Making your parents think you’re eating a large meal while not consuming a ton of calories is difficult. I’ve certainly been there plenty of times. I’m lucky and live on my own, but I would like to offer help to those who are struggling. So here are some tips/tricks for making it look like you're consuming a lot of calories when you’re really not:
1. Salad is the key. You can make an absolutely huge salad for less than 100 calories. I’ve cut up and weighed a romaine lettuce heart and found out that the package lies. Generally, three hearts of romaine lettuce contain only 45-50 calories by weight (the most accurate measurement). Add a whole package of mushrooms on top (30 calories), a bit of bell pepper (1/4 is only 10 calories), and a squeeze of lemon (5 calories) or salt and you have a MASSIVE salad for 100 calories. You could also dress the salad up with your favourite low cal dressing.
2. Some parents will say that a salad isn’t enough. Add in a cup or two of broth. It’s easy to find fat free vegan-or-omnivore broth anywhere. You could also purchase the cubes, if you prefer. That should only add 10-15 calories. Put it in an opaque (something you can’t see through) container or thermos, and your parent won’t know if it’s tomato soup or chicken noodle or, what it really is, broth.
3. If you want to go a step further to trick your parents into thinking you’re consuming even more calories, buy a single serving bottle of orange juice. When you get home, pour out the real orange juice and replace it with orange crystal light (or the generic equivalent. I used to prefer the generic kind, oddly). You could buy the on-the-go packets and stash them in your room. In general, a bottle of orange juice is 16 ounces/500 mL, so an on-the-go packet mixed with water will do nicely. You could also do this with bottles of other types of fruit juices. Take out the juice and add in the look-a-like (apple, lemonade, pink lemonade, and everything in between).
4. If you want to make a sandwich instead of a salad, it’s quite easy to do that for under 100 calories. Low calorie bread (80 calories for two slices) + lots of veg (tomato, lettuce, etc.), and low calorie condiments (fat free mayo, mustard, or even ketchup if you’re into it). Pile up the lettuce leaves and your parents probably won’t look too closely for what high calorie thing could be in between the leaves. However, if you need to go for the full on trickery, vegan “meats” are the best choice for the lowest calories. Morningstar Farms makes a lot of good options (chicken strips that aren’t too high in cals, and delicious vegan bacon for a great low-cal BLT), but you won’t get a sandwich for under 100 calories. However, it may end up equaling 150 calories, which isn’t too bad. It’s pretty easy to find Morningstar Farm’s foods at most Walmart grocery locations.
5. If you need to make your parents think you’re eating normally, think of the things that you love and that they regularly see/saw you eat. If you love crisps/chips, a few popchips or fat-free pringles are good options for a part of your meal (popchips are easy to find at Super Target and are quite yummy). If you like chocolate, just get some individually wrapped chocolates and eat one with your meal. Just make it look like you still enjoy eating your normal foods. It can be difficult if these foods trigger binges, but sometimes to make it seem like you eat normal, you have to “bite the bullet” and distract yourself afterward so you don’t binge. Tricking your parents is like a game of “smoke and mirrors”.
6. Bags of frozen vegetables are amazing. A whole bag of frozen cauliflower or broccoli can be anywhere from 80-125 calories. Just spray a pan, pop the bag of veg in the pan, and add some Mrs. Dash or other spices you enjoy (very few calories are added that way). A steamer is always a plus to have, but not everyone owns a steamer. This is a great way to bulk up your "soup" and juice meal.
7. Shirataki pasta. Don't be afraid of it. It's excellent for making pasta dishes for under 100 calories. Hungry Girl has some great recipes that involve Shirataki tofu pasta. It tastes good if you prepare it correctly and there are only 20 or 40 calories in a whole bag of the stuff (I haven't eaten Shirataki in a while). You can find some excellent low cal recipes at www.hungry-girl.com. Definitely check that out. Search Shirataki and you're bound to find the recipes. You can usually find it in your grocery store right by the tofu. Super Target and other various grocery stores carry it.
I hope these tips were helpful. I apologize for not posting for a while. I had a biology breakdown, but luckily I did well in the class. I’m also slowly trying to get over my 8-10 pound loss plateau. It’ll probably have to involve a day where I eat 1,500 calories and then a week of lemon juice fasting. That helps me get over a plateau sometimes. I have to shock my body into it.
- James
P.S. Feel free to post any other trickery tips below. I’d love for this list to be as comprehensive as possible.
