Often we may think we're eating healthy foods, until we remember that the add-ons, such as sauces, spreads and condiments have calories too. For instance, a ½ breast of broiled chicken has 142 calories; one that is dipped in egg, breaded with flour, fried in oil and then topped with ¼ cup of gravy has many more (411). Count calories with the values in the main food ingredients and add-ons listed here.
Breads and Pastas
Breads and pastas contain food ingredients such as whole grains and eggs, two high-calorie yet highly nutritious foods. Count calories in sandwich bread (1 slice cracked-wheat, 65), muffins (1 blueberry, 224) and bagels (1 seeded, 229). Calories in baked goods that contain more butter and sugar, such as doughnuts (1 glazed, 239) and cheese Danishes (266), will be greater.
Unadorned pasta noodles are not too caloric: spinach egg noodles, semolina, chow mein and other types of noodles all carry 200 to 250 calories per 1-cup serving.
Meats, Fish, Milk and Eggs
Calories in foods in this group may have a high percentage of fat, so these are important food ingredients to monitor in your diet. Count calories in these broiled or roasted fish and meats in 3-oz servings: beef top sirloin (207), chicken breast (142), lamb loin (269), pork loin (178) and sockeye salmon (184).
If you add milk or eggs to fried foods, add 72 calories for 1 large egg, and add 83 calories for nonfat milk, 122 for lowfat, and 149 for whole milk.
Sauces
Food ingredients in sauces range widely, with tomatoes promising low calories and milk or cream ensuring high calories. Compare ¼-cup servings of: tomato salsa (16) and tomato marinara (54) with an equal amount of white cream sauce (92) and cheese cream sauce (110).
Oils and Condiments
Many of the calories in food add-ons come from fat. Count calories on ingredients that you add, such as butter on toast, oil in a veggie saute or dressing on salad. One tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, while the same amount of canola, corn, olive, peanut and sunflower oils have about 120 calories---but much less saturated (bad) fat than butter. Add cider vinegar (1 tablespoon, 3 calories) to oil for salad dressing, or go the high-calorie route with a mayonnaise-based dressing (1 tablespoon, 99 calories).
Fruits and Vegetables
Most fruits and vegetables, minus sugar, butter or other extra ingredients, will weigh in at less than 100 calories for a 1-cup or 1-piece serving. A notable exception is the avocado, with 300 calories or more, depending on its size.
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