Slimming Down? Sick of Salads? 6 Smart Switches
August 9, 2007 by Sara Ost
Filed under Diets and Dieting, Food and Drink, Health, Misc., Nutrition, Weight Loss
6 intelligent choices for those days when you really can’t deal with another salad:
1. A burrito bowl instead of a regular burrito. Substitute brown rice or black beans for the white rice.
2. Tuna salad with sliced tomatoes instead of a tuna melt. You’ll save about 400 calories and about 40 grams of carbs. Still hungry? If you’re brown-bagging it, include an apple and a handful of almonds. If you’re at a restaurant, order a side of either cottage cheese or fruit.
3. Go for soup. But steer clear of soups with creamy bases or lots of noodles! Choose lighter soups like minestrone, French onion, vegetable, or tomato soup. If you need more substance, top with grated cheese.
4. Take advantage of the sides on the menu. Order two or three vegetable sides. Most restaurants will also serve you a grilled chicken breast or a skewer of shrimp if you ask. Even TGIFriday’s has a steamed broccoli and prawn skewer lunch option now – it’s got fewer calories and carbs than most salads!
5. Why not have breakfast for lunch? Order a vegetable-filled omelet. So long as you’re not eating the hashbrowns and sausage that comes with it or choosing the most decadent option, this is a sensible choice both in terms of nutrition and calories. Ask for them to cook your omelet “dry” – this will save you about 150 calories of grill grease. Yum.
6. So you’re a little tired of greens today. It’s bound to happen. A salad doesn’t have to be lettuce – order ceviche, or shrimp cocktail, or fruit salad, or stir fry without the greasy noodles, or caprese salad (which we all know is just an excuse to eat fresh mozzarella).
Have an idea? Speak up!
- Bunnah
Work fiber into your diet. Eat only bread that reads “100% Whole Grain” on the label. Eat only whole grain pasta.
Drink a big glass of water before you eat. Chances are you’re dehydrated anyway, and it will fill you up with a no-calorie, healthy substance.
Hi, Steve,
Thanks for the comments! I personally don’t “do” grains and don’t recommend them, but I agree that fiber consumption is critical (I recommend brown rice, legumes and vegetables). And definitely drink the water! Often times hunger – especially cravings for sweets – is really just thirst. Thanks again for sharing your tips.
Sara
You don’t “do” grains? What does that mean?
Oh, man, I don’t know what I’d do without a hearty, whole-grain bread. But I agree about sticking with beans; black beans are definitely at the top of my list as far as high-fiber legumes are concerned. Adding refried beans of any kind to soups and stews thickens them up (perfect for vegetarians and vegans who want hearty soups).
You’re right Steve 100% whole grain is the way to go — if you eat grain. I with Sara on this on though, I’ve tried adding in whole grain to my diet, but I am just too carb sensitive — some people handle carbs better than others I’ve noticed — so I get most of mine through lots of vegetable and some fruit. So I just do without grain when I cook, and eat very little if someone else does — to be polite.
Sashimi, or sushi with brown rice. The place I go to has added this great brown rice as an option to the traditional white rice.
Brian, you stole the words outta my mouth!
Meghann, I don’t generally eat grains. They just don’t work for me – sticking with so-called “slow” carbs like beans and vegetables keep my migraines in check, among other health issues. Some people do great on whole grains, but unfortunately I’m not one of them.
Point 2)
Big chunky fruit & vegetables make salad more fun, definitely. For a work lunch, an apple sliced into your tuna salad (take the apple whole and slice it up just before eating, to prevent browning) makes it sweeter, a bit more like a dessert.
But huge, chunky Greek-style tomatoes – yes indeed. Or some slightly scorched marrow. Or eggplant. Or huge lima beans. Or….
Chunky salads are more satisfying. With infinite variety available to stave off boredom.
re: “don’t do grains…I recommend brown rice…”
rice is a grain along with many others that we (in the so-called civilized world) don’t eat. I have recently learned about many grain options other than the typical wheat found in everything. My daughter has developed allergies to foods we used to eat often and so we are on a rotation diet. This morning for breakfast we had buckwheat waffles (homemade, of course). We also eat millet, kamut, and actual wheat. Before she developed allergies to them we also ate spelt (one of the best) and rice. Just a thought, you may be allergic to wheat and some of these other grains may fill that need for you nicely. You have to be creative but you start to look at food entirely differently.
I love salads. I was a bunny in my previous life… Hm, I’m paranoid, twitchy, small, my nose wiggles a lot and I have a tendency to jump/dart around. Looks like I haven’t evolved much since my last life…
I just love vegetable salads i eat a whole bowl for breakfast with some yorghut.Since may i ahve lost 8 kilos i was 75 kg i am now 67kg.I m aplnning to make it 60kg thats my goal.Whenever i feel hungry i take a fruit not more than 4 as the also have sugar that can add more to your weight.I take veg salads like 4 times a day and lots of water.I also go to the gym.
I do not miss my meals but i choose to eat green and only 2 potatoes or one for starch.I can alternate with brown rice/or spaghetti.
Cooking oil for me is Olive oil and i do not put so much into the meal as i prepare it.
Good luck!
Quick tip:
Rather than drinking a glass of water right before meals or during, try to maintain adequate hydration throughout the day, away from meals. When you drink water with meals or immediately before meals, it dilutes your stomach juices that are needed to effectively digest all those yummy viddles you are eatting.