If you want to trim calories from your food plans, hit every food group for its most nutrient-dense members. Foods with high nutritional value and relatively low calories can help you reach your health and weight goals while still eating well. Simply limiting your diet or eating large amounts of one type of low-calorie food won't provide the balanced nutrition your body needs. To stay within calorie boundaries, compose your meal plans from the many healthy foods that contain about 100 calories or less per serving.
Grains
To get more out of the calorie counts of grains, choose whole-grain foods such as brown rice, corn tortillas, whole-wheat bread and cereal. These meet the USDA's definition of nutrient dense, with their large iron, fiber and vitamin B amounts. One slice of whole-wheat bread has 65 calories, a corn tortilla has 52 calories and ½ cup brown rice has about 108 calories. Many wheat bran cereals are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals in fewer than 100 calories.
Dairy
The lower-calorie choices in your food plans will offset the few extra ones in plain fat-free yogurt. The 127 calories per 8-oz container include nearly half of your recommended calcium value for the day, plus strong protein and potassium. Similar nutrition comes in under 100 calories per 1 cup of fat-free milk or 1 oz. of reduced-fat cheese.
Vegetables
Nutrient-dense vegetables show you how low you can go in calories while gaining substantial dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. The American Heart Association notes that non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots and broccoli meet this criterion. Cooked spinach alone provides high content of 6 vitamins and 4 minerals in just 20 calories per ½ cup. Other nutritious low-calorie veggies include tomatoes, lettuce and mushrooms.
Protein Foods
Low-calorie food plans hinge on low-fat protein sources. Fatty meats and poultry and oily fish may carry high calorie loads. Get similar protein amounts in 100 or fewer calories from 2-oz. portions of extra-lean deli ham or roasted turkey breast minus the skin, and from 3-oz. portions of low-fat fish such as perch, cod, tuna and sole. Cook fish with dry heat or minimal oil, as any breading or frying oil may increase the dishes' calorie counts beyond your limits.
Fruits
Include fruits in your healthy food plans at breakfast or dessert for their fiber, vitamin C and potassium. Kiwis, plums and apricots provide low-calorie servings in 1 medium fruit while strawberries and cantaloupes do the same in under 50 calories per ½ cup.
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