substitutes for what we used to eat

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I am from Buffalo NY , home of the chicken wings .. there is plenty of them here every where you go. Being raised on chicken wings , I realize it has contributed to my overweight status. However, now that I do not eat them any longer, I still like the flavor of wing sauce and bleu cheese dressing . I crave it sometimes so I decided to make a substitute .. I just use frank's hot sauce instead of mixing it with butter. My bleu cheese dip is a light blue cheese dressing and I add bleu cheese crumbles to thicken it up a bit.. I use boneless skinless chicken breast that I bake and then cube it up. mmm good .. its way healthier and I get to address my cravings.

What foods have you been able to alter your recipe to not feel so slighted?
my response is below

I will be following this thread!

There are unfortunately a lot of things I haven't been able to substitute. I've made baked French fries and they were ok, but it's still not the same thing and not as satisfactory. Cheesecake, same thing, the 'light' versions don't measure up. I make fantastic protein pancakes but it still doesn't compare to those buttermilk pancakes I made a few weeks ago... all the 'healthier' desserts I've made have turned out disappointing (except that 'skinny jelly roll up' that turned out to be 400 delicious calories, instead of the 100 they advertised).

The only 'light' thing really that has totally satisfied my cravings were jello sugar free temptations (for chocolate mousse cravings), and random savory foods that I can make pretty well without adding a ton of butter or oil - fried rice, crepes, meatloaf, Mexican food etc. Breyer's ice cream is a good pick for ice cream too, but still not low calorie.

Sometimes there just isn't a substitute for the real thing.

That sounds so delicous. I love that idea, since I myself, love buffalo wings. Saturday mornings, I like a bacon egg and toast breakfast. Well, now that I am getting back down to my goal weight, I figured out a way I could still have this on Saturdays, but cut a lot of the calories. I use one whole egg, along with one egg white. Sometimes, I just have 2 egg whites. Also, when I fry the egg, I make sure I always use a cooking spray like PAM. For the bacon, I have switched to turkey sausage, which i sooooo low in calories or you can use turkey bacon. The toast, I either skip, or I have "light, 100% whole wheat toast". It taste very good, And I don't feel at all like I'm dieting.

I am from Buffalo NY , home of the chicken wings .. there is plenty of them here every where you go. Being raised on chicken wings , I realize it has contributed to my overweight status. However, now that I do not eat them any longer, I still like the flavor of wing sauce and bleu cheese dressing . I crave it sometimes so I decided to make a substitute .. I just use frank's hot sauce instead of mixing it with butter. My bleu cheese dip is a light blue cheese dressing and I add bleu cheese crumbles to thicken it up a bit.. I use boneless skinless chicken breast that I bake and then cube it up. mmm good .. its way healthier and I get to address my cravings.

What foods have you been able to alter your recipe to not feel so slighted?

I don't do substitutes....at.all. My downfall used to be rice, pasta and good bread; unfortunately too much of it. I now eat pasta and rice once a month and bread even less ( I just eat normal amounts of carbs from more complex sources like vegetables and fruit). I have cut down on frequency as well as portion size and am ok with it. Since I live in Mexico my " daily bread " are corn tortillas.
I used to and still love vegetables with cheese sauce ( more than ice cream, pizza and similar foods ) and now just put a thin slice of cheese on top of the veggies and let it melt. I save the calories from the butter, milk and flour from the sauce. Usually substitutes are not worth the calories for me , because nothing tastes like the original. I still make cheese sauce on occasion as a treat that fits into my daily calories. The same is true for other foods. Yesterday I made guacamole; had 9 spoonfuls with three tostadas as my main meal and stayed well within my calories. Actually I did 5:2 on that.....:o). My personal opinions is that there is really no reason to substitute unless a person really wants to overeat.

I bake more things rather than fry them

I still make sweets but use applesauce in place of the oil (or a portion of the oil) - no one in the family notices and we still get brownies, homemade waffles (add cinnamon and call them apple cinnamon waffles), and cupcakes.

I made my own spreadable butter - 1/2 real butter 1/2 olive oil. Blend and keep in tupperware in fridge (still the creamy flavor but get the healthy olive oil.

I made my own homemade syrup for my coffee - boil brown sugar and water at a 1 to 1 ratio - keep in bottle in fridge - (25 calories per TBS vs. 40 for the Torini Syrup) and I like it better.

oh goodness.. lets see

Instead of noodles I've used sliced squash, asparagus, or even french cut green beans

I've found "frying cheese" and fried just the piece of cheese with bread - taste just like a grilled cheese!

I00 calorie kettle corn instead of potato chips

Fruit and Cream oatmeal instead of cereal (I don't like almond milk or any other substitutes so i just don't do cereal any more)

Low Carb Miracle Brownies instead of Little Debbies (made with stevia, almond meal, protien powder, and eggs i believe. Mom makes them for me)

Frozen Yogurt instead of ice cream.

I eat veggie burgers/chicken patties/sausage patties with egg beaters southwestern eggs every morning. They def not as good as regular eggs/real meat, but after an hour long workout, I want a HUGE meal. I can have that and not go over 300 calories with these in the mornings.

Mashed califlower instead of potatoes

Sugar Free caramels instead of candy

Powerade Zero instead of Soda

Lettece instead of bread/taco shells/tortillas

Bell pepper in place of taco shells/tortillas! and i feel fancier when I do this!

Laughing Cow cream cheese instead of full flavor/Philadelphia cream cheese

Turkey brats instead of Regular brats



The list goes on and on and on. I'm a former low carb-er (obviously) and it has kind of stuck with me. I rather have tons of protein is a lettuce wrap than a little meat on one dinky tortilla. My family loves their carbs, so I'm always find a way to alter the meals i make them work for me. :-)

I make my own ice cream, yoghurt and sorbets instead of buying the high sugar versions from the supermarket. I think my versions are much yummier as they are not so sickenly sweet and full of fake flavours and preservatives.

And if I want to make rissoles I mince my own meat either 100% lean beef or kangaroo and add the egg and chopped veggies. I once compared 100% kangaroo mince to kangaroo rissoles and the amount of fake stuff they add is alarming to say the least.

You can saute your stir fry veggies in a little bit of low sodium vegetable broth, that way you don't need oil.

Saute in vegetable broth?......it appears cooking is confusing for you as well.

I haven't substituted much...greek yogurt for regular yogurt and sour cream.

I was on my way to skim milk anyway...I find whole milk to rich.

I fit in what I ate before as I don't plan on giving it up.

No substitutes. I eat the same as before. Just less.

^^^this^^^

I bake more things rather than fry them

I still make sweets but use applesauce in place of the oil (or a portion of the oil) - no one in the family notices and we still get brownies, homemade waffles (add cinnamon and call them apple cinnamon waffles), and cupcakes.

I made my own spreadable butter - 1/2 real butter 1/2 olive oil. Blend and keep in tupperware in fridge (still the creamy flavor but get the healthy olive oil.

I made my own homemade syrup for my coffee - boil brown sugar and water at a 1 to 1 ratio - keep in bottle in fridge - (25 calories per TBS vs. 40 for the Torini Syrup) and I like it better.

Ok, using applesauce instead of oil sounds crazy but amazing! Useful tip :-)

And your own spreadable butter, genius!

Substitutes-wise, I don't really do them. I refuse to eat anything that isn't tasty, so I'm no longer eating stuff just because it's there. I have switched out my chocolate snacks for fruity ones e.g. banana & yoghurt or raspberries, but I love them both so although they're not chocolate, they don't "feel low calorie", as it were.

I refuse to eat anything that isn't tasty, so I'm no longer eating stuff just because it's there.

Same here! I have nothing against processed food, but I no longer eat pre-packaged cookies and cakes or frozen pizza, I'd rather make my own. If they have to be calorie-dense foods (and yes, they have to be. I'm not into cauliflower madness) they'd better be at least delicious.

22 months, 100 pounds and I refuse to give up the real taste of the foods I love. The biggest lesson - eating a smaller portion of the foods I love and getting my *kitten* off the couch.

My brain had to undergo a transformation. I think differently now.