78 Ways to Cut 100 Calories

Cut 100 calories ... in the kitchen

• Substitute nonfat Greek yogurt for a serving of sour cream.
• Use chicken broth (low-sodium is best) instead of oil to sauté meat and veggies.
• Making homemade mac 'n' cheese? Cut 2 tablespoons of butter from the recipe.
• Replace the oil or butter in cakes with Sunsweet Lighter Bake prune-and-apple mixture or any brand of unsweetened applesauce.
• Next time you make meatballs, meatloaf, or burgers, go half-and-half with ground beef and turkey.
• When preparing packaged foods that call for butter or oil, like rice and stuffing, use a broth instead.
• Swap low-fat cottage cheese for whole-milk ricotta when you make lasagna or stuffed shells.
• Use tuna packed in water, not oil.

Cut 100 calories ... at happy hour

• Nurse a single glass of wine instead of downing two beers.
• Ask for your rum and Cokes in a highball glass. Bartenders pour an average of 20 percent less liquid into taller tumblers, so you'll swig less per round.
• Drizzle extra hot sauce, not blue cheese or ranch dressing, on your wings.
• Ordering a cocktail? Make it on the rocks instead of frozen. Slushy fruit drinks tend to be made with bottled mixers that contain added sugar and syrups.
• Blending your own? Have a daiquiri, not a piña colada.
• Pop the cap off of an MGD 64 instead of a bottle of Killian's Irish Red.
• Sip a glass of water between drinks—pacing yourself can help you cut back by a glass or more.
• Dip your nachos in salsa rather than guacamole.
• For automatic portion control, sip wine from a Champagne flute, not an oversize goblet.
• Mix your vodka with Red Bull Sugarfree, not cranberry juice.

Cut 100 calories ... at the drive-thru

• Pass up a Wendy's baked potato with sour cream and chives and chow down on value fries instead. Amazing but true.
• Have a McDonald's cheeseburger instead of a Quarter Pounder with cheese.
• Downsize your drink: Trade a large fountain soda (with ice) for a medium.
• Go for grill marks. Order a flame-broiled chicken sandwich rather than one that's breaded (and usually fried in oil).
• Treat yourself to an ice-cream cone at McDonald's instead of Dairy Queen.
• Crunch on one Taco Bell regular taco instead of a Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco. And all the hot sauce you want.
• Slurp a cup of Panera Bread's low-fat chicken noodle soup instead of the cream of chicken with wild rice.
• Make your daily pick-me-up at Starbucks a skinny vanilla latte, not a regular.
• Skip the two packets of BBQ sauce—eat your burger and fries plain.

Cut 100 calories ... on your snack break

• Drink sparkling water instead of soda.
• Move your stash of Hershey's Kisses at least 6 feet away from your desk—you'll dip in half as often.
• Drain the heavy syrup from your can of fruit cocktail and then rinse the fruit with water before digging in.
• Have a half cup of fresh grapes instead of that little snack box of raisins.
• Lay off the Lay's Classic potato chips and have a handful of Rold Gold pretzels.
• Munch on a bag of Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Kettle Korn, not Movie Theater Butter flavor.
• Chase down the ice-cream truck for a Good Humor vanilla sandwich, not a King Cone.
• Satisfy a crunch craving with baby carrots, not potato chips.

Cut 100 calories ... when you're not cooking

• Request the lemon chicken with white rice, not fried.
• Skip the crunchy noodles with your bowl of wonton soup.
• Ask for an order of Szechuan Shrimp instead of your usual General Tso's.
• Choose the pasta with a half cup of marinara instead of a half cup of Alfredo sauce.
• Indulge your inner carnivore with beef stroganoff, not meat lasagna.
• Go with the baked potato (butter only), not the mashed, as your side of choice.
• Dip your dinner roll in marinara sauce instead of olive oil.
• Avoid anything breaded. Flour and bread crumbs not only add calories but also absorb more cooking oil.
• Pop 12 pieces of sashimi and one-third cup of edamame, not 12 pieces of spicy tuna roll.

Sources: Shauna Reid, author, The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl (Avon, 2008); Kristina Sargent, D.C., CEO, Restor Healing Centre; Barry Sears, Ph.D., creator, the Zone Diet; Sanford Siegel, D.O., founder, the Cookie Diet; Heidi Skolnik, M.S., co-author, The Reverse Diet; Allan Borushek, R.D., author, CalorieKing's 2009 Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter (Family Health Publications, 2008); Jeff Halevy, fitness coach and personal trainer, New York City; Stacy Berman, nutritionist and founder, Stacy's Bootcamp, New York City.