Dietitian Paula Norris shares the calorie-saving hacks you need to know about

An Australian dietitian has shared the calorie-saving hacks you need to know about to lose weight, including swapping cheddar for Parmesan cheese and tweaking your mince portions to make your dish healthier. 

Paula Norris, from Melbourne, shared a graphic on her Instagram page, where she said these are some of the tricks she and her partner use in their kitchen if they are trying to ‘keep things lean’.

Paula’s tips include replacing mashed potato and butter with half mash and cauliflower and swapping sour cream for natural yoghurt.

An Australian dietitian has shared the calorie-saving hacks you need to know about to lose weight (Paula Norris pictured)

Paula shared a graphic on her Instagram page , where she said these are some of the tricks she and her partner use in their kitchen if they are trying to 'keep things lean' (pictured)

Paula shared a graphic on her Instagram page , where she said these are some of the tricks she and her partner use in their kitchen if they are trying to ‘keep things lean’ (pictured)

1. Tweak your mince

The first thing the dietitian said you should do if you want to save on calories is halve the amount of mince you make for tacos, spaghetti bolognese or chilli.

Then, replace the other half with either black or red kidney beans.

‘Not only will this save you calories, but it will also add precious fibre,’ Paula explained.

You can also bulk up your mince dishes with extra vegetables like grated carrot, mushrooms and zucchini – all of which cut calories and add nutrients.

Saves 140 calories and six grams of fibre 

2. Swap cheddar for Parmesan 

The second thing Paula said you need to do is swap cheddar for Parmesan.

This can save you calories as Parmesan has a sharper flavour so you don’t necessarily need to use as much.

Paula explained that doing this can save you 45 calories.

Saves 45 calories

Her tips include swapping cheddar for Parmesan as you don't need as much and tweaking your mince so it's half mince half beans (pictured) to save calories

Her tips include swapping cheddar for Parmesan as you don’t need as much and tweaking your mince so it’s half mince half beans (pictured) to save calories

3. Alter your mash

Mashed potato with butter is a delicious treat, but it is one that can be quite high in calories.

‘We use half mashed potato, half cauliflower for a side, or on top of potato pie,’ Paula said.

‘A bit of milk and some salt and pepper gives enough flavour that you can also skip the butter.’

Saves 95 calories

While Paula loves having a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise with a dish at home, she knows that mayonnaise can be quite fattening - and there is a healthy replacement (pictured)

While Paula loves having a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise with a dish at home, she knows that mayonnaise can be quite fattening – and there is a healthy replacement (pictured)

4. Change up mayonnaise for a homemade dip

Paula said while she loves having a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise with a dish at home, she knows that mayonnaise can be quite fattening – and there is a healthy, simple replacement.

‘This is our go-to swap for mayonnaise for salads. Other options depending on the dish are cottage cheese, plain Greek yoghurt, avocado, hummus or tahini,’ Paula said.

If you want to make her dressing dip, you’ll need to blend two tablespoons of plain yoghurt, one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, one teaspoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

The dressing also works with roasted vegetables and chicken dishes.

You can do half pasta, half zucchini noodles, as well as swapping half an avocado on toast for a quarter avocado and a quarter cup of peas to save calories (pictured)

You can do half pasta, half zucchini noodles, as well as swapping half an avocado on toast for a quarter avocado and a quarter cup of peas to save calories (pictured)

5. Mix pasta with zucchini noodles

For a less carb-heavy meal than pasta with pesto, you could tweak your dish and make half of it zucchini noodles.

‘Instead of using two cups of pasta, use one cup each of pasta and zoodles,’ Paula said.

This will give you one of your servings of vegetables for the day and make your overall dish lighter.

6. Swap avocado toast for avocado and peas on toast

While avocado on toast is a healthy breakfast choice, if you want to cut valuable calories in any given day, you could consider doing half avocado and half mashed peas on toast.  

‘Instead of using half an avocado on your piece of toast, use a quarter and a quarter of a cup of peas on toast,’ she said.

‘While I don’t advocate calorie counting it is well known that total calories in need to be less than total calories out if you’re trying to lose weight.’

Finally, if you swap 50 grams of sour cream for 50 grams of reduced fat natural yoghurt, you'll see results with your weight loss goals (pictured)

Finally, if you swap 50 grams of sour cream for 50 grams of reduced fat natural yoghurt, you’ll see results with your weight loss goals (pictured)

7. Cut sour cream for plain yoghurt

Finally, if you swap 50 grams of sour cream for 50 grams of reduced fat natural yoghurt, you’ll see results with your weight loss goals.

‘Natural yoghurt is the perfect healthy swap for sour cream. It has the tang without the calories. Add salt, pepper and herbs to make it more tasty if needed,’ Paula said.

Saves 138 calories