Low calorie meals

[Dietagainmonday]

What's your favourite low calorie meals or snacks? Getting bored so need some inspiration please

Roast chicken. I buy chicken thighs get them skinned & chopped into 3 at butchers. I make enough to last 3 days. With that I have a small jacket potato with a scrape of 'lite' spread, and a portion of green beans & spinach.

Snacks tend to be something like 3 Ryvita Original Crakerbreads (3 or 4) with a scrape of 'lite' spread and 1 slice of ham on top. + an Options hot chocolate drink.

I don't have any fancy recipes/snacks, sorry when Im calorie counting I really have to keep my food simple or I go off the rails. I find the Options hot choc a lifesaver as it fills me up on only 40 calories so I don't need to eat as much. As another snack I have that with 2 or 3 ginger biscuits when relaxing. & on days I really feel like a dessert I just go and buy a weightwatchers one to stop me making a huge dessert at home! Im sure someone will come along with some better meal/snack ideas soon.

I bought the Hairy Dieters books - they have some great recipes, with real ingredients. DH loves the food, and he's not on a diet!

Snacking - I have tins of veg or tomato soup in the cupboard and have half a tin in a mug for about 80-90 calories - feels substantial and comforting.

A bowl of porridge is also a substantial snack for 90 or so calories.

Hardboiled egg with an oatcake.

a banana

Rice cakes - although I don't like these, they taste a bit like cardboard, a lot of friends eat them when on diets.

Today i had a fish finger wrap for dinner- a discovery wrap ( 105) two fish fingers (106) a handful of salad (10) and a tsp of tartare sauce (40). It felt deliciously non diet but was under 300 cals- left me full too.

Yesterday I had beet root (100g cubed is 98cals) cous cous 2 tablespoon (55 cals about) and shredded lamb (80g, 120cals) with some cumin and coriander mixed in it was amazing. A lunch I will have again, also under 300.

I often have half a bag of baby leaf salad with three torn slices of Parma ham, drizzled in balsamic vinegar. It's about 200-250 cals and makes a lovely lunch.

An omelette with two eggs and chives topped with 50g of smoked salmon, on top of a handful of spinach is very tasty and just under 300cals too.

Not great advice, but the mini mars bar ice creams are only 74cals- I have one almost every day, they are chocolaty and caramelly and ice creamy. Just right with a cup of tea in the evening before bed.

I snack on cracker breads, I love them, and curbs my carb craving too

My current fave snack is a crispbread (M&S sell packs for about 75p I think) with about 10-15g philly light on top - I don't measure it, but I section my pot into quarters (50g each) and only use about a quarter of one of those sections. It works out about 50cals, so you could have 2 if you wanted. I find one is enough to stave off that 'picky' feeling you get arouns 3pm haha!

Meal wise, we tend to stick to protein and veg, sometimes with a sweet potato thrown in.

My favourite is a grilled chicken breast, with a baked sweet potato and homemade coleslaw - shredded cabbage, carrot and onion (any type) with a dressing of light mayo, Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar, let down with some water. Yum.

Todays lunch was chicken and avocado salad and dinner is beef stir fry - just veg.

I tend to buy a whole chicken, roast it and then use it to make salad for a few days lunches - sometimes have it with a wholemeal pitta if I am extra hungry. Other lunches include crackerbreads and humous or celery/cucumber/carrot sticks with humous or homemade soup such as butternut squash, coconut, ginger and lemon grass or red pepper and t

Oops pressed sent too soon!

Red pepper and tomato!

For dinner I have things like turkey stir fry but substitute the noodles for extra beansprouts or veg curry with weight watchers sauce and brown/wholemeal rice, salmon fillet with boiled potatoes and salad or veg.

I also buy jelly as a desert instead of yogurts now as the Hartleys jellies are only 10cals!

HTH :)

Greek yoghurt with a bit of honey. I throw in about 8-10g of muesli as well. I didn't like it much at first but I've grown to love it and look forward to it in the afternoons.

As mentioned above, loads of chicken. I roast 4-5 breasts early in the week and then eat them for lunch or dinner or post-workout snack.

BBC good food is a great site, it's got a "healthy" section or you can search by ingredients you know are low fat e.g chicken breast, I'd also recommend the vegetarian section.

A selection of my faves:
Mexican chicken stew
Quick sausage stew
Lemon-spiced chicken with chickpeas
Spinach and tomato tortillas
Bean and pepper chilli
Spiced pepper pilafs
Spanish rice and prawn one-pot
Creamy chicken with asparagus and tarragon
Yellow lentil, cauliflower and coconut curry
Chicken and chorizo jambalaya
Red Thai salmon curry
Summer-in-winter chicken

All delish, low cal and quick to make!

Would second hairy Dieters books - proper food, and DH has been enjoying the meals too. we had the chicken bhuna last night, and I'm making the jerk chicken tonight.

I eat a lot of soup for lunches, and vary breakfasts between porridge and bran flakes with greek yog and stewed rhubarb.