How do you stretch yours??

as a fellow cheese-lover.....I agree, I also buy extra sharp cheddar, as I find it feels like more (tastes like more) with less.... if that makes sense.

we have tacos weekly. so one week I'll have bean tacos --rosarita beans, that I add water to to make them "go" a little farther, and the next week turkey meat.. except I use less meat than we need, and when I add the seasoning and water, I add about a half cup of "quick" rolled oatmeal... it ends up tasting the same and you get the benefit of oats and less "meat calories".

also, when I make smoothies, I add an equal amount of unsweetened almond milk and crushed ice. the ice has no calories and makes the smoothie much bigger (and colder) so I drink it for longer and it feels more filling.

I think it isn't so much about stretching foods for me but making room in my calorie count for them, particularly if they are somewhat healthy like cheese. I sometimes have to scrap something off my pal if it doesn't add up but this is often more to do with the protein/carb/fat content of a food more than the calories of the food. Tomorrow I was going to have a few scones but I would have eaten too many calories and needed more protein so I scrapped them from my pal and added some beef jerky for afternoon tea instead.

I have also found that a good method to employ is to prepare my food in advance and then edit my entries for tomorrow, today, i.e. I have pretty much figured out exactly what I will be eating tomorrow (even a few things for Tuesday). If I don't have food all cooked up and planned I will be a little more loose with my meals on MFP and try and leave something there for desert like some icecream or something nice. On those days if during the day I eat something else like some chocolates or a bigger meal or something it means that I can't have the icecream later on. This way I try not to overeat during the day otherwise I miss my treat later but if I do feel like some chocolates or something at some stage I can have that too and not feel guilty that I am over eating.

I guess summing everything up to try and make this post more relevant I do try and stretch naughty foods like chocolates...

i thought this was going to be dirty

haha, you just made me chuckle

I love cheese, too! I have some bomb *kitten* cheese! I used 3oz to make a couple quesadillas the other day... just the cheese was almost 500 cal! lol, was worth it and I made it fit my macros!

If I am eating doritos, I will nibble them in such tiny bites that they last much longer and I don't need as many.

If I am eating chocolate I suck it until it melts, last longer than just chewing and swallowing.

Ice cream I eat with a teaspoon to make it last longer too.

Really was not thinking cheese....

And sometimes I live dangerously and laugh when I'm defeated by the red bar of doom

Gotta live! :drinker: