*Food, Travel & Healthy Living Blog*

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

How to Save 100 Calories with Every Meal!


How to Save 100 Calories at Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Cocktail Hour & Dinner 

...Previously on Shine!

What starts out as an innocent meal... can easily turn into a caloric catastrophe. Eating too many calories, regardless of your current physical activity level, can wreak havoc on your body. To help you get healthy  and possibly shed a few pounds, here are multiple ways to save calories at every meal!




Breakfast
Eat your fruit; don't drink it: 12 ounces of OJ = 165 calories, vs. a medium orange = 62 calories. Think of granola as a condiment to be sprinkled over yogurt (for reference: a half cup of granola is around 200 calories). Drink your coffee skinny. A whole-milk grande latte from Starbucks has almost 100 more calories than one with nonfat milk. Here are some low-cal breakfast ideas that are under 30 grams of sugar.
Brunch
Have a smoothie made with fruit, nonfat yogurt, and ice, and skip the milk shake. Eat smaller portions since many brunches offer buffet options, and it can be tempting to fill your plate. And choose lots of veggies and fruit since they are low in calories and will fill you up! Instead of calorie-filled egg dishes covered with rich sauces, why not get an omelet (or even one made from just the whites) and spruce it up with some veggies instead of calorie-dense bacon or cheese? If you reach for a caffeinated beverage to go with your meal, make it an unsweetened tea instead of a Coke.


Lunch
Make your sandwich open-faced. A slice of whole wheat bread is anywhere between 70 and 90 calories, depending on the density of the bread Ditch the mayo. Two and half teaspoons of mayonnaise contain 90 calories, and the same amount mustard practically nil. Make sure not to order honey mustard, because the sweetness adds calories. Skip the slices of cheddar cheese, about 226 calories for two one-ounce slices, and choose thinly spread avocado instead. Ask for salad dressing on the side and dip when you need a dab.



Happy Hour

Try wapping out a higher cal drink for a lower cal version. For instance, enjoy a vodka cranberry (117 calories) instead of a strawberry daiquiri (230 calories). Try ordering a mojito (122 calories) instead of your usual rum and coke (369 calories). In terms of snacks, choose chips and salsa (155 calories) instead of nachos (569 calories). Got a craving for fries? Choose the sweet potato fries (120 calories), over the regular fries (302 calories). Here's where you can find the caloric breakdown of all your favorite happy hour drinks and food. And if you really need to get your calorie-rich cosmopolitan or margarita fix, here are some ways to lighten-up your favorite cocktails.


Dinner
Top your baked potato, be it a sweet spud or an Idaho, with two tablespoons of nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Skip the pepperoni and order your pizza with red bell pepper, and douse it with red pepper flakes. Try dressing your salad with just lemon juice and skip the olive oil, which clocks in at 119 calories a tablespoon. Trim the fat! If you're cooking meat, trim off whatever fat you can. Skipping the skin when it comes to chicken saves you 50 calories, but also keeps 4.5 grams of fat out of your meal. Here are some healthy dinner recipes for every night of the week.

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