Volumizing (eat more to weigh less)

I do this. I'll add spaghetti squash to a pasta dish, or tons of veggies to a rice and chicken dish. When I make prepared soups I add in tons more veggies. Make an open faced sandwich and pile high with veggies. I make HUGE salads, with tons of low calorie veggies and then appropriate amounts of cheese, meat, and dressing. If I eat a lean cuisine, I'll mix in more veggies to make it a bigger meal. I have a huge appetite, so volumizing has done wonders for staying full and tricking my mind into thinking I'm eating more because I'll have HUGE plates of food in front of me.

One of my favorite meals is ****ake mushroom and asparagus stirfry. I use soy butter. Clean, cut, and cook the asparagus in water, dump out water, pour asparagus into stirfry pan, add butter, mushrooms and garlic and soy sauce and (almost forgot) about a tablespoon of sweet vermouth. You can also look it up online for better details. It's very low calorie and packed with nutrients.

I got censored for saying ****ake mushrooms. Too funny. Stupid computer!!

I really think "volumizing" with most any vegetable is going to help. Most veggies are low in cals and can put a hungry stomach to rest for a while. I am a huge fan of "garbage salads", I just throw whatever veggies and meats I have in it and by the time I am done, I have enough for two people. I like to choose some veggies that are wet (cucumbers, celery, etc) so I can use less dressing.

i do this- i just add a buttload of veggies to everything- full pot of spaghetti sauce, with only one pound of ground beef- 2 large onions, hald head of cabbage small diced, diced bell peppers, mushrooms, shredded carrots, diced zuccini, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc... It tates amazing, has great texture, and nocks down teh calories substantially.

Same thing with sheppards pie- do half meat, half a mix of onions, cabbage, diced broccoli, cauliflower, shredded or diced carrots, bell peppers zucchini, mushrooms ( those are my base veggies- i often fry up together in a HUGE batch and then freeze in big tupperwear )

same goes for lasagna - sometimes skip pasta all together and use zuccini instead

any soups i do this way- for example today i made 'leftover' turkey soup- used turkey stock i had made 2c of my veggie base, couple ounces leftover turkey some leftover brown basmati and had a great soup.

Chili i make pretty much the same as spagetti sauce, but ad kidney and black beans.

Thanks for reminding me about that plan. Dr. Barbara Rolls founded the Volumetrics diet plan. She has written lots of books. You can check her out online. They were available at my public library. I just reserved her latest.

I read the article in Health, and there was a list of produce that she considers free foods because the calories are so low - does anyone have that list? I can't find my copy!

I remember canteloupes, asparagus, salad greens. I know there are more. I think carrots and celery. Strawberrys seem to be pretty low too.

Thank you - that was pretty much what I remember too. Maybe bell peppers? They seem mostly water!

Heres a great Hungry Girl recipe I use for days when I need a bit more to fill my plate, 3 ingredients and super easy too.

1 can sloppy joe sauce
1 bag of Broccolli slaw (Manns)
12 oz extra lean ground turkey, browned (Jennie-O extra lean 99%)

Mix all ingredients together on medium heat on stove top until broccolli is softened, serve on its own as a hot dish or on a 100 calorie thin round bun.

This makes 2 large servings @ 335 calories or 3 regular sized ones @ 223 calories.

Also, when I am super hungry, I eat egg beaters and mix different veggies in. You can eat alot for a small amount of calories.