I hope you understand what I am asking? I saw a Hungry Girl episode where she was suggesting adding veggies to your lean cuisines to give more bulk to the small meal! For instance adding veggies...anyone have any tips to add more to a meal with little calories added?
I do this when I have prepared foods; I eat Amy's organic vegetarian meals, and they are rather small, so I add kale, mushrooms, frozen asparagus, and other veggies to make the meal stretch and to get in some extra fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Another great way to make a meal feel more filling is to make soups and stews. I like bean and lentil soups and alway add lots of veggies and spices to make it tasty and satisfying.
Pumpkin added to oatmeal in the morning is nice- add cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger, anise, and nutmeg and mix with stevia for a pumpkin pie flavored meal.
The only good thing I got from Weight Watchers this year is learning to bulk up my meals with fruits and vegetables. Weight Watchers no longer counts fruits/veg; they are freebies when eaten to satisfaction (no stuffing yourself), and that helps with hunger. I no longer follow the actual WW plan, but am grateful that I learned that tip from them.
I second the recommendation for soups and stews. I often have a cup of soup to start my meal, and it not only slows me down (I tend to be a fast eater), but it fills me up. Soup as a lunch is also filling and delicious.
I haven't tried this, but I will be this week: Kale Chips. Apparently, they're supposed to be quite tasty, even for people who don't like kale (like me!). I got the recipe below from this web site: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/baked-kale-chips/ . I figure that this would be a good option as a side dish for lunch or dinner (in lieu of potato chips or fries, for example).
Baked Kale ChipsAdapted from a bunch of inspiring places
1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale (I used Lacinato or “Dinosaur” Kale but I understand that the curlier stuff works, too, possibly even better)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I needed two because mine are tiny; I also lined mine with parchment for easy clean-up but there’s no reason that you must). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.
If I make it, I will spray it with cooking spray rather than using the tablespoon of olive oil (I still plan to count my sprays as 1/3 of a tablespoon).
Also, for some strange reason, I find that I am more satisfied with a meal if it contains small portions of many things. So, tonight, for example, I had a "cheeseburger" (made with a low-carb tortilla, though), a cup of homemade tomato soup, and some fresh green beans, which I broiled. I like the idea of at least three choices. It may be all mental, but it seems as if I get fuller when I have many different dishes even if the calorie count is the same dinner with just one dish.
For example, I avoid drinking my calories, but I do like cranberry juice, so I'll pour 2 to 4 ounces in a juice and then add diet soda or low-calorie lemonade.
Instead of mashed potatoes, I make mashed cauliflower (I add a little bit of mashed potato flakes but only enough to add about 10 calories per serving. It helps improve the flavor and texture, especially for the next day).
I "dilute" ground beef with tvp. TVP (textured vegetable protein, also called textured soy protein) is lower in fat and calories than ground beef, but it's pretty bland on it's own. So I combine tvp with inexpensive 75 - 80% ground beef (because it's the cheapest) or even pork and I brown the ground meat, dry tvp (looks like grape nuts cereal) with onion, bell pepper, celery, sometimes diced carrot, and when it's browned, I'll add the water or broth to reconstitute the tvp.
I end up with something that is very similar in fat and calories to 98% lean ground beef, but for a fraction of the cost (if you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here by searching using the words tvp ground beef recipe - as I've posted it quite frequently).
When I make sugar free pudding, I replace half of the skim milk with water or use I use 40 calorie/cup almond milk.
When I make pork and sauerkraut, I use leaner cuts of pork roast and cans or bags of french style green beans or several cups of cabbage to the crock pot, so there's a higher veggie to meat ration (and to dilute the sodium as well as the calories).
I dilute eggs by combining whole eggs with egg whites. On my exchange plan
1 egg = 1 protein exchange
3 egg whites = 1 protein exchange
I'll often make "salads" out of frozen dinner meals by using a large bed of lettuce or spinach on a plate, drizzling with a light dressing and topping with a heated frozen dinner. This works especially well with oriental and mexican meals.
I've never made "lasagna salad," but I have made something quite close to a taco salad by topping lettuce with an enchilada dinner. Or topping lettuce with ginger dressing and a sweet and sour chicken.
Some of the stir fry frozen meals are fairly sweet, and have a lot of sauce so just a drizzle of rice wine vinegar can create an instant salad dressing.
A lot of veggies can be added to a pasta sauce.
Vegetable soups are easy and you can throw in tons of veggies.
Cauliflower is an amazing little tool, especially if you like the taste. The more you cook it, however, the more bland it gets and better blends in. I LOVE it in macaroni and cheese. Now, I've only done with with the Homestyle cheddar flavor packet that Kraft makes (bought 2 on sale), and prepared as directed, but added 2 cups of well cooked, broken into pieces, cauliflower bits. The second time I made it, I eliminated the butter from the "flavor packet" that you mix with with (skim) milk before adding the prepared cheese packet, then the macaroni and cauliflower, topped with the seasoned bread crumbs and baked, and I swear, both my daughter and I who love cauliflower could not taste it in the dish. It really blended in and the casserole was absolutely delicious. Trust me, you don't miss the butter either and the skim milk works fine.
I had been looking for faux rice pudding recipes made with cauliflower and they exist, with mixed reviews. For a blandish recipe, it does seem to me like ti would make a tasty rice pudding alternative.
It has been used as a rice substitute, and no so successfully as a mashed potatotes substitute, but it can't hurt to try, if you like cauliflower.
I plan on using it to replace rice in stuffed peppers, and I can't imagine it won't be delicious.
And by the way, it was the most guiltless dish of mac and cheese i ever ate!
You can also, when making traditional style lasagna, add chopped spinach and parsley mixed throughout the riccotta cheese for extra flavor, and a tiny bit of chopped garlic and onion too.
Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife) actually wrote a book on this similar subject, trying to incorporate veg into kid's dishes. Not that anyone should run out and buy it, but its worth a Googleing.
I love having wraps for lunch, but depending on the contents it can be high-calorie. I usually substitute some meat for lettuce/extra tomato and it's really filling and lower calorie that way
I love having wraps for lunch, but depending on the contents it can be high-calorie. I usually substitute some meat for lettuce/extra tomato and it's really filling and lower calorie that way
I do the same! I love stuffing my wraps with 1-2 cups of spinach.
Oh, and cucumber slices on a tuna sandwich.....AMAZING. Tastes so very fresh. You can add grated carrots, red pepper, onion, celery--all a bulker...but the cucumber slices really top it off nicely.
Oh, and salsas....they can be tomato based or veg based, no oils, and delicious!
Last edited by 124chicksinger; 11-07-2011 at 11:44 PM.
Fresh herbs are another great way of bulking up food. I love adding a huge handful of parsley to pastas, cilantro to burritos and wraps, and mixed herbs to salads (dill, parsley, cilantro, mint, depending on the type of salad).
My favorite things to do to give my food more volume or raise my level of satisfaction with a meal:
1) Eat at the dining room table. When I'm starving (okay, not exactly starving... but really, really hungry), I find that if I pay sole attention to the food I eat even a small amount of food feels like a lot more.
2) Bulk it up with vegetables or sliced up fruits. Lower in calories. Packed with vitamins and healthy nutrients. Tons of fiber. Can be added to any meal in some form.
3) Spices, herbs, salt and pepper. When I use those things correctly I'm adding a lot of flavor to a meal without adding calories. So my baked chicken breast is no longer a dull lump of meat. It becomes a decadent, flavorful meal. Which means I'm more satisfied.
4) Best bang for my food buck. I love Greek Yogurt. But, the whole fat version can be quite "pricey" calorie-wise. So, I tested a few different brands, with different fat content levels and found that I enjoyed the 2% version just as much as the whole fat version. (Whereas the Fat Free version was not nearly as good to me. BUT! I use the Fat Free version as a substitute for sour cream...sorry, got sidetracked.) No need for me to eat the whole fat version when the 2% will do perfectly. It "saves" me some calories. That isn't quite bulking up, but reduces calories while allowing the exact same volume to be consumed. I stay satisfied and wonderfully content with fewer calories.
honestly those are the best things to bulk with veggies and fruits. and most are very low in calorie. and my favorite snack when i feel like im starving but i dont have any or very little calories left is watermelon. Watermelon 2 cups = 91cals.
I find myself using zucchini and summer squash in a lot of different recipes, like this awesomely amazing chili recipe Link or this cheesy enchilada recipe Link.
I second cauliflower as a great item to mix into other dishes either as a puree or chopped finely, and when I cook with ground beef (rarely) I mix in finely food-processed mushrooms 50/50.
This recipe is really good mixing potatoes and cauliflower into a baked potato soup Link. You can pretty much throw vegetables into anything. Sometimes I make "huevos rancheros" with a pan fried corn tortilla, a mixture of veggies (seriously I've even used stir fry veggies) mixed with some salsa, and topped it over the tortilla, one egg over easy, and a little sharp cheese (I like romano). I add spinach into everything, cooked or raw. I even add shredded zucchini or yellow squash into my turkey burgers and meatballs. My four year old daughter has never known meatballs without veggies in them
Ideas for bulking up food with little calories?
