When trying to lose weight, small changes sometimes make a big difference. Here are easy ways to cut at least 100 calories from your meals to help you reach your weight loss goal.

Choose one side item.

Many restaurant entrées are paired with two sides, but one side is often more than enough. A side of mac & cheese can have upwards of 280 calories, mashed potatoes with gravy have about 200 calories, and wild rice pilaf has 180 calories.

Drizzle, don’t dip.

Save calories by cutting out the extras that go with your favorite foods. A one-ounce serving of blue cheese sauce for buffalo wings has 150 calories. Cheese sauce for your breadsticks has about 110 calories in a quarter cup, and a single serving of queso for your chips has about 100 calories. If you cannot go without it, reduce how much you use by drizzling a little on your food instead of dipping.

Leave off the whipped cream.

When you order an item that comes with whipped cream, ask the kitchen to leave it off. Two tablespoons of whipped cream can have 100 calories, and many restaurants pile on much more than that. Ordering no-whip can make the difference between a treat and a calorie nightmare.

Limit tastings.

Cooking for yourself is the best way to control your calorie intake, but watch out for bites and nibbles as you cook. If you eat half of a roll when it comes out of the oven (65 calories), then taste an eighth of a cup of the bowtie pasta (25 calories), and follow that up with a tablespoon of chocolate chips before you add them to the cookie dough (70 calories), you have added 160 extra calories.

Rethink the dinner roll.

Dinner rolls are unnecessary if your meal already contains plenty of calories and carbohydrates (like pasta or mashed potatoes). Passing on one small dinner roll with a half tablespoon of butter will save you 179 calories.

Skip the sweet tea.

A 21-ounce serving of sweet tea contains about 180 calories. Instead, make your own slightly fruit-flavored tea with unsweetened iced tea and two ounces of pomegranate juice for only 38 calories.

Limit dressing and cheese on salads.

Salads can serve as nutritious, low-calorie meals, but going overboard with dressing and cheese can easily double the calories. Three tablespoons of ranch dressing with three tablespoons of cheddar cheese contain 280 calories. If you can limit yourself to two tablespoons of dressing and one tablespoon of cheese, you'll save 158 calories and 4.3 grams of saturated fat.

Use less cooking oil.

Cooking oil contains 120 calories per tablespoon. Many recipes include more than you really need. Try cutting back a half to one full tablespoon, and you will likely still have a delicious dish.

Lori Rice, M.S., is a nutritional scientist and author with a passion for healthy cooking, exercise physiology, and food photography.