*What's your favorite trick on keeping calories low in high fat recipes?

For Instance: When I make clam sauce I omit cream and use extra minced clams [and even some minced shrimp & scallops] & garlic, olive oil, clam juice, white wine & shallots... 

* When I want something like pasta I use spaghetti squash or kelp noodles instead of the actual pasta 

* When I want a "sandwich" I use cabbage leaves or lettuce leaves and of course NO MAYO but extra mustard [there are so many different flavors these days!]

 

WHAT DO YOU DO?! 

Replacing lasagna noodles with zucchini strips in homemade lasagna!

I pretty much don't make formerly fattening recipes.  I substitute fried drive thru burgers for homemade very lean burgers (and squeeze the last remnants of grease out). 

I stretch out the salad dressing by adding salsa and/or mustard. 

I go with the French approach and simply cook/serve smaller amounts.  Some recipes don't work without the high-calorie elements and I'd rather have a smaller amount of something fabulous than a big plate of something that's 'ho hum'.

Original Post by iknowmychicken:

Replacing lasagna noodles with zucchini strips in homemade lasagna!

you can also do this with thin slices of pumpkin

I use applesauce instead of oil in baking.  I always use ww flour instead of white.  I try to throw wheat germ into everything. 

If it's at all possible without compromising taste and/or texture, I sautee with just a little fat free cooking spray as opposed to butter or oil.  It really saves on calories.

Some nice thinly sliced grilled eggplant iso lasagne sheets

blended silken tofu iso cream

Water to soften onion iso oil

slice of bread iso cookie

slice of lettuce iso bread

water iso lettuce

totally depends on the meal/recipes...sometimes I'll make substitutions, sometimes I'll use portion control and sometimes I'll adjust other meals to allow for extra with a certain meal.

I experiment a lot with different recipes and if I can't make it work without omitting most of the fat and sugar, I just don't eat it.    I've also found that some things actually work better than original ingredients.  I make banana type dessert breads with spelt flour and find they taste even better than white or whole wheat flour.  I use stevia to substitute for some of the sugar and fruit or berries for some of the rest.  I find that now I eat almost no sugar, I don't need things to be as sweet either. 

I experiment a lot with different recipes and if I can't make it work without omitting most of the fat and sugar, I just don't eat it.    I've also found that some things actually work better than original ingredients.  I make banana type dessert breads with spelt flour and find they taste even better than white or whole wheat flour.  I use stevia to substitute for some of the sugar and fruit or berries for some of the rest.  I find that now I eat almost no sugar, I don't need things to be as sweet either. 

I don't do anything to reduce the calories in classic recipes.  Smaller portions give your the pleasure of the food and automatically reduce the calories. If I'm very hungry, I add steamed vegetables or salad to the meal, or have soup as a first course. 

There is no need to deprive yourself of delicious things to lose weight.  I've lost 42 pounds so far just by limiting portions and choosing high quality, fresh ingredients to keep within my caloric goals for the day.

You need fat in your diet to enable your body to absorb nutrients. 

I can't help but notice that very underweight people often go to great lengths to deprive themselves of fat when there is no need to do so.  If the shoe fits.....

I would tend to agree with you to some extent Claire, but my aim in experimenting is to take things that are bascially unhealthy in their "classic" form, and turning them into something healthy, that still tastes great, and sometimes is, in my biased opinion, much better than the original.  A "classic" banana bread recipe for example would have perhaps 40% of it's calories from saturated animal fats, 25-30% from pure sugar, 25-30% from white flour and almost nothing from the healthiest thing in it - bananas.  It has almost no fibre, no protein and frankly, very minimal nutritional content at all due to the nature of the very hightly processed ingredients.  To replace that saturated animal fat with a healthy, omega 3 laden oil, white flour with whole grain flours and very little sugar, to me seems a worthwhile endeavour and makes a new "classic".   Lots more fibre, more protein, and huge gains in overall nutrient content.   

And if they both taste great, why wouldn't someone just make the healthy one and scrap the unhealthy one altogether?

I do agree about that.  However, I was thinking more of main courses and entire meals.  I would rather have a beautiful piece of fish cooked with just a dab of real butter and seasoned to perfection than something dry and tasteless.  Of course, use healthy fats like olive oil and nut oils, but don't be afraid of a touch of butter or real cream - portion control and moderation are the keys.

I understand your thinking Claire and if it works for you, that's great.  And I know a lot of people can do that sort of thing, eat a little of this or a little of that.  But it doesn't work for me.    Once that butter is in the house I'll find a way to justify using it on vegetables, on banana bread, on fish, cooking eggs in etc. etc.  because it's okay in moderation is what I'll tell myself.   I know my own approach won't work for many people but it works for me.  I've done my own evaluation of every food I know about and decided whether it's healthy and good for me or not, and if it is not, I just don't buy it.  I save the little indulgences when I'm eating out or at a party or social gathering or hockey game etc.  I get enough of those indulgences outside the home that I don't need to do it at home.  It's a kind of a tough love approach but it works for me.  Another part of my approach is that my primary concern is the healthiness of foods, not the taste.  That is not to say I eat stuff that tastes like crap, but that I will find a way to make something good for me, taste good, rather than if something tastes good but is generally not healthy, I'll just eat a bit of it. 

Sometimes I wish I had the kind of self control that many people have that allows them to eat a little of this and a little of that and not have it calling their name from the fridge to eat it...lol.  On the other hand, I think I eat far healthier by avoiding those foods altogether at home.  It's a Mexican standoff...