Swap this for that!

This may sound like a silly swap, but now I have thin crust pizza instead of full pan. I never bothered to try before but it turns out I actually like thin crust better, and it's a bit lighter on calories.

Half mayo half greek yogurt instead of a whole portion of mayo

Bread crumbs soaked in nonfat milk instead of heavy cream in my minced cutlets. I REALLY can't tell the difference in taste, makes me wonder why I didn't do that in the past.

Chocolate instead of chocolate... yeah, not gonna be substituting that in a million years.

Basically the swaps I did make actually taste the same or better to me than my original version, otherwise I don't bother with swapping.

GMO free foods in place of GMO foods.
Homemade salad dressings for store.
Sweet potatoes for potatoes.
I half the amount of butter for recipes and use coconut oil instead.
Lemon water in the morning in place of coffee.

I've made a lot of changes..because I pretty much stripped our diets from most processed foods. We have a few organic ones or some that don't contain GMO's . Not all with the calories in mind. More with the health benefits of the changes in mind.

I would like the recipe for those low carb tortillas

I've tried most of the suggested switches and I think they are good, but I also think eating smaller portions for your favorites works too.

As far as the substituting porter or stout for the lager - I really don't see the point, if you like it, not much difference there in calories or health benefits. Why not drink the lager if you like it better? Isn't drinking alcohol about indulgence anyway?

I've switched flour tortilla wraps for red leaf lettuce when eating taco chicken or something similar. The calories in a wrap are ridiculous and made me sad. I actually found out I liked it. Added bonus, the kids see Mom eating leaves and aren't afraid of lettuce like their father.

Also switched to plain greek yogurt in my tuna salad sandwich mix. I like the tangyness, the rich feel, and I hated mayo so it was a win-win.

Salsa on my eggs and baked potatoes and my tacos instead of various things like cheese, high-sodium taco sauces, etc. I like the contrast of the flavors and textures.

1/2 coffee 1/2 cappuccino instead of all cappuccino. This was easier on my stomach and had less cals.

Kita salmon or steelhead trout for tilapia. I found myself compensating for the tilapia's lack of flavor with higher calorie breadings and sauces. The trout and salmon have more texture and flavor on their own, so I don't have to really mess with it as much.

I don't completely eliminate the foods I switch out, but there are days where I can't "just exercise more" to make room for it, and what the hell do you care if I decide I like not using tortilla wraps and choose lettuce instead? I was doing exactly what you suggest, and I made room for the calories I really wanted by cutting out the ones I didn't need. So blow.

Some people around here swap cauliflower for everything.

:sick:

peanut butter → PB2
dairy milk → almond milk
ice cream → frozen yogurt
white bread → wheat bread (thin)
milkshakes → fruit smoothies
fast food → home-cooked meals!

tortilla chips - -toasted corn tortillas
regular rice -- brown rice
regular pasta for whole wheat pasta

Spaghetti Squash for Pasta...

Oh, that reminds me - switched my random white chocolate mocha from SB with the Hazelnut Macchiatto. The taste is still amazing IMO and the cals are half. Switching to soy milk also helped my digestion - didn't switch for cals there.

Part of the challenge in switching at my house is that I have, HAVE, to provide high-calorie nutritionally-dense foods for my boys and husband, who are all extremely active and slender. (Two of my boys are "underweight", one is on the low end of "normal".) I can't afford to buy two sets of groceries, and if I put the family on a heavy fruits and veg, less everything fattening diet, they'd wither away. So I switch out foods and we can all share the same foods. Win-win. Small portions only gets ya so far sometimes.

/Oh another one... instead of spaghetti I have spaghetti squash...easy to bake - cut in half, take seeds out and in overn for 45 min at 350 then scoop out the 'spaghetti stands' and I arrange them on a plate like spaghetti and put (home made) tomato sauce and a bit of parmesan cheese and YUM. And I can have seconds! At first I didn't think I'd be full since i love carbs...but it is actually quite filling...and they re-heat nicely!

This...and for the person who thinks it's too sweet, sprinkle it with oregano and sage before you bake it. The sage cuts the sweetness and the oregano adds some Italian flavor.

I've swapped cereal for the most part for oatmeal.

Here is another one, in some recipes where leaner cuts are just not right, I grind some heavily seasoned and cooked mushrooms with my ground meat (in addition to onions and garlic) this imparts some special amazing flavor and cuts down the bulk of fatty meat.

P.S I have always loved cauliflower so I'm curious about the pizza crust, isn't it chuck full of cheese and egg yolk making it a higher calorie alternative to the conventional crust? Or have I been reading the wrong recipes? I'm honestly curious to try it if it actually has lower calories.

In my pies
sugar+flour+eggs---->oats+juice

Unsweetened Almond Milk for Skim Milk in Protein Drinks.