Why yes, you can still eat grilled cheese! - Eat this, not that #2

My wife and I were thinking of new dinner ideas, something different from our usually turkey-base.  She mentioned grilled cheese.  I mean, honestly - I don't think I ever would have been smart enough to consider something as delicious as grilled cheese being a healthy meal, but it certainly can be if you want.

THEN
For 2 sandwiches, 4 slices of bread.  For this example, we will say Bunny Bread, whose nutrition facts are available here.  Each slice is 70 calories apiece, making it a grand total for 280 calories for the bread alone.  If you are adventurous like I once was, you put 2 slices of cheese on each sandwich.  American cheese usually being around 70 calories per slice (such as Kraft - click for nutrition), that's 4 slices of cheese equalling an additional 280 calories.  That's 560 calories for 2 grilled cheese sandwiches...BUT WAIT...I almost forgot the third most important part of grilled cheese - BUTTER!  We used Country Crock (click for nutrition) which is a whopping 60 calories PER TABLESPOON!!.  I easily used 2 tablespoons across the 2 sandwiches, if not more - so chalk up an additional 120 calories.  That's a total of 680 calories for the 2 sandwiches alone.  Being honest with myself, I ate probably 2 helpings of chips (such as Lay's Sour Cream & Onion) - that's an additional 320 calories (160 calories per serving, which is usually about 16 chips - and I'm probably lying to you if I say I only hate 16 chips per serving).  This all makes for a 1,000 calorie dinner.

NOW
Thankfully, I decided to start taking care of myself.  I can now eat 2 grilled cheese sandwiches and portion my chips to get that meal under 500 calories!

First, use an alternative bread.  Don't buy the absolute rock bottom cheapest - spend the extra 30 cents and get something like WonderBread's Smart White (or Wheat, or whatever you prefer) for only 50 calories apiece - a 20 calorie per slice savings.  Or, try out the bread that's on my next must-try list - Healthy Life Original White Bread at ONLY 35 calories per slice!  Wow!  That's double the bread for half the calories over the above mentioned Bunny Bread white (not to pick on Bunny - its not any worse than any other regular white bread).  So, let's say you are using Healthy Life's at 35 calories apiece - that's 4 slices of bread for only 140 calories!  Then, and yes I know, cheeseheads, only use 1 slice of cheese - that's a 140 calorie savings between the 2 sandwiches.  70 x 2 rather than 70(2) x 2.  So far you've only used 280 calories.  Another major saving of calories is replacing that calorie-filled butter with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray - it tastes great, tastes like butter, and it has 0 calories!  Then, go ahead and treat yourself to a single serving of chips - whether it's just 16 greasy chips, 16 baked Pringles (they have some really awesome flavors now - such as Blazin' Buffalo, Ragin' Cajun, Hot Ranch, etc) for only 150 calories, or some steamed vegetables (my personal favorie - Bird's Eye vegetables in cheese sauce).  My personal favorite is Pringles, making this meal of 2 grilled cheese and a serving of Pringles only 430 calories!

CONCLUSION!
Again, just by making some simple changes that your kids and family won't even notice just saved you 570 calories.  That's pretty amazing!  In my past of eating 2-4,000 calorie days, I would have just slopped it all together and had a disgusting unhealthy meal.  Now I'm eating the same food with the same delicious factor for less than half the calories I used to eat.  Happy eating!


eatthisnotthat