What to Eat When You're Really Hungry

August 27, 2019
Still hungry after you've finished a meal? If you’re trying to lose weight and feeling ravenous, choose low-calorie, high-volume foods that will fill you up without sending you over your daily calorie limit.
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Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl

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This chipotle-flavored burrito bowl recipe is even better than takeout and just as fast. Loading it with vegetables and using quinoa in place of rice adds nutrition for a healthy dinner.

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Baked Vegetable Soup

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Originally prepared in the wood-burning hearths of Italian homes, this peasant-style healthy vegetable soup recipe is simple to make in a modern oven. Brimming with artichokes, mushrooms, zucchini and leeks, this easy soup heats up the house as it becomes the perfect warming meal.

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Ancho Chicken Breast with Black Beans, Bell Peppers & Scallions

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In this healthy chicken recipe, the meat is rubbed with ancho chile powder, a spice made from dried poblano peppers. It adds mild heat and subtle smokiness to the rub on the chicken, but you can use regular chili powder here instead. This recipe makes an extra 1/2 cup of the black bean mash--try it wrapped into a burrito for lunch or as a taco filling (see Tips, below).

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Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

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You'll slash 131 calories and 19 grams carbohydrate when you trade in your brown rice for finely chopped cauliflower in this healthy cauliflower "rice" recipe. For an even faster "rice" pilaf, use 4 cups of purchased cauliflower rice instead of making your own. Look for it near other fresh or frozen prepared vegetables.

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Rainbow Slaw with Beet Greens

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A touch of cumin and cinnamon give this colorful, healthy slaw recipe a hint of the Middle East. Serve with a wedge of cheese and a whole-grain roll on the side for a satisfying dinner--or with just about anything that comes off the grill.

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Sweet Potato Carbonara with Spinach & Mushrooms

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Loaded with veggies, this spiralized sweet potato vegetable noodles recipe--our healthy take on a traditional carbonara recipe--achieves superfood status with the addition of spinach and mushrooms. Look for large, straight sweet potatoes to make the longest veggie noodles.

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Vegan Smoothie Bowl

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Eat this thick and creamy smoothie bowl with a spoon! Banana and frozen berries whip together with a little nut milk for a toppable vegan breakfast. We use fruit, nuts and seeds for topping, but feel free to experiment with whatever you like.

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Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Tomatoes, Beans & Almond Pesto

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Looking at a tangle of spaghetti squash tricks your brain into thinking you're about to eat a serving of eggy noodles, when in fact, you get a nice calorie and carb savings in this healthy recipe. Giving tomatoes a stint in a hot oven makes them candy-sweet.

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Massaged Kale Salad

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Here a pungent garlicky dressing is infused into kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. Any type of kale will work in this kale salad recipe, just remember to remove the tough stems before you start.

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Lime & Parmesan Popcorn

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Skip the bag of microwaved popcorn and satisfy a snack craving by making your own flavored popcorn. In this healthy popcorn recipe, we use Parmesan cheese, lime zest and a hint of chili powder, but feel free to use your favorite spices. For the best flavor, opt for olive oil cooking spray to help the toppings stick to the popcorn.

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Persian Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Preserved Lemon

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In this cucumber and tomato salad recipe, preserved lemon adds a tangy, salty bite. Serve this healthy salad as an accompaniment to dishes like grilled lamb or chicken or as a side on a bed of finely julienned purple kale, lightly dressed with more olive oil and lemon juice. Look for preserved lemons at specialty-foods stores. Or, to make your own, see our Preserved Lemons recipe on eatingwell.com.

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Veggistrone

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This vegetable-packed minestrone soup recipe is inspired by a popular Weight Watchers vegetable soup recipe. It makes a big pot of soup, so keep some in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freeze the rest in single-serve portions. That way you always have an easy, delicious vegetable soup to start your meal or to eat for lunch. Think of this vegetable minestrone recipe as a starting point for other healthy soup variations, too: toss in leftover chopped cooked chicken or whole-wheat pasta or brown rice to make it more satisfying.

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Avocado & Shrimp Chopped Salad

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The smoky flavors of grilled shrimp and corn in this healthy chopped salad recipe are a tasty match for the creamy cilantro dressing.

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Kale Turkey Wraps

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Using kale leaves instead of bread to wrap your filling makes this healthy turkey lunch recipe low-calorie. If you can't find lacinato, also known as Tuscan kale, try cabbage for your wrap.

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Roasted Cauliflower & Potato Curry Soup

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In this healthy cauliflower soup recipe, roasting the cauliflower first adds depth and prevents the florets from turning to mush. A little tomato sauce and coconut milk give the broth a rich, silky texture. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, if desired.

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Five-Spice Turkey & Lettuce Wraps

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Based on a popular Chinese dish, these fun wraps also make appealing appetizers for entertaining. Make it a meal: Serve with chile-garlic sauce and rice vinegar for extra zip; toss diced mango and strawberries with lime juice for a quick dessert.

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Strawberry Fruit Salad

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This summer berry fruit salad recipe makes enough for a crowd. Serve with granola and yogurt at brunch, as a healthy potluck side, or halve the recipe to serve 4.

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Classic Coleslaw with Attitude

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Lots of crunchy, aromatic seeds and the pungent agrodolce bite of quick-pickled raisins elevate this coleslaw recipe from plain to brilliant. If you're bringing it to a party, make sure to save some at home for yourself. You'll want to put it on sandwiches and salads, or serve it alongside pork chops.

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Rainbow Veggie Spring Roll Bowl

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With tons of colorful vegetables, sesame rice noodles and a healthy peanut sauce, this noodle bowl is a hit with adults and kids alike. Assemble the bowls before serving or let everyone make their own. Serve with Sriracha hot sauce, if desired.

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Raspberry-Peach-Mango Smoothie Bowl

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This healthy smoothie recipe is a gateway to the smoothie-bowl craze. Use whatever fruit, nuts and seeds you like best to make it your own. Be sure to use frozen fruit in Step 1 to yield a creamy, frosty base for the toppings.

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Lemon-Parm Popcorn

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Perk up your popcorn with a bit of lemon pepper and Parmesan cheese.

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Chicken with Bell Pepper & Hominy Stir-Fry

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Hominy is made by soaking dried corn kernels in lime to remove the tough hull and germ. The result looks like puffed-up corn, perhaps most notably enjoyed in the Mexican soup posole. In this healthy chicken stir-fry recipe, the hominy is added along with the vegetables to make a hearty dinner. Look for hominy in cans in the Latin section of large supermarkets. You'll need one 29-ounce can or two 15-ounce cans to get 2 cups. Toss leftovers into soup or salad.

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Orange-Sesame Shrimp Salad

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In this healthy Asian-inspired shrimp salad recipe, two types of greens--romaine lettuce and red cabbage--pair beautifully with the avocado and shrimp. Use extra dressing for another salad or as a sauce for baked fish.

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Mexican Cabbage Soup

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Based on a popular weight-loss plan, this healthy cabbage soup recipe gets tons of flavor and a metabolism-boosting kick from spicy chiles.

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Carrot & Radish Slaw with Pickled Onions

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Cutting vegetables into long thin strips--a technique called julienning--rather than shredding them gives this healthy slaw recipe a marvelous, crisp texture. You can cut the vegetables by hand, but a mandoline will save you a lot of time. If your radishes still have the greens attached, reserve them and use as a garnish.

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Roasted Chicken & Vegetable Quinoa Salad

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Mushrooms, carrots and onions are roasted with garlic and fennel seeds in this roast chicken and quinoa salad. Preparing the quinoa with a little less water than is typical makes it cook more quickly and keeps it fluffier‚ perfect for soaking up the sherry-vinegar dressing in this salad. Serve with garlic-rubbed toast.

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Salmon & Asparagus Farro Bowl

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In this farro and salmon recipe, salmon is poached in a miso-infused broth with bites of tender asparagus and sautéed leeks. If you use farro that's labeled “pearled,” a faster-cooking farro, to make this recipe, start with a full cup of grains and reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes. To clean the leeks, trim off the green tops and white roots and split lengthwise. Place in a large bowl of water and swish around to release any sand or soil. Repeat until no grit remains.

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Ratatouille with White Beans & Polenta

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Tons of lightly cooked vegetables combine with white beans in this hearty vegetarian dinner recipe. It can also be served over bread, like bruschetta.

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Broccoli Slaw with Turnips & Fennel

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This healthy broccoli slaw recipe is flavored with a bright mint- and chile-spiked dressing. Go for broccoli with long stalks (versus broccoli crowns), as they're the base of this slaw. If you can't find broccoli with stalks still attached, packaged broccoli slaw works as well (look for it near other slaw mixes). Mild white turnips (aka Hakurei or salad turnips) are sweeter than more common purple-topped turnips, but both work here.

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Spinach & Warm Mushroom Salad

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In this hearty mushroom and spinach salad recipe, sturdier “mature” spinach leaves hold up better than baby spinach when tossed with the warm mushroom-and-bacon vinaigrette.

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Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs

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With this spaghetti squash and meatballs recipe, you can reduce the carbohydrates and increase the vegetable servings by skipping pasta and serving the Italian-seasoned turkey meatballs and quick, homemade marinara sauce over thin strands of cooked spaghetti squash instead. Cooking the squash first in the microwave and then in a skillet to cook off the extra moisture, gives the squash a more spaghetti-like texture.

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Chicken & White Bean Salad

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Zucchini and celery give this chicken-and-bean salad a nice crunch. We like serving it over a bed of slightly bitter escarole and radicchio, but any type of salad greens will work. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Very Green Lentil Soup

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Lentils seem to go well with just about anything, and here they play well with a collection of greens and some cumin and coriander to add a gentle spicy note to this soup recipe. The result is a hearty winter soup with layers of flavor. Both French green lentils (available in natural-foods stores and specialty markets) and more commonly available brown lentils are delicious in this soup. The French green lentils hold their shape better when cooked, while brown lentils will start to break down a bit.

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Creamy Chopped Cauliflower Salad

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Caraway and cauliflower are a match that brings to mind wursts, kraut and foamy, cold mugs of beer. Alas, not everyone loves that caraway flavor so leave out the caraway seeds if you prefer--the salad's wonderful either way.

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Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks