Whether you're dieting to lose weight or to stay healthy, every calorie counts. Rather than denying yourself food, introduce foods that will fill you up that add few calories to your daily intake. There are a few processed foods that were engineered to contain no calories, like sugar substitutes and some diet sodas, although this phenomenon does not occur in nature. There are some fruits and vegetables that contain 20 calories or less per serving. These foods are great to use in bulking up recipes by replacing unhealthy foods and as snacks throughout the day so you stay satisfied without going over your caloric intake goals.
The Truth About Calorie-Free Foods
Dieting is not as easy as simply gathering as many low-calorie foods as possible and eating as much of them as you want. According to nutritionist Susan Burke March, some of these calories will be burned off when the food is digested.
But although some foods may technically contain very few calories per serving, if you eat several servings per week of these foods, these calories will add up. Although there are no naturally occurring calorie-free foods, foods that contain 20 calories or fewer can aid in weight loss if they are used in conjunction with other wise food choices and regular exercise.
Vegetables
Produce with high water content often contains fewer calories than more dense vegetables, like soybeans or chickpeas. Foods that contain about 20 calories or less per serving when they are eaten raw or prepared with no additional fat, oil or seasonings include asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, carrots, Brussels sprouts, garlic, bok choy, shallots, snow peas, baby corn, leeks, celery, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, onions, zucchini and turnips. Naturally, when these foods are prepared at a restaurant or with other ingredients, the caloric intake becomes higher because fats and oils are added.
Fruits
Like vegetables, fruits containing high water content often contain the least amount of calories. Some fruits containing about 20 calories or less when they are eaten by themselves include watermelons, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapefruit and lemons. Adding sugar or any additional ingredients to these fruits will increase the amount of calories in each serving. Canned fruits and fruit cups often contain syrup to preserve the fruit, which includes sugar. The caloric intake will rise when eating these fruits, even if they are on the low-calorie fruit list.
Purported Zero-Calorie Foods
Some processed foods may state on the label that a serving contains zero calories. These foods include some brands of pickles, sugar-free sweeteners, butter substitutes, mustard and sugar-free gelatin snacks. While shopping in the grocery store, remember that a product touted as having zero calories may actually contain a fraction of a calorie, which can build up if you eat more than one serving or eat this food regularly.
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