Have you ever heard the saying “Breakfast like a Queen, Lunch like a Princess, Dinner like a Peasant”?  Most people are on the go all day long, and often times, this means skipping meals, sometimes all the way until dinner. Then what happens? Over indulging at night because your body is starving! 

Make an effort to eat the opposite way with a larger breakfast and gradually decreasing the size of your meals as the day comes to a close. Use these tips from eatingwell.com to shave a few extra calories off your dinner.

1. Use a Nonstick Skillet

Cooking oil does a terrific job of preventing foods from sticking to the pan. It also does a terrific job at making your pants not fit. So in order to use less of it, consider using a nonstick pan. The smooth nonporous surface makes it harder for foods to stick and burn. You only need a tablespoon of oil to brown chicken in a nonstick pan. Just one small word of caution: nonstick pans get their nonstickness from perfluorocarbons (PFCs), chemicals that are linked to liver damage and developmental problems. But who needs their liver or their brain if they look good in skinny jeans? Just kidding. You can avoid exposure to PFCs if you take care not to scratch the surface of the pan and don’t use it over very high heat. Or purchase a “green” or “eco-friendly” pan that’s made without PFCs.

Calorie Savings: 124 calories


 2. Eat More Vegetables
Before you get too excited about French fries technically being considered a “vegetable,” let me clarify: adding certain vegetables to your meal can help you cut calories. I’m talking about nonstarchy veggies like leafy greens, peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. They add bulk to your meal without adding too many calories.

You’ll also get a healthy dose of fiber, which will help you feel satisfied. And don’t think that adding two puny florets of broccoli to your plate will help you drop two dress sizes in a week. Be aggressive with your veggie intake. Add a lot, and subtract more calorie-dense foods. Here’s a scenario: Want 2 cups of pasta? Try mixing 1 cup cooked pasta with 1 cup cooked shredded cabbage. Slather with your regular amount of sauce.

Calorie Savings: 150 calories


 3. Measure—Don’t Eyeball—When You’re Cooking

When you’re baking, you dutifully measure all your ingredients, but when you’re cooking dinner, you take a more casual approach and the measuring equipment tends to stay in the drawer. It’s like you “just know” what a tablespoon of oil looks like spread out over a 12-inch skillet. But you don’t really, and that’s the problem. The difference between 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons is about 100 calories. So it would behoove you to measure it out. And while you’re at it, you might as well measure what you’re putting on your plate too. Ever seen what an actual “serving” of pasta is? It’s about 1 cup. Pretty humbling.

Calorie Savings: 100 calories

4. Consider Soup 


Soup is one of those magical meals that deliver volume without a ton of calories. (As long as you avoid the cream-laden versions!) It’s mostly water, which fills you up when you eat. And if you’re depressed about shrunken portion sizes, soup can perk you up. Even a generous bowl of soup can be relatively low-cal as long as you stick to recipes that use broth, plenty of veggies and lean meats.

Calorie Savings: 115 calories


5. Trim the Fat from Your Meat


This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are a million ways to trim fat to slim down dinner. Or at least three ways. Choose lean cuts of meat like sirloin steak or boneless, skinless chicken breast. There may be just a little fat to trim in the first place. If you’re cooking fattier cuts of meat like pork shoulder or bacon, it may be harder to trim all (or any) of the fat before it hits the pan. But as the fat is melting, spoon some of it out of the pan so it doesn’t make it to your plate. And don’t forget, skin on chicken and turkey is a big source of fat and calories, so getting rid of it before or after cooking is always a good idea.

Calorie Savings: 51 calories

© 2012 Inspired Living, LLC

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Keri Murphy and the Inspired Living team is on a mission to empower people to use their unique talents in a way that allows them to Dream, Live and BE all that is possible through speaking, coaching, celebrity interviews and original on-line content. Get Inspired at inspiredliving.tv