Lower Calorie Hacks...

AnnPT77 wrote: »

• Plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead of mayo in things like deviled eggs, or to replace sour cream, or as a base for salad dressing with your favorite herbs/spices. (Use the plain yogurt to mix your own yogurt cups for lower cals/better tastiness/improved nutrition, too.)
• Thicken 'cream' soups with pureed cooked white beans (adds protein) or pureed cooked cauliflower (roast first for added flavor).
• You want a little fat with your veggies to improve vitamin utilization, but dress the salad with flavored vinegar & add the fat with something more substantial and taste-treat-y, like a tablespoon of nuts, pepitas, or other seeds, or a bit of avocado, for similar calories with more nutrition/satisfaction.
• Squeeze some lemon or lime (or flavored vinegar) on cooked veggies instead of adding butter/oil.
• Use PB2 peanut butter powder with soy sauce to make an Asian-style sauce for veggies, adding whatever seasonings you like (garlic, ginger, chilies - whatever). There are calories involved (45 per serving IIRC for the PB2) but it adds flavor & protein.

Where did you find peanut butter powder? Sounds interesting.

wtliftchick wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

• Plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead of mayo in things like deviled eggs, or to replace sour cream, or as a base for salad dressing with your favorite herbs/spices. (Use the plain yogurt to mix your own yogurt cups for lower cals/better tastiness/improved nutrition, too.)
• Thicken 'cream' soups with pureed cooked white beans (adds protein) or pureed cooked cauliflower (roast first for added flavor).
• You want a little fat with your veggies to improve vitamin utilization, but dress the salad with flavored vinegar & add the fat with something more substantial and taste-treat-y, like a tablespoon of nuts, pepitas, or other seeds, or a bit of avocado, for similar calories with more nutrition/satisfaction.
• Squeeze some lemon or lime (or flavored vinegar) on cooked veggies instead of adding butter/oil.
• Use PB2 peanut butter powder with soy sauce to make an Asian-style sauce for veggies, adding whatever seasonings you like (garlic, ginger, chilies - whatever). There are calories involved (45 per serving IIRC for the PB2) but it adds flavor & protein.

Where did you find peanut butter powder? Sounds interesting.

I get Bell Plantation (brand) PB2 locally at Kroger (health/"natural" foods section, near peanut butter), or at local health food stores. I've also bought it on Amazon.

It comes in a regular flavor, and one with chocolate. Obviously, I use the regular flavor for veggie sauces, but the chocolate one is nice in plain Greek yogurt for flavor & extra protein. People also use these in smoothies.

There are other brands, but I haven't tried them.

I ate the arctic zone but I wasn't sober.. It is like night and day for me in taste. Halo top is delicious but about 100 more calories than arctic

Target carries the PB powder too. It's in the PB aisle.

jmidd97 wrote: »

I'm planning on trying out shiritaki noodles - 6 calories for 100g. Not even kidding. Best way to eat them is apparently dry-frying.

I tried them and thought they were gross lol, I didn't fry them though I just boiled them to warm them up (that's what the package said to do) and put sauce on them. They have a weird taste and were nothing like actual noodles to me, more like worms

OP, I second PB2. I love peanut butter and it saves me a ton of calories, I get it at Walmart. I put that and Smuckers sugar free jam (25 calories I think) on bagel thins and it ends up being 180 calories also sugar free jello is weirdly filling for me and only 40 calories for the entire box. For ice cream, I eat Yasso frozen yogurt which is only 100 calories/bar

I agree with what you said about the Boca burgers and laughing cow cheese wedges! I've also found that it makes great spaghetti; I use one Boca burger, one laughing cow cheese wedge (I think I use pepper jack or some other spicy one), and a serving of Barilla's yellow box spaghetti that's whole grain and fortified with protein (210 calories per serving). Very filling and delicious way to mix things up!

Also:

Milkshakes ~ my favorite substitute is one scoop of protein powder (my favorite is Quest's vanilla milkshake or peanut butter; 100-110 calories), one cup of Silk unsweetened almond milk (30 calories), and ice blended together into a thick consistency. You could also get creative by throwing in a frozen banana or substituting the almond milk for International Delight's caramel or mocha iced coffee which is really good (lighter versions are available and just as delicious). A little flavored nut butter of your choosing can also go a long way!

Ice cream ~ Halo Top is a given as there are no bad flavors! Arctic zero is more hit or miss but I've been impressed with their Brownie Blast/Chunky Cookie Dough pints. However, for 300 calories I'd rather have Halo Top if I were to be honest with myself, although arctic zero does seem to fill me more. Enlightened is also pretty good but also more calories; my favorite is the mint, triple chocolate, smores, and peanut butter. Stay away from the oatmeal raising and salted caramel they have a weird chemical taste to them in my opinion and aren't worth the calories or price!

Bread ~ ThinSlim Foods sells the best bread that has a TON of fiber so it sits like a rock in your stomach for only 50 calories a slice! Too good to be true? Nope, just expensive since it can only be purchased online in addition to being $7 a loaf roughly. Definitely a good treat every once in a great while though, and make sure you get the sampler pack if you're new, there's a code for 50% off which helps! This includes their other goods too like the muffins and cookies which I love (40-45 calories!), and their brownies and squares, which taste like soggy and bitter horrible "desserts" I would not recommend, but they sell so who knows, someone must like them!

Other treats ~ ThinSlim foods can be purchased on their own website, or my favorite website Lindasdietdelites.com which has their own rewards program and ships from the same address strange enough... I've discovered a ton of great brands through here and left a review on each one. Make sure you sign up for emails before ordering because you can use one promotional code per order and they send out quite a bit of good ones! My favorite is Simply Scrumptous brownies/coffee cakes which are OUT OF THIS WORLD good, but they also have donuts which I was very unimpressed with and they're hardly like donuts at all. Simply Scrumptous is cheaper through the manufacturer, but you can only order bulk so it's better to start off on Linda's to try individual things first.

Munching on the go/at movies ~ no more horrible buttery popcorn 1,000+ calorie nonsense for this girl. Instead, I save my calories and money packing roughly a cup of dry cereal in a ziploc bag! 160-200 calories can last you up to 30 minutes and be just as satisfying. Honey bunches of oats has 80% of iron per 1 cup, or you could do a Kashi golean cereal for fiber and protein! Tons of choices though, and much more cost effective than everything else I've mentioned!

Burger buns ~ if you're brave enough, substitute these for mushroom caps. Fun fact: you can also make personal pizzas in these!

Fast food ~ I always try the salads now (skip dressing and get something with other delicious mix ins). I love McDonald's southwest salad, it has SO
MUCH on it you really don't need dressing, take my word for it! Taco Bell's steak cantina power bowl is also really filling and DELICIOUS.

EDIT: for American cheese slices I've tried Kraft Singles 25 calorie slices which are made with nonfat milk and can be purchased at BJ's, not sure of other locations!
Also, I should add that for omelets I love using one whole egg and then adding 1/2 cup of egg whites (you can find them in cartons) to bulk them up