Brussels sprouts as a garnish
Brussels sprouts as a garnish
A great idea to cut calories is to garnish Brussels sprouts or other vegetables instead of potatoes. And if you want to incorporate the cabbages into a stew, it is better to cook them a little before adding them to the cooking water.
Bake the empanadas instead of frying them
Bake the empanadas instead of frying them
To lower the calories of a breaded meat like these breaded chicken tenderloins, you can roast it in the oven instead of frying it in oil, after bathing it in egg and passing it in breadcrumbs. The fat content is lower, and the result is a lighter and equally tasty breading.
Mussels as a meat substitute
Mussels as a meat substitute
Mussels have more iron than meat, making it an excellent food to prevent anemia. They are also rich in magnesium, which combats decay. And its caloric intake as well as its fat and cholesterol content is very low. So they make great substitutes for meat.
Legumes with vegetables
Legumes with vegetables
Legumes can be served as a nutritious single dish accompanied by greens and vegetables, and without the need to add meat because they already have protein. Depending on the time of year, you can make them stewed or in a salad with all the fresh vegetables. So you have a version for winter and summer.
Trim fat from French fries
Trim fat from French fries
One trick to lightening the fries is to boil or steam them with the skin on. Then, cut them into quarters, and fry them for a couple of minutes in very hot oil. As they are already cooked, they do not need much frying and absorb less oil. And if, in addition, you leave them on kitchen paper before serving, you will save even more fat.
Combine pasta with vegetables
Combine pasta with vegetables
Most diets limit the serving of pasta to 50 grams. If you want to deceive the eye and not get the feeling that you eat very little, you can combine it with vegetables as in this noodle and vegetable soup. Or cut carrot, bell pepper, zucchini and onion into noodle-sized sticks and sauté them all in the wok. This will give you the feeling that there are more noodles.
One yolk for every two whites
One yolk for every two whites
Whenever an egg has to be incorporated in a recipe, you can lighten it by following the rule of for every two whites, one single yolk. Thus you dispense with the most caloric part of the egg. The white is only composed of water and proteins.
Team up with mushrooms
Team up with mushrooms
Mushrooms and other mushrooms have very few calories and, instead, a lot of water and fiber (100 grams only provide 15 calories). For this reason, they are very satisfying and ideal as a side dish, the main ingredient of a filling, and as a substitute for potatoes to lighten purees and creams. Another idea is to cut them into thin slices and make a mushroom carpaccio accompanied with a tomato tartare.
Low calorie broths
Low calorie broths
A couple of ideas for lowering poultry or meat broths is to use fat-free, skinless breast instead of other, greasier parts of the chicken. Or a ham bone instead of meat or bacon. The bone provides a lot of flavor and little fat. And it also saves you from having to add salt to the broth.
Clams to lighten the paste
Clams to lighten the paste
Another trick to make pastry dishes more popular is to add a full-bodied accompaniment with few calories, as is the case with clams and other mollusks. To accompany a plate of spaghetti, for example, you can add some steamed clams that provide a lot of protein and few calories.
See recipe for Spaghetti with prawns and clams.
In order not to give up in the fourth week of #RetoClara, and lose weight as Laura (one of the Clara.es dream team colleagues) has done, nothing better than the 10 tricks to cook with fewer calories that you have in the image gallery .
From Brussels sprouts as a garnish instead of potatoes to baking the breaded instead of frying, to 8 more tricks. A super useful tool to keep track of this last week's menu and your shopping list.
Keep in mind that one of the fundamental principles to lose weight is to follow a low-calorie diet that is easy to follow without leaving you hungry, like the one that Dr. M.ª Isabel Beltrán, our private nutritionist, has prepared for the weekly challenge menus .
