Eating A LOT of Food with Little Consequences

Recently, I’ve been hearing many people complain about the weight they’ve gained this summer. Initially, it might be surprising to hear that it is quite common to pack on the pounds during the summer. If you think about it, all spring long people are working hard to get “bikini ready” and the weather is so nice and it stays lighter longer, so people are much more active, so you would think if anything people would easily lose weight in the summer. Then you think back to all those barbecues, alcohol, and ice cream you indulged in on a weekly (let’s be real, the ice cream was probably nightly) basis. And if you had any trips to the boardwalk, forget it! Funnel cake, pizza, fries, sugary sodas and lemonades…is there even a morsel of healthy food on the boardwalk? So, if you are looking to drop some of those summer pounds, (ya know, before you pack on the holiday pounds LOL) but don’t want to count calories or go on a “diet” per se, then read below for some very filling, high “volume food” that will fill up your belly without weighing you down! All the foods below (hello veggies!!) are low calorie so you can eat LOTS of them (“volume” food), AND they just happen to be low carb, dairy and gluten free.

Spaghetti Squash

This is one of my favorite go-to foods when a client is eating low calorie or low carb but is dying for pasta. Pasta has 158 calories, compared to only 27 in spaghetti squash, per ¾ cup serving. Spaghetti squash has 7 grams of carbohydrates; pasta has 31 grams.

Tofu Shiratake Noodles

These noodle substitutes are made of, you guessed it, tofu. You can eat the WHOLE BAG for 20 calories! This traditional Japanese food is great for Asian-inspired dishes as opposed to using carb-heavy rice or Lo Mein noodles.

Riced Cauliflower

This trending vegetable is a great substitute for rice. And life just got easier, as many companies like Green Giant are now offering frozen riced cauliflower and other veggies. Cauliflower has 25 calories and 5g of carbohydrates per cup vs. 218 calories and 46g of carbohydrates for a cup of cooked brown rice. Click here to read my post on Green Giant Riced Cauliflower: http://eatyourheartoutedibles.com/easy-way-riced-cauliflower/

Carrot Mash

Ditch the potatoes and use carrots, or cauliflower, or another root vegetable or mix up a few. Nowadays there are so many recipes for mashed veggie dishes, that you literally never have to eat a potato again and still get your mashed potato filling. Potatoes are high in carbs and have a high glycemic index.

Sweet Treats

While I love, love, love my veggies, I can’t live without something sweet. Fortunately, I’ve come up with a few volume food sweet treats of my own. Check them out:

Healthy Raw Cookie Dough Snack: