Hacks that reduce calories (and other things)

yirara · February 22

I don't eat a lot of meat for ethical reasons. Also, the tastiest meat tends to be rather high in calorie here, like pork mince (low fat doesn't exist). For the past two days I made a rice bowl with crisped up pork, lots of spices and my own condiment, plus veg and pickled things. Anyway, the pork mince is super high in calorie, and it's meat. So I only used half of my usual portion and the other half crumbled tofu, mixed both together. I still got the crisped up pork texture and taste, but at a lot less calories and meat content, with still a good amount of protein.

Do you have some similar hacks that you use regularly?

acpgee · February 23

I replace 30% of mince with quorn in recipes like bolognese sauce or chilli con carne. I can’t discern the difference in either taste or texture.

Increased resistant starch content by cooling and reheating carbs, or freezing and toasting bread.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cooling-resistant-starch#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

Alatariel75 · February 23

I add veggies to everything. Mushrooms chopped and added to any meaty stewed dish double the bulk while adding very few calories. Grated zucchini in bolognaises, blended veg in sauces etc. You can add veg almost anywhere. I also use 50/50 riced cauli with regular rice if I'm having it, and mix 50/50 cauli and pasta for things like pasta bakes.

Corina1143 · February 23

I make my own sausage with 99% fat free turkey. It's the spices I want and like, along with the protein, not the crispy fat.

9y4qg4b2ph622 · February 24

I replace a little less than half of the mayonnaise in things like broccoli salad or tuna salad with non fat yogurt. You don’t really notice if it’s less than half. More than half you start to taste the yogurt tangyness.

acpgee · February 24

If you are craving a carby crispy snack, a lot of chiplike items sold for deep frying at home can be microwaved to a crisp. Indian poppadoms and Asian shrimp chips, sold in ethnic grocery stores, for example. Photo shows poppadoms that have been microwaved 1 minute each, served to scoop up tuna tartare.

SafariGalNYC · February 24

I use to add a lot of calories by frying or sautéing in olive oil or fat… now I poach or bake fish and poultry to save on cals. No oil needed!

Corina1143 · February 24

I'm not a big dessert eater, but sometimes--
I make a mousse of about half 2% cottage cheese and half baked sweet potato. Add a little vanilla and enough milk (a couple spoonfuls?) So it whips well in the blender. It's better the second or third day. No added sugar. Got some protein. Credit for eating veggies. Win-win.

springlering62 · March 6

I use a particular frying pan that, if preheated, browns and “sautees” meats with no additional oil. Nonstick and easy to clean, too.

I have a strained that holds a tub of dairy product. I often strain a tub of nonfat Greek yogurt for two or three days. It makes a great low cal cream cheese substitute, and can be used to make a very low cal cheesecake my husband’s fond of, too.

I add diced veggies to dishes as others said above, especially lasagna. I also noticed that there’s very little taste difference using half the noodles called for. I buy ground chicken, mix it well with Italian herbs or herbs de Provence and then brown it. You’d never know it wasn’t Italian sausage.

I sometimes make my own skyr or yogurt. The liquid whey I drain off during the process is like liquid gold. It makes great breads, pancakes, etc. by simply substituting for water. And it adds protein.

Sweet balsamic infused vinegars are very low calorie and can be used 1001 ways - as a stir fry sauce, a marinade, salad dressing, over cottage cheese and fruit. There’s dozens of flavors but my favorites are strawberry, blueberry, espresso, honey ginger, and once in a while I’ll get a bottle of chocolate. Very intense sweet taste without the sugar.

Cinnamon in or on various things. Although it’s not sweet, our tastebuds perceive it as sweet.

Lately, diced apples in green or chicken type salads. Lends a pleasant taste for not a lot of calories, since one apple is usually enough for multiple servings.

My wonderful Ninja hand milk frother. Pour in a quarter cup of skim, pump it for twenty seconds, microwave for 20-30 seconds, and enjoy a cup of light frothy foam.

acpgee · March 6

Tip for pancakes when using a nonstick pan. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the microwave and stir it into the batter. No additional fat needed.

springlering62 · March 7

i was using a big nonstick griddle and didn’t need any oils at all.

But after seeing someone talking about making pancakes on sheet pans, I started doing that to make my giant batches.

With baking paper, they just lift out. No scrubbing or oil necessary. Easy peasy!!!! Genius and I could hug whoever suggested it!

And bonus, the pancakes come out like…..cake, and anything disguised as low cal, high protein sweet moist cake is a win/win/win/win/WIN in my opinion.

yirara · March 7

Keep 'em coming! Some good advice here.

Hobartlemagne · March 19

Pork loin and shoulder have less fat than mince.

My go-to method for reducing calories is to reduce fat.

Carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram, but fat is 9 calories per gram

nossmf · March 19

I used to avoid crock pot meals because of how much work went into cleaning the pot after. But then my sister introduced me to disposable crock pot liners which you put in place before adding any ingredients. Not only is cleaning the pot as simple as simply lifting the liner (plus leftovers) and dropping into the trash, but the contents have been less likely to burn to the sides of the pot.

Tip from my doctor who wanted to put me on blood pressure meds but suggested I try something first: when cooking a meal which includes stirring in seasonings to include salt, continue to add everything as normal but hold off on adding the salt until immediately before serving. (This does not apply to baking, just soups, sauces, skillet meals, etc.) Not only does this cause the flavor of the entire meal to be more intense, but people are far less likely to add additional salt once the food is on the plate/bowl. Less salt, for some people (like me) can impact blood pressure and other health markers, and for everybody else, the greater taste intensity is (usually) welcome.

neanderthin · March 24

I'll put this in your "and other things" category

For me after years of struggling to maintain any weight loss it was to actually consume foods that contain a lot of fat and animal protein while at the same time removing most carbs, almost all. I just ate until I was full then just repeated that process, so hunger was a thing of the past really while at the same time I lost 65 lbs over the next 6 months. Actually I needed to remember to eat sometimes and still do periodically. Works for me.

As for low calorie foods, there were times where I needed to also lose some weight so my hack was to remove some fat which was generally associated with beef with higher fat content like ribeye's, pork shoulder, ground beef, butter, ghee that kind of thing and replaced them with low fat seafood. Fish like cod, haddock, perch, pickerel and lots of mollusks like clams, mussels, oysters also some squid and octopus which worked like a charm. 😊

IrisKB5 · April 13

I’m a bit of a sucker for creamy sauces but actual cream is obviously not great. I replace it with a mix of stock and cream cheese. Honestly tastes the same and far less calories.

trombonegds · June 5

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12942/italian-sausage-soup/

billggibson2 · June 18

I sometimes substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream. In addition to calories, I have to watch sugar and sodium. I'm a "type 2." Sprouted grain bread, like Aldi's "Knock Your Sprouts Off" seems to help when I have a need for bread. And blue corn tortilla chips or blue corn taco shells help too.

Look for a "Black Beans & Quinoa" recipe online. This is a great base for salsa and guacamole, and is relatively low in calories, but quinoa has ALL the amino acids that the body needs, and is quick to cook.

Haven't been too interested in sodium until recently and this happened: I was in the mood for a Mexican Meal, and found a can of refried beans with great colorful advertising, so I bought it. I enjoyed the flavor but later noted how much sodium was in it. And, as I compared online, you can't buy refried beans that don't have a bunch of salt added… so, I realized I could buy a can of low/no sodium Pinto or Black Beans and make the refried beans at home. I blend about 2/3's of a can of the beans, and then add the whole beans back to it in a pan. I then mash some of the whole beans, to give it a "rustic" texture. Works great and I control the salt.

springlering62 · June 18

@billggibson2 search all recipes for the “no fry refried beans” recipe.

It’s excellent, and so easy!

“Hacks” in the thread title bugs me. To me, a hack implies a shortcut or faster way. Yeah, you can use common sense, but there is no shortcut to weight loss.

If you’re trying to find a faster, short cutted, or hacked way, yeah, I know it’s just semantics, but to me, that implies someone who will quit at the first stumble or roadblock.

Words matter, especially in weight loss. Be careful how you talk to yourself is my #1 hack.

cassandralys · June 20

I replace all sour cream (and most mayo) with non fat greek yogurt

I replace most butter with applesauce, especially for baking

I pre log foods before I eat them so I know how much I'm eating and if there's room for dessert

I usually cut about half the sugar out of anything I bake

I try to add extra vegetables whenever I can, including mincing spinach for use as an "herb" topping

I add protein powder to most everything I bake, and many things I don't (smoothies, pancakes, cookies, cakes, pizza crust, etc)

I look up recipes ahead of time and see if I can swap out ingredients for healthier alternatives

I make my own tea, and have systematically lessened the sugar down to, currently, .5 C per pot, which makes about 4-5 quarts and 1 pint of tea (These changes take time. Try removing 1 Tbsp of sugar per week:) )

I pre-make large patches of healthy foods and freeze them ( one afternoon made 29 family of 4 size pans that come out to less than 400 cal. a serving. And there are no leftovers, so no chance of overeating.)

Honestly, what works for me is primarily making everything from scratch, so I know EXACTLY what I'm eating.. and I can modify it accordingly. At this point, we've even bought a mini grain mill to make our own flour. It isn't fast, or particularly efficient, but 20 minutes extra means I'm getting all the nutrients from the wheat berries before I turn it into bread, pancakes, or crust. It's made such a huge difference in my ability to lose weight, with the added benefit of avoiding a lot of the preservatives and other things that come in pre made ingredients. It does, however, take time. And some pre-planning, which is for sure not my strong suit. But it's still worth it, and it's getting easier as time goes on.

billggibson2 · August 17

Broccoli Sprouts on a Salad

I've started eating a salad for lunch made from choices on a grocery store buffet. Some time ago I started sprouting various seeds at home, and found that Mung Beans sprout in only about 3 or 4 days, and I like the crunchiness. But, I will also buy Broccoli Sprouts at the store. In the past, I would eat a small amount of those "store bought" sprouts and then they would go bad in the fridge. But this time I found a use for all of them. I was eating a few broccoli & cauliflower florets in my lunch salads, and then it came to me to swap out the broccoli florets for broccoli sprouts. I take a sandwich bag with me with some sprouts in it. The sprouts are supposed to be more nutritious. They taste good and provide a different texture.

romycooper · September 28

Not sure were you are located but in Australia both Coles and Woolies have extra lean pork mince only 5% fat. Their lean is 10%. Typically pork mince is 15%.

acpgee · September 28

I found a way to approximate battered foods such as tempura in the air fryer. Add a tablespoon of oil to the batter. Dip in then sear on a dry nonstick pan just long enough that the batter is no longer liquid. This step can be done in advance. When you are ready to eat air fry in batches to a crisp. Photo is daikon “tempura”.

adelejtracy3 · October 13

when having yogurt (zero sugar chobani's or 0% milkfat fage) I mix in a tbsp of zero sugar chocolate or vanilla jello powder. then add about 1/4 cup of water. it increases the volume without adding many calories.

springlering62 · October 13

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48795573#Comment_48795573

if you go all Devo and “whip it good”, refrigerate it for a while, this makes an awesome mousse.

Also try adding canned pumpkin puree, pie slice, and a tiny bit of sweetener of your choice to the vanilla pudding and Greek yogurt. Whip well and allow to set. Tastes like a pumpkin pie without the crust.

A small squirt of reddiwhip is minimal calories and takes any of these to the next level.

adelejtracy3 · October 19

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48795778#Comment_48795778

yup!! i do that all the time its delish and so much volume

Hacks that reduce calories (and other things)

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