When it comes to being healthy and actually losing weight, calories are what make or break our goals. If we eat too many and we don’t do enough activity to consume them we’ll gain weight. A lot of the foods we eat are packed with tons of calories, and these are the culprits for us getting frustrated that our diets aren’t working.
In order to actually reduce our calorie intake, we have to eat more low calorie food and that usually comes in the form of vegetables, but there are actually so many other low calorie foods that are really tasty and we can eat them guilt free.
Mashed or Riced Cauliflower
I’ll never forget the moment I discovered how great cauliflower is. Before that, I just saw it as a boring old vegetable, then I realized that you can cook it as rice, as a mash, and even as a cheesy treat. After that, the world of cauliflower was opened up to me and I got to experiment and try out new dishes, new alternatives and new combinations. It actually taught me to look into other foods that are low in calories but still delicious. I’ve come up with a short but powerful list!
Cauliflower “Chicken Wings”
This list is definitely going to start with cauliflower because it’s what inspired this whole post! If you’re really trying to be lean, chicken wings aren’t the best thing to eat, so get creative with this humble vegetable. Take the cauliflower and chop it roughly into bite-sized pieces. Put them on a sheet pan and roast them until they are slightly crispy and then take your favorite barbecue sauce and pour them on the “wings”. Considering that 2 cups of cauliflower contain just 50 calories, trying out this recipe is a must if you’re feeling calorie conscious.
Cottage Cheese “Ice-Cream”
When you have a sweet-tooth almost anything you can have is far from healthy. Whether you want a milkshake or cake, these are all things that just don’t go with a low calorie diet. So what do you do? Well, fat free cottage cheese is a great alternative for a lot of dairy products, in fact a lot of health gurus swear by it. 100g of it contains just over 100 calories which pales in comparison to only half a cup of ice-cream being up to 145 calories. To really kill the sweet tooth, add a packet of low calorie sweetener and you have a health sweet treat.
Healthy Jerky
A lot of beef jerky is quite unhealthy because it contains a lot of additives and preservatives, but if you’re a jerky fan, I have just the thing for you. It’s jerky, but it’s high in protein, low in fat, naturally sweetened and contains 0 preservatives. That makes it the perfect snack after a workout and you can eat it guilt free. According to ChopsSnacks.com, “healthy jerky is the perfect treat for athletes or anyone who wants to enjoy natural goodness without worrying about it being too processed.”
Eating good food doesn’t mean it has to be boring and devoid of any fun and experimentation. There is actually a way to still have a bit of indulgence in what you eat and you will still be able to keep to your fitness goals. It’s all about creativity and looking at some of the healthier things you eat with a new perspective. Try out new things, mix up ingredients and just like that, eating healthy can actually be fun, fulfilling and something you can do sustainably.
