The little things that add up! Share!

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On a recent road trip, we stopped for Culver's, an awesome fast food place. I got a burger, no cheese. I know it's not the healthiest meal on earth but hey, I saved like 75-100 calories by skipping the cheese. And I didn't even notice it was missing. What are some small changes you have made in the food department?
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Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    1/2 English muffin instead of whole.
    Water instead of almond milk in protein shake.
    1/2 or 3/4 of a serving for snacks, regardless of what it is.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I'm not a low carber or a "bread is the devil" person, but I do often skip the bread and make everything a salad. It gives me room for ice cream and lets me eat high volume, which I prefer. I also don't cook with oil, which tends to make me struggle to meet my fat goal but I try to get it from avocado.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
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    -Non Stick spray
    -Spray butter
    -Grill instead of sauté
    -Sparkling water with mio to make flavored sparkling water(good soda alt.)

    The list could go on and on!!!!
  • half12345
    half12345 Posts: 51 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    1/2 or 3/4 of a serving for snacks, regardless of what it is.
    What a great tip! It seems silly but I automatically count and portion out a full serving of any snack food. I will definitely use this trick.
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
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    I use spray butter on popcorn or corn on the cob rather than real butter.
    I don't use any butter on my toast, just go straight to the peanut butter or jam
    No mayo on sandwiches, just mustard.
    I try to by craft beers that are "session" beers, which are lower in alcohol, and calories.
    I've been experimenting with using plain greek yogurt to make sauces. My next try will be a lower calorie ranch dressing.
  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 345 Member
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    Nonfat Greek yogurt for sour cream, no butter on corn on the cob. Broccoli in scrambled eggs for volume to fill up
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
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    I spray lemon juice on vegetables such as brocolli or beans instead of using butter.
  • atruckerswife
    atruckerswife Posts: 28 Member
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    I rip the edges off buns and wraps when I eat out, at home if I have a burger, I skip the bun altogether and just eat the meat and toppings with a fork and knife. Instead of wheat wraps, I buy corn.. Way less calories.
    Went from double cream to one milk in my coffee.
    Bought low cal dressings and measure for salad.
    I also skip the butter and use a thin scrape layer of jam on a piece of toast. (I don't eat a lot of bread, but when I do I enjoy it. I prefer to use those calories for more of something else.)
    Even where I put things in the fridge has changed. Low cal things are on the main shelf.. Fruits,35 calorie yogurt, cooked veggie leftovers... :)
    Oh my.. I could go on and on with all the little changes I have made.
  • 6502programmer
    6502programmer Posts: 515 Member
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    skip the tortilla when getting [chipotle|qdoba|burrito@work]
    half rice and more veggies for the above
    sub out burger patties for grilled chicken
    WEIGH EVERYTHING.
    make salads into actual salads, as in not simply a cheese, dressing, crouton, and bacon delivery system
    ditch the libation with every dinner thing, and instead have unsweetened iced tea
  • crystalewhite
    crystalewhite Posts: 422 Member
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    I recently switched out the croutons in my salad with roasted chickpeas. It saves some calories because you don't need too many, and the protein helps keep my blood sugar from spiking.
    You can definitely make your own, but pre-roasted ones are starting to pop up in grocery stores.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Fiber Gourmet pasta instead of regular. 1/2 the calories and helps me meet my figer goal.
    Mustard or hot sauce instead of mayo on sandwiches
    Homemade salad dressings with less oil
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm not a low carber or a "bread is the devil" person, but I do often skip the bread and make everything a salad. It gives me room for ice cream and lets me eat high volume, which I prefer. I also don't cook with oil, which tends to make me struggle to meet my fat goal but I try to get it from avocado.

    I also skip out on the bread so that I can have something I would enjoy more than bread.... Usually wine.
  • half12345
    half12345 Posts: 51 Member
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    I made eggplant parm last night and grilled the eggplant instead of breaking and frying it. So good! And saved a ton of calories.
  • noclady1995
    noclady1995 Posts: 452 Member
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    Lemon on veggies, instead of salt or butter.
    Olive oil non-stick spray for sauteing.
    Almond milk, instead of regular milk.
    I don't necessarily stick to these 100%, but on days that I may need the extra calories, I try to sub.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    No cheese on burgers makes me sad. I'd definitely notice if it was gone. I often skip the bun though if I'm not really craving a burger in the first place (then I skip the cheese too, sure, but if I want a burger, I'll have it with cheese and bun, or it won't be satisfying).

    The biggie though was olive oil in my homemade Dijon mustard/vinegar/oil salad dressing. I never noticed when I started omitting it (I know, healthy fats, but you know what, I'd rather use the calories elsewhere).

    Other than that, I always notice the difference, I just often don't care enough for something to waste calories on it (like mayo in sandwiches, butter in cooking etc).
  • sophomorelove
    sophomorelove Posts: 193 Member
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    I cut the crust off toast. I only eat the glazed part of a doughnut and the frosted part of a muffin because those are the things I'm really after, if I must indulge :smiley:
  • ultrahoon
    ultrahoon Posts: 467 Member
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    Using something like FryLight instead of olive oil removed about 600 calories a week from my intake, and the only downside I've found so far is that FryLight makes for rubbish roast potatoes.
  • CricketClover
    CricketClover Posts: 388 Member
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    I was always a cheese on my burger kinda gal but I have started to put guacamole instead and sometimes a dab of chipotle mayo, and I find I like it better! I air pop my popcorn and use a misto for a little olive oil on it instead of pouring the oil or using butter. Actually, I use the Misto a lot where normally I would have poured the oil such as sautee, pasta, salads, etc.
  • KittensMaster
    KittensMaster Posts: 748 Member
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    A good whole leaf of romaine lettuce for a wrap instead of tortilla

    I do the Jimmy Johns UnWich idea and wrap lettuce instead of bread.
  • half12345
    half12345 Posts: 51 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    No cheese on burgers makes me sad. I'd definitely notice if it was gone. I often skip the bun though if I'm not really craving a burger in the first place (then I skip the cheese too, sure, but if I want a burger, I'll have it with cheese and bun, or it won't be satisfying).

    The biggie though was olive oil in my homemade Dijon mustard/vinegar/oil salad dressing. I never noticed when I started omitting it (I know, healthy fats, but you know what, I'd rather use the calories elsewhere).

    Other than that, I always notice the difference, I just often don't care enough for something to waste calories on it (like mayo in sandwiches, butter in cooking etc).

    Do you put something in your dressing to replace the oil?