Difficulty trying to find low calorie dinner options

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debberz89
debberz89 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi...

Anyone any simple home made low calorie dinners they could share?

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  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    What are your weight loss goals/plans? :)
    And how low is low for you?
  • My_Butt
    My_Butt Posts: 2,300 Member
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    I make dinners heavy on the veggies. Slice up peppers and onions, sauté them in a pan with just cooking spray, add whatever sauce you would like (I make a homemade sweet and spicy sauce, so that's only 30 calories.) pair that with baked salmon or grilled chicken and a serving of brown rice, whole meal is less than 400 calories. It's very filling too. I make sure my veggies fill about half the plate.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Simply Google, low calorie meals, and you will find more recipes than you can make in a month.
    I use both Recipe. Com and Allrecipes.Com. There are many recipe sites that feature low calorie, vegan or special needs recipes.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    What is low calorie? I aim for about a third of my daily allotment.

    The easiest approach for me is to grill some protein and microwave some veggies or stir fry them, if I'm ambitious.
  • pbbagel
    pbbagel Posts: 53 Member
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    You can make basically any recipe lower calorie by using different ways of cooking.

    For example:
    - Buy protein with less fat content (lower fat mince, chicken breast instead of thighs, seafood and eggs instead of meat)
    - Remove visible fat and skin from meat
    - Use less oil when you cook and add a little water if the food sticks to the pan.
    - Use different spices and ingredients to keep things interesting and add a squeeze of lemon at the end of your cooking for flavour.
    - Decrease the carb content of your meals (eg., 50g of pasta/noodles/rice) and increase the vegetable content. (Cauliflower in pasta dishes, or cabbage in stir fry dishes are great for soaking up the flavour of the sauce and adding bulk to the dinner without many calories).

    With these kind of tips, most of my dinners are around 400-500 calories.

    Hope it helps!
  • maybebeccadough
    maybebeccadough Posts: 49 Member
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    I think pinterest is pretty amazing for finding low calorie meals, it's pretty much all I use. The only other resource I've used somewhat frequently is a blog called budgetbytes.com which also has done great ideas and focuses on staying affordable and mostly healthy.
  • youknowmynamelookupthenumber
    youknowmynamelookupthenumber Posts: 11 Member
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    I eat whatever I'm making my family for dinner with modifications. If I make tacos, I make myself a taco salad (lettuce, taco meat, avocado, a small sprinkle of cheese, a small sprinkle of crushed tortilla chips, tomatoes, salsa, a dab of low fat sour cream = 400 calories). If I make grilled chicken fettuccini alfredo for the family, I forego the pasta (grilled chicken, broccoli, and alfredo sauce). For pasta dishes, try substituting spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for the pasta. Generally, if I take the carb portion out of the meal, or only eat a small amount of it, I can stay within my calorie goals.
  • youknowmynamelookupthenumber
    youknowmynamelookupthenumber Posts: 11 Member
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    Soup is also a good option. This soup is low calorie and tasty: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chicken-corn-chili-recipe.html

    Just don't add the cheese into the soup. Put a little on top of your soup if you must have cheese.
  • kristydi
    kristydi Posts: 781 Member
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    Grilled or baked protein (fish or chicken usually) with 2 veggies. Veggie choices here are usually roasted brussel sprouts, steamed broccoli, roasted mix of zucchini, squash, onion and mushrooms, baked sweet potato, roasted asparagus.

    Roasting veggies is easy. Just spray a sheet pan with cooking spray, toss on the veggies, add a bit of olive oil and seasoning then roast in a hot oven (400-450) till tender but not mushy.
  • laineybz
    laineybz Posts: 704 Member
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    pbbagel wrote: »

    - Decrease the carb content of your meals (eg., 50g of pasta/noodles/rice) and increase the vegetable content. (Cauliflower in pasta dishes, or cabbage in stir fry dishes are great for soaking up the flavour of the sauce and adding bulk to the dinner without many calories).
    !

    I like the idea of cauliflour in pasta dishes!
  • withoutasaddle
    withoutasaddle Posts: 191 Member
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    Zoodles! Oh wow. I bought a vegetti ($15) the other week and can't stop using it. Put a zuccini or cucumber or squash in there and it makes spaghetti-like noodles. With sauce it's like 150 calories
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    One protein (fish, chicken, sausage, pork, lean beef)
    One veggie (doesn't get easier than frozen veggies)
    Optional - A small potato/1 serving of rice/1 serving of pasta

    Done.
  • 2wise4u
    2wise4u Posts: 229 Member
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    This is a great post. Anyone have good croc pot ideas?
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Okay, here are some of my meals this week and last week:

    Cauliflower wraps with spicy avocado puree, tomatoes, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, and (vegetarian) chicken chunks (412 cal for two wraps)
    ef55o1o54up1.png

    White fish curry with white potatoes, bell peppers and cream (200 cal)
    gpqmvjxozf1b.jpg

    Chestnut mushroom salad with spinach, white cheese, grilled chicken strips, and pear, topped with lemon juice and hemp seed (234 cal)
    pp5pqy470li0.jpg

    Salmon on the skin with mushrooms, radish and pine nuts (386 cal)
    a5kzo0eemxjp.png

    Cauliflower pizza with mozzarella, yellow bell pepper, tomato, and chorizo (341 cal for the whole pizza)
    a7z3jowcwldy.png

    Brussel sprouts and chicken thigh fillet with tauge, nuts, and sesame seeds, seasoned with peanut butter (432 cal)
    chbbeycgdlvr.png

    Mixed bell pepper and chicken thigh skewers (185 cal for three skewers of each; add skewers where needed)
    ow48oiqgo3iq.png

    Salmon on the skin with steamed brussel sprouts, fava beans and taugee (371 cal)
    1ao2w8et336y.png

    Grilled sweet potato slice with avocado mash, boiled egg, radish, and grilled chicken (218 cal for one 'sub'; add subs where needed)
    ys85p2l9nqhi.jpg

    Small spinach and feta cauliflower pizza (160 cal)
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    Appel and banana egg 'pancake' with cinnamon and sugar (344 cal)
    5brylyt2s1zi.jpg
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
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    Stir fry meals are low in calories - use cooking spray instead of butter/oil, chicken and veggies. That's my go to when I'm low on calories at night.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    grill up some kind of poultry, fish, or meat and serve with some veg and some kind of grain or starch if you wish.
  • vmahlan0122
    vmahlan0122 Posts: 3 Member
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    You would wants lots of veggies in your meal and some meat for protein. Also throw in some fruits to help stay healthy.
  • debberz89
    debberz89 Posts: 3 Member
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    So many great tips! Thank you! Just trying to find a balance lol thanks
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    Here are some of my dishes :smile:

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