How do I live without chips?

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I love crunchy stuff to eat with my meals, especially with sandwiches. Now that I'm counting calories, chips are just not worth eating. I've tried having baby carrots with my sandwiches and that helps, and air popped popcorn, but plain is not great and adding butter or coconut oil adds too many calories. Any ideas?
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Replies

  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
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    If you love crunchy stuff eat carrots and apples. If it's the salt on the chips you crave (more likely), just cut back and your taste buds will adjust quite quickly.
  • Zipp237
    Zipp237 Posts: 255 Member
    edited June 2016
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    If you can handle the salt, pickles are low-cal, crunchy and go with many sandwiches. Maybe some other kind of side dish, like cottage cheese or a salad. I usually just eat the sandwich. It feels weird at first when there is no other thing to eat along with it, if you're used to always having something, but I got used to it.
  • miconsumafuoco
    miconsumafuoco Posts: 43 Member
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    Thank you. I like the idea of just letting myself have SOME and figuring it in somehow. Pre-measured baggies sound good. Are Kale chips high in calories? Are they any good? Lol
  • kpeterson539
    kpeterson539 Posts: 220 Member
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    Once I tried to make homemade kale chips. They were not to my tasting but everyone likes something different.

    One good thing is that I wasted about $3 giving it a whirl & about 15 minutes in the kitchen. I feel it was a fair experiment to find out that I DIDN'T like it.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    Have you tried baked chips?
  • Josh_lol
    Josh_lol Posts: 317 Member
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    Just eat less chips than you normally would. Or maybe don't eat them as often. Just moderate.
  • miconsumafuoco
    miconsumafuoco Posts: 43 Member
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    Zipp237 wrote: »
    If you can handle the salt, pickles are low-cal, crunchy and go with many sandwiches. Maybe some other kind of side dish, like cottage cheese or a salad. I usually just eat the sandwich. It feels weird at first when there is no other thing to eat along with it, if you're used to always having something, but I got used to it.

    It DOES feel weird! Lol Maybe that's part of it too. I'm supposed to be changing my habits right? Is it a healthy habit to ALWAYS have chips with a sandwich or soup?? Lol
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I would figure them in if you miss them that much.
  • Seryjniak
    Seryjniak Posts: 2 Member
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    I know that letting chips go seam impossible. I love them too - but read about health issues related to them and think if you want to put that inside yourself. What I do now is once or twice a month i cut potatoes into tiny slices sprinkle LITTLE oil on it and get a lot of sweet paper on it and some tabasco - get it into oven and heat up for 20 minutes.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Jicama is sweet, crunchy, and low calorie. It is some work to get at, but mmm.
  • JShailen
    JShailen Posts: 184 Member
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    If it's something I feel isn't worth the calories then I won't eat it. If you love it enough, then it's worth it (then it's a matter of cutting calories elsewhere to fit it in).

    If it's just the salt and crunch you're after then a small apple and salted cucumber with your soup or sandwich can fit the bill.
  • miconsumafuoco
    miconsumafuoco Posts: 43 Member
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    Dnarules wrote: »
    Have you tried baked chips?

    This is where I get wishy-washy. If a food, other than a vegetable, doesn't have significant protein, I feel like I'm wasting my calories on something that won't keep me fuller longer. (I also just lost 20 pounds on Atkins so I'm still kinda carb-phobic.) But then I considered baked bc then I figure, if I'm still able to stay in my calories, it's fine. Maybe I can experiment...
  • BiggDaddy58
    BiggDaddy58 Posts: 406 Member
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    I have substituted Special K cracker chips ( different flavors) 25 chips=120 calories and also Good Thins (different flavors) 22-24 chips for 130 calories roughly
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Also, my wife loves Cheetos. She practices the portion control of using a common sized bowl such as one eats too much cereal from, and she reaches into the bag and grabs some Cheetos and puts them in the bowl. Then she puts the clip on the bag and takes her bowl of Cheetos to the TV and resumes her favorite activity. I admire her portion control with Cheetos. She can make a big bag of Cheetos last a week. That bowl holds about 1 oz.