Substitutions

Think about your favorite caloric dish, think about what you like about it. Subtract the things from it. For instance I'm a nacho fiend and I wanted to fit a large portion into my daily calorie budget so I took out the chips and the sour cream. Having a bowl of loaded refried beans was totally fine with me and helped me with that.

With pizza from outside I order mine without cheese and I add parm from the table and be mindful of how much I add.

Zoodles gets my pasta cravings in check if I'm wanting a big bowl.

I'm a volume eater from time to time so eating less of things doesn't always work in my favor.

Adding a little sea salt to Greek yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream

I also use it in salads...1/2 light/FF mayo 1/2 Greek yogurt mixture for tuna/egg/or chicken salad with salt/pepper/garlic powder/onion powder to taste

If you like spicy, you can substitute a little habanero salsa on top of fried sliced tomatoes for ketsup (love it on eggs with sautéed spinach) that is a an awesome five-minute one pan recipe two eggs, sliced tomato, handful of fresh spinach season with see salt and pepper to taste when it's done serve it with 100 cal sandwich thin or Sara Lee multigrain toast 45 cal a slice

Making a dish into a soup. Basically taking whatever the dish is and making a big brothy version of it.

I'm not totally on board with the whole cauliflower rice/mash thing but have found that if I do half/half I can barely notice the difference. I sometime make mash with half potato half cauliflower or risotto with half rice half cauliflower rice. Saves a lot of cals but you still have the carby satisfaction

I try not to substitute....i will just have a lesser amount.

I try to use low fat sour cream, 2% cheese, light mayo, half and half instead of cream. I agree greek yogurt is a good sub for sour cream in most cases. Fat free half and half works in soup if you add at the end and do not boil. I still use the good stuff too. It just depends on the dish.

I wanted to share this poem. I always laugh when people mention making substitutions because of it.

Substitutions (from a long ago forgotten local cookbook)

I didn't have potatoes, so I substituted rice.
I didn't have paprika, so I used another spice.
I didn't have tomato sauce, I used tomato paste.
A whole can, not a half a can--I do not like to waste.
A friend gave me the recipe, she said you couldn't beat it!
There must be something wrong with her--I couldn't even eat it.

I recently acquired a bag of "Embrace Your Inner Bean" snacks (from Trader Joe's) from a friend and I've been using them as a healthier substitute for croutons on salad and also been using them as a substitute for bread crumbs. Today used them while making hamburger patties. Works amazingly well they have such a light flavor that they blend with most everything.

I didn't read everyone's responses, so sorry if this is a repeat ...

But I use water to cook with on some things ... almost like steaming it ... then when nearly finished, I use my favorite oil or butter because that makes it all sauteed and yummy with flavor but rrrreally cuts down from using 1-2T of oil to just a tsp (ie ~40cal vs 120-240cals)

I also use more spicy sauces rather than creamy bases. There are some really good ones out there and that also tends to cut the cals by 1/2 but you have to read labels because even some of those are loaded with sugar which no big deal, but I'm trying to cut back on that.

I eat a wedge of laughing cow (light has 35cals/wedge and regular is 70cals/wedge) with my apple or veggies rather than 1-2T of peanut butter (saves A LOT of cals & gives a different delish twist to my fruits/veggies)

I do find that sometimes you don't get more for you buck -- meaning, you aren't as satisfied -- sometimes when you eat lowfat cottage cheese vs 4%, or 35cal sliced bread vs a hearty slice etc. First time I used MFP (over 1000 days) -- I FINALLY discovered why some days I just wanted to eat everything -- usually it was when I was eating "light" or "fat-free" etc. I took 2 months off because I was getting bored with logging each and every day which has been nice. But sorry, I digress haha

Lately I have been using hummus as a spread in place of Miracle Whip or mayonnaise on my sandwiches so they aren't dry and I get the extra-filling protein and fiber in the hummus whereas mayonnaise has no protein or fiber. I also like the greek yogurt as sour cream.