Don't sacrifice nutrition when you're counting calories, or trying to lose weight can harm rather than help your health outlook. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest making nutrient-dense foods the staples of your diet. These food items provide maximum protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber within minimum calories.
Fresh Apricots
Apricots are small but packed with nutrition, including fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A single fruit contains only 17 calories, so you can enjoy 1/2 cup of sliced apricots for only 40 calories. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, suggest cooking apricots to vary meals or desserts. Dried apricots have much greater calorie counts. Other fruit servings with 40 calories or less include whole, fresh peaches and plums, and 1/2 of a canned pear or 1/2 of a white grapefruit.
Cooked Spinach
Spinach makes delicious raw salads, but you'll get greater nutrition to keep you going while losing weight if you cook this and other green vegetables. The CDC compares daily nutrient values per serving, noting that both raw and cooked spinach contain no fat. Some nutrients concentrate with cooking, however, packing nearly five times the content of some vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A and iron, into just 20 calories per 1/2-cup portion.
Nonfat Yogurt
Get nearly 50 percent of your daily value of calcium in 1 cup of yogurt. You can stay below 100 calories with a 6-oz serving of plain nonfat yogurt, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Yogurt pairs nicely with fruit for a low-fat dessert when you're counting calories.
Fortified Cereal
Add a low-calorie, high-nutrient cereal to your breakfasts, or switch over to one if you normally eat a brand with high fat or sugar amounts. The American Diabetes Association considers cereals with 5 g of sugar or less to be healthy choices. In just 80 calories or less per suggested serving, you can satisfy 100 percent of iron, calcium and some vitamin needs. To contribute to your daily vitamin D intake, add 1/2 cup of fat-free milk for another 42 calories.
Lowfat Fish
All of the above foods contribute small amounts of protein to your daily diet, but be sure to achieve the full 50 g of protein recommended by the FDA by eating low-fat fish. Three-oz. servings that weigh in at less than 100 calories include haddock, sole, tuna and orange roughy. Perch and rockfish have just a few calories more, as per the USDA.
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