Low Cal Ideas

Low Fat Green Beans Amandine

So I wanted to make a lighter version of green beans amandine, which is a green bean dish with a lemony butter sauce which is delicious when it is made with oodles of real butter of course. Only problem as we all know, is that real dairy butter is loaded with fat and is calorie dense at about 100c calories per tablespoon. And believe me, I love butter.

It’s something that I don’t skimp on when I’m cooking for the holidays or company, when “calories don’t matter” as much. However, when I’m watching what I’m eating, which is what usually happens, I really try to cut the fat down.  LandoLakes makes a good sweet cream whipped butter spread that has a buttery and sweet taste, but only about 60% of the calories and fat of regular ol’ delicious butter. 

It makes a great melted topping, however, it’s pretty hard to butter toast with unless it’s melted a bit, so it makes the perfect way to make a butter sauce a lower fat version.  You may add a bit of sea salt to it to make it even more flavorful as well.  I like to take whole, tender green beans.

Preferably fresh, but Hanover Farms makes a great whole green bean which is pretty tender and tasty when cooked.  I used htat in this last recipe, and they turned out pretty good.  You will also need the following ingredients to make this lighter, low fat version of green beans amandine, a traditional favorite from fancy restaurants to mom and pop grills and buffets. 

You’ll need slivered almonds, about one whole lemon (a small one will do), sea salt, garlic seasoning or 3 garlic cloves crushed, pepper, and onion salt.  I like to steam my green beans. Some recipes call for boiling, but I don’t like boiling most veggies as this can take some of the nutrients and vitamins out of them, and they also can get waterlogged and soggy.

I steamed my green beans for about 15 minutes, or until they are tender-crisp.  While the green beans were steaming, I put about 4 tablespoons of the light butter, 3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, a dash of garlic seasoning or the crushed garlic cloves, a dash of onion salt, and a dash of sea salt in a small simmer pot.  I melt the butter and let the lemony butter sauce sit and soak the flavors in together a bit.

Once the green beans are done steaming, I take the delicate lemon butter sauce off the burner, and I pour it over the green beans evenly.  Add 4 tablsepoons of slivered almnods and voila, you’ve got a nice, low fat, delicate side dish that’s fit for a barbecue or a nice dinner party!

Baja Bob’s Sugar Free Drink Mixes – Good!

I ran into a new drink mix (at least new to me), that I think may become a permanent fixture in our household since we like to enjoy the occasional cocktail here and there, but we also like to watch our diet and eat healthy.  The line of drink mixes I found in our grocery store is called Baja Bob’s sugar free drink mixes. The one I tried was a sweet and sour mix. If you like any drinks made with sweet and sour mix, like an amaretto sour or such similar bar favorites, then you probably know that these drink mixes are LOADED with sugar.

Sure, they taste great, but you end up practically going into a sugar coma when you’re done drinking them. And God forbid you drink a few, then you’ve probably easily ruined your day’s sugar intake!

As you know, sugar can wreak havoc on the body. It elevates your insulin levels, and prevents fat from being burned as a source of energy. Instead, fat that would have otherwise been burned off by your body for energy, is stored in all your least favorite areas like your buttocks, your belly, and your thighs – and for me, my upper arms more and more as I get older.

Not only is sugar bad for your fat burning and fat storage situation, but it also has a lot of calories when it is consumed in large quantities. You all know how quickly and plentifully these sugary drinks can go down the hatch. A whole night of drinking can sabotage your weight goals like nothing else.

That’s why I jumped at the chance to try a sugar free, low calorie drink mix. Baja Bob’s is made with Splenda, a popular sugar alternative that has little to no calories in it, and supposedly also no glycemic impact, which is a good thing if you want to burn stored fat off.

The sweet and sour mix by Baja Bob’s is really great. I even made a few drinks with this as part of the ingredient – they were actually martinis – and people didn’t even know I used sugar free mix – they asked me what I had used and where I got it because it really tasted close to the real thing, without all that glycemic impact.

The other flavors I saw but have not tried yet, but intend to, were mojito mix, daiquiri, mai tai, and margarita, although I believe there are more that are offered, they just probably all weren’t carried at my particular grocery store. Good stuff if you’re dieting but like to enjoy the occasional cocktail!

Low Fat/Low Carb Egg Salad : The Trick

Ok, so I accidentally discovered this one, and it may sound a little gross when I tell you how I made it, but it’s a low fat alternative to egg salad. I love egg salad. It’s funny, because I used to hate it as a kid and never wanted any part of hard boiled eggs. Hard boiled eggs in a salad!?  Oh, that was the worst when I was a kid, I thought my parents were totally nuts for thinking this combination was tasty!

Now, I love to add a hard boiled egg to my salads. But the difference is, I only allow myself half of the yolk. As you know, the yolk is the fattiest part of the egg, and it also contains a lot of cholesterol. It’s really good tasting though, and it actually does offer some nutrients that the egg white, it’s lesser calories, high protein counterpart, does not.

In one large hard boiled egg, there are about 77 calories, and just the yolk accounts for 59 of those calories. The egg white, even though it’s larger in surface area than the yolk, only has about 17 calories in it and it’s a great source of lean, fat free protein.

So, my low fat egg salad alternative is as follows. All you do is take a hard boiled egg, I like to use jumbo eggs since they give more egg white. Throw away half of the yolk.  Chop it up into small squares like you would for regular egg salad. Mix with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of low fat, small curd cottage cheese.  I like to add a dash of sea salt and pepper – voila – low fat, high protein, no mayo egg salad – yum-o!!!

I actually discovered this little trick one morning at work because I was running low on my usual cottage cheese and had brought a hard boiled egg with me to eat plain. I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to mixing foods and experimenting, so I figured why not mix the two, they’re both low fat sources of protein that are filling and nutritious.

So I mixed them and add a little salt and pepper. It’s a nice low carb snack or part of a meal if you like egg salad but don’t want all the fat.  Kept me full for a few hours too!

The Best Low Fat Dressings Choice Goes To…..

My choice for the best lowfat and low calorie dressings has been decided for a while.  It’s because this particular brand has the tastiest dressings at the best calorie counts, and with the least artificial “weird” taste that often accompanies these lower fat versions of the fattier creamy dressings on the market.

In other words, they make you feel like you’re indulging, but really you’re saving about 30-50% of the calories that are in their higher fat, non low calorie counterparts.  Wish Bone has the best low fat and low calorie cream dressings I think, hands down.

Their zesty Sweet and Spicy red french dressing is one of mine and my husband’s favorites. And another favorite is their low fat Creamy Caesar, which unfortunately is really hard to find at grocery stores any more.

Another good low fat creamy caesar dressing that’s good, but not as good as Wish Bone brand, is Marzetti.  It’s got that same pungent taste that a lot of good caesar’s have, thanks to the anchovi oil (I know, sounds gross, but it really makes for a tasty caesar dressing!), but just not as much flavor overall as the Wish Bone.

I really like mixing the Sweet and Spicy French lowfat dressing with a low fat ranch. It makes a nice sort of thousand-island-ish sort of flavor, and creams up the french a bit more too, making it taste a bit more indulgent. Believe it or not, Wal-mart has a pretty tasty low fat, low cal ranch dressing that’s also easy on the wallet at less than two bucks for a bigger bottle.

One thing you have to be careful of when you’re using low fat or low calorie dressing is that you don’t use more of it than you would a normal dressing, since we tend to do that subconsciously when we use a low fat/cal product. You can easily over do it on a light dressing too, and defeat the purpose of a healthful, low calorie salad in a couple extra pours of the bottle.

Try measuring it out into tablespoons, and keeping it to one serving or 1 1/2 servings, depending on how big the salad is. You’d be surprised at how far some dressings go in coating your lettuces and veggies with just the right amount of zesty flavor!

Protein Brownies that Taste Like Real Brownies?

I got this interesting email recently that I thought I’d share with our readers. Who wouldn’t want that chewy, chocolaty taste of real brownies, but also packed with muscle-building, lean-making protein?  Well, if you’re into protein bars and protein shakes and things like that, you may want to read about these. I’ve included all the information for these brownies here so if you want to check them out and try them, go ahead.

What caught my eye is that they have no sugar alcohols. Those are the sugar substitutes that make a lot of people’s stomachs upset, including mine. They have been shown to cause excessive gas and diarrhea in some people as well, and these brownies supposedly capture a sweet taste without these little nasty sugar alcohols, which is interesting.  I have not tried them yet, so if you try them out, please leave a comment for other readers to enjoy. Thanks!

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New Healthy Gourmet Seafood Prepared Dishes from Lillian’s

So, I just found out that Amazon will be carrying some really delicious new seafood meals that are healthy and groumet, by one of the biggest suppliers of healthy tilapia fish and other types of fish and fish health products called HQ Maritime.  This is one of the first times I’ve seen package, gourmet, healthily prepared seafood products that are frozen and are ready to be shipped to your door ready to eat, they just need to be microwaved.

I figured since we live in such a go-go society this was well worth the communication, because I think I might be trying these out. It seems like getting fish to cook right is hard, and it’s really such a  healthy dish to eat.  I know there have been many times that I’ve tried to make healthy grilled or seared fish recipes at home like I’ve tried in good restaurants, and so often they just don’t taste right, or I overcook the fish, or the fish tastes weird and therefore ruins the dish.

These gourmet fish dishes by Lillian’s brand are supposed to taste fresh and very tasty, making it easier for you to stick to a healthy, low fat diet that is rich in protein, healthy omega 3 fats, and good for your skin.  Plus, whenever I eat fish, I notice it is a wonderful natural appetite suppressant, suppressing the appetite for hours after you eat it.

Some of the offerings are as follows (they make me hungry just looking at the titles, I’m quite the fish connisseur lately) :  Lillian’s Healthy Gourmet Sweet Chili Citrus and Orange Miso Tilapia meals, as well as Lillian’s Healthy Gourmet Gluten-Free Spicy Green Curry and Roasted Tomato Tilapia meals.

Eventually they will be adding several more which include some exotic Moroccan spiced tilapia, cajun seasoned tilapia, and an orange asian one and some other really interesting and exotic sounding flavors, but for now they just will have the aforementioned flavors available on Amazon.com.

Some of the meals featured will be gluten free as well, so those with gluten intolerance willbe able to enjoy them as well (from what I’ve seen, they’re made with rice noodles) and it looks like the calorie range may be 300-400 calories, the perfect amount for you to add some fresh steamed veggies to for a complete meal at home, without leaving the house and going to a restaurant.  I’ll let you know when I’ve tried them and how they taste!

Light Veggie Wrap Recipe

So, I think I’ve discovered my latest favorite lunch idea. It’s meat free, and taste delicious. Even my husband thinks it’s filling!  I’ve also discovered a favorite new grocery item as well, which this veggie wrap uses. It’s really not a wrap, per se, but you can wrap it a bit. It uses a flat bread. The flat bread I use is the Flat Out whole grain flat bread one.  It’s only 100 calories and very tasty and filling.

It’s got lots of fiber too, which is why it is so filling. One word of caution though, because of it’s high fiber content, it also can get soggy if you make it in the morning and put any type of liquid or mayo or anything on it, so I’d assemble it right before you eat it to avoid this.

Here’s how I make my wrap.  Let me start with the ingredients – it may sound like a lot, but you can make this for several days in a row with these ingredients, with minimal work.

Ingredients list :

Tomatoes, 2

Cucumber, 1

1 T olive oil

Garlic or garlic powder

Red onion, to taste

Broccoli sprouts, organic preferably

Washed baby spinach leaves

Hummus of choice, I like to use sun dried tomato hummus personally

Ok, you’re all set.  Begin by dicing the tomatos, red onion and the cucumber up to make a sort of “salad”.  Add the olive oil and that garlic. You may also add a tad bit of parsley if you’d like and sea salt for flavor, or whatever seasonings you have to flavor it.  This is the bulk of your wrap.

Get the flat bread out, and spread it generously with hummus. Try to buy low calorie hummus by the way, some of them are loaded with unnecessary oils that add to the fat and calorie content.  I’ve found that buying store brand is usually the best.

Now, add a layer of baby spinach leaves. Then add your mixture of red onion, cuke and tomato, trying to get the liquid out before you add it to the wrap.  Add the broccoli sprouts as well, and be generous, they’re super healthy and low cal!  Wrap it all up like a burrito.  You may need to eat it with a fork if it’s coming out everywhere, as it does when I make it since I load it up with so many veggie.

Wishbone Light Dressings are Great

I’m not a huge fan of a lot of the creamy light dressings that are out there, but I refuse to dump dressing on my salad that makes it just about as bad for me as eating a cheeseburger and french fries, which pretty much relegates me to finding a suitable, tasty dressing for my salads and side salads when I’m eating lunch or dinner.  I have salads on and off. I don’t eat them every night with dinner, but I often will eat a side salad with dinner for a few months, then not touch a salad with dinner for months and instead opt for extra veggies on my plate.

Something about salads I guess I just get burnt out on after a while.  Plus, living in Ohio, it’s not exactly like I get the best veggies to put on them in the dead of winter. The tomatoes taste like sawdust and the cucumbers are pretty much flavorless as well. The only veggie I can count on tasting good always is the red onion that we so generously pour on the salads.

We’re on a salad with dinner jag again, and at the grocery store, I found these Wishbone light dressings that I didn’t think I had tried yet. I really like the Wishbone dressings normally, so I figured these were a good bet.  I was right, they’re great.  I got the ranch one and the house french, which is a lighter colored, creamier version of normal french dressing. Both are around 60-70 calories per serving and much lower in fat than their non-light counterparts, so that’s a pretty good concession for such great taste.

The ranch is really great. You only need about one to two tablespoons of it on a side salad, and it tastes flavorful and rich and is seasoned with all the right combinations of ranch dressing seasonings you can get.  It doesn’t have the weird after taste that low fat or fat free dressings often have at all either, it just tastes like it’s not low fat.  My husband really enjoyed the french one as well, and you can even mix them if you’d like – that’s what I sometimes like to do, to add a bit more creaminess with the zest of french.

Adding salads to your meals definitely helps to fill you up, and it adds a lot of vitamins, fiber and nutrients so that you feel fuller and satiated for a longer period of time.

Applebees Has 500 Calorie and Under Meals

I must say, I’m not personally a huge fan of the Applebees chain of restaurants, but I have to give them kudos for being one of the only chains that offer lower calories options that don’t make you want to run for the more “exciting” menu options of burgers and fries when you get a load of their descriptions.

They are Weight Watcher’s approved, and all are 500 calories or less, which is ideally what just about everyone should be sticking to for their meals, especially at dinner time when most of your calories aren’t going to be burned off any more for the rest of the day.

My husband’s brother actually works out of town most of the time, and Applebees is one of this favorite choices because they offer these tasty, nutritious and calorie appropriate meals. He’s super body and health conscious, so these meals are a pleasant surprise, especially from a chain, to those that are health conscious.

Among the menu choices are light fish that are grilled and seasoned, an herb and garlic chicken breast dish, a mexican style fajita type of roll if you’re wanting naughty mexican but want to be nice to your thighs, an onion soup with cheese, and a few other tempting sounding dishes. It’s refreshing that they offer hearty meals that are actually hot instead of just the plain old salads that many other places offer to satisfy their dieters.

All of the 500 calorie and under meals come with generous portions of low cal, high fiber and vitamin content veggies too. This is a great way to fill up with out overloading on calories. I recommend the loading up on veggies strategy to anyone, whether you’re out enjoying a meal or cooking at home. Your meals should ideally be about 2/3 veggies and 1/3 meat and/or starch (your “main dish”).

There’s just something that is more satisfying about an actual hot meal I guess, so these are better for helping you to feel good about what you ate when you’re leaving a restaurant where there are a ton of BAAAAAD choices.  And, on the flip side, by the way, if you’re ever at Applebees and you’re in a naughty mood, and you want a dessert that is postively to die for (I know, who’d have thought it, at a chain restaurant no less), try this Maple drizzled blondie.

It’s a warmed up blondie (a cake-cookie like vanilla baked good) with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and a side of this absolutely amazing maple cream sauce (also hot).  It is TO DIE FOR. Of course it’s not low calorie – not even close, like I said, it’s only if you’re in the mood to indulge. And I highly recommend you split it or else you’ll want to throw up you’ll be so full.

Pineapple, Glorious Pineapple!

Ah, summer is right around the bend. And I’m starting to really get into eating fruits again, which is quite a refreshing twist (no pun intended) from my usual cravings for salt, fat and carbs in the winter time.  So of course, I’m not only trying to take full advantage of craving foods that are actually good for me, but I’m literally savoring every bite of them and geniunely enjoying their sweet juiciness, their texture, and their completely amazing natural taste.

I even find myself wondering, how did nature make such a perfect food?  I mean really, it’s amazing the choices we have to eat here on this green earth without ever touching processed foods again in our lives if we didn’t want to.  Imagine how much healthier we’d all be!

Pineapple is the fruit that really gets me going. I think that this fruit, when it is perfect, ripe, and grown in the right environment, it can literally be one of the most delicious, unaltered foods you have every put your mouth around.  Pineapple is not only awesome tasting when it is “in season”, but it is also, in my opinion, best when it is grown in Costa Rica.  For some reason, that region is actually great for growing the best tasting pineapples ever.

Believe it or not, I actually got to drive through the pineapple groves of Costa Rica too, and they are vast and beautiful, and you can actually smell a sort of sweetness in the air – it’s very cool.  Pineapples have a natural acid in them called Bromelain too, which is a natural digestive aid, so they actually help to cleanse the digestive tract and colon. Don’t believe me? If you’re ever constipated go out and buy a raw pineapple and eat quite a few pieces, you won’t be constipated the next day!