The foods you eat on a regular basis make the most impact on your nutrition. That's why the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests choosing low-fat forms of nutritious foods whenever possible, to offset the choices with higher fat and calories, such as meats and sweets. Read package labels or restaurant websites to compare the calories vs. nutrient content of common foods. The FDA considers suggested servings with fewer than 100 calories to be "low" and more than 400 calories "high" in the context of a 2,000-calorie diet.
Cereal
Ready-to-eat cereals with the least fat and sugar tend to have the lowest calories, while those that are naturally high in fiber, such as oatmeal and Shredded Wheat, have more. For instance, the USDA Nutrient Database reports that sweetened brands have three times the calories of 1 cup of unsweetened puffed-wheat cereal, which has 44 calories. Wheat bran flakes may contain 78 calories or more. Unsweetened oatmeal contains 166 calories, and Shredded Wheat has 155, per suggested serving.
Milk
Milk choices allow great leeway in determining how many calories you wish to add to your diet with a single dairy product. You'll get about the same amount of calcium, no matter which variety you choose. A 1-cup serving ranges from 208 calories for chocolate milk to 149 for whole, 122 for 2 percent, 102 for 1 percent and 83 calories for fat-free milk.
Hamburger
A regular single-patty hamburger, at 273 calories, is one of the few fast-food burgers that provides a 2- to 3-oz. serving of meat, as recommended by the American Heart Association. Regular double-patty sandwiches, with 576 calories, or single large-patty sandwiches, with 512 calories, may double that amount of meat. Cheese, bacon or additional patties expand those counts to 550 calories or more per sandwich, according to the USDA.
Beans and Rice
Less fat and more varied nutritional content make a dish of beans and rice a more nutrient-dense substitute for meat in meals. One cup of brown or white rice has about 216 calories, when cooked without fat. Top your rice with: black beans, 227 calories; pinto beans, 245 calories; or garbanzo beans, 286 calories for 1 cup. Adding chopped green peppers or onions will increase calorie counts by only 8 to 16 calories per ¼ cup.
Candy
Chocolate candies have higher calories from fat than hard candies. Compare 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, containing 806 calories, with a 1.5-oz. milk chocolate bar at 235 calories, or 2 hard candies, such as peppermints, at only 48 calories.
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