Any recipes/ideas for meals or snacks with large portions but don't kill your calories?

CorneliusPhoton wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

I'm a big eater too. I do 1400-1500 calories plus exercise though, so in most cases I can afford to go big. Mixing in vegetables with things really helps with the volume. I also do every other day intermittent fasting from time to time when I have a big appetite where I get to eat 800 calories one day and 2000-2200 calories plus exercise the next.

On my 800 calorie days I go big on soups, egg white omelets full of vegetables (usually shredded zucchini), tuna salad (1 can tuna in water, 1 large tomato, 1 large cucumber, 1 small pickle, a clove of garlic and a squeeze of a lemon) and protein fluff is a life saver for a sweet tooth - I add a couple of splendas because the sweetness gets deluted.

I had never seen protein fluff before - very cool!
Do you eat your 800 calories all at once (and if so, when?), or spread them out throughout the day?

It depends. If I'm eating with the family or not hungry enough (read lazy) to prepare food I eat them all at once. If I'm hungry I spread them out in 2-300 calorie installments. Yeah, the fluff is cool! I make mine with plain old milk and and some kind of flavor extract (almond, peppermint, mango..etc).

Since up your food !!! As a Cuban we live spices . Great thing about spicing your food up is it always cuts down the hunger . Your tongue receptors recieves what you eating a lot faster .. Making you fuller quicker and it also speeds your metabolism !! Good luck Hun !

I love Costco Asia Cashew chicken salad. It has shredded cabbage carrots cilantro cashews and seeds. I do not use the rice noodles & personally I don't care for the dressing I use Trader Joe's spicy peanut dressing and add wasabi I also use Cosco's shredded rotisserie chicken and sometimes add Mandren oranges and avocado. I make a huge family style bowl . It served my family of 3 and I still have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

Last night was one of my favourite cheap (in cash and calories) and very filling meals - fridge soup!

Essentially this is a thick, warming, spicy (if you want) soup made with all that left over / on the turn veg that we all collect in our fridges!

I start with a very small amount of olive oil and fry off an onion, perhaps celery and carrots if I have them. Then, in order of diminishing hardness add any old veg you have around, chopped into approx 1/2" chunks. Let it all heat up by stirring through and adding small amounts of water to start steaming. Add in garlic, ginger if available, and a mild or medium curry spice. Stir through again. Now add stock or water to cover, and a tin of chopped Italian tomatoes. Stir through, bring to a simmer and cover. Cook until the veg is all soft and check your spicing and seasoning. Add in something legumey like tinned lentils or black beans and cook through again so it is all hit. Blitz with a stick blender, but leave a few chunks for texture.

Usually comes in about 200 calories for a hearty bowl' leaving plenty of room for bread, a side or a second bowlful! If you aren't satisfied to bursting for under 500 calories I would be very surprised!

I also like to eat!!! I eat huge salads. I, also, make a pot of vegetable soup or okra/tomato gumbo and keep on hand. Both are fairly low in calories so when I'm hungry or want something, I an eat a bowl of that and it doesn't kill my calories. They are, also, great for meals to eat a lot and not have a ton of calories. I don't know how you stand on processed foods, but I find sugar-free jello and sugar free Cool Whip good and smoothies with sugar free jello and frozen fruit. This summer, I'm filling up on all the watermelon I can afford!!!

We buy some things here that you might be able to use, for example, we love peanut butter too, but at basically 200 cals per 2 tbsp, we gave it up, BUT my mom found powdered peanut butter, all you do is add water (tastes the same!) and it's only 45 calories per 2 tbsp. We also started getting ronzoni 150 pasta (penne and spaghetti), so it's only 150 cals per 2oz instead of 200, (we usually eat 4 oz, saving us a total of 100 cals). We also get kraft fat free shredded cheddar or mozzarella (1\4 cup is 45 cals). Cheerios are only 100 cals for a cup and there are many pre made bags of popcorn in the chip aisle for only 35 cals per cup. Greek yogurt is good to keep you full (make sure your yogurt has more protein than sugar.. Yoplait is terrible... I eat oikos zero dark 30 or something similar to that name) My family and I look for everything low calorie, so we can eat more and feel more satisfied. My last example is when we make burritos... one regular mission flour tortilla is about 200 cals, so we get tomaro brand 60 calorie low carb tortillas and then we have have two, (we could eat 3 and still be under the original 200. I hope these tips help and if you have questions, let me know!

My go-to giant meal is chilli and rice. I make my chilli with a tonne of veg, so I'll use a 400g pack of mince, and add 2-3 courgettes (zucchini), a giant aubergine (eggplant), lots of onions, spinach, green beans, any old veg I have around really. I made one last night and got 10 portions out of it, at 189 calories per serving. And they're giant, satisfying servings. If you use cauliflower rice you can have an even bigger plateful.

I too like big portions and have gotten kind of crafty at finding ways to satisfy. Here are a couple of ideas: Make Tzazeki: non fat greek yogurt which you mix in and equal a mount of shredded cucumber, one or two cloves of shredded garlic, a bit of salt, a squeeze of lemon, lots of fresh dill and 1t-1T olive oil. Let it sit for an hour or so, then have it with raw veggies -- you can really scoop it up and it is filling and mega-tasting (just go easy on the garlic until you know how much you like). Have some pita chips if you want but be careful on the portion size. Another idea: I make salads 3 or 4 at a time and keep them stored in the fridge. You can always make a good choice when they are around. I like to heat up a cup of chili (homemade so you know whats in it) and dump it into the salad as a "dressing". It's really good! If you have room in you eating plan, crumple up a few corn chips in lieu of croutons. They re a great addition if you can afford the calories. Since all good things come in 3's, here is my last: buy some big square seaweed wrappers that are used for sushi rolls and wrap them around turkey or crab or tuna, add some long thin cut up veggies, shredded coleslaw, some dressing or sauce that you like. Roll them tight, seal with water, and cut into slices like sushi. You have a very low cal, very tasty, nice snack that you can make ahead and have ready for whenever you need to chomp on something. And here's an easy bonus -- cut up an apple and sprinkle with cinnamon and stevia (kind of like healthy cinnamon-sugar). Keep it in a baggie or eat it right away. It tastes like apple pie!

Veggie soups of all kinds! You can eat very large portions (like 500-600 grams in sheer mass) and generally it results in no more than about 300-400 calories per serving.

It's very simple. All of my veggie soups have a base of onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Then I add a "highlight" vegetable paired "highlight" spices, low-sodium veggie broth, and a can of pureed tomatoes if it works with the flavoring.

Examples:

Red lentil curry - highlight veggie: red lentils, highlight spices: yellow curry mix, chili powder, chopped fresh ginger, plus add pureed tomato

Broccoli soup - highlight veggie: broccoli, highlight spices: thyme and rosemary. I think this tastes way better than broccoli soups with cream, especially when it's pureed.

Rosemary&thyme green lentil soup - highlight veggie: green lentils, highligh spice: thyme and rosemary

Green curry lentil - highlight veggie: green lentils, highlight spices: green curry paste.

Vegetarian chili - highlight veggies: black beans and kidney beans, highlight spices: cumin, oregano, chili powder, add pureed tomato.


The other positive is veggie soups freeze very well with basically no loss of flavor or texture, meaning they are great for a go-to meal when you just don't feel like cooking.