Sauces

I often cook my chicken in a sauce, like salsa, butter chicken or mushroom soup. A little applesauce, fat free gravy or yogurt can also help the chicken down. I don't go near the higher fat sauces to protect my calorie budget.

I like the idea of cooking in sauces. To me, the extra flavor might be worth a few extra calories.

Just make sure you count them. Moist, tender meat is a LOT easier to get down, and sauces can make all the difference.

One of the things that really helps me is to making any leftovers into soup, since leftover dry meat tends to come back up. I roasted a chicken a few days ago, then made the bulk of it into a big pot of Fridge Soup. (whatever's in the fridge that needs eating) We eat a lot of yummy homemade soups.

How do soups work after the sleeve? Not too much liquid?

I make what my husband calls "stoups" with lots of chicken, beans and veg in broth. (Closer to the consistency of chili than tinned soup) I find a cup of soup fills me nicely and digests well. (1/2 cup if I serve it with toast) Yes, it empties from my sleeve faster than dense protein like chicken, but I don't eat again until my next planned meal or snack time anyway.

A funny thing is that you're going to hear 2 camps. One saying that soup is bad - too much liquid, not satisfying, and even the " drink the broth, wait 20 minutes, then eat the solids" camp. The other camp says that soup is your best friend when eating out, since it's easy to find and is unlikely to come back up. Those people will rave about Elina's soup recipes.

I'm closer to the second camp and really enjoy homemade, hearty soups made with simple, wholesome ingredients. I avoid tinned soup, because it's mostly empty, high sodium, unsatisfying calories. I do sometimes order soup when out - leaving any noodles behind because Fred insists they're made of lead. I don't count on those soups to provide much in the way of protein, but rather plan to fulfill that need at my other meals.

That sounds like a very balanced approach. I used to think that soups were only a side dish to steak! But, recently I have enjoyed them and see a way to be very creative with food preparation.

You got some great suggestions here.  I use hot sauces, greek yogurt mostly myself.  You can also find those low cal/low carb salad dressings like Marie's or that other brand which the name escapes me right now.  They aren't perfect but if used in small amounts and moderation, you could probably use those!

Thanks. I will look into those dressings. I use a yogurt based dressing; but my favorite is a home made that uses Dukes Mayo as a base. Probably a bit high in fat; but it has no sugar in it.

try experimenting with greek yogurt as a base!  The World According to Eggface has many many greek yogurt "dressing" type recipes.  You just have to dig a little.

Thanks. I'll check that out.