I’ll bet you never thought you’d be eating a twice baked potato on a diet. As I told you, on the DIY Diet we eat everything because we calculate the number of calories in our food so that we know what we’re eating. I like twice baked potatoes, so it was one of the first foods for which I calculated the calorie count.
Following the twice baked potato recipe, I’ve included menus for three nice meals that are under 500 calories and under 700 calories each.
One suggestion: When you’re in the produce department selecting baking potatoes, weigh them. There’s scales readily available in the department. Select 10-ounce baking potatoes. Here’s the way I fix the Twice Baked Potatoes:
Twice Baked Potato Recipe
| Ingredients | Calories |
| 2 - 10 oz. baked potatoes | 336 |
| 1 cup of potato pulp from a third baked potato | 114 |
| 2 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese | 220 |
| 1/4 c. skim milk | 23 |
| 1/4 c. sour cream | 60 |
| salt and pepper to taste | 0 |
| Total for ingredients: | 753 |
| Calories per serving: | 190 |
| 1 tsp. olive oil for rubbing on skin of potato before baking | 40 |
| Calories per serving if using olive oil on skin: | 198 |
|
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Thoroughly wash and dry three 10-oz. baking potatoes (You’re going to be using the third potato for its pulp.) Pierce the skin in several places then spray the potatoes with olive or canola oil especially if you like eating the potato skins like I do. (Note: I keep olive oil in a sprayer and use it not only for potatoes but for adding oil to the sauté pan when cooking scrambled eggs and to the grill pan when grilling meats and poultry. I wouldn’t be without it.) Wrap each potato in aluminum foil. Bake for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until done. I recently read that a baked potato tastes best if the exterior is sprinkled with salt after oiling and baked directly on the rack without the aluminum foil. I’m going to try that the next time I bake potatoes. I’ve eaten a potato baked with salted skin at a restaurant and I remember it being very good. I’ll probably put an aluminum foil pan on the rack beneath the potatoes to catch any errant oil or salt. (Oven cleaning is not a favorite task.) Remove potatoes. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise so that each potato will make two servings instead of one. The third potato is used for the pulp only. (If you happen to be baking extra potatoes in order to make potato skins snacks, the third potato skin can be reserved for that purpose.) Scrape potato pulp out of shells leaving enough pulp attached to the skin to give the shell some strength and body. Place pulp in a bowl. Measure one cup of pulp out of the third potato adding it to the other pulp in the bowl. Mash the potato pulp then add sour cream, seasonings, cheese, and enough milk to obtained the desired consistency. Divide the mashed potato between the four shells. Place shells on a baking sheet and bake in oven for about 20 minutes. If desired, finely shred another 1/2 oz. of Cheddar cheese, and when potatoes are removed from the oven, sprinkle the Cheddar cheese on top of the four potatoes. Add another 14 calories per serving if you choose this option. Enjoy. |
500 Calorie Dinner Menu Options
| Menu Item | Calories |
| Twice Baked Potato | 198 |
|
Paired with: |
|
| 4-oz. Baked Center Cut Pork Chop w/o bone (bone-in tastes best if you can judge a 4-oz portion with the bone) |
190 |
| 1 Tbsp. Teriyaki sauce mopped onto chop near completion of baking | 30 |
| 1/2 c. steamed kernel corn | 66 |
| Menu total: | 484 |
|
OR |
|
| Twice Baked Potato | 198 |
| Paired with: | |
| 4-oz. Grilled chicken breast |
215 |
| 6 steamed asparagus spears |
22 |
| 1/2 Tbsp. butter for asparagus | 50 |
| Menu total: | 485 |
| OR | |
| Twice Baked Potato | 198 |
| Paired with: | |
| 4-oz Grilled slice boneless ham | 202 |
| 1 Diet-size Nestlés Ultimate Big Cookie (see post on how to make) | 90 |
| Menu total: | 490 |
700 Calorie Dinner Menu Options
| Menu Item | Calories |
| Twice Baked Potato | 198 |
|
Paired with: |
|
| 4-oz. Grilled Beef Tenderloin fillet | 367 |
| 6 steamed asparagus spears | 22 |
| 1 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese to top asparagus | 21 |
| 4-oz. goblet red wine | 85 |
| Menu total: | 693 |
| OR | |
| Twice Baked Potato | 198 |
|
Paired with: |
|
| 4-oz. Grilled Chicken Breast | 215 |
| 1/2 c. steamed broccoli | 22 |
| 1 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese to top asparagus | 21 |
| 1 serving Kozy Shack Caramel Flan | 150 |
| 4-oz. goblet white wine | 80 |
| Menu total: | 686 |
| OR | |
| Twice Baked Potato | 198 |
| Paired with: | |
| 4-oz. Grilled salmon steak | 277 |
| 1 Tbsp. Teriyaki marinade for salmon | 30 |
| 1/2 c. honey-glazed steamed carrots | 45 |
| 1 Tbsp. chopped pecans for topping carrots | 51 |
| 4-oz goblet white wine | 80 |
| Menu total: | 681 |