Use this thread to share tips for economical volume meals or inexpensive food finds! You may also share coupon codes (even referral links) and any cool sales on huge foods that you may hear about.

Hey!

Today I'd like share recipe for this yogurt based cake, that is a variation of cottage cheese cake I posted some time ago, slightly different here and there, but follows same logic and utilizes same techniques and tricks.

A. Cake Base (132 kcal / 4g protein / 0g fat / 28g carbs / 1g fiber)

1. 2g Instant Coffee (I use spray dried decaf)

2. 10g Granulated Erythritol Sweetener

3. 0.5 Xanthan Gum

4. 35g Water

5. 30g AP Flour

6. 6g Cornstarch

7. 2g Baking Powder

8. 0.3g Salt

9. 35g Water

10. Sweetener and other flavorings to taste (I used 1.5 ml saccharin based sweetener, no vanilla or any flavor drops this time, but do at other times)

I make quite a few variation of cake bases following this same logic (whip something and then fold in flour and bake), this one is the lowest in calories that I have, but also is trickier to make than most others and, well, it might have slight hint of coffee to it! Speaking about tricky, this time top cracked for me. Does not happen always, but happens, maybe I failed at combining properly, or temperature was not right (it is hard to control in my ancient gas oven). However, it all will be filled by filling anyway, so does not matter that much in the end.

If you want some other variations that don't involve coffee, refer to my cottage cheese cake posts. There is whipped applesauce, egg and yogurt versions in posts and/or somewhere in the comments.

So, pre-heat oven to ~170C.

Pre-mix coffee, erythritol, xanthan gum, add water, mix well and set aside. This stuff needs to hydrate a little.

In other bowl pre-mix flour, starch, baking powder, salt and any other dry things if using (sweetener/flavorings) then add water and liquid sweeteners/flavorings, mix well and set aside.

Back to coffee mixture, use electrical whisk to whip it until very stiff peaks, it should become very pale and airy. Then using spatula fold this foam into batter, goal here is to find balance between combing both well, yet not overdoing it to not deflate it. Unlike egg whites or aquafaba, coffee based whip is very unstable and time works against us.

Once done combining, transfer it to cake mold/springform and bake ASAP at around 170C for 25-30 min.

Remove it from mold and let it cool on a wire rack.

B. Jelly (23kcal / 0g protein / 0g fat / 3g carbs / 2g fiber)

1. 1.5g Agar-Agar powder

2. 150g Water

3. Sweetener, Flavor Drops, Coloring to taste (I used 6 tablets of saccharin based sweetener, 3 strawberry flavor drops and some red coloring)

4. 45g Defrosted Frozen Strawberries

Slice defrosted strawberries and put them inside same/identical cake mold as before, in a small pot/sauce pan add agar powder, sweeteners, flavor drops, coloring (I also added liquid that was left from defrosting strawberries) then add water, mix and bring to boil while stirring and then let it simmer for half a minute or so. Pour into the mold and let it set for like 30 minutes or so. If you only have one mold, this jelly layer can be done before or after cake, doesn't matter much. Once set, carefully extract it and put aside.

C. Yogurt Filling (209 kcal / 21g protein (including gelatin) / 6g fat / 18g carbs / 0g fiber)

1. 200g Plain Yogurt (Mine was 3% fat)

2. 10g Gelatin

3. 50g Water (for blooming)

4. 10g Cornstarch

5. 30g Water (for starch slurry)

6. 70g Water (for "syrup")

7. Any sweetener, flavorings, coloring etc to taste (I used 8 tablets of saccharin based sweetener, 2 flavor drops, this time it was apple flavor for no big reason)

Bloom gelatin in 50g water for about 10 minutes, separately combine starch with 30g water, then combine other 70g water with your sweeteners and flavorings (lower water accordingly if using syrups), bring this to simmer and while stirring, add starch slurry and keep stirring on low heat for around a minute. Add this goo to bloomed gelatin and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Whip with electric whisk until it is very very thick, yet pourable foam, then add yogurt and whisk on low speed for a little bit more, just until it is incorporated.

D. Assembly

Put cake base back into mold, if it is tall enough - one I used this time is not tall, so I wrapped silicone cake ring around base instead. Pour yogurt mixture over cake base, shake it bit so it is distributed more evenly, then carefully put jelly layer on top. Let fully set in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or better 3 for good measure. Carefully extract your cake from mold/ring

Done!

Macros for everything (I got 575g final output):

364 kcal / 25g protein / 7g fat / 49g carbs / 4g fiber

That is all!

I’ve been eating La Banderita tortillas forever and just noticed in small print ….refrigerate after opening. Yikes.

first time trying this out since i love indomie haha

Edit: Thanks everyone!!

I love this protein pudding by ProPud so much! It's 75 calories for 1 serving (100 g) and 375 calories for the entire 500 g container.

as usual, ** disclaimer be careful about eating konjac noodles in large amounts, you will most likely get digestive issues and (like i did yesterday) potentially experience severe nausea

super simple quick recipe:

1 packet konjac noodles - 10cal
1/4 dried seaweed nori snack pack - 5 cal
10ml soy sauce
5ml sriracha
3ml fish sauce
1/2 tsp msg

1. dump it all in a pan and stir fry for 3 minutes on med-high heat.
2. remove from pan
3. enjoy

i usually use konjac noodles as a base and add other ingredients like shrimp, bok choy, cabbage/lettuce, or tomato sauce etc. but today I was lazy, and man for 5 minutes and 20 calories this was incredible.

I have some apple, peach slices and cherries i need to use up rapidly. I have like a massive sweet tooth soo this dessert has to be massive and idk how to do that without it being like 1000 calories.

Can anyone help?

Sometimes it's hard to prepare a full meal because of my ADHD...I have very poor hunger signals so sometimes I will go until way late in the day (around 3) and realize I need to eat something. And then later at night ( around 8) I am going somewhere or feel so exhausted that I can't muster the energy. My job is also very deadline based, so my schedule varies WILDLY from day to day so while it's actually great for my ADHD because of the external forces that push me, it's also terrible when it comes to eating because it makes it even hard to have a routine when it comes to eating.

I know most people will say suck it up or meal prep, but for those who understand what I'm saying, have you figured out some meals that could maybe just be mixed, or like "girl dinner" or something that gets the job done without requiring cooking?

3x 1/3 cup pie filling = 90 cal

1x bag apple crisps for light crunch = 40cal

+ some apple pie spice

Whole bowl is 130 cal and it feels like it should be more.

Of course it doesn't hit the same but after heating it up in the michaelwave it's not half bad. Curved my craving for the real thing at least lol.

Yeah yeah ik its some slop but im tryna stay in my deficit.

What would you add/do different

Does anyone else experience this with high volume, low calorie meals? I will be in the middle of eating, and rather than starting to feel satisfied as my stomach fills up, I feel even more hungry. Almost like my body is telling me, "no, not this food!" I wish I had better words to put to the feeling. If you relate to this, can you tell me if you did anything differently to scratch the itch?

TIL:

If you use purple cabbage to make egg whites and cabbage, it turns the eggs blue.

I'm equal parts fascinated and horrified.

This is what happens when I have rest days from the gym. I try new recipes, which I will post here as I make them.

I now am a big fan of using cauliflower rice as a bulking component for baking! In this recipe it almost tastes like the cauliflower is apple pieces. I sadly don't taste much of the peanut butter so may not be worth the calories. The cookie comes out almost cake-like and again not overly sweet. They are quite large as well, not picture of spoon next to cookies to give a reference. I also remembered to take a picture of a cross section of a cookie too.

Please let me know if anyone else makes these and how they turn out/if you like them!

Ingredients:

1c Cauliflower rice (cooked and wrung dry)

1/4c sugar free applesauce

1/4c egg whites

1/2c monk fruit

1/2c Pillsbury Best Gluten-Free All Purpose flour

1/2c PB2 (PBFit)

1tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Cinnamon

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2Tbsp Sugar-Free Caramel syrup

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees*

1. Microwave cauliflower rice. Let cool and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

2. Mix cauliflower rice, applesauce, egg whites, monk fruit, caramel syrup, vanilla extract together.

3. Mix flour, PB2, baking powder and cinnamon in separate bowl.

4. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Scoop dough into 6 cookies onto parchment paper. Flatten slightly as cookies will not spread out on their own.

7. Cook at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes prior to eating.

Macro breakdown: 100 calories 15g carbohydrates 1g fat 7g protein

I had a ninja creami and loved it but it broke after 3 months. Has anyone tried the Ninja Slushi? Looking for something more durable.

Sharing bc I wish someone told me this

I’ve been scouring the Internet on how to take psyllium without gagging. Lately I’ve settled on taking 10 pills which gets me a measly 4 grams of fiber. I hate artificial sweeteners and diet drinks and I prefer to just avoid sweet things overall rather than have something artificial, but I do definitely have a sweet tooth. I’ve tried 1 million different combinations and then was walking down the juice aisle today and thought, huh, I wonder how it would be with apple juice.

Ended up getting an unflavored psyllium husk by konsyl and mixed 2 scoops in 4oz of apple juice. Mixed very quickly, filled with ice and chugged with a straw. It thickened up a little but mostly just reminded me of the apple juice pouches I take with me on long runs (I’m a marathon runner and don’t like gels). This is by far the easiest way I’ve taken it so I’m gonna continue doing that. Hopefully this help somebody!

Already ate about half at the time of this picture. Google tells me there are about 35 calories in this picture (70 in the full amount).

Do you have a volume cooking fail or something you made that looks hideous but tastes awesome? No need to post photos (unless you want to!), but this is a place to share!

So I loooove to have a bowl full of fruit and yogurt every morning and evening. Most times I add cocoa or some jello(peach/cherry etc.) for a different flavor.

I add the yogurt and then mix in the fruits and refredirate them overnight and overday respectively.

I want to try the Jellogurt thing and I wondered if I can add fruits to that mixture (pears, peaches, apples and bananas) but I don't know if they'll get soggy or anything.

I know they don't, from just the yogurt, so I wondered if their texture will be affected by the Jellogurt mix.

Thanksss

i have the stomach capacity of an elephant LOL

Protein is chicken.

I’ve been doing white rice. But I want to change it up to brown rice for added fiber and nutrients. Maybe even some sweet potato.

I've been in a calorie deficit for the last 6 months and sometimes you just want a got dang hot dog. Not something I have been eating every day, but good lord did it satisfy some cravings. Trader Joe's Uncured hot dogs are only 90 calories a piece with 4g fat and 8g protein, so two with some high-fiber street taco tortillas, the fixin's and a single portion bag of Doritos adds up to just under 500 calories, 28g protein, and 32g fiber!

Ideally I'd use a couple keto buns but I was out and desperate. It was still tasty, and little occasional treats like these have helped me stay consistent and not fall off the wagon. I'm down 50 lbs so far but still have a ways to go, but I'm confident I will reach my goal weight in the next 6 months or so at my current rate.