Posts by voodoolily

I count them anyways, but I'm shooting for loss rather than gain (so it's not cheating). I'm not at risk of consuming too few calories, so this does me a favor rather than hurt.

...who really drinks all of the milk in a bowl of cereal, anyways?

I'd add some salt, chopped herbs and garlic to improve the flavor.

If you used the FF sour cream instead of the laughing cow, added some  mushrooms, it'd be like stroganoff. :)

Instead of hummus (which EVERYONE always has), I make a Tuscan white bean pate by blending a couple cans of warmed white beans (canellini or Great Northern are good - drain and rinse) with olive oil, fresh minced sage, a clove of minced garlic, salt and pepper and a little dribble of balsamic vinegar on top. Crudites, sliced whole wheat baguette or some multigrain crackers are good dippers.

You can make Thai-inspired baba ganouj (a Middle-Eastern eggplant dip) by roasting 2 pounds of Thai or Indian eggplants (the small, round egg-sized ones, usually white or green) until soft and browned. Puree the flesh (scraped from the skins) with a bit of olive oil, a tsp of fish sauce (or soy sauce), the juice from a lime, a teaspoon of sesame oil, a handful of chopped cilantro and a spoonful of Thai green curry paste. Taste and add salt and more lime juice as needed. Great dip for cucumber and carrot sticks, or smeared into a lettuce leaf to eat with satay (grilled chicken skewers).

Also, here is a link to my low-fat spinach dip recipe. http://caloriecount.about.com/recipe/88574.ht ml

Gratz and good luck!

I used to make a lot of boca burger Salisbury steakwith mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy when I was veg. You can use canned mushroom gravy if you're lazy. Just heat the burger in the gravy in a pan, and serve over mashed potatoes.

Another thing I used to do was take some Gimme Lean (fake sausage in a plastic tube) and crumble it with some red chili flake, crushed fennel seed, garlic and oregano and make Italian sausage for pizza or pasta dishes. It tastes remarkably similar to real Italian sausage.

Nalley makes a good vege chili that has TVP and tastes just like the "bad" chili that we loved as kids. I eat it on macaroni and cheese or make chili dogs (I use low-fat beef dogs but you can use tofu pups). It has like 11 or 14 grams of fiber per serving. It's labeled as 99% Fat Free.

I agree - if you can eat sashimi (my favorite), it's the lowest-cal option. Anything with tempura is fried, and usually also comes with mayo sauce. The crab salad will have mayo. You might not realize this, but the Japanese LOVE mayo!

When I go out for Japanese I usually split a sashimi combo with the hubby and have sunomono salad (cucumber, vinegar and some octopus or crab) and maybe some cold soba noodles. Nabe, if they have it, is another very filling, very satisfying winter seafood stew that usually is chock full of vegetables. Agedashi dofu is plain (not fried) tofu in a lovely light broth and is another way to enjoy some new flavor without too many calories.

I encourage you to try other Japanese food besides just sushi! There's a world of wonderful flavors out there!

That would only be accurate if she ate every solid in the broth, which she strained out. When I make broth I also chill it overnight so the fat floats to the top, then I skim it off. I don't count any calories in broth, since it's basically akin to tea.

For the soup, add up the values for everything in the recipe analyzer, but either don't count the broth or use a space filler like 1 calorie. This is why soups are such good diet food! Flavorful and filling, with hardly any calories. 

If you're very concerned about sodium you can count it, but I never salt my broth/stock, just the food that it goes into.

Ikea's bagged Swedish meatballs are 210 for 6, which comes out to ~50 cals each. They are about an inch in diameter.

The meatballs I make from buffalo meat (using egg and panko bread crumbs) are ~60 cals each, and mine come out to about an ounce per meatball.

Since our country is so huge, I tend to think about our regional specialties rather than our national ones. The Pacific NW (where I live) is famous for salmon, hazelnuts, apples and berries.

In Japan they have a word for regional speciality: "mebutsu" and each prefecture and city takes a lot of pride in their mebutsu.

My dermatologist says if you use tanning beds more than a couple times a year, you WILL get melanoma eventually.

Tan fat looks better than white fat, but self-tanners are pretty good these days and don't cause cancer. You can go to the spray-on salons that ensure an even color.

Original Post by fatdoc:

I am eating a wonderful okra dinner right now. I sauteed 3 chopped onions in pam and placed a lb of frozen okra on top with a can of diced tomatoes. Seasoned these up with tabasco sauce, dried chili powder and tamari. Served this over polenta. Yummmmmy.

Dang, honey! Add some celery and green bell peppers and you are eating gumbo! (And call that 'polenta' grits.)

I like to add a scant drop of liquid smoke for that calorie-free meaty flavor.

Original Post by cellulitedelight:

VODKA AND DIET SODA!  56 frickin' calories a serving.  Gotta love it.

Yeah, Knob Creek and Coke Zero for me (hey, if I hafta count cals at least I can drink top-shelf liquor).