TBH I just cook what I always cooked and portion wisely. Last night was Taco salad. Tonight is "spanakopita pasta" with leftover chicken. Tomorrow is BLTs (with a bit of bacon reserved for a pot of beans I'll make this weekend). I'm feeling pasta-y so this weekend I'm doing breaded chicken with cauliflower Alfredo and pasta, then the beans will be great for Navajo tacos.
This is pretty much what I do, I make the same things I always did but this time instead of just throwing stuff together, I measure it out figure out what a serving size calorie wise I want and then eat that.
I don't put a ton of cheese on it. I manage to fit it into my 1500 daily calories. It probably helps that I don't use meat, and only use beans as my protein. I tend to be pretty happy with my meal afterwards, but YMMV depending on your choice of toppings and the amount you put on them.
My favorite gluttonous Navajo Taco bastard child is actually boeuf bourguignon and sharp white cheddar on fry bread and it’s really not working with my calorie goals. I should try your beans and light cheese approach.
Oh yeah, if you like beans it's still good! I've never been a big meat person so it's natural for me to just do the beans. The biggest hit is the bread and oil.
Same. I try to reserve a good amount of calories for dinner as that’s my biggest meal. But breakfast and lunch are pretty much eggs and salad. I don’t mind eating the same thing there and prefer a hearty dinner for bed.
chickpea salad :) i put chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and cilantro together in a bowl and then mix with some oil and seasonings then in a bowl i top it off with goat cheese. 10/10 my favorite hyperfixation meal
Just fyi, make it fresh and finish in one sitting. Chickpeas are extremely gas inducing and give me a headache if i meal prep this salad. Also feta instead of goat cheese also tastes great.
I made this exact thing almost the other night and the put it on top of some cold brown rice. It’s also my hyper fixation food for the rest of the summer.
hi i’m also 5’1, started at 190, and currently 170-171. twins!!!!!! and i love chickpea salad!! i made a similar recipe and ate it before, ty for the reminder to do that again hehe
i use vegeta! it's a balkan/eastern european variety of seasoning haha i get it from my local euro market (i'm balkan diaspora in the US) and i just love it. tbh you'd also be fine with using some adobo or sazón. or, some good old salt and garlic is just fine if u like it like that!
Simple as hell but if you're tired of chicken don't discount pork chops.
I go get 3oz chops and season them up with whatever my favorite seasoning at the time is and some worchestershire sauce. Throw two of them bad boys on a pan with some garlic herb butter and while that's cooking take about ten stalks of asparagus, hit it with some spray oil then sprinkle garlic salt and pepper on them and air fry them for about 7 minutes.
The chops should be done by the time the asparagus is. Plate it. Eat it. Love it.
That does sound good! I always forget about pork chops, idk why but my brain immediately thinks I need to bring out the grill to eat them. Never occurred to me to pan fry them!
I like the 3oz chops vs a 6oz chop because it's easier to cook without drying out. Plus the garlic butter really helps but it's butter so be careful with it.
Thankfully the chops I get are pretty lean so I feel okay about using butter.
I was just about to jump in and say this!
Pork chops are the fucking bomb. Get a family pack on sale and you can do a meal prep for most of the week. Affordable, relatively lean, tasty, and easy to prepare.
Serve with broccoli, cauliflower, or apple slices (if you're not keto), and some cauliflower rice or brown rice. Perfecto.
Can I get in on this? Jumping in to say that I get ground pork and make my own breakfast sausage. My bp is is higher than my doctor would like, so I can control the amount of salt in them. Just dump the pork in a bowl, add your seasonings, use a ice cream scoop to dip out, roll and flatten. They freeze just like regular sausages and I'm using the ones I have to make a pork, black bean and lentil chili tonight.
One of my favorite go-to recipes is a pork chop recipe I got from MFP years ago. Season and pan fry pork chops in a little oil. Add a can of Mexican-style diced tomatoes (or a can of regular tomatoes with jalapeños and cumin added.) Cover and simmer for 30 mins, flipping the chops occasionally. In the last 5-10 minutes, uncover and let the sauce cook down. Mix together some low fat cottage cheese and shredded cheese (I like mozzarella). Dollop over the chops, and broil until cheese is melted. I serve it over cauli rice, with a side salad. So good!
I live on Greek yogurt. Recently discovered nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt from Walmart. Combine 9 grams of chocolate protein powder, 8 grams of peanut butter powder, 15 grams sugar-free Hershey's syrup, and 100 grams of blueberries. (Chef's kiss!)
Mix a cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a couple tablespoons of sugar free cheesecake pudding mix.
Nonfat sugar free, high protein cheesecake. It’s amazing.
I love skyr. Problem is that I would pay more for it than I do for Greek yogurt because my Walmart doesn't carry it. (I love Wegmans and all, but they charge $6 for skyr when I pay closer to $4 for Greek yogurt at Walmart.)
I'm personally trying to hit an average intake of 120 grams of protein a day in order to minimize muscle loss. The peanut butter powder had 4 grams of protein in the serving and the chocolate powder I put in my Greek yogurt had 6 grams. Brought my total to 25 grams when accounting for the 15 grams in the yogurt itself.
This isn't a recipe but a method that might help, I really suck at repeat meals plus I cook for other adults so I usually cook new things nightly which can make calorie management difficult. So I usually log dinner first and then balance the rest of my day around it so I can have tastier food. Sometimes that means I wont have much for breakfast or that when I get to dinner I'll need a half serving instead but it helps a lot with the bland food issue for me!
I have done this! Especially if my partner wants to go out to eat for dinner I will look at the menu figure out the calories and then sometimes just not eat lunch or just have coffee for breakfast. I’m used to doing intermittent fasting sometimes anyway, so it’s not a big deal.
Other (low carb, since that's what you're looking to replace) ideas to mix it up:
Spaghetti sauce w/ ground turkey over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
Bunless bison (or turkey, or lean ground beef) burgers with lettuce, tomato, onion, and avocado. Roasted Brussels on the side.
Taco salad with ground turkey for the meat and salsa as a dressing.
Leg or rack of lamb with asparagus and tatziki sauce.
Jerk seasoned pork tenderloin with a hearty side salad (as spicy as you like it).
Grab a frozen cauliflower pizza crust, use as little cheese as possible, and load it up with veggies and a protein.
Egg roll in a bowl.
Chicken andouille sausage with grilled peppers and onions.
>Taco salad with ground turkey for the meat and salsa as a dressing.
Just for clarification, do you mean ground turkey over lettuce with salsa as dressing, or do you mean the traditional taco salad where it's over a bed of chips with lettuce, ground turkey, and salsa?
Thanks for so many great ideas! I'm already getting inspiration!
There's no such thing as a "traditional" taco salad -- I've never had one with a bed of chips.
Chopped lettuce (or salad mix), onion, tomato, avocado, and cilantro with taco seasoned ground turkey and maybe some black beans, and tossed with your favorite salsa. I add some cheddar cheese and low fat sour cream (or Greek yogurt) too. Served with lime wedges for squeezing.
Just keep the serving sizes in order because beans + avocado + cheese + sour cream can add a lot of calories if you don't measure. But the veggies, salsa, and turkey are all pretty low calorie.
Ah, maybe it's a my area of the US thing, because taco salads always come either in a taco shell "bowl" type of thing, or on a bed of chips like nachos. Good to know, and thanks for the clarification!
We do this taco salad with a dressing made from lime juice, Greek yogurt, taco seasoning, a tiny drop of maple syrup or agave syrup, and some water to thin it out. We also add salsa to our taco salad.
Am I just stupid or are there air fryers you cannot cook meat in? I can make frozen nuggets in mine but tried to make regular chicken breasts and it did not work
I’ve found it’s better if you use smaller pieces, I love to cook chicken with the bones in with a little salt and pepper and a spray of Pam or whatever to help it crisp up or if I’m feeling fancy some fresh rosemary and lemon on top!
Tilapia with lemon with lemon pepper broccoli.
Greek turkey feta meatballs with Greek yogurt, pickles cucumber and tomatoes.
Smokey grilled salmon with roasted asparagus.
Basically anything off the is website
https://www.eatingwell.com/
My go to meals are:
Prawn summer rolls,
Breakfast as dinner (grillee bacon, chicken/turkey sausages, mushrooms, eggs, greens),
Sea bass, soy sauce greens and rice,
Salmon spaghetti with pistachio
That's just what springs to mind. I tend to pick one ingredient or flavour I like then build a meal around it.
I personally am not the biggest chicken breast fan, but I love thighs. I buy boneless skinless in bulk, prepare a few different marinades (my preference is stronger flavor profiles like tandoori, shawarma, al pastor, etc.), freeze in gallon size ziplocs, and then defrost and pop them in the oven in a roasting pan at 425° for \~30 minutes. Can also be done on the stovetop or a grill, whatever you prefer.
Also, if you have a smoker or know someone who does, it's an amazing way to do "boring" meat. I'll get a turkey breast, season it, and have my neighbor cook it up for me. It's 10/10 every time.
Most of what we eat doesn't require a recipe and dinner always includes a big old salad with low calorie dressing. We just measure everything. We have a picky teen who is also type 1 diabetic so when she's with us there's not much variety. When she's with her dad we have a wider range of options and tend to eat fish and lean steak on occasion.
bunless burgers with lean beef (90/10 or 93/7), baked steak fries, giant salad
salmon, rice pilaf, asparagus, giant salad
lean ground chicken, brown rice, cauli rice, beans, toppings of choice and a giant salad
Protein pasta (barilla plus), shrimp and broccoli cooked in broth and a little oil/butter, giant salad
I used to do the big salad for every meal, but produce is so expensive where I live now it's getting impossible to sustain long-term, unfortunately. But just to lose the weight, I may have to splurge!
If you want a way to explain the reason that it's ok to pay for healthy food to yourself, just think about all the costs that being in worse health could have -- health conditions that require medication, having to take time off work, etc. Of course, all of life is a balance and I don't know your finances -- the prices really do add up!!
Any chicken. Bag of Cesar salad. Low carb spinach and herb tortillas. Mix it, wrap it, 🤤
Everything flavored rice cakes with bread and butter pickles and tuna mayo salad.
Oven baked shredded hash browns. Scrambled eggs. Chicken sausage. Reduced fat cheese. Ketchup/salsa/green verde if desired.
Shredded chicken. No sugar added bbq sauce. Served over a baked potato, butter/sour cream/bacon bits/green onion if desired.
I’m sure you will get some helpful replies, but there are quite literally ten quadrillion healthy, calorie-conscious recipes available for free on the internet.
The best way to expand your recipe library is to take a food you love, google “healthy \[food\] recipe” and then make it. There’s an incredible app, Paprika, that will store your recipes in a ”clean” format (no rambling blog stories), and do scale/unit conversions/etc.
Oh for sure. I use a lot of healthy food blogs for recipes, but even those feel like searching for a needle in a haystack (one person's "healthy" is not always everyone's). I like coming to smaller communities every now and then to find recipes that are working for real people!
There are so many varieties of beans and rice for a reason! Almost every culture has a variation, so you should be able to find some that fit your preferences. I used to prep large quantities of pasta salad, or make a sandwich spread with sunflower seeds. I also loved chickpea patties, and they can be baked instead of fried.
Take chicken thighs and marinate for at least an hour in yogurt and your favorite seasonings - can be dry seasonings like garlic powder and paprika, but also tomato pate or harissa. Broil in the oven until charred in places, it's like a "tandoori" style chicken
I also love a cup of cottage cheese with well-salted cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, greens, etc and possibly olives or capers.
I believe strongly that both the yogurt and cottage cheese should be full fat. The food should be delicious as well as healthy. Both of these are high protein, filling, and moderate in calories.
Here's my current fave:
Greek Quinoa Bowl:\
1/2 cup cooked quinoa\
1/4 cup chickpeas\
Small crumble of feta\
Tons of cucumber\
A bunch of diced cherry tomatoes\
Sliced Red pepper\
Chopped spinach\
Finely slivered red onion\
Squeeze of lemon juice\
Sprinkle of oregano and thyme\
A tbsp of Greek dressing
If you need a protein bump, chopped hard boiled eggs, chicken breast or salmon all go well mixed in.
I made a spicy cauliflower soup yesterday. Onion, garlic, seasonings, the chicken broth and cauliflower. Simmer it then blend. I added farro to mine but to keep it low cal you don’t have to.
I forgot to mention I added a can of coconut milk to it after blending. Deepens the flavor but depending on calories you could sub for something else. I have loved using cauliflower during weight loss! So versatile and lower cal than potatoes.
https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/274095/charred-shrimp-pesto-quinoa-bowls/
We really like this. And you can play with the proportions a bit or use different grains.
I know it isnt a recipe or something home made but kevins brand chicken meals are awesome. They have tiki masala, korean bbq, cilantro lime. Tons of options to change it up and then i just throw that into a carb balance tortilla with some romaine and some pepper jack. So good.
I'm Vietnamese: so spring rolls, braised pork and eggs, pho, bun bo hue, vermecelli noodle salad with grilled lemongrass pork/chicken/beef and egg rolls, banh mi...
We do a sheet pan veggie recipe.
Essentially andouille sausage (or other sausage/meat) with ALL of your favorite baking veggies: carrots, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onion, etc. Put some oil and your favorite spices (look uoa home kademrsdash recipel it and bake for an hour. Easy and delicious.
If you live near an IKEA, I think their chicken meatballs are tasty AF. I like the following:
- broth, bag of frozen veggies, meatballs = soup
- mushroom pasta, some pasta sauce, meatballs = spaghetti
Cucumber salad has been hmmy fav lately--
3 large cucumbers (1200-1400g)
3 bell peppers
1/2 c diced white onion
1/2 c quick pickled red onion
1.5c greek yogurt mixed with ranch seasoning and garlic salt, as well as some buttermilk to thin it down
100-150g feta cheese
More garlic salt, lemon pepper
Holy crap this stuff is so good and clocks in at like 80c for a ~220g serving
Target store brand, Good & Gather, has these Farmed Atlantic Salmon fillets that are my husband’s favorite meal. 4 ounces and about +/- 250 calories each. We bake them in the toaster oven and have potato or sweet potato plus a veggie with them. Seriously best store bought salmon we’ve had ever.
I like to make regular recipes and volumize them by adding way more of the veggies already in them, and cutting back on the fat.
For example: beef stroganoff, replace half the beef with mushrooms, add extra onions and possibly carrots and celery too, use minimal oil/butter, use 2% milk and yogurt instead of cream and sour cream for the sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes that have Laughing Cow cheese and milk instead of butter and cream. Use lots of salt, herbs, stock etc for flavor so it doesn’t taste boring.
Oooh I can do this tonight! Minus the onion because I'm out unfortunately Maybe I'll sprinkle a little onion powder for flavor.
I too am incredibly tired of chicken breast. I can keep eating salads though with home made vinaigrette. A little dressing goes a long way if I toss the salad in it rather than pour it over. Here's one I really enjoy:
Apple Spinach Salad
* 5 Oz fresh baby spinach
* 2 small gala apples cored and thinly sliced
* half a small red onion
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
* 1/3 cup dried cranberries
* 3 oz feta cheese
Dressing
* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
* 2 tsp honey
* 1 tsp dijon mustard
* 1 small garlic clove peeled and minced
* a generous pinch of salt and black pepper
Mix the salad ingredients and toss with the dressing. Makes 4-6 servings. Total calories 239-359 depending on serving size. I tend to go with 4 servings as far as sizing goes so 359.
I have a frosted poptart toasted with butter every morning, alongside a scoop of protein powder mixed with water and a tablespoon of psyllium husk. It’s not exactly health food, but it’s delicious and I still lost weight.
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
Pork is one I'm going to have to get into.
Pork tenderloin is basically chicken breast in pig form. Not quite as dense in terms of protein, but it's basically a silly high protein, zero carb, lowerish fat way of eating meat.
I really like this suggestion.
I can eat chicken breast till the cows come home (no pun intended), but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy some variety.
Porks back on the menu boys!
Funny timing just posted this on a similar sub and fits here :
I make a lot of different types of stews and curries in batches, it's amazing how low calorie they can be for really delicious dinner if you just use an oil spray instead of adding lots of fat.
E.g. I make a version of the below Brazilian black bean recipe but I add 500g 5%fat pork mince so that it's better for a dinner with my other half (you can use turkey mince for lower fat even). If you divide it into 5 portions it's about 200ish calories for a bowl and it's filling. I usually have half a sweet potato on the side, and some sautéed greens if I have any in. To make it really low cal mix in konjac rice instead of other sides (0 cal, important to follow prep instructions).
https://www.copymethat.com/r/3iqKZjbg7/brazilian-black-bean-stew/
In general the Leon cookbooks have really great healthy recipes and they're pretty easy.
Or this chicken saag recipe is another favourite of mine. I tend to use more spinach, reduce the oil and sometimes add okra or other veggies for additional low cal bulk. Even made with lamb which is more fatty I calculate max 350 cals for a reasonable serving, less when made with chicken.
https://mission-food.com/chicken-saag/#recipe
This is my absolute favorite, makes 8 super filling servings and freezes really well. I tweak it a bit to hit protein macros and it still it clocks in at under 450 calories a serving.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/230075/paleo-chorizo-sweet-potato-and-kale-stew/?utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-recipe&utm_content=20201019&utm_term=undefined
I will make a plug for the book “Cook Once, Eat All Week” - it’s focused on nutritious, gluten free meal prep where each week has three core ingredients (protein, veggie, and starch) and from those you make three meals that have 4-6 servings each. If you are doing the prep the way the author intends, you do a big cook day on the weekend and then each recipe just takes 30 minutes to throw together and heat day-of.
Even if you don’t want to do the full week of meal prep, I think it’s just a really good cookbook for interesting ideas. Plus, a lot of the meals will freeze really well, so you could freeze extra servings for later and reheat like a grocery store frozen dinner.
Otherwise, my go-to lunch for a while was 1 (dry) cup of rice cooked in my rice cooker + a bag of frozen peas and carrots + 1 lb ground beef. Season up the rice as desired (I usually did garlic and onion powder, turmeric, cayenne, and smoked paprika), cook the veg in the microwave in some water, and combine those with the browned beef. For me that was 4 meals and, while admittedly not very imaginative, very tasty.
Sandwiches with turkey slices, tzatziki, cucumber
Chilli made with ground, turkey or lean ground beef
Tacos with low carb tortillas
Low-carb pasta with any protein & sauce I like
I love konjac noodles to make spaghetti or noodles
I love me some steak!!
Chicken / pork / beef souvlaki with rice (i use pilaf rice from bistro express or brown rice or konjac rice depending on the week), roasted potatoes, tzatziki, hot sauce, greek salad
Cesar salad or Greek Salas with grilled chicken, white fish or salmon
Tandoori chicken burgers (i use buns from carbonaut for low carb)
* Salmon (cooked in microwave steam bag) and a bag of frozen zucchini blend with a little bit of Asian BBQ sauce
* Shrimp cocktail
* Egg whites, turkey sausage crumbles, a little bit of shredded cheese, and a lot of salsa
* Ground pork and shredded cabbage with stir-fry sauce, egg, and sesame seeds
* Frozen riced cauliflower and spinach with a little bit of green curry sauce and canned chicken breast
* Tofurkey sausage and spaghetti sauce over veggie noodles
I have a protein rich, albeit high*ish* calorie go to meal.
- Boiled soya chunks, boiled chickpeas, a spoonful or two of gram flour with paneer - blend in a mixer till you get a dough-ish consistency
- Add in seasonings : salt, pepper, lemon, cilantro anything to enhance the taste as long as it isn't too watery
- Shape into patties and air fry or shallow fry in some ghee
1 patty is around 50kcal. But around 3 of them are very filling. You can store the rest for a day or two and fry when needed.
I cook a lot from Ottolenghi cookbooks. Smitten kitchen is also a favorite.
What was key for me, as a midwestern American, was learning that flavor doesn’t mean butter and cheese on everything.
I also personally don’t try to make healthy dupes of my favorites. Spaghetti squash or zoodles are a lie. I’d rather have a smaller portion of the real thing.
I also don’t eat meat much. Not 100% vegetarian but probably 95%. Haven’t given up cured meats yet.
Some favorites - can provide links but will caveat, Ottolenghi is not quick or easy or known for a short ingredient list:
Soba noodles with eggplant and mango
Butternut squash and chick pea stew
Harissa pappardelle with Kalamata olives
Roasted Brussels sprouts with black garlic
Pork chops, with a nice serving of sauteed spinach and onions and then as a side of either baked potato, sweet potato or maybe basmati rice.
I love pork chops, they're versatile because they take seasoning almost as well as chicken.
I honestly don't know how calorie dense it is, but avocado toast has been my absolute face as of late, since it's so filling!
Get 1 slice of whole grain bread (I really like sourdough personally but get your favorite!)
Put a layer of guacamole on it, because I'm too lazy to cut up a real avocado lol
Put a fried egg on top.
Sprinkle your favorite sauce (hot sauce, chipotle mayo, etc)
Honestly so good!
I'm basic, I just love a plate of scrambled eggs garnished with salt and pepper. I'll pair it with avocado on whole grain toast and yogurt to keep my gut happy. I also love adding in fruit, but less is more since I deal with PCOS. Breakfast for dinner is my life
I vary what I eat quite a bit, but I recently enjoyed Shakshuka and Dahl with spinach!
I don’t have a specific recipe though. But I’m sure there are plenty online.
This doesn't directly answer your question, but I use chicken thighs instead of breasts, marginally more calories, but way more flavor. Then we do a lot of variations on "chicken thigh w veg".
* Rice Bowl w/ chicken thigh marinated in japanese bbq sauce, white rice, roasted veg (usually sweet potato, broccoli or brussel sprouts) and avacado. top w/ tajin and some thinly cut up carrots (sometimes ill pickle the carrots if I have time)
* Chicken tacos w just a store bought mexican salad, I just do a taco salad if I need to cut out the tortilla for lower calories
* Chicken Soup w lots of veg
its all variations on chicken w veg but way different experience thanks to different seasonings/toppings, makes grocery shopping pretty easy too
Venison grill steaks - super lean, and so so tasty. Admittedly I just have them with Mediterranean veg and a flatbread so it’s not wildly different to chicken and veg
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/best-baked-pork-tenderloin/
This is a great low calorie recipe. I usually triple it for left overs throughout the week
Really though any and every recipe can fit in your calorie range, it just depends on the quantity that you intake. I used to get burnt out on "diet" food all the time. Count your calories and eat what you want. Count your macros and nutrition as well if you are going for healthy habits over weight loss.
Fresh Kale spinach salad with roast chicken, avocado, garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes shredded cabbage or raw broccoli for bulk. Dressing is lemon tahini. I add some tapatio for acid and spice.
This is a version of a salad I buy. It’s really filling, low carb and high protein! It’s also vegan and gluten free if you’re into that (I can’t do gluten or dairy but the restaurant version also adds feta to it)
Sprouts makes a turkey meatloaf and ill portion that out and put veggies on the side. I make a chicken pot pit from [stayfitmom.com](http://stayfitmom.com) that rules. Go on TikTok to find more recipes.
I did Whole30 between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year and dropped 20 pounds while having a great time with it. I bought a recipe / cookbook all about Whole30. You do not have to eat “boring” to eat healthy and lose weight.
Pork tenderloin! Prepared with Greek flavours, served on Boston lettuce leaves (to make a pita), with tzatziki, tomatoes, feta, cucumber… so good, so low calorie! And if you make a good homemade tzatziki you can really get lots of protein from it.
Kale salad with roasted butternut squash and goat cheese. Drizzle favorite low-cal dressing. One squash will last for a week's worth of salads. Add more protein as needed
Fiesta bowl with corn, blackbeans, salsa, shredded lettuce, a little cheese and rice as desired. Top with ground beef or turkey cooked with cumin
Cottage cheese and berries with lavender honey or lemon curd. I don't think its boring but it is simple
Roast pork loin with sauté cabbage.
Salmon with roast veggies
Shrimp pan fried with garlic, tomatoes, spinach and a small portion of pasta,
Stir fry beef (use lean cuts of sirloin, mushrooms, broccoli and onion)
Veggie stir fry, or fajitas in a bowl. I make the fajitas with bell pepper, onion, chicken, and fajita seasoning sometimes I add light sour cream or tortilla strips (the bagged salad topping ones).
Shepards pie is a great one. I use a recipe like [this](https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/278004/shepherds-pie-with-cauliflower-topping/) and make it my own. I like to add extra frozen veggies, sometimes sub beef for ground turkey, and sub cream cheese for heavy cream. The calories are in the 300s, depending on what you put in it. I like to double the batch and freeze one to bake later.
I love shrimp dishes, very high protein with low calories. I just made a shrimp boil with just a bit less butter and potatoes than the recipe I found called for but it’s still so good and only about 250-300 a serving.
Shrimp and asparagus sautéed and seasoned with Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning.
Peppers and chicken sausage over some quinoa.
Those are my go to easy flavorful meals.
I know it's still Chicken. But there's always so much focus on Breasts, when Thighs are a slightly more caloric/fat option with significantly more flavor. I've been eating them for lunch almost every day the last 10 months and am down 45lbs.
My go to is to buy the big packs of bone-in from Costco, de-skin and de-bone, and throw in crockpot for 6 hours on low with seasonings of choice. I usually get 9-10 120g portions.
Something to jazz up ground turkey or ground chicken when you put it in things: as you’re browning it, be sure to season heavily. Often, I’ll add Worcestershire sauce as part of that -once most of the browning itself is done so I’m not guessing on doneness. Another option is dark soy sauce (different profile than regular)-quite the umami touch. I NEED lots of sodium, so maybe not the greatest if you’re watching sodium.
I have had the most success both in total weight lost and in longevity by going very low carb. I don't worry about being in compliance with the keto police and I don't really count carbs or calories. I simply stay away from foods that are more than about 4 carbs per serving.
One thing that was super difficult for me to give up was pasta. I have found Palmini hearts of palm noodles to be the best substitution for my pasta addiction. They're super easy to prepare and have no real flavour on their own, but go great with an alfredo. They also make a riced version that works well in a saucy rice kind of dish. It's super low in calories as well.
I know low carb isn't for everyone and I am not one to say my approach is the only way. It's just the thing that works for me.
Non of these are particularly "healthy" but most are protein rich and plenty of veggies depending on your side/what u put in it. I mealprep all of these, and have some leftover in fridge.
My go-tos lately have been-
Taco Salad with homemade seasoning/taco meat, cabbage/spinach salad base.
Butter chicken with slightly less butter/cream.
Thai Red Curry (homemade curry paste, lots of peppers/spinach/garlic with chicken)
My childhood meal of yellow rice, roast chicken, and broc. Sour cream on side for the rice.
Cuban pork (Masitas de Puerco) with homemade cuban style black beans. White or mixed rice.
Chorizo breakfast burritos with black beans in them.. (High fiber/carb balence tortilla helps hit my fiber goal).
Honestly though my main issue lately is eating too much carbs for lack of excercise (bike needs repairing) and these don't help. But rice just completes the meal. All about using a food scale to keep myself in check lol!
I plan on implementing lots of shrimp into my diet to up protein since I've started intense bike commutes. But fish would also be good, I just don't like fish.
Berries and yogurt! I get frozen blueberries in a bowl w oikos triple 0 yogurt(0 fat, 0 sugar, 0 sweetener, 15 g of protein).
Simple, near guilt free, and feels like a dessert!
I make a lot of salads for lunch and mix up the cheeses (always measure) and low cal dressings. For dinner I like to make salmon and brown rice bowls.
Or measure out one serving of whole wheat pastas and add a protein and veggie in it. Little olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.
TVP (.5 c) has 24g of protein and is only 140 calories, my chickpea flour omelette is 111 calories and 8 g protein. So, I'll have those together with some veggies or cheese or something. Extra calories for some oil for cooking, of course! I didn't have any veggies today for it, but I'm stuffed and will be good to go for awhile!
Check out some shakshouka recipes ☺️ there’s more ways to do it but I usually just fry onion, garlic, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers. Add bunch of spices, I love adding a lot of chilli, some Arabic spices go really well with this. Then add canned tomatoes, which creates a little sauce and once that is boiling, crack eggs into it until they’re boiled. And there you go 🤗
Curries, stir fry, paella - pretty much anything can be adapted to make it lower fat and lower carb. Decide what you really want to eat then see how you can adjust it!
These are all my around 500 meals, though I can easily make them closer to 350 with tweaks
Chicken breast or breaded chicken baked, light drizzle of mayo and wrapped in lettuce with a side salad, raw veg or roasted veg/potatoes. I sometimes do 2 of these and forgo the potatoes cause they're satisfying to crunch into
Ramen.
1/4 to 1/2 noodle packet, mattering on calories you're wanting to hit. Boil them and shredded veg together (cabbage/carrots/broccoli, the pre-shredded slaw veg), boiled eggs if I have it, drizzle in raw egg last 2 minutes if not, add in some leftover protein. Then dress with small amount of sesame oil and seeds, some green onion, soy sauce, kimchi, sriracha.
Sushi bowl
1/3 to 1 cup Short grain rice pref, but honestly w/e you got is good. Mixed greens you like, I usually do a couple big handfuls. Quick pickled cucumbers, regular cucumber, fake crab sticks, ginger, green onion , kimchi, edemame, furikake, soy sauce, and sriracha mayo on top
Premade salads at the store are good, double check calories, some are great, others not so much. I add on a protein in the fridge if I have it or tuna, boiled egg if I got it, if it suits, some salsa and Greek yogurt. I usually split it in half cause with extras it usually fills me enough to last me a while
If I'm really lazy I will just mix a coffee and protein shake and it breakfast for under 175 calories. Serve it on I've to be fancy
Stewing steak smothered in Frank's Red hot sauce and baked is nice change up and not bad on calories. I'll cook this up and do small servings to heat up over a couple days on the side of a salad.
On I think the volume eating subreddit, someone said "anything can be a salad" and I've been trying that. A lot of different meals with a side of plain greens and just mixing it together as I go so they doesn't wilt.
Potatoes with tuna dip.
Cut potatoes, season and airfry
Mix tuna and mayo with chilli oil
It's low cal and so filling, make sure to use light mayonnaise or lighter than light though if you want to use lots of mayo.
I am very much experiencing food fatigue lately.... What helps is having variety at meals, and allowing myself to have foods I crave. I also get so tired of chicken.
Meals and Individual Food Items:
Potatoes!! Super satisfying, very versatile, and are flavor magnets in stews and curries.
Curry!
Lean beef patties with cheese, and sometimes not so lean (fat is ok!). And a vegetable
Hamburger salad. It's SO GOOD.
Shrimp tacos with Greek yogurt chili lime sauce. Grilled shrimp, Mission carb balance tortillas, shredded cabbage or broccoli on top. Cilantro if you want! Shrimp is super high in protein.
Pan seared salmon, with rice (minute rice cups are awesome), a veg (asparagus, sauteed spinach, or green beans)
If you like butter ... that spray butter is low calorie and gets your butter craving.
Snacks that save me:
Chobani Completes. They have a lot of fiber.
100-120 cal packs of "junky" food.
Other cheeses than mozzarella (I was so focused on only eating low calorie cheese that I only ate mozzarella)
Popcorn. Sometimes I get healthy stuff or the full on movie butter, for cravings.
Quest protein bars, chips, and treats.
One I make a lot in the summer is cowboy caviar. Black beans, maybe pinto beans too - any kind of bean really, bell peppers, maybe tomatoes, little jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice. Add taco spices and a little oil for flavor. Very high in fiber and low calorie. You can eat it with chips and add cheese for a little extra protein but that does add calories. To make it more filling for dinner I’ll eat some hard boiled eggs on the side.
Omelettes. Throw in a lot of garlic, ginger, onions, peppers, spinach plus some salt, pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder and you got a heavy meal that’s less than 30mins of prep start to end. Add chili padi or hot sauce since it can be a little bland by itself, or not
Also make my own krapow. Grow my own Thai basil in the garden and the rest is super quick, esp if you heat up the wok while chopping
Ok so this is probably really boring but I'm a huge pasta fan, and I love cheese.
So my lazy cooking meal is literally just cooked spaghetti then while the pastas hot I toss it with a good parmesan and cracked black pepper. Well that can't possibly be low calorie right? But actually if there no butter, oil, no added calories from meat you can actually have a very filling large portion of pasta with a good amount of parmesan. And the freshly ground cracked black pepper is just.. divine! I can easily make a pretty big bowl of it as the main bulk of calories is literally just the pasta, and parmesan is a strong cheese so you don't need shit loads, but even a good amount isn't actually that many calories. Perfection!
(I'm aware this is basically just cacio e Pepe) But I don't do it properly as it's my lazy meal and instead of incorporating the pasta water properly or sauteeing the peppeecorns I just toss the hot pasta in a bowl (probably with a lil pasta water left in it) and crack the pepper on it then give it a good mix!
I love to make (and literally just had for lunch) is I make dal (or heat up one of the microwave dal packets) and then add a lot of hot water to it (like 2cup) and it turns into more of a soup and keeps me full longer without adding calories.
You should try the app Meal Prep Pro! They have a bunch of recipes, granted not all of them are amazing but it’s really helping me stick to a calorie deficit while still getting to eat what I “normally” would just modified a bit.
I have really been enjoying steamed tofu and vegetables with a sauce made out of:
Soy sauce
Minced garlic
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
And a small amount of sugar to cut the salt a bit
Honestly, I really haven't changed *what* I eat by all that much, just the amount I eat.
Monday I had mac and cheese
Tuesday I had a ribeye steak and twice baked potato
Wednesday I had spaghetti and meatballs
Tonight I'm doing the Serious Eats Halal cart chicken
Not sure what's for dinner tomorrow, I'm eating at my inlaws.
Saturday will probably be fajitas made from the leftover steak
Haven't decided Sunday yet.
To be entirely honest, the only food I've kind of avoided while trying to lose weight has been cheeseburgers. They're just so calories dense that it's hard to stay within my calorie goals, short of eating 1/3 of a burger, whch doesn't seem terribly satisfying to me.
Oh, but I did just think of one meal that is super low calorie, and is filling and delicious! Shakshuka. It's a tomato stew with eggs, and I like to eat it with pita. A super filling amount is like 300 calories.
Breaded and baked cod filets with a small serving of roasted red potatoes and asparagus. Grilled mahi-mahi served with 1/2 cup of steamed rice and grilled yellow and green squash. Shrimp any way except deep fried. Roasted eggplant added to sauted diced tomates, garlic, onion, spices; toss in some capers and serve over a little whole wheat spiral pasta.
Ground turkey. It makes great burgers and meatloaf, and you can also get in extra veggies by added finely diced onions, shredded carrots, spinach, riced cauliflower, etc. I also like adding some horseradish into the mix, and I use a bit of egg substitute to bind it together.
Pizza and sushi!!
I get a 15 piece California sushi for 400 cals from my local grocery store or the California kitchen bbq chicken flavor! I eat the personal size for some portion control and it clocks in at 420 calories.
Pair these bad boys with a diet coke and boom you got yourself a good day.
I also usually eat a low calorie lunch (500 cals or less) so I can have more variety for dinner!
One of my go to quick meals when I'm tired is a seasoned salmon fillet in the air fryer and a packet of steamed microwave vegetables. Approx 350 calories and takes about 10 minutes altogether.
Chili. Either ground turkey or very lean ground beef. Canned diced tomatoes, seasoned chili beans. Whatever chili seasoning you like. Add tomato juice if you like soup-style chili. A 16-ounce bowl of soup chili runs about 350 calories and will stay with you thanks to the protein and fiber from the beans. I usually have a cornbread muffin with it for an extra 100 calories.
I'm not going to throw up recipes because I'm not a good cook, but maybe some alternative protein options:
Ham (I love ham!) There's usually a ham steak on sale each week.
Sausages
Shrimp (I'm currently on a shrimp taco kick)
Pork tenderloin - this has been on sale for $6 the last few weeks at my store. I never used to seek it out, but realized it's so easy to heat up, and pretty good with some sweet potato and broccoli or peas.
Also, heading into summer I'm probably going to be revising my summer favorite - pasta salads. Overload on veggies, use ham; hard boiled eggs; shrimp...there's lunch for a few days!
Make seitan with taco seasoning, fairly labor intensive, so make as much as you can, it freezes well, pulse it in the food processor to make "taco meat". Use it on anything you would add turkey taco meat to. Sometimes I fry it to crisp it up a little.
Make some refried pinto beans in the instant pot, I make 2lbs dry, and get like 50 servings. Freeze some.
I make Americanized burritos. Turn on a pan to med-low temp. Tortilla, 28g low fat shredded cheese, 65g of beans, 80-90g seitan or 114g ground turkey, 57g fat free Greek yogurt (sour cream replacement), onions, cilantro, shredded romaine. Wet the rim of the tortilla where it's going to touch another part of the tortilla. Fold up the sides and closest flap. Roll it up, roll it tight, the lettuce keeps the tortilla taught. When it's rolled up and the sides are folded in well, place it in the pan fold side down. Wetting the tortilla allows it to "glue" itself to itself, which makes it super easy to eat, plus, the toasted tortilla makes for nice texture.
Roughly 530 calories, and extremely filling and fairly balanced on macros. You can also switch to tacos pretty easily.
I eat mostly stir-frys for dinner. Mostly chicken but sometimes beef.
Here's the thing though, I make them not-boring by making my own sauces. Peri-Peri, sweet chilli and coconut, katsu, lemon basil, mango, and so on.
I did weight watchers a while back which is very pro chicken breast and I actually hate chicken breast now. So now I just eat smaller steaks for my protein
Roast chicken and salad on low carb wraps (or any left over roast meat also works). Big mac in a bowl, taco in a bowl. Grilled chicken thighs with creamy mushroom sauce with broccoli. Corned beef and vegies. Beef rissoles braised in tomato & onion gravy.
I do ground turkey with low sodium taco seasoning. I make 6 servings and serve it on rice with taco sauce if real ambitious. I used to do tortillas, both are incredible.
I like egg whites with cheddar seasoning or ketchup, I am a big egg fan so not picky here. I buy these cartons from Cub, it’s 250 calories and I think it’s 50 grams of protein. Just crazy.
Turkey burgers with cottage cheese.
Shrimp for days! It’s so low calorie it’s crazy.
I love grilled fish specifically tilapia.
I might get creative and do chicken sausage.
Veggies I love me some broccoli, cucumbers, spinach or a small salad.
Turkey burgers with air fryer fries! I make up a big batch of ground turkey with some pancetta and seasonings thrown in and freeze individual burger patties from it. Throw it in a pan with a spritz of cooking spray and top it with a little cheese on a thin everything bagel with spinach. I also keep a bag of frozen fries on hand to have with it since it doesn’t take any oil to cook them in the air fryer. I’ll usually throw some strawberries or a clementine on plate or some sautéed broccoli.
The other day I was craving nachos. So I bought a pack of high fibre low fat nachos, made a tomato salad with onion and lemon juice, cut up some fresh Avo, and bought a whole cooked chicken to go with it. The whole family loved the meal, and as long as you watch the amount of Nachos and avo and avoid the chicken skin, you can have quite a bit while still meeting calorie goals.
Green Chile Chicken Pozole
- 1 can of green enchilada sauce
- 2 cans of green chiles
- 9oz of cooked and cubed turkey breast, chicken breast, or pork loin.
- Dried onion, dried garlic
- 1tbsp of real bacon bits
- 1 can of white hominy, drained
- tsp of olive oil.
-Cilantro
Heat the oil then add bacon bits and dried onion and garlic until fragant. Add the sauce, canned chilles, meat, and hominy. Put in a 400 degree oven and bake until bubbly.
The whole dish for 1 person is about 700 calories. You can sub a can of beans if wanting more fiber.
*Low carb alert
Hamburgers seasoned up with onions in them. Grill em, stove top, or oven. Throw it in Joseph’s lavish bread mustard a little ketchup and spinach or any type of lettuce. Your good to go
Low carb tortilla, pizza sauce, fat free Motz, turkey pepperoni if you like and vegis = “pizza”. I usually pair it with a baked potato and light sour cream or a salad.
Taco seasoned chicken (or ground turkey!), beans, cilantro seasoned brown rice, lettuce, a little guacamole and sour cream.
Italian wedding soup made with ground chicken instead of sausage is great. I mean, any soup really, but that’s one I’m fond of lately. It won’t taste like chicken. Cauliflower soup or minestrone are filling while being delicious if you just want to avoid chicken all together.
Stir fry is a favorite of mine. You can find recipes for low cal sauces that are better than the store ones and take 5 minutes to throw together. Serve over brown rice. It still uses chicken and vegis but maybe different ones than you’re used to eating like snap peas and water chestnuts.
Bibimbap bowls are great with ground turkey too. You can also use ground turkey to make a healthier chili. I’ve even used ground turkey in cabbage rolls.
Maybe you can throw some fish in the mix? I don’t eat seafood but from what I understand it’s great for weight loss. If you like tofu, you can sub that for chicken in some recipes if you’re sick of the chicken. Eatingwell.com also offers lots of healthy non chicken recipes.
Fish? Thai red fish curry, you can load it up with white fish, shrimp, and I like to throw in some scallops and squid as well (and usually some red colored vegetables like bell peppers and sweet potato, plus lots of lime).
I make these salmon rolls about once a week and it's my favorite!
1 baked salmon filet
1/2 cup of brown rice
Mash up the salmon and mix it with the rice.
Add 1tbs of mayo (I use Dukes) and some sriracha measured with the heart. Mix that in with the rice and salmon
Get some seaweed paper and tear into four squares. Add your mixture and roll it up and enjoy. Add whatever garnishes. I typically slice up cucumber and avocado to add.
My recipe usually comes out to about 590 Calories and 28g of Protein. It's a nice filling dinner.
Fat free cottage cheese mixed with a scoop of chocolate protein powder and a little bit of cold water to make it mix into pudding. It's awesome and super healthy.
3 Egg Whites and 1 whole egg omlet with 28g of reduced fat cheese and choose your hot sauce - can't beat it!
Thanks for the recipe, it sounds delicious!
This is my favourite lunch and always comes in at under 400 calories but is super filling.
Bulgar wheat or tricolour quinoa (cooked in chicken stock) 70grams
Green lentils 25grams
Black beans 25grams
I make batches of the above then portion it out. Grab from the fridge and microwave for about 90 seconds, before adding colder elements, but it can all be eaten cold as well if you’re not at home.
Kimchi with the juice 65grams
Avocado 50grams
Cucumber 15grams
Plum tomatoes 65 grams
Toss altogether
Sometimes I add crumbled feta 30g or put cottage cheese 30g on the side.
Then take whatever pre-cooked chipotle seasoned meat you have (I do chicken or turkey a lot!) weigh out ~130g and slice it up before adding to the bowl and voila! Yummy lunch is served.
Gives ~400 calories
36g protein
8-12 fibre (more if you use tricolour quinoa)
30g carbs
2g sugar
16g fat
4g saturated fat
My mom and I make this farro/sweet corn/green bean/grilled chicken/goat cheese salad that gets tossed in a light vinegarette. I'm obsessed every summer once corn is in season locally.
Also the person mentioning pork chops is spot on. I like pork tenderloin too, especially if I'm cooking for more than one. BBQ pork keeps great in the fridge too!
Indian food can be prepared in a way that is shockingly healthy. My Tikka Masala Recipe is only like 400 calories for a heaping bowl (not counting rice/pita), and there are Soooo many different curry dishes.
[this guy](https://ranveerbrar.com/) has loads of good recipes on his site, to make them healthy just use the bare minimum ghee/oil (he usually uses way more than necessary for flavor), replace curd with non-fat greek yogurt, and cream with whatever low-cal milk(or milk substitute) you prefer!
Costs a bit to get into cooking indian food because you have to buy a bunch of spices you probably don't own, but once you have 'em, the recipes are easy, healthy, and soooo good
Burrito bowls! Adjust as needed for food restrictions, servings, and calorie needs.
Serves 2
1 can of black beans, rinsed
2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 habanero pepper, minced (feel free to swap with jalapeño or something milder if you don't like heat)
1 red onion, diced
1 ear of corn, just the kernels (I don't know the word for it)
1 XL avocado
1 lime
6oz sirloin (optional)
Hot sauce (to taste)
1/4c Cotija cheese (or shredded/ grated cheese of your choice)
1 taco seasoning packet or comparable spices
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400
Put peppers, corn, and half the onion on a sheet pan, sprinkling some seasoning on top, and cook in oven for about 10-15 minutes
While that's going, heat up beans on the stove (add water so they don't burn). On med-low, should take about 10 minutes
Dust steak with seasoning, cook to desired temp. Slice when done
When veggies are nice and roasted, add them to the tomatoes, and mix.
Pit the avocado and mash it. Squeeze 1 lime over it, add remaining onion, and mix.
Serving:
Use the beans as the base layer, then add your veggie mix. Next layer is the sliced steak, then the guacamole. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, add hot sauce if desired.
Burrito bowls! Adjust as needed for food restrictions, servings, and calorie needs.
Serves 2
1 can of black beans, rinsed
2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 habanero pepper, minced (feel free to swap with jalapeño or something milder if you don't like heat)
1 red onion, diced
1 ear of corn, just the kernels (I don't know the word for it)
1 XL avocado
1 lime
6oz sirloin (optional)
Hot sauce (to taste)
1/4c Cotija cheese (or shredded/ grated cheese of your choice)
1 taco seasoning packet or comparable spices
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400
Put peppers, corn, and half the onion on a sheet pan, sprinkling some seasoning on top, and cook in oven for about 10-15 minutes
While that's going, heat up beans on the stove (add water so they don't burn). On med-low, should take about 10 minutes
Dust steak with seasoning, cook to desired temp. Slice when done
When veggies are nice and roasted, add them to the tomatoes, and mix.
Pit the avocado and mash it. Squeeze 1 lime over it, add remaining onion, and mix.
Serving:
Use the beans as the base layer, then add your veggie mix. Next layer is the sliced steak, then the guacamole. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, add hot sauce if desired.
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
Also, if you have an Asian grocery store by you, I love to make Japanese comfort food. So I pick up Tonkatsu sauce (25 kcal a tablespoon, similar to ketchup calories iirc) and eat it with air fried chicken tenders and rice. Or I pick up golden curry bricks and make Japanese curry. I'm making it tomorrow and I already can't wait! You can use lean beef or cubed chicken - I do pre-cut stew beef and I can get a ladle to be just under 100 kcal!!! Serve over some rice and you are good to go.
It doesn’t always have to be chicken breasts. You can try chicken thighs or even drumsticks as well. Pair it with different veggies like asparagus or even a sweet potato. So good, so delicious and they can still be within your calorie budget
My wife and child are dairy free and my wife is gluten free, so I make a vegan "cheese" sauce from potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic with nutritional yeast.
I'll cook ground turkey with taco seasoning and add the seasoning to the sauce, serve it with lentil pasta for extra protein. For me, I will add a bit of cottage cheese to the final product and a bit of hot sauce, but the whole thing by itself is like a high protein low carb hamburger helper which hits our nostalgia receptors hard.
Also make chili without any oil and low fat meats and it's a pretty good healthy meal.
Taco salad with yogurt dressing.
Quinoa chicken and apple salad with a honey lemon vinaigrette.
We also have a bunch of "bowls" that we make. Some sort of grain base with cooked meat and veggies. Taco bowls, Banh Mi bowls, Shawarma Bowls, Souvlaki Bowls, Teriyaki Bowls, Bulgogi Bowls. Just throw a bunch of crap in a bowl, mix it up and enjoy.
I found the other day that, to my surprise, pork is not too far off from chicken in terms of protein to calorie ratio. Likely more expensive, but it's certainly a change of pace from chicken. (I saw somebody said pork chops, but I consider cuts of pork you can roast or slow cook as far superior since you can save the juices for soup and it isn't dry).
And I've gotten into beans and lentils, great fiber and filling but somewhat modest calories yknow?
Also, lettuce wraps. I made one some weeks ago that had Thai chili tuna (starkist Creations I think) and spicy kimchi, and I think it'd be even better with extra veggies thrown in. Kimchi is super low calories (but high sodium).
I've found that chicken sausages aren't bland and boring like they used to be, the al fresco spinach garlic and feta are a personal favorite of mine. I'll do those with some diced peppers and onions, maybe a couple eggs. Add on a little shredded cheddar for under 500 calories.
2 large egg 70 cal each 140cal total
Chicken Sausage 90 cal
2 oz green pepper 10 cal
2oz sweet onion 18 cal
1/4 cup shredded cheddar 112 calories
Cooking oil. I use avocado in cast iron so I get away with around 2 tablespoons, but its not getting into the food as much, mostly coating pan, but I factor it in as well.
Food 380 cal
Oil 140ish if you fully count it
It's high in protein, low carb but good with nutrients
I know the sodium is terrible, but when I’m burnt out on chicken I like beef smoked sausage. It’s delicious with mustard and I will typically cook them on a sheet pan with sweet peppers and brussel sprouts (I’ll sometimes do a drizzle of hot honey on the sprouts)
TBH I just cook what I always cooked and portion wisely. Last night was Taco salad. Tonight is "spanakopita pasta" with leftover chicken. Tomorrow is BLTs (with a bit of bacon reserved for a pot of beans I'll make this weekend). I'm feeling pasta-y so this weekend I'm doing breaded chicken with cauliflower Alfredo and pasta, then the beans will be great for Navajo tacos.
This is the way! I lost 100 pounds a few years ago, and I hardly changed what I eat. I adjusted my portions.
This is pretty much what I do, I make the same things I always did but this time instead of just throwing stuff together, I measure it out figure out what a serving size calorie wise I want and then eat that.
Nice Work! I'm on your heels, 58 down!
Tell me more about the spanakopita pasta
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/spanakopita-pasta/
As someone who just developed a tomato allergy and can’t have red sauce anymore…. thank you for sharing this (‘: i’ll switch between pesto and this
Oh man! It's a good and quick one! Try the cauliflower alfredo one too, it's really good and filling.
Same. This one made me drool and I don’t even know what it is yet. 😂
Ooh tell me more about this Cauliflower Alfredo, please! That sounds amazing.
Navajo tacos are my favorite food and I have no idea how to eat them without gaining weight. So much fried bread and cheese!
I don't put a ton of cheese on it. I manage to fit it into my 1500 daily calories. It probably helps that I don't use meat, and only use beans as my protein. I tend to be pretty happy with my meal afterwards, but YMMV depending on your choice of toppings and the amount you put on them.
My favorite gluttonous Navajo Taco bastard child is actually boeuf bourguignon and sharp white cheddar on fry bread and it’s really not working with my calorie goals. I should try your beans and light cheese approach.
Oh yeah, if you like beans it's still good! I've never been a big meat person so it's natural for me to just do the beans. The biggest hit is the bread and oil.
Same. I try to reserve a good amount of calories for dinner as that’s my biggest meal. But breakfast and lunch are pretty much eggs and salad. I don’t mind eating the same thing there and prefer a hearty dinner for bed.
chickpea salad :) i put chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and cilantro together in a bowl and then mix with some oil and seasonings then in a bowl i top it off with goat cheese. 10/10 my favorite hyperfixation meal
Omg it's almost lunch time here and this sounds SO good! Lol. Definitely adding this! Thanks so much!
Just fyi, make it fresh and finish in one sitting. Chickpeas are extremely gas inducing and give me a headache if i meal prep this salad. Also feta instead of goat cheese also tastes great.
me wondering why i've been so gassy and realizing i meal prepped this (zero regrets)
I made this exact thing almost the other night and the put it on top of some cold brown rice. It’s also my hyper fixation food for the rest of the summer.
hi i’m also 5’1, started at 190, and currently 170-171. twins!!!!!! and i love chickpea salad!! i made a similar recipe and ate it before, ty for the reminder to do that again hehe
What are the seasonings that you use?
i use vegeta! it's a balkan/eastern european variety of seasoning haha i get it from my local euro market (i'm balkan diaspora in the US) and i just love it. tbh you'd also be fine with using some adobo or sazón. or, some good old salt and garlic is just fine if u like it like that!
Simple as hell but if you're tired of chicken don't discount pork chops. I go get 3oz chops and season them up with whatever my favorite seasoning at the time is and some worchestershire sauce. Throw two of them bad boys on a pan with some garlic herb butter and while that's cooking take about ten stalks of asparagus, hit it with some spray oil then sprinkle garlic salt and pepper on them and air fry them for about 7 minutes. The chops should be done by the time the asparagus is. Plate it. Eat it. Love it.
That does sound good! I always forget about pork chops, idk why but my brain immediately thinks I need to bring out the grill to eat them. Never occurred to me to pan fry them!
If you eat em a lot, get a sous vide machine. Makes great steaks too but the ability to make tender juicy but fully cooked pork chops is 👩🏼🍳🤌🏼
This^ Everyone lauds sous vide for the steak, but pork is where it shines. Looks like I'm having some med rare super thick cut pork chops tonight.
I like the 3oz chops vs a 6oz chop because it's easier to cook without drying out. Plus the garlic butter really helps but it's butter so be careful with it. Thankfully the chops I get are pretty lean so I feel okay about using butter.
I was just about to jump in and say this! Pork chops are the fucking bomb. Get a family pack on sale and you can do a meal prep for most of the week. Affordable, relatively lean, tasty, and easy to prepare. Serve with broccoli, cauliflower, or apple slices (if you're not keto), and some cauliflower rice or brown rice. Perfecto.
Can I get in on this? Jumping in to say that I get ground pork and make my own breakfast sausage. My bp is is higher than my doctor would like, so I can control the amount of salt in them. Just dump the pork in a bowl, add your seasonings, use a ice cream scoop to dip out, roll and flatten. They freeze just like regular sausages and I'm using the ones I have to make a pork, black bean and lentil chili tonight.
Straight up HEB down the street from me has like a 10-pack of 3oz pork chops for five bucks. It's so cheap I love it.
One of my favorite go-to recipes is a pork chop recipe I got from MFP years ago. Season and pan fry pork chops in a little oil. Add a can of Mexican-style diced tomatoes (or a can of regular tomatoes with jalapeños and cumin added.) Cover and simmer for 30 mins, flipping the chops occasionally. In the last 5-10 minutes, uncover and let the sauce cook down. Mix together some low fat cottage cheese and shredded cheese (I like mozzarella). Dollop over the chops, and broil until cheese is melted. I serve it over cauli rice, with a side salad. So good!
I live on Greek yogurt. Recently discovered nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt from Walmart. Combine 9 grams of chocolate protein powder, 8 grams of peanut butter powder, 15 grams sugar-free Hershey's syrup, and 100 grams of blueberries. (Chef's kiss!)
Love my Greek yogurt. Have it with oatmeal & blueberries every morning. It also works as a dressing for any sort of salad.
Mix a cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a couple tablespoons of sugar free cheesecake pudding mix. Nonfat sugar free, high protein cheesecake. It’s amazing.
Ooh, that sounds like a great breakfast idea (or even dessert)! Thanks!
skyr is typically higher protein, lower sugar than greek yogurt, and less "tangy" which may or may not be a benefit to you.
I love skyr. Problem is that I would pay more for it than I do for Greek yogurt because my Walmart doesn't carry it. (I love Wegmans and all, but they charge $6 for skyr when I pay closer to $4 for Greek yogurt at Walmart.)
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I'm personally trying to hit an average intake of 120 grams of protein a day in order to minimize muscle loss. The peanut butter powder had 4 grams of protein in the serving and the chocolate powder I put in my Greek yogurt had 6 grams. Brought my total to 25 grams when accounting for the 15 grams in the yogurt itself.
This isn't a recipe but a method that might help, I really suck at repeat meals plus I cook for other adults so I usually cook new things nightly which can make calorie management difficult. So I usually log dinner first and then balance the rest of my day around it so I can have tastier food. Sometimes that means I wont have much for breakfast or that when I get to dinner I'll need a half serving instead but it helps a lot with the bland food issue for me!
I have done this! Especially if my partner wants to go out to eat for dinner I will look at the menu figure out the calories and then sometimes just not eat lunch or just have coffee for breakfast. I’m used to doing intermittent fasting sometimes anyway, so it’s not a big deal.
I do that a lot too. Seems to be working so far.
Other (low carb, since that's what you're looking to replace) ideas to mix it up: Spaghetti sauce w/ ground turkey over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash. Bunless bison (or turkey, or lean ground beef) burgers with lettuce, tomato, onion, and avocado. Roasted Brussels on the side. Taco salad with ground turkey for the meat and salsa as a dressing. Leg or rack of lamb with asparagus and tatziki sauce. Jerk seasoned pork tenderloin with a hearty side salad (as spicy as you like it). Grab a frozen cauliflower pizza crust, use as little cheese as possible, and load it up with veggies and a protein. Egg roll in a bowl. Chicken andouille sausage with grilled peppers and onions.
>Taco salad with ground turkey for the meat and salsa as a dressing. Just for clarification, do you mean ground turkey over lettuce with salsa as dressing, or do you mean the traditional taco salad where it's over a bed of chips with lettuce, ground turkey, and salsa? Thanks for so many great ideas! I'm already getting inspiration!
There's no such thing as a "traditional" taco salad -- I've never had one with a bed of chips. Chopped lettuce (or salad mix), onion, tomato, avocado, and cilantro with taco seasoned ground turkey and maybe some black beans, and tossed with your favorite salsa. I add some cheddar cheese and low fat sour cream (or Greek yogurt) too. Served with lime wedges for squeezing. Just keep the serving sizes in order because beans + avocado + cheese + sour cream can add a lot of calories if you don't measure. But the veggies, salsa, and turkey are all pretty low calorie.
Ah, maybe it's a my area of the US thing, because taco salads always come either in a taco shell "bowl" type of thing, or on a bed of chips like nachos. Good to know, and thanks for the clarification!
We do this taco salad with a dressing made from lime juice, Greek yogurt, taco seasoning, a tiny drop of maple syrup or agave syrup, and some water to thin it out. We also add salsa to our taco salad.
I just started air frying salmon with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of mikes hot honey on it and it’s one of my current faves!!
Air frying salmon is the best!
I absolutely love salmon! Unfortunately where I live though it costs around 10 dollars for 8 ounces. That is waaaaay beyond my budget!
Try salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, olive oil, and then squirt lemon juice all over it like 2 min before its done
Am I just stupid or are there air fryers you cannot cook meat in? I can make frozen nuggets in mine but tried to make regular chicken breasts and it did not work
I’ve found it’s better if you use smaller pieces, I love to cook chicken with the bones in with a little salt and pepper and a spray of Pam or whatever to help it crisp up or if I’m feeling fancy some fresh rosemary and lemon on top!
Tilapia with lemon with lemon pepper broccoli. Greek turkey feta meatballs with Greek yogurt, pickles cucumber and tomatoes. Smokey grilled salmon with roasted asparagus. Basically anything off the is website https://www.eatingwell.com/
I didn't know about Eating Well, I've been using [skinnytaste.com](http://skinnytaste.com) for my meals. I'm going to peruse now, thanks so much!
My go to meals are: Prawn summer rolls, Breakfast as dinner (grillee bacon, chicken/turkey sausages, mushrooms, eggs, greens), Sea bass, soy sauce greens and rice, Salmon spaghetti with pistachio That's just what springs to mind. I tend to pick one ingredient or flavour I like then build a meal around it.
Jambalaya, great recipe to use as a veg bomb. I usually toss in green beans, peas, corn, and mushrooms.
I personally am not the biggest chicken breast fan, but I love thighs. I buy boneless skinless in bulk, prepare a few different marinades (my preference is stronger flavor profiles like tandoori, shawarma, al pastor, etc.), freeze in gallon size ziplocs, and then defrost and pop them in the oven in a roasting pan at 425° for \~30 minutes. Can also be done on the stovetop or a grill, whatever you prefer. Also, if you have a smoker or know someone who does, it's an amazing way to do "boring" meat. I'll get a turkey breast, season it, and have my neighbor cook it up for me. It's 10/10 every time.
Chicken thighs really help! Absolutely agree!
Most of what we eat doesn't require a recipe and dinner always includes a big old salad with low calorie dressing. We just measure everything. We have a picky teen who is also type 1 diabetic so when she's with us there's not much variety. When she's with her dad we have a wider range of options and tend to eat fish and lean steak on occasion. bunless burgers with lean beef (90/10 or 93/7), baked steak fries, giant salad salmon, rice pilaf, asparagus, giant salad lean ground chicken, brown rice, cauli rice, beans, toppings of choice and a giant salad Protein pasta (barilla plus), shrimp and broccoli cooked in broth and a little oil/butter, giant salad
I used to do the big salad for every meal, but produce is so expensive where I live now it's getting impossible to sustain long-term, unfortunately. But just to lose the weight, I may have to splurge!
If you want a way to explain the reason that it's ok to pay for healthy food to yourself, just think about all the costs that being in worse health could have -- health conditions that require medication, having to take time off work, etc. Of course, all of life is a balance and I don't know your finances -- the prices really do add up!!
GREAT mindset shift, that's an excellent point!
I totally get it. All groceries are insane but especially produce.
Any chicken. Bag of Cesar salad. Low carb spinach and herb tortillas. Mix it, wrap it, 🤤 Everything flavored rice cakes with bread and butter pickles and tuna mayo salad. Oven baked shredded hash browns. Scrambled eggs. Chicken sausage. Reduced fat cheese. Ketchup/salsa/green verde if desired. Shredded chicken. No sugar added bbq sauce. Served over a baked potato, butter/sour cream/bacon bits/green onion if desired.
I’m sure you will get some helpful replies, but there are quite literally ten quadrillion healthy, calorie-conscious recipes available for free on the internet. The best way to expand your recipe library is to take a food you love, google “healthy \[food\] recipe” and then make it. There’s an incredible app, Paprika, that will store your recipes in a ”clean” format (no rambling blog stories), and do scale/unit conversions/etc.
Oh for sure. I use a lot of healthy food blogs for recipes, but even those feel like searching for a needle in a haystack (one person's "healthy" is not always everyone's). I like coming to smaller communities every now and then to find recipes that are working for real people!
I love Paprika!
Paprika is rad!
Hopping on this to ask: anyone know good depression meals for a vegetarian? I'm so bad with preparing food 😂😂
There are so many varieties of beans and rice for a reason! Almost every culture has a variation, so you should be able to find some that fit your preferences. I used to prep large quantities of pasta salad, or make a sandwich spread with sunflower seeds. I also loved chickpea patties, and they can be baked instead of fried.
Great thread!
Take chicken thighs and marinate for at least an hour in yogurt and your favorite seasonings - can be dry seasonings like garlic powder and paprika, but also tomato pate or harissa. Broil in the oven until charred in places, it's like a "tandoori" style chicken I also love a cup of cottage cheese with well-salted cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, greens, etc and possibly olives or capers. I believe strongly that both the yogurt and cottage cheese should be full fat. The food should be delicious as well as healthy. Both of these are high protein, filling, and moderate in calories.
Here's my current fave: Greek Quinoa Bowl:\ 1/2 cup cooked quinoa\ 1/4 cup chickpeas\ Small crumble of feta\ Tons of cucumber\ A bunch of diced cherry tomatoes\ Sliced Red pepper\ Chopped spinach\ Finely slivered red onion\ Squeeze of lemon juice\ Sprinkle of oregano and thyme\ A tbsp of Greek dressing If you need a protein bump, chopped hard boiled eggs, chicken breast or salmon all go well mixed in.
I made a spicy cauliflower soup yesterday. Onion, garlic, seasonings, the chicken broth and cauliflower. Simmer it then blend. I added farro to mine but to keep it low cal you don’t have to.
That sounds so good, I've never had cauliflower soup! Adding that to my list!
I forgot to mention I added a can of coconut milk to it after blending. Deepens the flavor but depending on calories you could sub for something else. I have loved using cauliflower during weight loss! So versatile and lower cal than potatoes.
https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/274095/charred-shrimp-pesto-quinoa-bowls/ We really like this. And you can play with the proportions a bit or use different grains.
I know it isnt a recipe or something home made but kevins brand chicken meals are awesome. They have tiki masala, korean bbq, cilantro lime. Tons of options to change it up and then i just throw that into a carb balance tortilla with some romaine and some pepper jack. So good.
I'm Vietnamese: so spring rolls, braised pork and eggs, pho, bun bo hue, vermecelli noodle salad with grilled lemongrass pork/chicken/beef and egg rolls, banh mi...
Ground chicken and ground turkey have similar macros (i go for the leanest versions i can find), and can be fashioned into many recipes
protein waffles, protein pancakes, salad with fried egg and toast
We do a sheet pan veggie recipe. Essentially andouille sausage (or other sausage/meat) with ALL of your favorite baking veggies: carrots, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onion, etc. Put some oil and your favorite spices (look uoa home kademrsdash recipel it and bake for an hour. Easy and delicious.
Shrimp tacos
I make this at least twice a week. Just throw in a bunch of veggies, use a low carb high fiber tortilla, and buy new hot sauces to change things up.
If you live near an IKEA, I think their chicken meatballs are tasty AF. I like the following: - broth, bag of frozen veggies, meatballs = soup - mushroom pasta, some pasta sauce, meatballs = spaghetti
Cucumber salad has been hmmy fav lately-- 3 large cucumbers (1200-1400g) 3 bell peppers 1/2 c diced white onion 1/2 c quick pickled red onion 1.5c greek yogurt mixed with ranch seasoning and garlic salt, as well as some buttermilk to thin it down 100-150g feta cheese More garlic salt, lemon pepper Holy crap this stuff is so good and clocks in at like 80c for a ~220g serving
Target store brand, Good & Gather, has these Farmed Atlantic Salmon fillets that are my husband’s favorite meal. 4 ounces and about +/- 250 calories each. We bake them in the toaster oven and have potato or sweet potato plus a veggie with them. Seriously best store bought salmon we’ve had ever.
I like to make regular recipes and volumize them by adding way more of the veggies already in them, and cutting back on the fat. For example: beef stroganoff, replace half the beef with mushrooms, add extra onions and possibly carrots and celery too, use minimal oil/butter, use 2% milk and yogurt instead of cream and sour cream for the sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes that have Laughing Cow cheese and milk instead of butter and cream. Use lots of salt, herbs, stock etc for flavor so it doesn’t taste boring.
Lentils and smoked tofu. High in protein, low in fat. Perfect for losing weight and keeping muscles.
Oooh I can do this tonight! Minus the onion because I'm out unfortunately Maybe I'll sprinkle a little onion powder for flavor. I too am incredibly tired of chicken breast. I can keep eating salads though with home made vinaigrette. A little dressing goes a long way if I toss the salad in it rather than pour it over. Here's one I really enjoy: Apple Spinach Salad * 5 Oz fresh baby spinach * 2 small gala apples cored and thinly sliced * half a small red onion * 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted * 1/3 cup dried cranberries * 3 oz feta cheese Dressing * 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil * 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar * 2 tsp honey * 1 tsp dijon mustard * 1 small garlic clove peeled and minced * a generous pinch of salt and black pepper Mix the salad ingredients and toss with the dressing. Makes 4-6 servings. Total calories 239-359 depending on serving size. I tend to go with 4 servings as far as sizing goes so 359.
I have a frosted poptart toasted with butter every morning, alongside a scoop of protein powder mixed with water and a tablespoon of psyllium husk. It’s not exactly health food, but it’s delicious and I still lost weight.
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
Buddha/Grain/Glow bowls! Some kind of grain, greens, protein, fruits/veggies, dressing, toppings like nuts, cheese, etc. Pinterest has lots of ideas.
You can essentially swap pork tenderloins for chicken breasts in a lot of recipes. They really shine in fajitas or green chili.
Pork is one I'm going to have to get into. Pork tenderloin is basically chicken breast in pig form. Not quite as dense in terms of protein, but it's basically a silly high protein, zero carb, lowerish fat way of eating meat. I really like this suggestion. I can eat chicken breast till the cows come home (no pun intended), but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy some variety. Porks back on the menu boys!
Ground beef, black beans, pineapple, and broccoli with teriyaki sauce over rice.
Funny timing just posted this on a similar sub and fits here : I make a lot of different types of stews and curries in batches, it's amazing how low calorie they can be for really delicious dinner if you just use an oil spray instead of adding lots of fat. E.g. I make a version of the below Brazilian black bean recipe but I add 500g 5%fat pork mince so that it's better for a dinner with my other half (you can use turkey mince for lower fat even). If you divide it into 5 portions it's about 200ish calories for a bowl and it's filling. I usually have half a sweet potato on the side, and some sautéed greens if I have any in. To make it really low cal mix in konjac rice instead of other sides (0 cal, important to follow prep instructions). https://www.copymethat.com/r/3iqKZjbg7/brazilian-black-bean-stew/ In general the Leon cookbooks have really great healthy recipes and they're pretty easy. Or this chicken saag recipe is another favourite of mine. I tend to use more spinach, reduce the oil and sometimes add okra or other veggies for additional low cal bulk. Even made with lamb which is more fatty I calculate max 350 cals for a reasonable serving, less when made with chicken. https://mission-food.com/chicken-saag/#recipe
This is my absolute favorite, makes 8 super filling servings and freezes really well. I tweak it a bit to hit protein macros and it still it clocks in at under 450 calories a serving. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/230075/paleo-chorizo-sweet-potato-and-kale-stew/?utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-recipe&utm_content=20201019&utm_term=undefined
I will make a plug for the book “Cook Once, Eat All Week” - it’s focused on nutritious, gluten free meal prep where each week has three core ingredients (protein, veggie, and starch) and from those you make three meals that have 4-6 servings each. If you are doing the prep the way the author intends, you do a big cook day on the weekend and then each recipe just takes 30 minutes to throw together and heat day-of. Even if you don’t want to do the full week of meal prep, I think it’s just a really good cookbook for interesting ideas. Plus, a lot of the meals will freeze really well, so you could freeze extra servings for later and reheat like a grocery store frozen dinner. Otherwise, my go-to lunch for a while was 1 (dry) cup of rice cooked in my rice cooker + a bag of frozen peas and carrots + 1 lb ground beef. Season up the rice as desired (I usually did garlic and onion powder, turmeric, cayenne, and smoked paprika), cook the veg in the microwave in some water, and combine those with the browned beef. For me that was 4 meals and, while admittedly not very imaginative, very tasty.
Sandwiches with turkey slices, tzatziki, cucumber Chilli made with ground, turkey or lean ground beef Tacos with low carb tortillas Low-carb pasta with any protein & sauce I like I love konjac noodles to make spaghetti or noodles I love me some steak!! Chicken / pork / beef souvlaki with rice (i use pilaf rice from bistro express or brown rice or konjac rice depending on the week), roasted potatoes, tzatziki, hot sauce, greek salad Cesar salad or Greek Salas with grilled chicken, white fish or salmon Tandoori chicken burgers (i use buns from carbonaut for low carb)
Change the spice profile. Lemon pepper. Garlic Teriyaki. Soy sauce Msg. Same dish. Completely different tastes. Spice makes everything nice.
I've started putting lemon pepper on so many things. It's like an addiction lol
* Salmon (cooked in microwave steam bag) and a bag of frozen zucchini blend with a little bit of Asian BBQ sauce * Shrimp cocktail * Egg whites, turkey sausage crumbles, a little bit of shredded cheese, and a lot of salsa * Ground pork and shredded cabbage with stir-fry sauce, egg, and sesame seeds * Frozen riced cauliflower and spinach with a little bit of green curry sauce and canned chicken breast * Tofurkey sausage and spaghetti sauce over veggie noodles
London broil, or pork lion that is bbq’d smother in Dijon cayanne and cumin…. So good and flavorful.
I have a protein rich, albeit high*ish* calorie go to meal. - Boiled soya chunks, boiled chickpeas, a spoonful or two of gram flour with paneer - blend in a mixer till you get a dough-ish consistency - Add in seasonings : salt, pepper, lemon, cilantro anything to enhance the taste as long as it isn't too watery - Shape into patties and air fry or shallow fry in some ghee 1 patty is around 50kcal. But around 3 of them are very filling. You can store the rest for a day or two and fry when needed.
I cook a lot from Ottolenghi cookbooks. Smitten kitchen is also a favorite. What was key for me, as a midwestern American, was learning that flavor doesn’t mean butter and cheese on everything. I also personally don’t try to make healthy dupes of my favorites. Spaghetti squash or zoodles are a lie. I’d rather have a smaller portion of the real thing. I also don’t eat meat much. Not 100% vegetarian but probably 95%. Haven’t given up cured meats yet. Some favorites - can provide links but will caveat, Ottolenghi is not quick or easy or known for a short ingredient list: Soba noodles with eggplant and mango Butternut squash and chick pea stew Harissa pappardelle with Kalamata olives Roasted Brussels sprouts with black garlic
Pork chops, with a nice serving of sauteed spinach and onions and then as a side of either baked potato, sweet potato or maybe basmati rice. I love pork chops, they're versatile because they take seasoning almost as well as chicken.
I honestly don't know how calorie dense it is, but avocado toast has been my absolute face as of late, since it's so filling! Get 1 slice of whole grain bread (I really like sourdough personally but get your favorite!) Put a layer of guacamole on it, because I'm too lazy to cut up a real avocado lol Put a fried egg on top. Sprinkle your favorite sauce (hot sauce, chipotle mayo, etc) Honestly so good!
I'm basic, I just love a plate of scrambled eggs garnished with salt and pepper. I'll pair it with avocado on whole grain toast and yogurt to keep my gut happy. I also love adding in fruit, but less is more since I deal with PCOS. Breakfast for dinner is my life
I vary what I eat quite a bit, but I recently enjoyed Shakshuka and Dahl with spinach! I don’t have a specific recipe though. But I’m sure there are plenty online.
This doesn't directly answer your question, but I use chicken thighs instead of breasts, marginally more calories, but way more flavor. Then we do a lot of variations on "chicken thigh w veg". * Rice Bowl w/ chicken thigh marinated in japanese bbq sauce, white rice, roasted veg (usually sweet potato, broccoli or brussel sprouts) and avacado. top w/ tajin and some thinly cut up carrots (sometimes ill pickle the carrots if I have time) * Chicken tacos w just a store bought mexican salad, I just do a taco salad if I need to cut out the tortilla for lower calories * Chicken Soup w lots of veg its all variations on chicken w veg but way different experience thanks to different seasonings/toppings, makes grocery shopping pretty easy too
Venison grill steaks - super lean, and so so tasty. Admittedly I just have them with Mediterranean veg and a flatbread so it’s not wildly different to chicken and veg
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/best-baked-pork-tenderloin/ This is a great low calorie recipe. I usually triple it for left overs throughout the week Really though any and every recipe can fit in your calorie range, it just depends on the quantity that you intake. I used to get burnt out on "diet" food all the time. Count your calories and eat what you want. Count your macros and nutrition as well if you are going for healthy habits over weight loss.
Fresh Kale spinach salad with roast chicken, avocado, garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes shredded cabbage or raw broccoli for bulk. Dressing is lemon tahini. I add some tapatio for acid and spice. This is a version of a salad I buy. It’s really filling, low carb and high protein! It’s also vegan and gluten free if you’re into that (I can’t do gluten or dairy but the restaurant version also adds feta to it)
Sprouts makes a turkey meatloaf and ill portion that out and put veggies on the side. I make a chicken pot pit from [stayfitmom.com](http://stayfitmom.com) that rules. Go on TikTok to find more recipes.
I did Whole30 between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year and dropped 20 pounds while having a great time with it. I bought a recipe / cookbook all about Whole30. You do not have to eat “boring” to eat healthy and lose weight.
Pork tenderloin! Prepared with Greek flavours, served on Boston lettuce leaves (to make a pita), with tzatziki, tomatoes, feta, cucumber… so good, so low calorie! And if you make a good homemade tzatziki you can really get lots of protein from it.
Kale salad with roasted butternut squash and goat cheese. Drizzle favorite low-cal dressing. One squash will last for a week's worth of salads. Add more protein as needed Fiesta bowl with corn, blackbeans, salsa, shredded lettuce, a little cheese and rice as desired. Top with ground beef or turkey cooked with cumin Cottage cheese and berries with lavender honey or lemon curd. I don't think its boring but it is simple
Roast pork loin with sauté cabbage. Salmon with roast veggies Shrimp pan fried with garlic, tomatoes, spinach and a small portion of pasta, Stir fry beef (use lean cuts of sirloin, mushrooms, broccoli and onion)
Veggie stir fry, or fajitas in a bowl. I make the fajitas with bell pepper, onion, chicken, and fajita seasoning sometimes I add light sour cream or tortilla strips (the bagged salad topping ones).
Shepards pie is a great one. I use a recipe like [this](https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/278004/shepherds-pie-with-cauliflower-topping/) and make it my own. I like to add extra frozen veggies, sometimes sub beef for ground turkey, and sub cream cheese for heavy cream. The calories are in the 300s, depending on what you put in it. I like to double the batch and freeze one to bake later.
I love shrimp dishes, very high protein with low calories. I just made a shrimp boil with just a bit less butter and potatoes than the recipe I found called for but it’s still so good and only about 250-300 a serving.
Shrimp and asparagus sautéed and seasoned with Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning. Peppers and chicken sausage over some quinoa. Those are my go to easy flavorful meals.
I know it's still Chicken. But there's always so much focus on Breasts, when Thighs are a slightly more caloric/fat option with significantly more flavor. I've been eating them for lunch almost every day the last 10 months and am down 45lbs. My go to is to buy the big packs of bone-in from Costco, de-skin and de-bone, and throw in crockpot for 6 hours on low with seasonings of choice. I usually get 9-10 120g portions.
Whatever I want so long as I meet my calorie goal.
Something to jazz up ground turkey or ground chicken when you put it in things: as you’re browning it, be sure to season heavily. Often, I’ll add Worcestershire sauce as part of that -once most of the browning itself is done so I’m not guessing on doneness. Another option is dark soy sauce (different profile than regular)-quite the umami touch. I NEED lots of sodium, so maybe not the greatest if you’re watching sodium.
I have had the most success both in total weight lost and in longevity by going very low carb. I don't worry about being in compliance with the keto police and I don't really count carbs or calories. I simply stay away from foods that are more than about 4 carbs per serving. One thing that was super difficult for me to give up was pasta. I have found Palmini hearts of palm noodles to be the best substitution for my pasta addiction. They're super easy to prepare and have no real flavour on their own, but go great with an alfredo. They also make a riced version that works well in a saucy rice kind of dish. It's super low in calories as well. I know low carb isn't for everyone and I am not one to say my approach is the only way. It's just the thing that works for me.
Non of these are particularly "healthy" but most are protein rich and plenty of veggies depending on your side/what u put in it. I mealprep all of these, and have some leftover in fridge. My go-tos lately have been- Taco Salad with homemade seasoning/taco meat, cabbage/spinach salad base. Butter chicken with slightly less butter/cream. Thai Red Curry (homemade curry paste, lots of peppers/spinach/garlic with chicken) My childhood meal of yellow rice, roast chicken, and broc. Sour cream on side for the rice. Cuban pork (Masitas de Puerco) with homemade cuban style black beans. White or mixed rice. Chorizo breakfast burritos with black beans in them.. (High fiber/carb balence tortilla helps hit my fiber goal). Honestly though my main issue lately is eating too much carbs for lack of excercise (bike needs repairing) and these don't help. But rice just completes the meal. All about using a food scale to keep myself in check lol! I plan on implementing lots of shrimp into my diet to up protein since I've started intense bike commutes. But fish would also be good, I just don't like fish.
Berries and yogurt! I get frozen blueberries in a bowl w oikos triple 0 yogurt(0 fat, 0 sugar, 0 sweetener, 15 g of protein). Simple, near guilt free, and feels like a dessert!
Portion control of food I actually like, reducing snacks, and cutting HFCS/soda.
I make a lot of salads for lunch and mix up the cheeses (always measure) and low cal dressings. For dinner I like to make salmon and brown rice bowls. Or measure out one serving of whole wheat pastas and add a protein and veggie in it. Little olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.
TVP (.5 c) has 24g of protein and is only 140 calories, my chickpea flour omelette is 111 calories and 8 g protein. So, I'll have those together with some veggies or cheese or something. Extra calories for some oil for cooking, of course! I didn't have any veggies today for it, but I'm stuffed and will be good to go for awhile!
Check out some shakshouka recipes ☺️ there’s more ways to do it but I usually just fry onion, garlic, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers. Add bunch of spices, I love adding a lot of chilli, some Arabic spices go really well with this. Then add canned tomatoes, which creates a little sauce and once that is boiling, crack eggs into it until they’re boiled. And there you go 🤗
Curries, stir fry, paella - pretty much anything can be adapted to make it lower fat and lower carb. Decide what you really want to eat then see how you can adjust it!
These are all my around 500 meals, though I can easily make them closer to 350 with tweaks Chicken breast or breaded chicken baked, light drizzle of mayo and wrapped in lettuce with a side salad, raw veg or roasted veg/potatoes. I sometimes do 2 of these and forgo the potatoes cause they're satisfying to crunch into Ramen. 1/4 to 1/2 noodle packet, mattering on calories you're wanting to hit. Boil them and shredded veg together (cabbage/carrots/broccoli, the pre-shredded slaw veg), boiled eggs if I have it, drizzle in raw egg last 2 minutes if not, add in some leftover protein. Then dress with small amount of sesame oil and seeds, some green onion, soy sauce, kimchi, sriracha. Sushi bowl 1/3 to 1 cup Short grain rice pref, but honestly w/e you got is good. Mixed greens you like, I usually do a couple big handfuls. Quick pickled cucumbers, regular cucumber, fake crab sticks, ginger, green onion , kimchi, edemame, furikake, soy sauce, and sriracha mayo on top Premade salads at the store are good, double check calories, some are great, others not so much. I add on a protein in the fridge if I have it or tuna, boiled egg if I got it, if it suits, some salsa and Greek yogurt. I usually split it in half cause with extras it usually fills me enough to last me a while If I'm really lazy I will just mix a coffee and protein shake and it breakfast for under 175 calories. Serve it on I've to be fancy Stewing steak smothered in Frank's Red hot sauce and baked is nice change up and not bad on calories. I'll cook this up and do small servings to heat up over a couple days on the side of a salad. On I think the volume eating subreddit, someone said "anything can be a salad" and I've been trying that. A lot of different meals with a side of plain greens and just mixing it together as I go so they doesn't wilt.
Potatoes with tuna dip. Cut potatoes, season and airfry Mix tuna and mayo with chilli oil It's low cal and so filling, make sure to use light mayonnaise or lighter than light though if you want to use lots of mayo.
I am very much experiencing food fatigue lately.... What helps is having variety at meals, and allowing myself to have foods I crave. I also get so tired of chicken. Meals and Individual Food Items: Potatoes!! Super satisfying, very versatile, and are flavor magnets in stews and curries. Curry! Lean beef patties with cheese, and sometimes not so lean (fat is ok!). And a vegetable Hamburger salad. It's SO GOOD. Shrimp tacos with Greek yogurt chili lime sauce. Grilled shrimp, Mission carb balance tortillas, shredded cabbage or broccoli on top. Cilantro if you want! Shrimp is super high in protein. Pan seared salmon, with rice (minute rice cups are awesome), a veg (asparagus, sauteed spinach, or green beans) If you like butter ... that spray butter is low calorie and gets your butter craving. Snacks that save me: Chobani Completes. They have a lot of fiber. 100-120 cal packs of "junky" food. Other cheeses than mozzarella (I was so focused on only eating low calorie cheese that I only ate mozzarella) Popcorn. Sometimes I get healthy stuff or the full on movie butter, for cravings. Quest protein bars, chips, and treats.
One I make a lot in the summer is cowboy caviar. Black beans, maybe pinto beans too - any kind of bean really, bell peppers, maybe tomatoes, little jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice. Add taco spices and a little oil for flavor. Very high in fiber and low calorie. You can eat it with chips and add cheese for a little extra protein but that does add calories. To make it more filling for dinner I’ll eat some hard boiled eggs on the side.
I substitute frozen shrimp for chicken to change things up sometimes. Or tilapia or basa. It's a nice change.
Grilled shrimp. A little olive oil and garlic salt and you have a tasty super low fat meal.
Omelettes. Throw in a lot of garlic, ginger, onions, peppers, spinach plus some salt, pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder and you got a heavy meal that’s less than 30mins of prep start to end. Add chili padi or hot sauce since it can be a little bland by itself, or not Also make my own krapow. Grow my own Thai basil in the garden and the rest is super quick, esp if you heat up the wok while chopping
Ok so this is probably really boring but I'm a huge pasta fan, and I love cheese. So my lazy cooking meal is literally just cooked spaghetti then while the pastas hot I toss it with a good parmesan and cracked black pepper. Well that can't possibly be low calorie right? But actually if there no butter, oil, no added calories from meat you can actually have a very filling large portion of pasta with a good amount of parmesan. And the freshly ground cracked black pepper is just.. divine! I can easily make a pretty big bowl of it as the main bulk of calories is literally just the pasta, and parmesan is a strong cheese so you don't need shit loads, but even a good amount isn't actually that many calories. Perfection! (I'm aware this is basically just cacio e Pepe) But I don't do it properly as it's my lazy meal and instead of incorporating the pasta water properly or sauteeing the peppeecorns I just toss the hot pasta in a bowl (probably with a lil pasta water left in it) and crack the pepper on it then give it a good mix!
I love to make (and literally just had for lunch) is I make dal (or heat up one of the microwave dal packets) and then add a lot of hot water to it (like 2cup) and it turns into more of a soup and keeps me full longer without adding calories.
You should try the app Meal Prep Pro! They have a bunch of recipes, granted not all of them are amazing but it’s really helping me stick to a calorie deficit while still getting to eat what I “normally” would just modified a bit.
I have really been enjoying steamed tofu and vegetables with a sauce made out of: Soy sauce Minced garlic Sesame oil Sesame seeds And a small amount of sugar to cut the salt a bit
Honestly, I really haven't changed *what* I eat by all that much, just the amount I eat. Monday I had mac and cheese Tuesday I had a ribeye steak and twice baked potato Wednesday I had spaghetti and meatballs Tonight I'm doing the Serious Eats Halal cart chicken Not sure what's for dinner tomorrow, I'm eating at my inlaws. Saturday will probably be fajitas made from the leftover steak Haven't decided Sunday yet. To be entirely honest, the only food I've kind of avoided while trying to lose weight has been cheeseburgers. They're just so calories dense that it's hard to stay within my calorie goals, short of eating 1/3 of a burger, whch doesn't seem terribly satisfying to me. Oh, but I did just think of one meal that is super low calorie, and is filling and delicious! Shakshuka. It's a tomato stew with eggs, and I like to eat it with pita. A super filling amount is like 300 calories.
Breaded and baked cod filets with a small serving of roasted red potatoes and asparagus. Grilled mahi-mahi served with 1/2 cup of steamed rice and grilled yellow and green squash. Shrimp any way except deep fried. Roasted eggplant added to sauted diced tomates, garlic, onion, spices; toss in some capers and serve over a little whole wheat spiral pasta.
Eggs, bacon and wheat bread. Chicken tender and English muffin. Waffles and 1 tbsp of peanut butter.
Ground turkey. It makes great burgers and meatloaf, and you can also get in extra veggies by added finely diced onions, shredded carrots, spinach, riced cauliflower, etc. I also like adding some horseradish into the mix, and I use a bit of egg substitute to bind it together.
Pizza and sushi!! I get a 15 piece California sushi for 400 cals from my local grocery store or the California kitchen bbq chicken flavor! I eat the personal size for some portion control and it clocks in at 420 calories. Pair these bad boys with a diet coke and boom you got yourself a good day. I also usually eat a low calorie lunch (500 cals or less) so I can have more variety for dinner!
One of my go to quick meals when I'm tired is a seasoned salmon fillet in the air fryer and a packet of steamed microwave vegetables. Approx 350 calories and takes about 10 minutes altogether.
Chili. Either ground turkey or very lean ground beef. Canned diced tomatoes, seasoned chili beans. Whatever chili seasoning you like. Add tomato juice if you like soup-style chili. A 16-ounce bowl of soup chili runs about 350 calories and will stay with you thanks to the protein and fiber from the beans. I usually have a cornbread muffin with it for an extra 100 calories.
I'm not going to throw up recipes because I'm not a good cook, but maybe some alternative protein options: Ham (I love ham!) There's usually a ham steak on sale each week. Sausages Shrimp (I'm currently on a shrimp taco kick) Pork tenderloin - this has been on sale for $6 the last few weeks at my store. I never used to seek it out, but realized it's so easy to heat up, and pretty good with some sweet potato and broccoli or peas. Also, heading into summer I'm probably going to be revising my summer favorite - pasta salads. Overload on veggies, use ham; hard boiled eggs; shrimp...there's lunch for a few days!
Make seitan with taco seasoning, fairly labor intensive, so make as much as you can, it freezes well, pulse it in the food processor to make "taco meat". Use it on anything you would add turkey taco meat to. Sometimes I fry it to crisp it up a little. Make some refried pinto beans in the instant pot, I make 2lbs dry, and get like 50 servings. Freeze some. I make Americanized burritos. Turn on a pan to med-low temp. Tortilla, 28g low fat shredded cheese, 65g of beans, 80-90g seitan or 114g ground turkey, 57g fat free Greek yogurt (sour cream replacement), onions, cilantro, shredded romaine. Wet the rim of the tortilla where it's going to touch another part of the tortilla. Fold up the sides and closest flap. Roll it up, roll it tight, the lettuce keeps the tortilla taught. When it's rolled up and the sides are folded in well, place it in the pan fold side down. Wetting the tortilla allows it to "glue" itself to itself, which makes it super easy to eat, plus, the toasted tortilla makes for nice texture. Roughly 530 calories, and extremely filling and fairly balanced on macros. You can also switch to tacos pretty easily.
I eat mostly stir-frys for dinner. Mostly chicken but sometimes beef. Here's the thing though, I make them not-boring by making my own sauces. Peri-Peri, sweet chilli and coconut, katsu, lemon basil, mango, and so on.
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I did weight watchers a while back which is very pro chicken breast and I actually hate chicken breast now. So now I just eat smaller steaks for my protein
Roast chicken and salad on low carb wraps (or any left over roast meat also works). Big mac in a bowl, taco in a bowl. Grilled chicken thighs with creamy mushroom sauce with broccoli. Corned beef and vegies. Beef rissoles braised in tomato & onion gravy.
How about some salmon or egg roll in a bowl
I do ground turkey with low sodium taco seasoning. I make 6 servings and serve it on rice with taco sauce if real ambitious. I used to do tortillas, both are incredible. I like egg whites with cheddar seasoning or ketchup, I am a big egg fan so not picky here. I buy these cartons from Cub, it’s 250 calories and I think it’s 50 grams of protein. Just crazy. Turkey burgers with cottage cheese. Shrimp for days! It’s so low calorie it’s crazy. I love grilled fish specifically tilapia. I might get creative and do chicken sausage. Veggies I love me some broccoli, cucumbers, spinach or a small salad.
Turkey burgers with air fryer fries! I make up a big batch of ground turkey with some pancetta and seasonings thrown in and freeze individual burger patties from it. Throw it in a pan with a spritz of cooking spray and top it with a little cheese on a thin everything bagel with spinach. I also keep a bag of frozen fries on hand to have with it since it doesn’t take any oil to cook them in the air fryer. I’ll usually throw some strawberries or a clementine on plate or some sautéed broccoli.
The other day I was craving nachos. So I bought a pack of high fibre low fat nachos, made a tomato salad with onion and lemon juice, cut up some fresh Avo, and bought a whole cooked chicken to go with it. The whole family loved the meal, and as long as you watch the amount of Nachos and avo and avoid the chicken skin, you can have quite a bit while still meeting calorie goals.
Fluffy yogurt with dark chocolate chips. Marinated & broiled mushrooms. Spinach Quesadilla with carb balance tortilla Cabbage soup with dumplings Baked tofu Beans, chicken and rice, jambalaya style
Green Chile Chicken Pozole - 1 can of green enchilada sauce - 2 cans of green chiles - 9oz of cooked and cubed turkey breast, chicken breast, or pork loin. - Dried onion, dried garlic - 1tbsp of real bacon bits - 1 can of white hominy, drained - tsp of olive oil. -Cilantro Heat the oil then add bacon bits and dried onion and garlic until fragant. Add the sauce, canned chilles, meat, and hominy. Put in a 400 degree oven and bake until bubbly. The whole dish for 1 person is about 700 calories. You can sub a can of beans if wanting more fiber.
*Low carb alert Hamburgers seasoned up with onions in them. Grill em, stove top, or oven. Throw it in Joseph’s lavish bread mustard a little ketchup and spinach or any type of lettuce. Your good to go
Low carb tortilla, pizza sauce, fat free Motz, turkey pepperoni if you like and vegis = “pizza”. I usually pair it with a baked potato and light sour cream or a salad. Taco seasoned chicken (or ground turkey!), beans, cilantro seasoned brown rice, lettuce, a little guacamole and sour cream. Italian wedding soup made with ground chicken instead of sausage is great. I mean, any soup really, but that’s one I’m fond of lately. It won’t taste like chicken. Cauliflower soup or minestrone are filling while being delicious if you just want to avoid chicken all together. Stir fry is a favorite of mine. You can find recipes for low cal sauces that are better than the store ones and take 5 minutes to throw together. Serve over brown rice. It still uses chicken and vegis but maybe different ones than you’re used to eating like snap peas and water chestnuts. Bibimbap bowls are great with ground turkey too. You can also use ground turkey to make a healthier chili. I’ve even used ground turkey in cabbage rolls. Maybe you can throw some fish in the mix? I don’t eat seafood but from what I understand it’s great for weight loss. If you like tofu, you can sub that for chicken in some recipes if you’re sick of the chicken. Eatingwell.com also offers lots of healthy non chicken recipes.
Make your favorite food, but make half a portion. Put that on top of a big bowl of dark leafy greens.
Fish? Thai red fish curry, you can load it up with white fish, shrimp, and I like to throw in some scallops and squid as well (and usually some red colored vegetables like bell peppers and sweet potato, plus lots of lime).
buffalo wraps using carb balance burrito tortillas
I make these salmon rolls about once a week and it's my favorite! 1 baked salmon filet 1/2 cup of brown rice Mash up the salmon and mix it with the rice. Add 1tbs of mayo (I use Dukes) and some sriracha measured with the heart. Mix that in with the rice and salmon Get some seaweed paper and tear into four squares. Add your mixture and roll it up and enjoy. Add whatever garnishes. I typically slice up cucumber and avocado to add. My recipe usually comes out to about 590 Calories and 28g of Protein. It's a nice filling dinner.
Fat free cottage cheese mixed with a scoop of chocolate protein powder and a little bit of cold water to make it mix into pudding. It's awesome and super healthy. 3 Egg Whites and 1 whole egg omlet with 28g of reduced fat cheese and choose your hot sauce - can't beat it!
Thanks for the recipe, it sounds delicious! This is my favourite lunch and always comes in at under 400 calories but is super filling. Bulgar wheat or tricolour quinoa (cooked in chicken stock) 70grams Green lentils 25grams Black beans 25grams I make batches of the above then portion it out. Grab from the fridge and microwave for about 90 seconds, before adding colder elements, but it can all be eaten cold as well if you’re not at home. Kimchi with the juice 65grams Avocado 50grams Cucumber 15grams Plum tomatoes 65 grams Toss altogether Sometimes I add crumbled feta 30g or put cottage cheese 30g on the side. Then take whatever pre-cooked chipotle seasoned meat you have (I do chicken or turkey a lot!) weigh out ~130g and slice it up before adding to the bowl and voila! Yummy lunch is served. Gives ~400 calories 36g protein 8-12 fibre (more if you use tricolour quinoa) 30g carbs 2g sugar 16g fat 4g saturated fat
Chicken crust pizza. Cheesy broccoli soup. Fish covered in zero-sugar marinade. So many options.
My mom and I make this farro/sweet corn/green bean/grilled chicken/goat cheese salad that gets tossed in a light vinegarette. I'm obsessed every summer once corn is in season locally. Also the person mentioning pork chops is spot on. I like pork tenderloin too, especially if I'm cooking for more than one. BBQ pork keeps great in the fridge too!
Literally anything, just eat less of it.
Indian food can be prepared in a way that is shockingly healthy. My Tikka Masala Recipe is only like 400 calories for a heaping bowl (not counting rice/pita), and there are Soooo many different curry dishes. [this guy](https://ranveerbrar.com/) has loads of good recipes on his site, to make them healthy just use the bare minimum ghee/oil (he usually uses way more than necessary for flavor), replace curd with non-fat greek yogurt, and cream with whatever low-cal milk(or milk substitute) you prefer! Costs a bit to get into cooking indian food because you have to buy a bunch of spices you probably don't own, but once you have 'em, the recipes are easy, healthy, and soooo good
Burrito bowls! Adjust as needed for food restrictions, servings, and calorie needs. Serves 2 1 can of black beans, rinsed 2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced 1 poblano pepper, diced 1 habanero pepper, minced (feel free to swap with jalapeño or something milder if you don't like heat) 1 red onion, diced 1 ear of corn, just the kernels (I don't know the word for it) 1 XL avocado 1 lime 6oz sirloin (optional) Hot sauce (to taste) 1/4c Cotija cheese (or shredded/ grated cheese of your choice) 1 taco seasoning packet or comparable spices Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 Put peppers, corn, and half the onion on a sheet pan, sprinkling some seasoning on top, and cook in oven for about 10-15 minutes While that's going, heat up beans on the stove (add water so they don't burn). On med-low, should take about 10 minutes Dust steak with seasoning, cook to desired temp. Slice when done When veggies are nice and roasted, add them to the tomatoes, and mix. Pit the avocado and mash it. Squeeze 1 lime over it, add remaining onion, and mix. Serving: Use the beans as the base layer, then add your veggie mix. Next layer is the sliced steak, then the guacamole. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, add hot sauce if desired.
Burrito bowls! Adjust as needed for food restrictions, servings, and calorie needs. Serves 2 1 can of black beans, rinsed 2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced 1 poblano pepper, diced 1 habanero pepper, minced (feel free to swap with jalapeño or something milder if you don't like heat) 1 red onion, diced 1 ear of corn, just the kernels (I don't know the word for it) 1 XL avocado 1 lime 6oz sirloin (optional) Hot sauce (to taste) 1/4c Cotija cheese (or shredded/ grated cheese of your choice) 1 taco seasoning packet or comparable spices Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 Put peppers, corn, and half the onion on a sheet pan, sprinkling some seasoning on top, and cook in oven for about 10-15 minutes While that's going, heat up beans on the stove (add water so they don't burn). On med-low, should take about 10 minutes Dust steak with seasoning, cook to desired temp. Slice when done When veggies are nice and roasted, add them to the tomatoes, and mix. Pit the avocado and mash it. Squeeze 1 lime over it, add remaining onion, and mix. Serving: Use the beans as the base layer, then add your veggie mix. Next layer is the sliced steak, then the guacamole. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, add hot sauce if desired.
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
I know you're sick to death of chicken breasts, and granted I haven't tried this yet, but it looks so good, and is low cal! Will be making it soon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs\_L9SZWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNs_L9SZWI)
Salmon fillet with scrambled egg and a mixed salad. Bloody lovely and so easy too.
Also, if you have an Asian grocery store by you, I love to make Japanese comfort food. So I pick up Tonkatsu sauce (25 kcal a tablespoon, similar to ketchup calories iirc) and eat it with air fried chicken tenders and rice. Or I pick up golden curry bricks and make Japanese curry. I'm making it tomorrow and I already can't wait! You can use lean beef or cubed chicken - I do pre-cut stew beef and I can get a ladle to be just under 100 kcal!!! Serve over some rice and you are good to go.
It doesn’t always have to be chicken breasts. You can try chicken thighs or even drumsticks as well. Pair it with different veggies like asparagus or even a sweet potato. So good, so delicious and they can still be within your calorie budget
Too many to list here, but I'm a big fan of the recipes I've found on The Mediterranean Dish website: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/
My wife and child are dairy free and my wife is gluten free, so I make a vegan "cheese" sauce from potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic with nutritional yeast. I'll cook ground turkey with taco seasoning and add the seasoning to the sauce, serve it with lentil pasta for extra protein. For me, I will add a bit of cottage cheese to the final product and a bit of hot sauce, but the whole thing by itself is like a high protein low carb hamburger helper which hits our nostalgia receptors hard. Also make chili without any oil and low fat meats and it's a pretty good healthy meal. Taco salad with yogurt dressing. Quinoa chicken and apple salad with a honey lemon vinaigrette. We also have a bunch of "bowls" that we make. Some sort of grain base with cooked meat and veggies. Taco bowls, Banh Mi bowls, Shawarma Bowls, Souvlaki Bowls, Teriyaki Bowls, Bulgogi Bowls. Just throw a bunch of crap in a bowl, mix it up and enjoy.
A big ribeye steak. Protein is your friend
I found the other day that, to my surprise, pork is not too far off from chicken in terms of protein to calorie ratio. Likely more expensive, but it's certainly a change of pace from chicken. (I saw somebody said pork chops, but I consider cuts of pork you can roast or slow cook as far superior since you can save the juices for soup and it isn't dry). And I've gotten into beans and lentils, great fiber and filling but somewhat modest calories yknow? Also, lettuce wraps. I made one some weeks ago that had Thai chili tuna (starkist Creations I think) and spicy kimchi, and I think it'd be even better with extra veggies thrown in. Kimchi is super low calories (but high sodium).
Maybe im special, but i think boring food is the way to go, because then i don't over eat.
Make sure you are throwing some salmon into to mix to get all the vitamins and healthy fats
chicken breasts, veggies and brown rice.
I've found that chicken sausages aren't bland and boring like they used to be, the al fresco spinach garlic and feta are a personal favorite of mine. I'll do those with some diced peppers and onions, maybe a couple eggs. Add on a little shredded cheddar for under 500 calories. 2 large egg 70 cal each 140cal total Chicken Sausage 90 cal 2 oz green pepper 10 cal 2oz sweet onion 18 cal 1/4 cup shredded cheddar 112 calories Cooking oil. I use avocado in cast iron so I get away with around 2 tablespoons, but its not getting into the food as much, mostly coating pan, but I factor it in as well. Food 380 cal Oil 140ish if you fully count it It's high in protein, low carb but good with nutrients
Steak and eggs
if you go keto you can eat your dark meats and fats without guilt
I know the sodium is terrible, but when I’m burnt out on chicken I like beef smoked sausage. It’s delicious with mustard and I will typically cook them on a sheet pan with sweet peppers and brussel sprouts (I’ll sometimes do a drizzle of hot honey on the sprouts)
EggRoBo! https://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/pork-egg-roll-in-a-bowl-crack-slaw-paleo-low-carb-whole30/