I'm having a hard time with side dishes. :(

Not sure if someone already said it for me but you could do whole wheat pasta, brown rice and whole wheat breads. When I started going healthier I started small by switching to more whole grain or whole wheat. I started adding in brown rice with the regular white rice, so that my guy didn't complain too much as he dislikes just brown rice. I also began making my own pizza dough to make homemade pizza. I used wheat flour instead of white all-purpose. I do this with homemade garlic bread too. When I make pasta I only use healthy noodles that are whole grain or whole wheat. Finally decided on Ronzoni noodles for that one. Taste just like regular noodles too and my friends can't even tell the difference. You can use them to make homemade mac and cheese and a million other pasta dishes. Healthy doesn't mean giving up what you love.

Roasted red onions with balsamic vinegar are a favorite of mine.
Also, yam fries (either homemade or Alexia spicy sweet potato fries, which are amazing).

Quinoa as an "under" (rather than "side") for a flavor-filled ANYTHING is pretty good. It's an incredibly neutral grain.

I'm having corn tortillas a a side tonight, and will either dampen them and then bake them until they're crunchy, or microwave the damp tortillas until they're crunchy (because I'm happier making baked chips at 1.49 for tortillas than eating them at 4.29 for a bag of baked chips)

I've also been using barley as a side. My kids are always pretty happy with noodles, too, and I can cook those without eating them, so it makes all of us pretty happy.

You can still have 4 oz baked Potatoes or 1/2 cup mashed, 1/2 cup of rice, 1 cup of pasta, it's about portion control not deprivation. You'll never stick to it otherwise. Make them fit into your day.

Carbs usual leads to cravings because they turn into sugars in your body. So, stating that it's all about controlling your portions is good on paper but some people just can't control themselves around carbs.

Here's what I like to do:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cherry-tomato-corn-salad/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-vegetables/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-cranberry-spinach-salad/detail.aspx

Try making the mashed potatoes replacing half the potatoes with celeriac, boil as normal and mash together. It's tasty plus celeriac isn't as starchy.

I'll cook long grain brown rice in my counter top rice cooker, replacing 1/2 the water with chicken broth.

In a pan saute up 1 onion (very coarse chop) and 1-2 carrots in olive oil, sometimes adding in 1 stalk celery and/or 3/4 cup crimini mushrooms (chop to bite size) depending on what I have on hand. A little salt and pepper. When sauted up nicely, add rice and a good splash of rice wine vinegar (probably 1/4 or so). If you have nappa cabbage on hand, adding about 3/4 cup, very large chopped, at this time is good. Cabbage will wilt down a little. Toss this around the pan, adjust the seasoning (salt & pepper, sometimes I add a little oregano). Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner for a minute. Fold in about 1/3 cup of chopped fresh tomatoes (I prefer roma or grape varieties) and serve.

Not sure the calorie count yet. Tons of flavor! Easy to make and is flexible based on what veg you have on hand. High fiber in the brown rice. I pair this with chicken, pork chops, fish....just about any meat and a fresh garden salad.