Lots of posts recently on improving one's diet and losing weight so I thought it'd be a good idea for all to share some substitutions one can do to improve a recipe or make it less calorie dense. I'll get started:
1. Greek yogurt - whenever a recipe calls for cream/heavy cream, I use greek yogurt instead. Makes soups, etc. creamier and no impact on taste.
2. Unsweetened almond milk - 70 calories less per cup than regular milk. Don't heat it up though, makes coffee taste like shit.
3. VEGGIES! - All sorts, instead of grains. If a recipe calls for rice or some grain, I just sub it for a huge batch of grilled or steam veggies. Grilled are so delicious though, with chili powder and some cayene pepper.
4. Cauliflower - this vegetable is the best! You can actually make cauliflower rice. Just add it to your food processor, pulse it and it'll turn into "rice". Then you can add anything you want over the stove. I make "spanish rice" by adding a can of tomatoes or fried rice by sauteeing over the stove with veggies, soy sauce, etc. Also, boil it and once its soft, you can make amazing "mashed potatoes" with it.
5. Quinoa - I basically don't eat rice anymore. Any recipe that calls for rice, I use quinoa.
5. Cinammon - For oatmeal, polenta, cream of wheat, etc. I add cinammon and vanilla extract and this makes it tasty enough that I don't need to add any sugar at all. I might add a few raisins and sometimes a drizzle of honey but rarely. It did take a bit to adapt my palate to eating stuff without sugar.
1. Greek yogurt - whenever a recipe calls for cream/heavy cream, I use greek yogurt instead. Makes soups, etc. creamier and no impact on taste.
2. Unsweetened almond milk - 70 calories less per cup than regular milk. Don't heat it up though, makes coffee taste like shit.
3. VEGGIES! - All sorts, instead of grains. If a recipe calls for rice or some grain, I just sub it for a huge batch of grilled or steam veggies. Grilled are so delicious though, with chili powder and some cayene pepper.
4. Cauliflower - this vegetable is the best! You can actually make cauliflower rice. Just add it to your food processor, pulse it and it'll turn into "rice". Then you can add anything you want over the stove. I make "spanish rice" by adding a can of tomatoes or fried rice by sauteeing over the stove with veggies, soy sauce, etc. Also, boil it and once its soft, you can make amazing "mashed potatoes" with it.
5. Quinoa - I basically don't eat rice anymore. Any recipe that calls for rice, I use quinoa.
5. Cinammon - For oatmeal, polenta, cream of wheat, etc. I add cinammon and vanilla extract and this makes it tasty enough that I don't need to add any sugar at all. I might add a few raisins and sometimes a drizzle of honey but rarely. It did take a bit to adapt my palate to eating stuff without sugar.