Hi all! I've been doing very well the past 3 weeks eating a can of Campbell's condensed chicken noodle soup each day, for either breakfast or lunch. I never get tired of it, and it's incredibly filling, a real meal for only 150 calories!
The sodium's no problem for me, but the bisphenol-A toxin in the lining of the can is. I'm cutting all BPA out of my life starting today, and sadly that means no more Campbell's for me.
Do you have any suggestions for equally filling foods I can have for breakfast/lunch, around the same calories? I lose control with boxes of breakfast cereal, I like oatmeal well enough but usually eat closer to 350 calories of it, and so far I haven't found any other soups I like as much as the plain old Campbell's chicken noodle. If I could just get it in a glass jar, I'd keep doin' what I'm doin' and be perfectly happy.
For breakfast I almost always have a couple servings of egg whites and 2 peices of turkey bacon. Its about 110 cals and my favorite. Sometimes I have toast with Sara Lee's 45cal per slice whole wheat bread and smart balance butter so its about 120ishcals for 2 slices. If Im in a hurry I'll grab a bannana or some yogurt and cottage cheese.
For lunch I can make a sandwhich for 200 cals using the 90cal sara lee bread, mustard, turkey, and the fat-free american kraft singles.
Another option would be maybe a salad with a portion of canned tuna and some light dressing. The only other thing I can think of is a plate full of veggies. lol
Sorry if my ideas arnt great...thats a really small alotment of calories! lol Do you try and save all of your calories for dinner or snacks?
jajabee,
Have you tried the Progresso Light soups (they are endorsed by Weight Watchers and have the points values right on the front)...they come in a can but also have the bowl type container that you can pop in the microwave which may not have that BPA. I love them and have them all the time for lunch!
Thanks all, I like these ideas! Lauryn, I'll look for the Progressive bowls next time I'm at the store, that might work. Soup is just such an easy win, calorie wise!
Veronica, thanks, you've reminded me I need to pick up more bananas and oranges... maybe I should be focusing more on fruit for breakfast.
I'm not limiting myself to 150 for either meal at all, I'm fine eating up to 300-400 for each, it's just that the chicken noodle soup makes me so full and happy for only 150, and then I can have a nice normal dinner with my husband without worrying about it. After many trips on and off the wagon, I've found that what really makes me happy is to eat about 500 calories between breakfast, lunch, and snacks, around 1000 for dinner, and all the sodium I want. I'm not very interested in breakfast and lunch, anyhow, and it makes me happy to get to eat basically whatever I want for dinner. I'm down 5 pounds in just under 3 weeks, so I'm going to keep on doing this! Assuming I can find a substitute for the soup, of course.
How about making nutritious, homemade soups once a week and freezing or portioning out individual servings? I love to make a healthy and hearty pot of soup and eat it for breakfast regularly.
Absolutely, I really need to get in to making my own soups more often... problem is, my husband's a really strict vegetarian, and while the canned chicken soup doesn't bother him (much), I seriously doubt he'd be willing to use a pot or pan that's had a whole chicken carcass in it.
I did just think of something... I looooove hard boiled eggs, I can eat them every day without getting tired of them. Two are about 150 calories! That will be pretty filling, I think... maybe with some fruit, too...
130 cal for the veggies and about 20 cal for the terriyaki sauce! It's so filling for me too, the teriyaki sauce makes it all feel elaborate too instead of boring. You can combine any number of veggies as you can imagine. I like to add 1/4 cup cooked brown rice sometimes and I freeze portioned amounts to use throughout the week.
I forgot to cheer for the salad! lol... I can't get over how much salad I can fill a plate with. I use a fat free oriental dressing for 15 cal so a HUGE plate (3 cups of salad mix including the little carrots, etc... you know what I'm tlaking about, yeah?) of salad and the dressing is about 50 calories. From there I personally would add:
1 boiled egg white = 17 cal
1-2 pieces of sliced lunch meat (depending on brand I happen to have) = about 40 cal
1 entire small cucumber = about 45 calories,
OR
1 piece of bacon cooked and crumbled= about 35 calories
OR
Both if I feel like it, lol... I usually make this a 250 meal by adding a few sliced olives and a homemade whole wheat tortilla too.
Last edited by bensempress; 01-22-2010 at 09:57 PM.
if you throw away the yolk of a hard boiled egg you cut out a good chunk of the calories and its still really filling. then you can have more of em! sometimes I eat 6 hardboiled eggwhites in a row. im pretty full by the end and i've only eaten 100 calories!
I have Nutrigrain waffles for breakfast. 2 of the plain lowfat are 140 calories, 2 of the blueberry ones are 180 calories. There is supposedly a lowfat blueberry version but I've never seen it in a store.
I toast them and eat them like a piece of bread, no syrup, but I think they are tasty without it.
i love using liquid egg whites and microwaving them in a cup with broccoli for 1:30....it's great for on the go...add in a laughing cow cheese wedge. that being said i usually eat a much larger breakfast of 300 calories to keep me full and kickstart my energy for the day.
When I was looking for 100 calorie options I googled 100 calorie meals and I also googled 100 calorie snacks... got some junk stuff, but I also got some great ideas. Try 150 calorie meals and see what pops up!
Ditto the eggs/egg whites. You can spritz a small bowl with 10c. worth of cooking spray, whip in an egg (or several whites) and some onions, spinach, bell pepper, etc, microwave it for about 2m, and serve it as an "omlette" with toast.
One way to cut the calories in oatmeal is to chop an apple into chunks, and microwave them (use something crunchy and tangy like what you would use in a pie, not a red/golden delicious). Add just a little instant oatmeal, and cinnamon to taste.
A single egg, poached (crack open and cook 3-5 minutes in a saucepan of simmering water, and scooped out with a slotted spoon when the yolk is at the prefferred hardness or softness) in an english muffin is around 150 c. as well. (Use about a spoon of white vinegar in the water to keep the whites from getting stringy).
One last suggestion: you could buy a container of boullion cubes, then use them to make a broth with your own veggies (carrots, celery, onion, etc.) and noodles. The boullion cubes are only 5-10c. each, and each makes about 1c of broth.
I just ate a 150 calorie breakfast! I had an egg fried in cooking spray with 1/8 cup of Carnation instant breakfast and 1/2 cup of light soy milk. It was super tastey!