Weight Loss Recipes

3/4 cup barley, cooked

1/2 cup nonfat milk

10 walnut halves

1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

  Total: 345 calories

  One study found that barley subbed into hot cereal and snack mixes is better than whole-wheat flakes when it comes to reducing hunger.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces uncooked whole wheat pasta
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 piece (1 inch) ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 2 cups frozen stir-fry vegetables
• 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
• 2 scallions, sliced

Make It

  Cook pasta according to directions. In a skillet, saute peanut butter, lime juice, garlic, and ginger for 1 minute. Add edamame and vegetables and cook for 12 minutes until vegetables are tender; pour over pasta. Top with peanuts and scallions.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dried Cajun seasoning
• 4 ounces chicken breast
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Few dashes Tabasco sauce, to taste
• 3/4 cup precooked brown rice

Make It

  Sprinkle Cajun seasoning on chicken and bake or grill. Add oil to skillet; saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, tomato paste, and Tabasco for 2 to 3 minutes. Add precooked rice and saute for 5 more minutes. Serve chicken on rice.

Ingredients

• 1 medium potato
• 1/2 cup turkey or vegetarian chili
• 2 cups frozen broccoli
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Make It

  Microwave potato for about 7 minutes. Wrap it in foil and let sit for 5 minutes. In a pot, warm chili and broccoli. Cut potato lengthwise, top with chili mixture, and sprinkle with cheese.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces uncooked whole wheat pasta
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 precooked Italian-style chicken sausage, sliced into rounds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Make It

  Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat spaghetti sauce, sausage, garlic, and vegetables for about 12 minutes, until veggies are tender. Top pasta with sauce mixture and sprinkle with cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 ounces steak strips
• 1 1/2 cups sliced green and red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup sliced onion
• 2 small (6-inch) whole-grain tortillas
• 4 tablespoons salsa
• 2 tablespoons low-fat sour cream

Make It

  In a skillet, saute olive oil, cumin, and garlic for 1 minute. Add steak strips and cook about 5 minutes. Add pepper and onion slices and cook for another 8 minutes. Place mixture in tortillas and fold. Top with salsa and sour cream.

The switch: one ounce of avocado on toast instead of one ounce of butter 


The savings: 158 calories


  Avocado is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids to help flight inflammation, promote good cholesterol, and reduce snack-y tendencies, says Zeitlin. And you'll get more fiber and protein than you do with butter, she says. Fun fact: You can swap avocado for butter when baking to make your sweet treats even more satisfying, too.

The switch: a four-ounce turkey burger in a lettuce cup instead of a four-ounce beef burger in a bun


The savings: 182 calories


  Opting for a turkey burger saves you lots of saturated fat and extra calories that come with beef, and ditching the refined carbs in a bun for a lettuce cup keeps your blood sugar stable.

The switch: one cup cauliflower rice instead of one cup white rice


The savings: 180 calories (about 1,440 per month)


  Another vegetable you can turn into a faux starchy carb for major craving satisfaction is cauliflower. By cutting off the heads, boiling them, and putting the florets into a food processor (or chopping them up finely), you can create a rice substitute that slashes calories, says Zeitlin.

The switch: one ounce air-popped popcorn instead of one ounce potato chips (about 15 chips) 


The savings: 129 calories (about 1,032 per month)


  Sometimes you've just got to have a snack that gives good crunch. Instead of reaching for potato chips, which offer almost no nutritional value, turn to air-popped popcorn for your fix. As it turns out, popcorn is a whole grain so it has fiber that will help keep you full, says Zeitlin. Bonus: you can make it at homewith an air popper in a snap. If you’re pressed for time, keep an eye out forQuinn’s popcorn, Zeitlin’s favorite.

The switch: one cup cooked spaghetti squash instead of one cup cooked spaghetti


The savings: 158 calories (about 1,264 per month)


  “White pasta is not high in anything except sugar,” says Zeitlin. Though whole-wheat pasta has more fiber to help slow the digestion of all that sugar, it still packs the same amount of calories. Enter spaghetti squash, the pasta alternative is a fiber-filled veggie that will make your waistline and taste buds happy.

The switch: an orange slice in water instead of an eight-ounce bottle orange juice


The savings: 120 (about 960 per month)


  If you can’t make it in the morning without your OJ, try this swap on for size. “One glass of orange juice has five to six oranges in it, so it contains a crazy amount of sugar,” says Zeitlin. And if you’re drinking an entire eight-ounce bottle of the stuff, you’re likely taking in two servings instead of one. That sugar surge can spike your blood sugar and lead to a munchies-inducing crash later on. By drinking water instead of juice, your body soaks that h2o up to replenish the water you lose during the day, says Zeitlin.

The switch: one ounce two percent plain Greek yogurt on your wrap instead of one ounce mayonnaise


The savings: 167 (about 1,336 per month)


  There’s a pretty long list of reasons to become Greek yogurt’s number one fan. For starters, it’s rich in calcium and protein, which have been shown to help maintain weight loss,” says Cording. Plus, the probiotics in yogurt make sure your gut bacteria are properly balanced to help you de-bloat and digest food properly. By going with low-fat yogurt instead of fat-free, your body will have to take more time to break it down and you'll be satisfied longer, says Cording.

The switch: a nori (seaweed) sheet instead of a whole-wheat tortilla wrap


The savings: 110 calories (about 880 per month)


  Besides putting a dent in your calorie intake for the day, swapping a whole-wheat wrap for a nori sheet spices up your basic lunch. The dried seaweed offers up to three grams of fiber, which helps keep you full, energy-boosting iron, and vitamin A, an antioxidant that fights skin-wrecking free radicals. “It’s crunchy and a little salty, which is a good way to excite your taste buds,” says Zeitlin.

The switch: a quarter-cup of sliced apple in your salad instead of quarter-cup dried cranberries 


The savings: 78 (about 624 per month)

  Just because cranberries are a fruit and you're eating them in a salad that doesn’t mean they're healthy. “A lot of people add dried fruit to salad, but they pack a lot of calories,” says Cording. In general, dried fruit has a much higher sugar content than fresh fruit, says Zeitlin. On top of that, the drying process zaps some of the fruit’s vitamins and water content that can keep you hydrated.

The switch: an iced coffee with two tablespoons 2 percent milk instead of an iced latte


The savings: 100 calories (about 3,000 per month)


  In reality, both options add up to the same thing: a creamy, caffeine-infused delight. The major difference is that when you get a plain iced coffee and add your own milk, you’re in control of exactly how much is going in. “Lattes have so much milk that doing it yourself is an easy way to cut back on calories without sacrificing taste,” says Cording.

The switch: Seven ounces plain 2 percent Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of honey instead of seven ounces flavored yogurt 


The savings: 50 (about 400 per month)

  
It’s easy to grab a fruit-flavored yogurt on the go, but setting aside a few extra minutes to whip up your own concoction can slash your sugar and calorie intake. Sweetened yogurt can have up to 20 grams of sugar, says Cording. If you’re not into honey, try a teaspoon of maple syrup, quarter-cup of berries, or a teaspoon of cocoa powder with a splash of vanilla and sprinkle of cinnamon.

The switch: seltzer instead of soda


The savings: 140 (about 4,200 per month)


  Oh, soda, why are you so hard to quit? The bubble-filled way to wean yourself off the one-can-a-day habit is seltzer. “The carbonation creates gas in your stomach, which takes up some space,” says Cording. “You may feel more satisfied, so it can be a good way to transition into soda-free life.” There’s also the fact that plain ol’ water can seem too boring if you’re used to that soda rush, so seltzer can offer your mouth a bit more of a distraction.