The sweetness of either one goes well with the salmon.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.

    So what is it, too many calories or too few? The first post is "How do I get enough calories?" This one is "Oh, too fattening."

    This is not an uncommon dilemma for many people on here, so no need to be snarky about it. It can be difficult to wrap your head around eating more calories and accepting 'good fats' into our diets after years of being told that low-fat is the only way to lose weight.
    With the nut butters, you just have to watch portion control carefully.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Adding sliced almonds and other nuts, and seeds to salads and stir-fry dishes is also a good tasty way to get more healthy fats in your diet. And stir frying in coconut oil is great too.

    ETA and yes, avocados are awesome as well. I add them to omelets, salads, wraps, etc.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.

    So what is it, too many calories or too few? The first post is "How do I get enough calories?" This one is "Oh, too fattening."

    This is not an uncommon dilemma for many people on here, so no need to be snarky about it. It can be difficult to wrap your head around eating more calories and accepting 'good fats' into our diets after years of being told that low-fat is the only way to lose weight.
    With the nut butters, you just have to watch portion control carefully.

    Sorry to sound snarky. A lot of people were helpfully suggesting nuts as an easy way to add calories, since adding calories was the apparent problem, so it sounded funny to blow them off with "too fattening." I suppose it can be difficult to get it all straight in one's head.
  • Nuts and nut butters are good options for increasing calories without a lot of volume. Calorie dense foods are your friend.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/28482-list-calorie-dense-foods/

    I have an internal conflict, not that it is true necessarily, but I have always been told that nut butters are SO fattening. I have gotten a little better, I have been eat some more peanut butter but I have really been watching portion size.

    So what is it, too many calories or too few? The first post is "How do I get enough calories?" This one is "Oh, too fattening."

    This is not an uncommon dilemma for many people on here, so no need to be snarky about it. It can be difficult to wrap your head around eating more calories and accepting 'good fats' into our diets after years of being told that low-fat is the only way to lose weight.
    With the nut butters, you just have to watch portion control carefully.

    Sorry to sound snarky. A lot of people were helpfully suggesting nuts as an easy way to add calories, since adding calories was the apparent problem, so it sounded funny to blow them off with "too fattening." I suppose it can be difficult to get it all straight in one's head.

    You need to understand for the longest time my parents wouldn't allow me to eat peanut butter. I have always bee told it is bad. It is hard go from "your not allowed to eat this" to "you have to eat this regularly...but not too much.....but fairly often." If you can't be supportive, you can just get off this board. I have enough people telling me what I should eat with snarky comments, I don't need someone on here doing it too."