Making healthy food choices to promote weight loss requires finding filling foods with dense nutrition values and relatively low calories. To improve weight loss, prepare foods without added fats and instead use flavorful herbs and bold seasonings such as hot peppers. Beware of hidden calories and salt in sauces such as ketchup and commercial salad dressings and processed foods.
Salad Vegetables
Dark or strongly-colored vegetables tend to have higher nutrient values than light-colored vegetables. For example, the University of Alabama Extension Service reports that iceberg lettuce contains minimal amounts of vitamins, while spinach provides vitamins A and C, niacin and small amounts of vitamins E, K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and folate. For more robust nutrition, add small amounts of other healthy, but higher-calorie, vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes and beets.
Lean Meat
Proteins that come from meat offer essential nutrients for your body in the form of amino acids. Many types and cuts of meat have a high calorie count because of embedded fat. The white meat of chicken and turkey has fewer calories than medium-fat meats such as ground beef or pork and offers a healthy food choice for weight loss. MayoClinic.com recommends 3-oz. servings of baked, grilled or broiled chicken or turkey.
Berries
Although some fruits contain too much sugar or fructose to help weight loss, healthy fruit choices such as berries have a place in diets because of their antioxidant properties and few calories. Studies show the antioxidant power of fruits comes from compounds called phytochemicals. They include anthocyanins, ellagic acid and pterostilbene, reports MSNBC. Many nutritionists consider blueberries to be the powerhouse of healthy foods; however, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries all contain healthy nutrition components. The recommended serving size for berries is one half cup.
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