Small meals ideas
 

Hi! I have been dieting and using FitDay since the end of January with great success. My diet plan is basically many smalls meals thoughout the day with no large meals (and obviously healthy, low-calorie meals). I eat 8-10 mini meals a day (about 100-200 calories per meal) and have lost 37 pounds. I was wondering if anyone out there had some good recipes for snacking type foods, or cooking for one (which I can then split into 2 meals)....I am getting tired of eating the same foods since January. They work great for me but I need some variety!!

I currently eat:

Fruit (bananas, apples, oranges....)
Small salads
protein bars (I am training for a marathon too)
fiber bars
high fiber oatmeal
Almonds
Dried fruit
soups
beef jerky
veggies and fat free ranch (or hummus)
Hard-boiled eggs

I basically snack all day but limit myself to foods with high nutrition value for the amount of calories. I watch all my carbs/fat/protein/vitamins to make sure I have a well rounded day, but need more variety!

Thanks in advance for any help!

ps...most of the mini meals I was eating were based on convenience but I no longer work and have more time to make fresh foods now.

here are a couple under 200 calorie snacks that I do from time to time:

1. can of chicken, but instead of mayo, I add fresh salsa. its filling and good protein. I've done this with canned tuna as well, but I find the chicken tastes way better to me.

2. I love quacamole, but its the chips that kill me. So I make fresh quacamole and instead of chips I dip in cucumbers or carrots.

Good luck. They say eating many small meals like you are is an excellent way to lose weight. Unfortunately for me with two young boys this regiment is next to impossible, but I LOVE that you are doing it, and sticking with it, and its WORKING.

Good luck. If I think of more, I will post again later...

Small meals/snacks that I use (besides what you already mentioned)

Greek yogurt (I like Chobani 0% fat...about 140cal/serving)
Pistachios
Mashed Sweet Potatoes (I will bake a whole batch and graze off the leftovers either for side dishes for snacks. I like to add a teaspoon or so of pureed Chipotle peppers with adobo sauce).
Sushi

I usually do 3 meals of around 400-500 cal each with 3 100-200 cal snacks. Has worked well for me.

Thanks for the ideas! I like the idea of adding more sweet potatoes to the diet. I actually tried to make sweet potato chips yesterday and they were an epic fail. I couldn't get them to be crispy without tasting burnt :(

Keep them coming! :-)

Campbell's "soup in hand" kinda high in sodium but several varietes are less that 150 cal
Laughing Cow cheese w/ or w/o a whole wheat cracker
String cheese - usually about 60 cals per serving.
Steamed or boiled shrimp

Tilapia is my go-to meal for low calorie decadence. It is cheap, cooks quickly and it tastes a lot richer than it is. Not sure if this is small enough for you, but here's one I make a lot when I'm tight on calories in the evening or low on protein:

Set your oven to broil and throw a tilapia fillet (mine are frozen and about 100 calories each) on some tinfoil, add salt and pepper to taste

Tilapia takes just a few minutes to cook, so...

While the fish is cooking, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil in a small skillet and heat on med-high.

Throw in about 1/4 tsp. (just a pinch) of red pepper flakes

Cook for about 30 sec. to 1 minute

Add about 2-3 Tbsp. of tomato paste, a pinch of salt, and about 1 tsp. dried basil, whisk it around and try to incorporate it into the oil and peppers

Cook for about 1 minute

Add about 2-3 Tbsp. of half and half and whisk into mixture

Cook for about 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly until mixture is smooth

Pour the sauce over the fish and sprinkle shaved parmesan cheese on the top, if desired

For around 200-300 calories (depending on cheese and cream), you've got a really sinful-tasting dinner. Often, I'll wilt a little spinach right into the tomato sauce or I'll serve everything on a little polenta. With a small side of cottage cheese (like 1/4 or 1/3 cup) and a few spears of asparagus, this meal can be done for under 400 calories.

Another great way to prepare tilapia is to poach it in a small skillet with a little water, pepper, 1-2 tbsp white wine and/or lemon juice, some cherry tomatoes, arugula (or spinach) and a tablespoon of capers. If you have the calories to spare, about 1-2 tsp. of butter will really make this dish awesome.

Yum, that sounds great Sailor. I keep meaning to try tilapia, but haven't gotten around to it. Your recipe has inspired me.

thanks again everyone! The tilapia really does sound good....and easy to keep on hand if frozen!

I made a new sandwich yesterday that was fantastic!!!

Franz thin bread (100 calories)
Light Laughing Cow - Sundried tomato and basil (35 calories)
Roasted Red Peppers (12 calories)
Ton of Alfalfa Sprouts - (8 calories)

Total - 155 calories and yummy!! :-)

Going to try it again as a lettuce wrap and see if it is still good....

You can mix in soy nuts - those are low in calories and high in protein. Those could be topped onto a salad or plain. Cottage cheese goes well with fruit as well as veggies (pineapple was my favorite with it). Apples, carrots, and/or celery with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter is also very yummy. I have that for a snack at work a lot.

small meals
 

If you think it will not be a "slippery slope," Lean Cuisine has some nice snack-type meals now that are about 150 calories. I like them in a pinch if I have nothing fresh on hand. They call them spring rolls but they're really spring roll inspired, with an Italian version and a Mexican version.

Not to be a stickler, but those rolls are at least 200 calories. I do eat Lean Cuisine meals, but I have yet to find any for 150 calories. I think the lowest I found was about 190.

I have started making my own spring rolls though and they are quite tasty....not as good as a fried egg roll, but full of veggies and yummy. I recently tried baking them to crisp them up and that worked well too. They were more chewy than crispy but nice and warm.

I love black bean salad. I normally have some in the fridge and eat it when I feel a little hungry. This recipe makes 10 servings, but it is one I have cut in half several times and it works great. I do like to make this with a change from time to time I will add some chopped jalapenos when I have some fresh ones in my garden. I also do not use canned corn, but I use frozen corn that I have allowed to thaw but have not heated. Just mix it all together and put in the fridge. It tastes better after it has set for a while. From my research it works out to being 166 calories per serving.

2 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups crisp canned corn, drained
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

that sounds delicious. I'm gonna try it!

Make vegetable soup, you can make a big pot of it and eat on it all day.

Portion control has been my problem. Some of my meals are just a half a pita (80 calories) stuffed with veggies. Oh, I must not lie - it's really two halves and I add some olives and cubes of feta cheese. Sometimes, it's just my own homemade coleslaw (prepackaged slaws of various compositions, tossed with a little bit of full-fat dressing and then drained... sometime I even drain, rinse under some running water and drain again, chill and have a slightly flavored very crispy slaw with almost no liquid) in the pita.

I was at my local supermarket recently and ordered a 'vegetarian' sub. A hoagie roll with pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers and coleslaw. Nothing else on it - by the time they add the coleslaw, there's not much room in the sandwich, so it's not much coleslaw. In the old days, I would have thought about how it needed cheese, or meat, or some protein. Now, I just appreciate it for the veggies. It's a meal - larger than your small meal but definitely feels luxurious to someone who diets.

i am really loving having home made guacamole (1 avocado, about 2 Tbsp salsa, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, pepper and a lot of garlic powder and some ground flax seed) on cucumber slices.

Janie12 I hope you like that salad as much as I do. ENJOY!!!:D

100 calorie packs of Emerald's cocoa or cinnamon almonds

2T hummus with carrots and/or a small amount of natural corn chips

2 slices or turnkey or ham wrapped around thin sliced cheese

1 serving Healthy Harvest soup, the lower sodium kind

apple with 1 T natural pb with or without raisins

1/2 c of ricotta cheese, with 2t coca powder, 1 packet sweetener often with 1t coffee extract - South Beach recipe

thanks for all the help and ideas! The ricotta cheese recipe sounds interesting...never would have thought to put that together. :-)

I like the veggie soup idea too. I was just looking at making ratatouille and separating into portions (too hot for soup right now).

Thanks again and keep them coming!!

liberatedmist - if you are still looking for some ideas...I just found a 'loaded' mushroom that is way low in calories. I LOVE mushrooms and love this idea. The calories are very low. You take a large morel mushroom and load it with fresh chopped salsa, a few spices, and top it with a little bit of cheese. I guess you could call it a mushroom pizza.

- Sara

REMOVED LINK

I like to use the prepackage slaw mix, its just purple and green cabbage and a little carrot. I toss it in a pan with one or two pieces of shaved salami cut up into little bits, some garlic and whatever other non calorie loaded things I have on hand. sometimes some onion.

It tides me over for a while and also works as a side dish.

Thanks for the ideas! I am always looking for something new to try and will continue with the small meals as a lifestyle. As of today, I have lost 50 pounds! :D

I have made the mushroom "pizza" with large portabella caps, but I have never had morels. You would think I would eat those a lot out here in MT, but for some reason I have never tried them. :o

http://www.amazon.com/St-Dalfour-Fre..._gro_ai_ps_t_1

If you see this anywhere, try it. Delicious! 210 calories from my fitday custom food entry, although it may have changed (doubt it). 20 gms carb, 8 gms fiber, 14 gms protein, 600 mg. sodium, 8 gms fat. The fiber comes from the vegetables. I find this snack/meal addictive.

small meal idea is quite nice,its better to take small meals instead of taking a heavy one. smalls are easy to digest and let the stomach do its work properly