| Breakfast |
Substitution |
Calories Reduced by |
| Top your cereal with low fat or fat-free milk instead of 2% or whole milk. |
1 cup of fat-free milk instead of 1 cup of whole milk |
63 |
| Use a non-stick pan and cooking spray (rather than butter) to scramble or fry eggs |
1 spray of cooking spray instead of 1 pat of butter |
34 |
| Choose reduced-calorie margarine spread for toast rather than butter or stick margarine. |
2 pats of reduced calorie margarine instead of 2 pats of butter |
36 |
| Lunch |
Substitution |
Calories Reduced by |
| Add more vegetables such as cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, and onions to a sandwich instead of extra meat or cheese. |
2 slices of tomatoes, ¼ cup of sliced cucumbers, and 2 slices of onions instead of an extra slice (3/4 ounce) of cheese and 2 slices (1 ounce) of ham |
154 |
| Accompany a sandwich with salad or fruit instead of chips or French fries. |
½ cup diced raw pineapple instead of 1 ounce bag of potato chips |
118 |
| Choose vegetable-based broth soups rather than cream- or meat-based soups. |
1 cup of vegetable soup instead of 1 cup cream of chicken soup |
45 |
| When eating a salad, dip your fork into dressing instead of pouring lots of dressing on the salad. |
½ TBSP of regular ranch salad dressing instead of 2 TBSP of regular ranch dressing |
109 |
| When eating out, substitute a broth-based soup or a green lettuce salad for French fries or chips as a side dish |
A side salad with a packet of low-fat vinaigrette dressing instead of a medium order of French fries |
270 |
| Dinner |
Substitution |
Calories Reduced by |
| Have steamed or grilled vegetables rather than those sautéed in butter or oil. Try lemon juice and herbs to flavor the vegetables. You can also sauté with non-stick cooking spray. |
½ cup steamed broccoli instead of ½ cup broccoli sautéed in 1/2 TBSP of vegetable oil. |
62 |
| Modify recipes to reduce the amount of fat and calories. For example, when making lasagna, use part-skim ricotta cheese instead of whole-milk ricotta cheese. Substitute shredded vegetables, such as carrots, zucchini, and spinach for some of the ground meat in lasagna. |
1 cup of part-skim ricotta cheese instead of 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese |
89 |
| When eating out, have a cocktail or dessert instead of both during the same eating occasion. |
Choosing one or the other saves you calories. A 12-ounce beer has about 153 calories. A slice of apple pie (1/6 of a 8? pie) has 277 calories. |
153 if you have the apple pie without the drink 277 if you have a drink and no pie. |
| When having pizza, choose vegetables as toppings and just a light sprinkling of cheese instead of fatty meats. |
One slice of a cheese pizza instead of one slice of a meat and cheese pizza |
60 |
| Snacks |
Substitution |
Calories Reduced by |
| Choose air-popped popcorn instead of oil-popped popcorn and dry-roasted instead of oil-roasted nuts. |
3 cups of air-popped popcorn instead of 3 cups of oil-popped popcorn |
73 |
| Avoid the vending machine by packing your own healthful snacks to bring to work. For example, consider vegetable sticks, fresh fruit, low fat or nonfat yogurt without added sugars, or a small handful of dry-roasted nuts. |
An eight-ounce container of no sugar added nonfat yogurt instead of a package of 6 peanut butter crackers |
82 |
| Choose sparkling water instead of sweetened drinks or alcoholic beverages. |
A bottle of carbonated water instead of a 12-ounce can of soda with sugar |
136 |
| Instead of cookies or other sweet snacks, have some fruit for a snack. |
One large orange instead of 3 chocolate sandwich cookies |
54 |
