Winter Warming Recipes (Under 400 Calories)

There’s nothing better on a winter’s evening than a steaming bowl of home-cooked comfort food. However, these kinds of indulgent dishes are often highly calorific, especially when paired with complex carbohydrates. Plus, alongside a waning motivation to leave the house to exercise, winter quickly becomes a weight gain risk. 

That said, if you’re choosing to make healthier choices this winter, you shouldn’t have to say goodbye to your favourite winter recipes. At The Fast 800, we know that it’s all about making some simple switches, and adding in some additional lifestyle changes, that can make all the difference.

Tips to avoid winter weight gain

1. Find a good home exercise regime
   While the cold outside may put you off going out to exercise, there are always ways to be active while staying warm indoors. We recommend getting __hours of exercise per week to maintain a healthy weight. Thankfully, our Programme houses a library of beginner-friendly workout videos so you can follow along from the comfort of your own home!
2. Add a tray of roasted vegetables to each meal
   Get into the habit of throwing together a tray of roasted non-starchy veggies to add nutrients, flavour and bulk to your winter recipes. Winter vegetables like leeks, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are ideal for adding to any dish, and are all low calorie foods that help support weight maintenance.
3. Plan your meals in advance and batch cook where possible
   One of the best ways to avoid overindulging in winter is to batch cook and plan your meals in advance. You’re much less likely to make impulsive decisions if you already prepared or planned a home cooked winter recipe. For personalised meal plans and convenient automated shopping lists, head to our Programme.

Warming winter recipes under 400 calories

We’re sharing a few of our favourite warm winter recipes, all under 400 calories and perfect for keeping that extra winter weight off.

Healthy Halloween Spiced Pumpkin Soup 

At just 221 calories per portion, this halloween spiced pumpkin soup is scarily good. It’s ideal for meal prepping or cooking up a big batch for the whole family, and is sure to warm you up on a winter’s day, while still providing a good 8g of protein and 5.4g of fibre in each serving. Better yet, it’s fasting friendly and vegetarian!

Low Carb Courgette Lasagne

A cheesy lasagne that’s under 400 calories and provides a whopping 47.4g of protein per portion? Count us in! A great example of those healthy switches we mentioned is swapping out the carb-heavy pasta sheets in this lasagne for thinly sliced courgette (zucchini) so you can enjoy the delicious flavours without the added calories.

Baked Mozzarella Meatballs

These meatballs hit the spot on a winter’s evening, and are perfectly versatile. Pair with a side of non-starchy veggies on fasting days, or a complex carbohydrate if you’re dishing out for the whole family. It’s thrown together in just 15 minutes and is ideal for batch cooking into freezer portions to enjoy for the whole season.

Non-Fasting Day Vegetarian Parmigiana

We had to include this bonus winter recipe, suitable for non-fasting days, as it’s too delicious to miss. It’s our take on the classic, and although it contains no meat, it provides a fantastic 24.9g of protein per portion. Plus, it’s packed full of immune-boosting vitamins that are ideal for warding off those winter colds!

For more tasty winter recipes like these ones, head to our Programme. All of our dishes are designed for adults, based on a low-carb Mediterranean-style diet. In order to eat as a family, you can simply add healthy, slow-releasing carbohydrates to children’s plates. We’d suggest pairing with whole wheat pasta, brown or darker coloured rice, whole grain pita bread, potatoes or sweet potatoes.

With a few lifestyle changes and food swaps, there’s no reason winter needs to be a time you gain excess weight. For healthy winter recipes and plenty of other tips for reducing weight gain this season, sign up to our Programme. Stay warm, and healthy!