A Few Of My Weight Loss Food Swap Outs

Being that I've been trying to lose weight over the past 6 months, I have found that many "weight-loss" foods aren't really weight-loss foods at all. There are certain things that I've had to completely cut out of my diet, even though many diet cookbooks claim they are "good fat" and calories that are unavoidable for certain dishes. I have found a few swap outs that have saved on lots of calories from oils, condiments and ingredients that worked for me.

Rice, I love me some rice...I use brown rice and though it has fiber that white rice doesn't have, it tends to be crunchy and earthy. When I make it in my rice cooker, rather than 2 parts water to 1 part rice, I actually do 3 parts water and drop in 2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes. Add salt and pepper after it's done and there's really no need for butter or other flavor additions for your rice. With all that said, rice of any variety usually packs a good bit of calories without much nutritional value...Add steamed veggies to it such as bell pepper, broccoli or spinach and you're not only adding fiber, you're lowing your calories per serving and adding higher nutrition value to what is pretty much a "plate filler."

Cooking oils, for searing or frying I do use oils. When I stir-fry vegetables, however, rather than oil I stir-fry them in beef or chicken broth made from bouillon cubes. This saves around 140 to 280 calories in your dish.

Mayo is one of those things that people don't really think about but it's high in calories. There are light mayos as well as the dreaded Miracle Whip as Mayo alternatives BUT there is actually a calorie free mayo product made by Walden Farms that tastes the same as mayo when I put it on a sandwich. It's slightly thinner but spreads fine and is high in flavor.

Creamy condensed soups like clam chowder, use skim milk or 1 part milk and 1 part water when thinning out the condensed stuff. If using ready made soups, add a little more water to them but if you do this and mind the serving sizes. If you still eat the whole can, you are consuming the same calories as listed on the can per serving...keep in mind that most soup cans contain 2 to 2 and a half servings.

Eggs...I only have eggs in my house for hard boiling to include in recipes like chicken salad or tuna. If I'm making an omelet, I only use Egg Beaters or the store brand version. You're looking at about 30 to 35 calories per serving rather than about 90-110 calories per actual egg.

Finally, did you know that on average, people that consume foods using larger spoons that hold more food actually eat slightly less? Not sure why but it's a fact.