Quick, easy and delicious ways to save calories (and sometimes money)! Add fiber, cut the fat and stretch the portions of tuna, chicken or egg salad!
Tuna salad: 205 calories; 10.6 g fat (serving is half a can of tuna) Chicken salad: 239 calories; 11.4 g fat (serving is half a chicken breast) Egg salad: 124 calories; 9.9 g fat (serving is 2 eggs)
Mix in 1 cup of your favorite crunchy vegetables: celery, carrots, cucumber, onion, peppers, fennel, zucchini, etc. (Or try thawing frozen chopped broccoli or cauliflower.) You'll stretch another portion with each cup of vegetables you add. Tuna salad: save 85 calories and 5 g fat, and add 1.5 g fiber! Chicken salad: Save 110 calories and 5 grams of fat! Add 1 cup white kidney beans (cannellini) beans, chickpeas or black-eyed peas. (Boost fiber while cutting fat!) Swap half the low-fat mayo for low-fat plain yogurt. Save 80 calories, 9.5 grams of fat! Use all the whites and half the yolks. (I got this tip from an episode of Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger.)You don't want to ditch the yolks completely. That's where most of the vitamins and minerals are contained. Unfortunately, that's also where the fat is stored. Eggs are a great source of choline, which your body uses to break down fat for energy. Also, eggs provide lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that help prevent keep your eyes healthy! Save 25 calories and more than 2 grams of fat! Use mashed tofu instead of half the eggs. (Use 1 oz. tofu for each egg.)
When you're not the one cooking, try these tips: Eat an open faced-sandwich. Save 60-150 calories by only using one slice of bread or half a bagel. (If you're eating a wrap, open it up and don't eat the parts that aren't touching the tuna salad. (Flour tortillas are pretty bland on their own!). Make it a real chicken salad. Get your favorite salad on a bed of greens (get dark, leafy ones if you can) to cut out all those bread calories!
How do you slim down your favorite deli salads? Have a recipe to share?
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