22 Ways to Save 100s of Calories
Mar
4
2016
Cutting calories on the regular doesn't need to be a daily struggle -- we've got 22 incredibly easy tricks to cut hundreds of calories from everyday items!
Meal-Making Swaps
2. Opt for English muffins over bagels. Since they're fluffier and more moderately sized, they're less of a carb fest. The average whole-wheat English muffin has around 130 calories; a wheat bagel has closer to 300.
3. Three words: Powdered. Peanut. Butter. Peanut butter is delicious, but packs a caloric punch. Powdered peanut butter is made from defatted peanuts and tastes amazing. And it has less than half the calories of the regular spread -- read here for details!
4. Trade doughy rolls for flat sandwich buns. Supermarket shelves are loaded with slim 100-calorie sandwich buns. Switching from those Kaiser rolls could easily save you 100 calories.
5. If you're making tuna or chicken salad, use fat-free plain Greek yogurt in place of regular mayo. For every 2 tbsp., you'll slash over 150 calories!
6. Exchange calorie-heavy carbs for nice-n-light cauliflower. Blitz the white veggie to bits in a blender, and swap it for rice -- you'll save about 170 calories per cup. (Also good? Mash it up with your potatoes.)
7. Use nonstick spray on your skillet instead of oil. The spray is practically calorie-free, while a 1-tbsp. "glug" of oil runs about 120 calories.
8. Combine finely chopped brown mushrooms with ground beef to cut calories but not portion size! Replace 4 oz. raw extra-lean ground beef with 2 cups of the mushrooms to save around 100 calories -- just think if you were swapping out the fattier stuff!
9. Spaghetti squash! Zucchini noodles! Veggie noodles are a great calorie saver -- ditch conventional carby pasta, and you'll save around 160 calories per cup.
Everyday Sips & Snacks
11. Switch from sugary sodas to zero-calorie carbonated water or seltzer. Save about 120 calories per can -- there are some great flavors out there!
12. Got dip? Use veggies instead of chips to scoop it up. An ounce of tortilla chips has around 140 calories and will be gone before you know it; eat an entire large red bell pepper or about 14 baby carrots instead for around 50 calories.
13. Choose popcorn over chips -- you get more volume! A single-serving baggie of Lay's Classic has 160 calories and isn't very satisfying. You can enjoy 5 whole cups of 94% fat-free popcorn for 100 calories or less.
14. Feed a chocolate craving with a light chocolate ice cream bar. Have a fudge-flavored Enlightened The-Good-for-You Ice Cream Bar for 70 calories (plus 8g protein!), rather than spending more than twice the calories on a handful of chocolates.
15. Want something refreshing and sweet? Give fruity ice cream the cold shoulder. A measly 1/2 cup of strawberry ice cream has around 130 calories; have an entire cup of frozen berries for half the calories.
Tricks for Dining Out
17. Request a to-go box right when your meal arrives. Keep a reasonable serving, put the rest in the box, and set it aside for another meal. (Or just split one entrée with a pal when dining out -- save calories AND cash!)
18. When at the sandwich shop, opt for mustard over mayo. A tablespoon of full-fat mayo has around 100 calories, while standard yellow mustard has closer to 5. Yes, 5!
19. Trade dressing for salsa. Salad dressing can add hundreds of fatty calories to what should be a healthy meal; 10 - 20 calories' worth of salsa is a total bargain in comparison!
20. Choose broth-based soups over creamy ones. Fun fact: Yeah, you'll save calories by selecting a lighter soup option -- around 100 vs. 200 -- but studies have also shown that starting a meal with a brothy soup leads people to take in fewer calories overall!
21. Lettuce buns. It's gotten pretty trendy for restaurants to offer lettuce in place of traditional sandwich and burger buns; this is a stellar way to easily ditch around 200 - 300 calories. (Not feeling that extreme? Take the carbs off the top, and eat that sandwich open faced.)
22. Skip whole-milk morning lattes and sugary cappuccinos; grab a coffee with skim milk instead. We've been known to carry packets of our favorite natural no-calorie sweetener around for this very purpose. Get more coffee tips 'n tricks here.
Chew on this:
Happy National Pound Cake Day, March 4th. Rather than pounding back slices of too-fatty dessert, try a slice of our new Flourless Black Forest Cake.
This is too much info to hoard for yourself – click “Send to a Friend” now!
We may receive affiliate compensation from some of these links. Prices and availability are subject to change.
We may have received free samples of food, which in no way influences whether these products are reviewed favorably, unfavorably, mentioned with indifference, or mentioned at all. Click for more about our editorial and advertising policies.
*The WW Points® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by Hungry Girl and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by WW International, Inc., the owner of the Points® trademark.
Questions on the WW Points® values listed? Click here.
Hungry Girl provides general information about food and lifestyle. This information and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. Click here for more information.