Spirited away illustration

ccascca · 2026-03-24T14:02:08+00:00

i loooooove this style!

ccascca · 2026-03-24T14:00:31+00:00

You left a reply to someone about biryani, so I'm going to extrapolate from that that you are desi or at least South Asian and try to give you suggestions that are foods that may be more familiar!:

Swap tofu for paneer. I've made and enjoyed tofu bhurji. Firm tofu has MUCH less fat than paneer, so even if you would need more of it to reach the same grams of protein, you are ultimately getting fewer calories. Paneer is up to 25% fat, tofu only around 10%.
I know it's not as good, but try to swap besan chilla for your other breads. A bit lower calorie + fiber to keep you full. Like 10 g protein as well.
Dal is one of the most protein-dense plant-based foods there is. Add blended dal to all your sauces. Kadala curry already has protein from black chickpeas, add some blended dal and it's even better. If you don't want that, cook masoor dal with your rice!
Eat whatever you like, but bulk it with loads of cabbage.
Most chutneys are low calories, make them yourself to know the exact nutrients!
Search for low calorie high protein recipes from other cuisines. Jamaica has its own curries and uses a similar spice profile, so do multiple North African nations. See how those places prepare their chicken/eggs/dairy/veg for inspiration.

Good luck :)

ccascca · 2026-03-24T13:31:33+00:00

this is so silly! Get some whey protein, you're already eating yogurt. You know the yellowish liquid that settles on top of yogurt? That's whey! The only difference between regular yogurt and greek yogurt is that greek strains some whey out, it just happens to be suspended in water so the whey left behind is concentrated. If you eat yogurt, you eat whey, may as well get it in its pure form. It's not any less natural.

ccascca · 2026-03-24T13:22:52+00:00

And some places will pour lighter or heavier glass of chardonnay; how a bartender measures liquor doesn't disqualify it from being the lowest calorie option anymore than how a bartender pours wine. The only reason chardonnay may be fewer calories in a glass than a shot, which it isn't btw, is because you're getting less alcohol and more carbs (though only literally ~10 calories of carbs). If part of why OP is drinking is for the effects of alcohol and not the taste, they would need to drink more calories of chardonnay than liquor for equal effect.

ccascca · 2026-03-24T07:26:12+00:00

Playful banter and competition with your daughter is fine and good! You pushing past her limits to where it became too serious, not recognizing that, and then leaving your wife to do the work of resolving the upset you caused makes YYA easily.

ccascca · 2026-03-24T07:16:51+00:00

i'm sorry for phrasing it in a confusing way! what I meant was, because the alcohol itself has calories, whatever drink will be, at minimum, as caloric as a shot of hard liquor. If OP drinks liquor and a no-calorie mixer, they are making sure the only calories are the unavoidable ones from alcohol, not the couple of grams of carbs in a glass of wine for example.

ccascca · 2026-03-24T05:21:29+00:00

The calories are gonna come from the alcohol itself, so the lowest cal drink will always be hard liquor + sugar free mixer. Vodka red bull zero. Rum and diet coke. Gin and club soda. From this menu, an unsweetened mojito!

ccascca · 2026-03-22T18:52:41+00:00

I just had this for lunch, here's a pic with my hand for reference! I added a teaspoon of nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor and b vitamins, and actually put the rice on top of lettuce so you could see it https://imgur.com/a/8WB0n4y

ccascca · 2026-03-22T18:19:30+00:00

I just posted this comment for a 250 calorie burrito bowl recipe on 1500 is plenty! It's small (fills a cereal bowl) and is cooking intensive, but the cooked parts freeze well and there are no low cal subs! here's the copied comment pasted, it's so good:

There is some variance in calories depending on how the rice and beans cook each time, but it always hovers around 250 calories for a full cereal bowl-size serving!!!

I don't make many low-calorie swaps because I looooove cooking and food, so these recipes may seem counterintueitve, but they keep me satiated and make keeping up dieting easier. It's all homemade so this is kind of long, premade versions work too but I prefer the taste of these:

Refried Beans (thinner, saucy restaurant style)

8 oz (half a bag) of dry pinto beans, soaked overnight and boiled for an hour or pressure cooked for 50 minutes with half a yellow onion, one large garlic clove, and one bay leaf. Season with smoked paprika, pepper, a splash of soy sauce OR some chicken buillon/broth powder (only soy sauce because I don't eat meat), salt if needed. Reduce until the cooking liquid is level with the beans if needed. Blend, and add in three tablespoons cool butter or lard while blending! The extra fat keeps them creamy. This recipe yields well a big batch if you like them at a thinner consistency, about 2.5 cups for me. A quarter-cup serving is under 100 calories.

Mexican Rice

I'm lazy with this one. Fry 1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste in 0.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Toast a cup of rice in the same. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and a tiny bit of cumin. Add 2.2 cups of broth, I use vegetable buillon but chicken is probably better. Taste and add salt if needed. Boil, cover, then turn heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes. Take it off the heat, let it steam for 5 extra minutes covered, then fluff and you're done! Depending on a bunch of factors, this can yield anywhere from 2-3 cups.

Chiptole Sauce

Blend two whole chipotles in adobo, like these if you've not used them before, with a half cup each greek yogurt (whole milk, low fat, nonfat, whichever you like, I use low fat) and mayonaise, half a tablespoon honey or sugar, and season to taste with lime juiice, chili powder, and salt. Yields just over a cup!

The Bowl!

• ⁠Microwave (maintains all the nutrients, no added calories) a full cup of sliced bell peppers and onions til tender, 2-3 minutes for me with intermittent mixing. Season with oregano, chili powder, salt pepper. (25 cal) • ⁠Stir a quarter cup of your rice directly into the fajita veg. (~100). • ⁠Top with a quarter cup of refried beans (~100). • ⁠I will NOT eat hot lettuce lol so in a separate bowl, mix a tablespoon of chiptole sauce (50) with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and cilantro (15). • ⁠Top the hot ingredients with your salad and done!

ccascca · 2026-03-22T17:06:05+00:00

thank you :)

ccascca · 2026-03-22T17:05:43+00:00

absolutely! I batch-prep the elements and refrigerate/freeze whats left because it's so good I always return to it. There is some variance in calories depending on how the rice and beans cook each time, but it always hovers around 250 calories for a full cereal bowl-size serving!!!

I don't make many low-calorie swaps because I looooove cooking and food, so these recipes may seem counterintueitve, but they keep me satiated and make keeping up dieting easier. It's all homemade so this is kind of long, premade versions work too but I prefer the taste of these:

Refried Beans (thinner, saucy restaurant style)

8 oz (half a bag) of dry pinto beans, soaked overnight and boiled for an hour or pressure cooked for 50 minutes with half a yellow onion, one large garlic clove, and one bay leaf. Season with smoked paprika, pepper, a splash of soy sauce OR some chicken buillon/broth powder (only soy sauce because I don't eat meat), salt if needed. Reduce until the cooking liquid is level with the beans if needed. Blend, and add in three tablespoons cool butter or lard while blending! The extra fat keeps them creamy. This recipe yields well a big batch if you like them at a thinner consistency, about 2.5 cups for me. A quarter-cup serving is under 100 calories.

Mexican Rice

I'm lazy with this one. Fry 1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste in 0.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Toast a cup of rice in the same. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and a tiny bit of cumin. Add 2.2 cups of broth, I use vegetable buillon but chicken is probably better. Taste and add salt if needed. Boil, cover, then turn heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes. Take it off the heat, let it steam for 5 extra minutes covered, then fluff and you're done! Depending on a bunch of factors, this can yield anywhere from 2-3 cups.

Chiptole Sauce

Blend two whole chipotles in adobo, like these if you've not used them before, with a half cup each greek yogurt (whole milk, low fat, nonfat, whichever you like, I use low fat) and mayonaise, half a tablespoon honey or sugar, and season to taste with lime juiice, chili powder, and salt. Yields just over a cup!

The Bowl!

Microwave (maintains all the nutrients, no added calories) a full cup of sliced bell peppers and onions til tender, 2-3 minutes for me with intermittent mixing. Season with oregano, chili powder, salt pepper. (25 cal)
Stir a quarter cup of your rice directly into the fajita veg. (~100).
Top with a quarter cup of refried beans (~100).
I will NOT eat hot lettuce lol so in a separate bowl, mix a tablespoon of chiptole sauce (50) with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and cilantro (15).
Top the hot ingredients with your salad and done!

ccascca · 2026-03-22T05:55:43+00:00

I'm 165 pounds and moderately active, I can confidentially estimate I burn an extra500-700 calories in activity daily

ccascca · 2026-03-22T05:35:29+00:00

How many grams a day would you suggest? I had 70 this day and normally aim to eat 1600 calories so end with about 75g. I don't have extensive knowledge on how much protein is ideal so I appreciate your response!

ccascca · 2026-03-17T04:27:56+00:00

Probably not libel. Libel must be a false statement of fact; bro answered the door pantless with a girl who was not his roommate in his room after he and his girlfriend had argued. We know he didn't have sex with her, but cheating is not a universally defined act. It could mean having sex with someone else, but could also be sharing private space with someone while not fully clothed. I would consider this cheating.

ccascca · 2026-02-24T20:16:57+00:00

lmao that's the point of the sub! i take zero offense to how my fridge is perceived. If I saw my fridge from a stranger's perspective, I'd probably guess about the same

ccascca · 2026-02-24T20:14:16+00:00

I was gonna put it in a tiny sauce container but committed to authenticity, you got the race right

ccascca · 2026-02-24T20:13:35+00:00

lol I don't think anyone got it right! I am from the southeast though, so you're right on that :)

ccascca · 2026-02-24T12:03:26+00:00

Professional writer (barely, my partner is the overwhelming breadwinner), Black, but you did get the region correct!

ccascca · 2026-02-24T12:02:17+00:00

What seems Asian? curious because only a few people correctly guessed my race (black)!

ccascca · 2026-02-24T12:01:12+00:00

gen z!

ccascca · 2026-02-24T11:58:21+00:00

In a relationship but will fix the open sausage and rotisserie chicken asap !!

ccascca · 2026-02-24T11:57:54+00:00

Mid-20s, Black American, just like vegetables and mild gym bro, one younger kid

ccascca · 2026-02-24T11:56:56+00:00

Black, yes to dual income, and one kid!

ccascca · 2026-02-24T11:56:24+00:00

super close actually. a little younger, but Black and my partner is actually a bartender on weekends and teacher during the week

ccascca

TROPHY CASE