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Ideas for low fat meals, sauces and puddings without losing weight

13 replies

TheCoty · 08/06/2026 12:41

Not sure whether this should be in food or health but I need ideas for low fat meals/ snacks.
I'm waiting to see a gastro consultant which could be a long wait.
My gastric symptoms are definitely triggered by fat consumption and I'm trying to reduce it. As someone who has never dieted or watched what they eat other than to try to eat healthy food I'm struggling. I've always avoided "low fat" products as I tend to associate them with no flavour. I'm having to rethink.
I neither want nor need to lose any weight but my weight is dropping slowly as I cut things out.
I always have the same for breakfast and lunch.
All bran with skimmed milk,
salad with chicken/tuna/egg
Fruit with greek yoghurt
Dinners are things like curry, paella, risotto, meat and two veg, Ragu pasta, pulled pork,
Supper home made crumble, cake or ice cream or cookie.
I've swapped the Greek yoghurt for low fat yoghurt.
I like sauces and gravy and hate dry food.

Can anyone help with ideas for sauces or meals that aren't dry? Low fat puddings? My
I need low fat not low calorie, don't want to lose any more weight.

OP posts:
Forgottenmyphone · 08/06/2026 13:47

You’re not going to find high calorie, low fat sauces unless they’re full of refined sugar.
Add extra rice, pasta, potatoes or bread to meals.
Sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, peas and beans are some of the highest calorie veg. Mangoes, dates, grapes and bananas are fairly high calorie fruits.
For low fat treats, you could have malt loaf, skimmed milk hot chocolate, jelly, frozen yogurt, sorbet, toasted tea cake..
Another way to avoid losing weight is to be mindful of the energy you expend.

Iwanttobeafraser · 08/06/2026 16:15

Have you been able to get specific on what your triggers are in terms of fat? Eg, when I was struggling with gall bladder issues, yes, I needed relatively low fat, but fat in cows cheese was particularly bad, as was red meat. I could eat white fish but things like salmon tended to make me feel ill. But chicken, even the "fattier" bits like thighs weren't a problem.

I also didn't have a particular issue with fat in the form of olive oil so, for example, ate quite a lot of roasted veg on pasta with just a bit of sheep milk feta cheese and some avocado.

Its also your choice of carb that can make a difference. I ate a lot of rice in those days as my body could process it better vs potatoes or pasta. Bread, weirdly, was okay, but in relatively small amounts.

Re ideas,

Roasted veg (you can use very little oil to keep it relatively low fat - if you up the number of tomotoes, it stops it from getting dried out). [edited to add: if you make large amounts of roasted veg (be generous with garlic) you can use a blender and a bit of low fat cream cheese to create a sort of thick paste which goes well as a side dish with meat and fish. Again, the trick is to ensure a high ration of tomoatoes for sweetness and liquid. A bit of balsamic vinegar in cookin ghelps too]

Low fat cream cheese has a slightly tart flavour which actually lends itself to certain things. I often use it in pasta sauces to add a bit of cheesy creaminess without extra richness - to a tomato based sauce in particular.

Grilled fish is great, and filling,but increase portion size. Often fish comes in tiny portions which are not enough to be filling or to generate enough calories. Serve with n ew potatoes and veggies.

A great basic low fat salad dressing I do often is lemon juice and fat free greek yoghurt, sweetened with a bit of honey. Add some mustard, some dried herbs, salt to taste. Works on steamed greens as well.

On that note, greens are often a lot more flavoursome with fat but to reduce this, rub a little oil on them then cook them in a hot pan to get a bit of colour on them. Then add a bit of water and put a lid on them to finish them cooking. You can then flavour them at the end with: a bit of garlic, lemon and honey (let it caramelise in the pan quickly with the veg at the end) or fat free greek yoghurt with a bit of tahini mixed in and some lemon juice or stir some miso through it.

Iwanttobeafraser · 08/06/2026 16:24

Low fat puddings - i think meringues with fruit are good. You can turn the fruit into compotes too and add a bit of extra sweetener if you like then add the fat free yoghrt for a creamy aspect.

Your'e not overweight so if you want a bit more sugar, I wouldn't be to upset about that.

Also, here's an easy low fat air fryer muffin recipe that works quite well. these dont' keep though - eat them when they come out or shortly thereafter. This makes 3 muffins

85g self raising flour
15 g oats (you can play with these ratios a bit to your preference and I usually use a bit less flor and replace with almond meal, but that's high fat so not a good idea for you. If you go less than 70g flour, add some baking powder)
1 mashed ripe banana
1 egg
2 tablespoons fat free greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon honey
pinch salt

Place into buttered ramekins or whatever you can use to bake in the air fryer and cook at 180 for about 13 minutes.

Chat GPT tells me you could use 2 egg whites and a bit more yoghurt if necessary if you wanted to remove the fat from the egg yolk.

SerenitySeeker4 · 08/06/2026 16:37

I had to eat low fat for a while and found tomato-based sauces, stock-based gravies and curries made with low-fat yoghurt worked really well and didn't feel dry. For puddings, rice pudding, jelly, custard made with skimmed milk and fruit-based desserts were good options. If you're losing weight without trying, I'd mention that to your GP while you're waiting for the gastro appointment.

TheCoty · 08/06/2026 17:48

@Iwanttobeafraser thank you that's really, really useful. I think it may be gallbladder related but scans haven't shown any gallstones.
I haven't narrowed it down to some fats being worse than others but I suspect it's true. I've started to write down what I eat. I was really surprised to react to curry last week because I haven't before.
I use cream cheese as a sauce base quite often, will get some low fat and try that. I bake regularly and love cake so I'll give the muffins a go.

@SerenitySeeker4 Stock based sauce is a good shout.
Tonight I'm having some baked tuna steak and I'm making a sauce with stock, flour and lemongrass. I haven't had custard for years but I'll get some low fat custard to try.

I don't think there's anything sinister about the weight loss because I lose weight easily and I have definitely eaten less food overall and less fat so it's not surprising. I'm not underweight BMI is about 21 but my clothes are feeling loose and I don't particularly want to lose weight. I've been the same weight for about 50 years except when ill.

OP posts:
Iwanttobeafraser · 08/06/2026 18:14

I only had 1 gallstone..... when they removed thebgall bladder they found it was packed with what the surgeon referred to as a mix of almost like sand and sludge....

Iwanttobeafraser · 08/06/2026 18:16

Also, would add that for me, food combinations were a big trigger. Eg I could eat red meat... but only with no carbs. So steak and salad was fine. Steak and chips - v bad.

I could drink coffee and I could eat eggs but breakfast with coffee and egg... bad.

PeanutsForever · 09/06/2026 12:13

Curry can be quite fatty? Also, weirdly, after my second pregnancy, I became sensitive to cumin for about 2 years. Still have no idea what that was about but if I ate it, I'd bloat and have a really sore stomach for a few hours then cramps. Bodies are weird.

Yoghurt can be used to make all kinds of sauces/dressings. If you fancy curry, home made might be a bettter choice, perhaps using low fat coconut milk? Or stick to tomatoe based curries?

When DH was eating a lot of low fat food, I used to do thinks like bolognaise or meat dishes but instead of sautte'ing in oil, I'd just use water and the tiniest bit of oil then use low fat meat or chicken breast. Helped to keep the fat down. Lots of citrus and soy for flavourings.

MiddleAgedDread · 09/06/2026 12:22

stir fry
ramen or pho
chilli with turkey or quorn mince
this is really nice (ditch the feta side if needed) JOE WICK’S IDEAL RECIPE FOR SPICY CHICKEN CHILLI WITH FETA & AVOCADO (CARB REFUEL) - Ideal Magazine
thai curry is high calorie if you can handle coconut milk
sausage & bean casserole
roast chicken dinner

Can't help with puddings I'm afraid, not my thing at all! But if you're trying to keep your calories up but stick to low fat I think you probably just need to bulk up your portions of lean protein and carbs. or things like adding a banana to your breakfast would add around 100 calories.
Low fat cream cheese is good for making sauces with pasta.
Can you tolerate things like hummus, oily fish, avocado and nut butters?

JOE WICK’S IDEAL RECIPE FOR SPICY CHICKEN CHILLI WITH FETA & AVOCADO (CARB REFUEL) - Ideal Magazine

Check out this great recipe for Spicy Chicken Chilli with Feta and Avocado, IDEAL for a carb refuel, from Joe Wicks and Gousto Lean in 15 range.

https://idealmagazine.co.uk/joe-wicks-recipe-for-spicy-chicken-chill/

TheCoty · 09/06/2026 13:13

I went down a rabbit hole of ways to use leftover chicken on that Joe Wick site
I make ramen quite often but hadn't heard of pho which looks similar.

OP posts:
mindutopia · 10/06/2026 10:04

I think your diet is already fairly low fat. It sounds like you need to focus on eating more and particularly calorie dense food. Carbs are probably your friend here as they are low fat and gentle on the stomach. Have some biscuits or toast mid morning. Rice, potatoes, naan with whatever protein, etc. Eating regularly. Have a Huel shake mid afternoon.

Beyond that, if you do think fat is the trigger, make sure they do a faecal elastase test for pancreatic insufficiency. If your doctor is not keen, you can order one online for about £60 and do it yourself. With pancreatic insufficiency, your pancreas stops producing the digestive enzymes you need to digest fat. You end up with IBD like symptoms and often vitamin deficiencies. It’s very common but doctors don’t seem to test for it until they’ve gone through tests for everything else, which is a bit silly. It took me a year and a half to get diagnosed.

TheCoty · 10/06/2026 11:08

@mindutopia that's interesting. How is your condition treated?
My GP was very dismissive after the ultrasound and were clear for gallstones. I'm now waiting to see gastro but the waiting time here is 8 months. I could possibly see one privately but probably couldn't pay for any tests.
Definate triggers I've identified
Fish and chips together. The odd chip ok
Bacon sandwich
Potato dauphinouse
Cheese toastie
Sausage roll
None of these are things I eat often.
All the above gave a big reaction within an hour and ongoing digestive symptoms for days.

OP posts:
RedPanda2022 · 10/06/2026 21:54

Scones with jam are a lovely but lower fat treat.
Malt loaf.
muesli rather than all bran some days
dried fruits
reduced fat cheddar - more expensive ones are better
try some smoothies?

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