creativelowcal

[creativelowcal]

Spicy Breakfast Hash

Spicy Breakfast Hash:

1 medium potato – 100 calories - $0.75 or less

1-3 jalapenos – 0 calories - $0.25 or less

1 serving low-fat ham – 50 calories - $4.00 for 9oz, 4.5 servings per package, $0.89

               (packaged cold cut ham)

2 large eggs – 70 calories each, 140 calories - $1.25 per 12, $0.22 for two eggs

2 slices sharp cheddar cheese – 80 calories each, 160 calories - $3.00 for 11 slices, $0.55 for 2 slices

1 tablespoon milk* – 150 calories per cup (whole), 16 tablespoons per cup, under 10 calories per serving

Canola Cooking Spray* – 0 calories

Garlic powder, Salt, Pepper* – 0 calories

*The price for these ingredients is so insignificant there is no point for me to list them. They are common household staples and also optional for this meal.

I use pre-sliced cheese for portion control. Cheese is a weakness of mine so I find it very hard to stay within a serving size. Sliced cheese is already portioned out for me.

 Total cost: $2.66

Total caloric value: 460 calories

 Prepare your ingredients:

I’m going to start out by saying that potatoes are a pain in the butt to cook. I have burned many and have eaten even more of them raw. I finally found a trick for potatoes that works beautifully for me. I didn’t figure this out on my own, but I also forget who taught me the trick, so to whoever I’m plagiarizing: I apologize.

Bake your potato in the microwave before cutting it up. Stab it with a fork a few times and put it in the microwave. Most microwaves have a “potato” button. If not, put it in for 3 minutes. Let it cook and cool down then slice it into your desired shape for your hash.

Cut your jalapenos, ham, and cheese slices into pieces similar in size to your potato pieces.

Crack your eggs into a bowl or cup and add the milk. Whisk with a fork until mixed thoroughly and fluffy. Add part of your seasonings to the eggs and whisk them in.

  Cook your ingredients: 

Preheat a medium sized skillet/frying pan to medium-high. After heated, spray with the cooking spray.

Add your jalapenos and ham to the pan. Cook them until the jalapenos are soft and the ham is crispy.

Add your potato slices to the skillet and cook until the potatoes are slightly browned. If you microwaved your potato ahead of time it is already cooked enough to eat, so this is just to give it texture. Add the rest of the seasonings to the skillet at this point and mix everything thoroughly.

Add a tablespoon or two of water periodically to the skillet at any point in the previous steps if you feel your food is becoming too dry. This helps to avoid burning your food.

Once the ham, jalapenos, and potatoes are cooked to your liking, turn the heat to medium.

Add the eggs to the skillet and put the cheese on top. Let the eggs cook until they look done around the edges of the pan and the cheese is slightly melted. Fold the edges of the egg into the center repeatedly until there is no more raw egg and the cheese is melted.

Plate the hash however you like and enjoy!

 Make it your own:

This does not need to be spicy. You can easily replace the jalapenos with bell peppers, onion, mushroom, or any veggie you desire. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less jalapenos or even a serrano or habanero pepper. You can also use pepper-jack cheese or any cheese that you desire. Or leave the cheese out and make it healthier! You can cook the eggs separately in any style you like. Add ketchup for 20 calories per serving or hot sauce for 0 calories (but a ton of sodium!) You can experiment with the seasonings. Garlic, salt and pepper are just my favorites because they keep it simple so I can enjoy the taste of the food itself.

You can make this vegetarian by leaving the ham out. You can make it vegan by leaving the ham, eggs, milk, and cheese out and instead making a hash of potatoes, peppers, onions, and veggies. (I may dedicate another post to a vegan hash because it is a favorite of mine!)

[creativelowcal]

Diet Milkshakes to Die for!

I’ve found that making custom diet shakes helps me keep my caloric intake low while feeling like I’m drinking milkshakes. Didn’t we all dream as children to have ice cream and milkshakes for breakfast or lunch? Well now you can!

I use the Slim-Fast brand powders. I never get the premade shakes because they limit my creativity too much. You can use any protein or diet shake powder. I like how Slim-Fast tastes. They’re a bit sweeter than others but that of course means they are a bit higher in sugar than other brands. Find one that works best for you!

I am lactose intolerant so I often opt for lactose free milk when I want the taste of actual milk. I get store brand generic versions of Lactaid. I can never taste the difference and the price is usually at least a dollar or two better per carton.

However, for my diet shakes I have found that using a nut milk works perfectly fine. The taste is similar regardless of what you use as your milk. The benefit for using nut milks for me is the caloric difference.

Fat-free lactose free milk has 90-110 calories per serving. Whole lactose free milk has 150-170.

Unsweetened original soy, almond, cashew, and oat milks all have 30 calories or less.

Again, generic brands are just as good as the name brands. If you want something extra indulgent you can get chocolate almond milk (I haven’t tried other chocolate nut milks) for 100 calories per serving.

These work as a meal replacement. I personally find that it keeps me full for a few hours. Results may vary.

I use one of those ninja cup things as my blender. It works fine. I literally just used whatever my roommate had in his kitchen. Any blender works for this.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake:

1 cup nut milk – 30 calories - $4 for 64 oz, 8oz per serving, 8 servings per carton, $0.50 per serving.

1 scoop chocolate Slim-Fast powder – 110 calories - $7 for 14 servings, $0.50 per serving.

1 tablespoon peanut butter – 100 calories - $2 for 26 tablespoons, under $0.08 per tablespoon.

Ice (Do I really need to break this one down?)

 Put the ingredients into the blender, ice first, then milk, then the powder, then the scoop of peanut butter. Add more ice for a thicker shake, less for a thinner one. You can leave ice out entirely if you prefer more of a drink than a milkshake.

Blend the ingredients together until the ice is entirely crushed.

Pour it in a cup and enjoy!

 Total cost: $1.08

Total caloric value: 240 calories

Tastes like drinking Reese’s!

 Double Chocolate Shake:

1 cup chocolate almond milk – 100 calories - $4 for 64 oz, 8oz per serving, 8 servings per carton, $0.50 per serving.

1 scoop chocolate Slim-Fast powder – 110 calories - $7 for 14 servings, $0.50 per serving.

Ice

Put the ingredients into the blender, ice first, then milk, then the powder. Add more ice for a thicker shake, less for a thinner one. You can leave ice out entirely if you prefer more of a drink than a milkshake.

Blend the ingredients together until the ice is entirely crushed.

Pour it in a cup and enjoy!

Total cost: $1.00

Total caloric value: 210 calories

Great for satisfying that chocolate craving!

 Honey Vanilla Shake:

1 cup almond milk – 30 calories - $4 for 64 oz, 8oz per serving, 8 servings per carton, $0.50 per serving.

1 scoop vanilla Slim-Fast powder – 110 calories - $7 for 14 servings, $0.50 per serving.

1 tablespoon honey – 60 calories - $8 for 43 servings, roughly $0.19 per serving.

Ice

Honey and ice do not like each other. The honey will thicken and will not dissolve. Put the honey into the microwave for a short time, until it turns very thin. Mix the honey into the milk.

Put the ingredients into the blender, ice first, then the milk and honey mixture, then the powder. Add more ice for a thicker shake, less for a thinner one. You can leave ice out entirely if you prefer more of a drink than a milkshake.

Blend the ingredients together until the ice is entirely crushed.

Pour it in a cup and enjoy!

 Total cost: $1.19

Total caloric value: 200 calories

Milk and honey is a flavor that I can’t get enough of!

  Make it your own:

These are just a few examples of the different creative recipes you can make from diet shake mixes. You can put peanut butter with the vanilla powder and have a peanut butter shake without chocolate. You can add peppermint extract and have a delicious minty or chocolate minty shake! Almost any dessert craving can be satisfied for only a small fraction of the calories that a normal milkshake will give you. Plus, it’s a meal replacement shake that keeps you fuller for longer!

[creativelowcal]

Introduction

Hello all! I’ve decided to put a little introduction to outline the details and goals of this Tumblr blog. 

I would like to start by saying that I am not a healthcare professional nor am I a dietitian. Always consult your doctor before starting any low-calorie diet.

I also am not a professional chef. I am the daughter of one, however. My dad was a chef at a few local seafood restaurants in the town that I grew up in. He taught me a lot about how to cook and gave me my first chef’s knife at the age of 6. I do not claim, however, to be a 5-star chef by any means. Food is fun for me. I like getting creative with recipes. Cooking is both an art and a science and I am in love with both of those things.

I am a college student and work part time in the customer service industry to put myself through school. I have been chubby my entire life (likely a side effect of growing up in the kitchens of restaurants!) Recently I’ve had some rather alarming medical issues due to my obesity. I am 4’10” and have been bouncing around the 240lb mark as of late. It started when I pulled a muscle in my back. I was in so much pain that I could not walk and had to be escorted out of my college to the hospital. I was in bed recovering for a few days. At the same time, I contracted pneumonia. I felt entirely helpless laying in bed unable to move and barely able to breathe. That was when I decided it was time to make the lifestyle change. I’ve had enough of being unhealthy!

The doctor I was seeing highly suggested that I lose weight. I am a very unhealthy weight for my height and it is unsafe for me to be physically active at all. I had to quit my job as a cashier because of my illnesses. My weight was the main cause for the issues I’ve been having. For this reason, I am on a very low-calorie diet (about 1200-1400 a day, I wanted to do 1000 a day but it’s not healthy to go below 1200 for women.) I am still recovering from my injury and illness so I live a very sedentary lifestyle. Exercise is not part of my plan, yet. I am still at the beginning of my journey.

I figure I can just sit here and complain and be miserable while trying to lose weight… or I can make it fun for myself and enjoy life! I find writing to be therapeutic and love food. This blog is more for myself than it is for anyone else. I thought I’d just be upfront about that fact. I hope it helps others going through the same situation, but I need an outlet in order to stick with my plan. I am going to write down the recipes as I create them in my home kitchen. I don’t make something new every day so I don’t know how often I’ll post. I’ve been trying to do a fun recipe every week. 

Most of my recipes are budget friendly. I am a college student, after all! Some can be considered semi-homemade and others entirely from scratch. I will put the price breakdown (what I personally paid for everything) in each one as well as caloric values. I am not going to break down every nutritional fact of each recipe because I don’t have the patience for that. Again, just being honest. 

Many of my recipes are high in sodium. This is a problem I am still trying to figure out. I have a hard time enjoying food that isn’t salty in some way. Also a few things may not be the best when it comes to sugar. Caloric intake is my main focus here. I figure sugar and sodium are things that I can take risks with as long as it helps me stick to my diet plan. If I were to cut out sodium and sugar to the point that my food was bland and flavorless I guarantee I’ll be back to ordering fast food within a day!

The most important thing for success while dieting is finding something that works for you that you can stick to long-term. Everyone is different. There is no point in losing 40lbs from starving yourself just to gain 80 back from overeating as soon as you’re off your diet. Diets should promote long-term healthy habits!