3 Easy Ways To Kick Your Calories To The Curb!

1. Curb Your Sweet Tooth!

I love chocolate frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt has less calories than ice cream (about 140 calories per 1/2 cup), but the calories can really add up if it's eaten more than once a week. To save calories I pour myself a 4 oz glass of Unsweetened, Regular Almond Breeze (15 calories), and stir in some sugar-free chocolate syrup (2 Tablespoons,15 calories).

The creaminess and rich flavor of the almond milk mixed with the chocolate syrup is very satisfying and I didn't even miss my 1/2 cup serving of frozen yogurt. Slowly sip it through a straw and savor the rich chocolate flavor. Calories saved? 110! Even if you added a dollop of fat-free whipped cream (Reddi-Whip, 2 tblsp., 5 calories) you still haven't done any damage! If you doubled the amount of milk and chocolate you are still under half the calories of a dish of frozen yogurt!

2. Curb Your Carbs!

I am a self-confessed carbo-holic. I love carbohydrates. The pizza man would be bankrupt without my "almost weekly" consumption of pizza. The pasta man would have to move in with the pizza man if I stopped eating carbs. I love sandwiches, subs and any other carb that likes to hug the innards of my sandwiches. Wraps, pitas, flat breads, biscuits...you name it I love it. There are a couple of things I do to cut calories in all 3 of these meals: sandwiches, pizza and pasta.

I buy Sara Lee Light Multi-Grain Bread (only 45 calories, only 9 grams carbs per slice!) to make my sandwiches. I buy Arnold Multi-Grain Bread (110 calories and 20 grams carbs per slice) for my husband. He likes BIG bread, whereas I find the size of the Sara Lee Bread suits me just fine. When I used to eat the Arnold bread I felt "stuffed" after eating a sandwich. I prefer to feel satisfied, not lethargic after lunch. So try swapping your bread for Sarah Lee Light Multi-Grain Bread and save 130 calories per day! Well, you know how many sandwiches you eat every week. You do the math. Something tells me you're going like this!

Try making a lettuce wrap using a large, dark green Romaine leaf one day each week to totally eliminate carbs at lunchtime.

For the pizza, opt for a honey whole wheat or whole grain pizza crust. All that white flour isn't good for you. If you can't eat wheat, try making a gluten-free pizza dough.

To cut calories, roll the dough thin and load up on the veggies! No meat. My favorite pizza is mushrooms, peppers, black olives, onions and garlic. Use part-skim mozzarella instead of whole milk mozzarella. Lots of tomato sauces contain sugar. Try slicing tomatoes or coarsely chop them (dry them with a paper towel), then place them in a single layer on top of the pizza dough first, sprinkle with basil, oregano and parmesan cheese. Then top with your favorite veggies and cheese.

The key to keeping pasta healthy is to eat the whole grain versions and use the same principal as the pizza. Load up on the veggies and avoid sauces containing sugar. Read the back of the box and find out what qualifies as a serving. Is it 1/2 cup? 3/4 cup, 1 cup? Measure the pasta onto your plate. No seconds!

Curb Your Condiments!

Try making your own condiments. Most condiments contain lots of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, salt, and a whole host of foreign ingredients we can neither pronounce or fathom what they are or where they came from. I have some great home made condiments posted here on my blog: ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressing and other home made toppings and concoctions. Go browse!
Don't limit yourself to buying what is on the store shelves. You can search the web to find a wide variety of home made condiments. You'll save calories because you can control how much sugar and what type of sugar you will be using. Sometimes I use Splenda, honey, brown sugar or even just plain old fashioned sugar. But I am controlling how much goes into it which is always much less than anything you can buy in a store. You will also be reducing your sodium intake because you will decide how much goes into your condiment. In most recipes you can eliminate the salt by substituting other spices.

I hope I've empowered and encouraged you to take these small, inexpensive, simple steps as a means of kicking your calories to the curb!