Whether you are trying to lose a few unwanted pounds or you need to drop a significant amount of weight, you might want to know some of the lowest calorie foods to include in your daily eating plan.
While it’s important to get enough calories each day, it’s always good to keep some low calorie snack ideas in mind. The biggest problem with super low calorie foods is that they tend to be bland and tasteless. However, the following foods will make you fall in love with your diet and inspire you to eat healthier. Not to mention that they make awesome on-the-go snacks.
1.Red bell peppers
Red bell peppers will help you to feel full longer and satiate your sweet tooth at the same time. One red bell pepper has only 40 calories, making it one of the lowest calorie foods for dieters. They’re also high in Vitamin C and fiber, and low in sugar. Whether you want to lose weight or stay slim and trim, red bell peppers must become a staple of your daily diet. You can enjoy them raw and use them in your salads, stir-fries, soups, and stews. Apart from fantastic weight loss benefits, red bell peppers enhance the skin health and keep your heart strong.
2.Unsweetened green tea
It’s actually a beverage, but green tea deserves its second place on this list. Green tea is a guilt-free pleasure since it contains less than 2 calories in a 200 ml cup. Drinking 2 to 4 cups of unsweetened green tea can help you shed around 50 calories in a day and it’s up to 5 pounds in a year. As an added bonus: green tea contains an antioxidant called ECGC that not only promotes fat burning but also wards off cancer.
Join Agogo Newsletter
And get Updates for Better Health.
3.Strawberries
A cup of strawberries contain about 53 calories and heaps of powerful nutrients. Strawberries are extremely low in sugar and rich in Vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. These berries make a sweet and healthy snack and help to reduce sugar cravings. Strawberries are so versatile and delicious that you can use them in any meal, drink, and dessert you like. You can add them to your oatmeal, fruit salad, yogurt, and smoothies. You can make strawberry cupcakes or a sugar-free strawberry pie.
4.Watercress
Watercress itself isn’t tasty but when you eat it with a healthy salad or a sandwich, watercress makes a low calorie addition to it. Watercress is packed with vitamins and minerals as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants beta-carotene and lutein. 1 sprig of watercress contains zero calories and a cup of chopped one has only 4 calories.
5.Cucumbers
Probably the best thing about cucumbers is that they boast sweet and salty flavors at the same time. Cucumbers are almost 94% water content and contain only 16 calories per cup, helping you hydrate your body and speed up your weight loss process. Cucumbers are an amazing source of Vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and B vitamins. Plus, they contain silica, a mineral that is great for your skin, hair, and nails. You can use cucumbers in your sandwiches, salads, soups, and smoothies, or eat them fresh. You can also add 3 to 5 slices of cucumber to your water to enhance its taste.
6.Spinach
Whenever you decide to make a salad or sandwich, toss some spinach to it. Besides being an excellent source of fiber, protein, calcium, Vitamin C, and B vitamins, a cup of spinach contains only 20 calories, and zero fat. Spinach also contains 100% of RDI of Vitamin A, 25% of RDI of iron, and 30% of RDI of magnesium. Spinach helps the body detox in a natural way, thus promoting weight loss.
7.Kiwi
One big kiwi contains about 40 calories and when you eat a small fruit you get around 20 calories. Now can you imagine curbing your sweet cravings on only 20 calories? Kiwi is a powerful sweet tooth restraint and it also help to burn the body fat. It contains vitamin E, potassium, and fiber, as well as over a day’s worth of vitamin C and 1/3 of RDI of vitamin K. Eat kiwi whole for maximum benefits.
8.Grape tomatoes
One grape tomato has only 5 calories and what makes it better than other kids of tomatoes is that it’s incredibly delicious. Grape tomatoes are a good source of natural sugars, making them a yummy snack to beat hunger pangs. They are also high in fiber, Vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene. Consider using grape tomatoes in your veggie pizza, gazpacho, veggie smoothies, and salads to reduce the calorie content of your favorite meals.
9.Carrots
Even though carrots have sugar in them, they’re among the best low calorie foods to incorporate into your diet. Carrot is a source of natural sugar that doesn’t cause weight gain so enjoy it to the fullest without worrying about your waistline. A cup of carrots contain only 25 calories. Additionally, they are loaded with beta carotene and fiber. Eating carrots helps to boost your energy levels, making it an excellent low calorie snack before workout. You can use carrots in soups, salads, pies, or make carrot chips or carrot noodles. Carrot juice is a skinny drink option, too.
10.Romaine lettuce
Romaine lettuce is a tasty and cheap low calorie food that you can always afford to purchase. It contains around 30 calories in one cup and is fortified with vitamins A and C, which are good for your immune system and heart health. Romaine lettuce is generally used in vegetable salads, but you can also toss some to your green smoothie instead of kale. The light, sweet, and unique flavor is guaranteed!
11.Oatmeal
If you think low calorie foods are only fruit and veggies, try oatmeal. It does pack about 160 calories per 1/2 cup, but it also provides your body with fiber and protein – the two most important weigh loss nutrients. Furthermore, oatmeal is rich in magnesium, potassium, and B vitamins. Get into a habit of starting your day with a bowl of oatmeal to boost your metabolic rate and promote a better satiety. One bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries can keep you feeling full for up to 3 hours.
12.Swiss chard
A very close relative of the beet, Swiss chard provides your body with substantial amount of 16 vitamins and other nutrients for only 7 calories per cup. Not only does Swiss chard help you drop weight, but it’s also a healthy and natural detox food that is both refreshing and rejuvenating. Use Swiss chard along with other greens in salads and green smoothies to increase your chances of becoming slim.
13.Cottage cheese
When cutting your calorie intake, don’t forget that you still need to eat calcium-rich foods. Cottage cheese contains 98 calories per 100 grams and up to 8% of your calcium RDI. Not to mention that it contains 11 grams of protein, a nutrient that fill you up and help you shed pounds. Look for fat-free or low-fat version and add some fat-free Greek yogurt to it to boost your bone health and increase your workout performance.
14.Mushrooms
One mushroom has as little as 2 calories in it. Since it’s hard to eat more than 10 mushrooms in one meal, you get a great veggie meal that’s low in calories yet high in nutrients. Avoid frying mushrooms and try grilling or baking instead. If you need to fry them, use olive oil instead of vegetable one.
15.Cabbage
1 cup of shredded cabbage contains only 17 calories. Add in spinach, Romaine lettuce, and grape tomatoes and you’ll get an enormous portion of a nutrient-dense, low-calorie salad in a jiff. Cabbage is also a source of a kind of isothiocyanate called sulforaphane that stimulates the production of enzymes in the body that beat cell-damaging free radicals. This helps you stay healthy and have more energy for exercise.
16.Plums
One plum contains zero fats and about 30 calories. It’s good at fighting sugar cravings and makes a low calorie bedtime snack. It’s recommended to eat plums alone to promote weight loss, but if you don’t like the taste of it, you can hide it in your smoothie. What’s a tastier way to boost your antioxidant intake?
Now that you’re aware of these low calorie foods, reconsider your daily meal plan to see what you should remove and add to lose weight.
References
http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-food-calorie-counter
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061651/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1319349/
