Greens: A Natural Low Calorie Food

Reducing Daily Caloric Intake with Greens

If you are trying to reduce the amount of daily calories in your diet, adding greens is an excellent and easy way to do just that. You don't have to eat salad all day long to limit your caloric intake; how boring is that? You also don't want to compromise your nutrition either when you lower your daily calories. Adding greens to your dishes is a great way to keep your meals nutrient-dense while reducing calories at the same time!

I'll be honest, I find salad quite boring, unfulfilling, lacking flavor nor do they fill me up as a stand alone dish. It's no wonder people fail at diets if they constantly use salads as their go-to dish! We aren't rabbits after all! So, how can one utilize leafy greens into a dish without compromising taste, satiation, and good ol' plain fun and enjoyment that goes along with food? Here are some suggestions on adding more greens to your diet and lowering your empty calorie intake (ie: that bread maybe!).

• Mexican Food. Can't deny that it's high in calories, low in greens but it doesn't have to be that way. Nix that tortilla with your next burrito and order a burrito bowl instead. It's everything a burrito has to offer without the tortilla. Then, add a nice handful of leafy greens such as lettuce and/or cilantro. It'll only add a few more calories but it will add so many more vitamins to that Mexican dish!

• Soups. Keep frozen spinach or kale in the freezer at all times. Either buy it frozen or buy it fresh (ideal) and wash, chop, and freeze yourself. When you are making your soup, add a handful of it to the pot and voila! You've only added a few calories yet an amazing amount of vitamins and minerals!

• Deconstructed sandwich or hamburger. Bread is full of empty, and filling calories. A bun can be 150-300 calories alone! Nix the bun and chop up your grilled chicken, toss on a bed of lettuce, maybe an avocado, bell pepper, red onion, whatever you like in sandwiches, Add some grated cheese, to if you'd like. or a little dressing and voila! Your 500 calorie sandwich is now maybe half that yet has more vitamins in it than it would with a bun.

• Eggs in the morning are a great way for many to start their day. Add a little chopped spinach or kale to your egg scramble is an easy way to sneak in a bit of extra vitamins without the calories!

• For you salad lovers: mix it up! Don't have the same type of lettuce all the time with your salads, that can get boring after a while. Add a lot of cilantro to one with some fresh corn and bell pepper to make it a Mexican-style salad. A nice leafy green lettuce with olives and feta is another great and common salad to have. Romaine lettuce is classic for a Caesar salad and add chicken for that protein we all need. Don't stick to the same type of lettuce all the time because all leafy greens have their different vitamins!

  
  

Don't feel like you have to have a salad just to eat your greens. I haven't had a salad in years and while I could definitely stand to eat more greens, by incorporating them into my dishes instead, I do pretty well getting the necessary intake of them.