Can you make this less calorific for me?

[Psolomon]

Wild rice pilaf with butternut squash, cranberries & pecans Even halving the cranberries & pecans brings each serving out at 374 calories!

The olive oil comes out at a nasty 715 cals

The only answer I can see is to have just a small spoonful of it and fill up the rest of the plate with vegetables.

TBH I would make something else if you are trying to lose weight.

Well olive oil is a good fat. So it's ok to use it.

How much oil are you using?? Sounds like a lot.

It looks unpleasantly greasy to me. The recipe serves 8, but even so, 'quarter cup plus 2 tbsp' sounds excessive. The 1tbsp to coat the squash is about right, I'd use less than 1tbsp to fry an onion, and I'd use a lot less oil in the dressing. You could maybe do that but serve with extra oil available if anyone prefers more?

Yes, the oil is ridiculous. I ought to abandon this recipe but it just feels so...impressive to prepare and eat

I'm in dire need of recipe inspiration for filling, low GI meals.

Well, I'm guessing the cranberry is for aesthetic /to add sweetness, so maybe add a teaspoon of honey to the butternut squash and skip them?

Skip the nuts too. Maybe use a quarter cup of dry toasted pine nuts instead of the pecans.

Or add dry toasted chickpeas if you want filling and low GI.

Ooh, toffee, I found a recipe for leek, chickpea & parmesan soup and it's sublime. Only 275 cals per serving (nicked from The Midlife Kitchen).

IT looks incredibly oily.....

Hmm, that sounds good, I love leeks and I also love soup!

I'll check it out.

Goldfish, it really doesn't taste that way; it's delicious

toffee, from where do you source low-cal recipes?

Cut back the dressing. If you make 1/3 of the dressing amount, that should save over 50 cal per portion.

Thanks, Red, just less oil in the dressing, then, but same cumin, cinnamon, Orange juice etc? Or cut back on the lot?