Low Calories Food List 1

When on a diet, hunger pranks and sudden food cravings are a common problem. Instead of 'falling from the wagon' and biting in a huge piece of chocolate you might want to try some of these super low calories foods! Each of them has maximum 20 kilocalories or 84 kilo-joules per 100g. That makes them ideal for a quick snack that doesn't ruin your diet. Just remember that the way you prepare your food also ads to its calories. So, eat them preferable raw, as a crunchy low calories snack, or steamed. Remember, adding oil or butter in the process will great increase the amount of calories consumed. I have added some preparation tips and background information for each of them. And don't forget, they all add to the so important 'five a day' that you should eat daily.

A vegetable, not a fruit, despite the name, it is also known as bitter gourd or bitter melon, it a member of the squash family and used in the Asian and Indian cuisine. In the western hemisphere it is most easily found in specialized Asian supermarkets. As the name indicates, it can be quite bitter, especially when young and not fully ripe. To remove this unwanted bitterness it is important to choose only mature fruits (recognizable at their orange color) and by blanching them before the final preparation. They really go well with garlic and chili as spices. The balsam pear tastes great stuffed (with other low calories food obviously), as a steamed vegetable, soup or even raw. But don't forget to blanch them first to remove the bitterness. As for storage, just store them in a bag in your fridge and slice only just before use.

Another well-known vegetable with nearly unlimited ways of preparation. Raw, boiled or steamed, it makes a healthy snack that ads only a few calories to your meals. Apart from the great taste, it is also an extremely healthy vegetable that is high in fibre, rich in vitamins and minerals and even is said to help to prevent cancer and heart disease.

Calabash

Better known for being used in its grown and dried state as a bottle or food container, the calabash, when harvested young makes also for a nice vegetable. Recipes for squash can be used to prepare calabash dishes also.

Cardoon

A Mediterranean vegetable, also known under the names of artichoke thistle or cardi, that resembles the artichoke in its culinary uses, but belongs technically to the thistle family. Rarely found in supermarkets, it can be found more often at traditional farmer markets. One word of warning, also if non-spiky varieties have been cultivated lately, the plant can be still covered with, nearly, invisible spines, like cacti. As for preparing them, the flower buds can be prepared and eaten similar to wwhat you would do to an artichoke, but the steams have to be steamed, boiled or braised, but then they can be served warm or cold, either as a vegetable dish or a soup. Cardo, as it is known in Spanish is a much beloved vegetable there and an indispensable ingredient to the Mediterranean diet.

Once only used to enhance the flavor of soups and other dishes, celery is now mostly eaten as a party snack, but it can be more then just being a cruditee for a party. Celery is so low in calories that even some people say that you burn more calories digesting it than it contains. They call it a 'negative calories food'. Celery tastes great raw (as mentioned), in salads and as vegetable or soup, it so versatile that it can be added, or being the base of, a multitude of dishes.

Celtuce

The name of this vegetable explains nicely its two most important features: stalk like a cel-ery and leaves like a let-tuce ;-) Originally from China, the seeds are now available to be sown worldwide (be careful, it is a cold temperature germinator), but it is still not available in many supermarkets. Your best bet to find this great, buttery tasting, but low calorie vegetable is your local asian supermarket or specialty grocery store.

If you find it, it is easy to prepare. The edible parts are the thick stalk and the young leaves. You can either eat all raw, steam them or boil together with other vegetables for a healthy stew. Make sure not to overcook them.

Chayote

A Central American fruit that is traded under a multitude of names (for a full list of them, refer to this wikipedia article) and that belongs to the same family as the cucumber and the melon. It can be eaten raw as well as cooked but requires a fair bit of seasoning as its own taste is crisp but also a bit bland. When eaten raw, it is not necessary to peel them, but a little sprinkling with lemon or lime juice does a wealth of good. Alternatively this fruit makes a great addition to every low calories mixed salad. Cooked there are as versatile as raw, just don't overcook them, if you do they tend to loose their crispness. They can be prepared as a vegetable stew together with other low calories vegetables, soup, mashed, baked or grilled (no fat please ;-)) They are rich in vitamins and generally a very underestimated fruit in our diets. A bit of culinary creativity and they will become a great addition to your everyday meals.

Chicory or Witlo(o)f

Often also known as 'endive' in the french speaking world is grown completely in the darkness to force the plant to form the small, cream-colored and slightly bitter heads that are formed of tightly packed leaves. This vegetable has a slightly bitter, yet delicate taste and can be eaten raw, or baked, grilled, steamed, stuffed and in many other ways. Just make sure not to add any extra calories (fat comes to mind), if you do the whole idea of a low calorie snack would be rendered void.

Cucumber

An old favorite amongst the low calories foods, raw in snacks or salads and cooked as a vegetable. Try to buy bio-organic cucumbers and wash them only, but do not peel them to make the most out of the vitamins and fibre the cucumber contains.

Endive

Not to be confused with the french name for chicory, the endive proper is a type of lettuce with a slightly bitter taste. Normally used only raw, especially in salads it can also be eaten warm, try it grilled for a special taste! Half the heads, make sure they are clean and place them upside down on a grill until brown, but not burned.

Green Peppers

Other pepper colors have slightly more calories, but the green pepper is really a low calorie vegetable. Best, and most healthy, is it to just eat it raw, as a cruditee, if you want to sound posh, but you can also steam it or make a soup out of it. My favorite one is to grill them (without oil, please) until they are browned and soft.

Lemon

Ok, only a few people would eat more than a few lemon slices, but it is still good to know that they are so low in calories that adding them to a salad or adding the juice to a glass of water, hardly makes any difference in your daily calories intake.

Lettuce

All lettuce varieties are extremely low in calories. They don't make exactly a great snack by themselves, but they work great combined with other ingredients as a salad. It is a good idea to wash the salad just before preparation to avoid early withering. To keep lettuce fresh for longer, cut the base to make a fresh surface and put it in water.

Also known as Basella Alba or Vive Spinach, these Asian vine produces edible leaves that are used in the Chinese and the Asian cuisine in general. The heart-shaped leaves have a delicate flavor and a soft texture. High in a variety of vitamins, iron and calcium, they also contain a lot of healthy fibre. They are often used to thicken soups and stews, but makes also a nice vegetable dish on its own. If you have difficulties to find it in your town, have a look at your local ethnic grocery store or supermarket.

Nopales

Are vegetable made from the young leaves of the prickly pear cactus, obviously with the spines and skin removed ;-) They are a traditional and favorite food in Mexico and New Mexico where they are also cultivated. They are rarely eaten 'as is' but in combination with other vegetables and / or meat. They are especially rich in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Due to their low content in carbs, they are deemed to be an ideal food for diabetics and pre-diabetics.

Pak Choi

A few years ago mostly unknown, this great vegetable is now widely available in supermarkets and grocery stores. Pak Choi, also known under the name of chinese cabbage can be eaten steamed or raw. One important tip is not to wash it before storage, only just before preparing it.

Pe-Tsai

Another variety of chinese cabbage, like the above mentioned Pak Choi. Like all cabbages it can be eaten raw or prepared as a vegetable. Its spicy taste and its good content of fibre makes it a great base for vegetable stews.

Pumpkin

Perhaps the most versatile of all food presented here, the pumpkin can really be verything to everybody. Take for example the flowers, pumpkin flowers are not only decorative they are also edible and healthy. Try to add them to a summer salad next time, I am sure you get admiring looks for that. Boiled, steamed, grilled, roasted, there is a lot what you can do to a pumpkin that makes it taste great! Just be careful not to add any extra calories in form and sugar, just use herbs, spices and salt to make the most out of this superfood.

Radicchio

A close relative of the chicory and endives with red or red-green leaves. Bitter and peppery like its relatives, it is mostly used in salads, but can also be grilled over a barbeque or similar. Just clean, cut lengthwise and place over the fire until browned, but not burned.

Radishes

Spicy, picante and sometimes even hot in taste, radishes make for a great little snack when the hunger strikes and add the 'certain something' to all mixed salads. They are rich in Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, Vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper and calcium, making them a true superfood. The part mostly eaten is the bulb, but also the leaves are edible. The best value you get from your radish, which comes in a bewildering variety btw, when you eat them raw, this way all vitamins and nutrients are optimal preserved, but you can also try to steam or even grill the bulbs for something different.

Swiss Chard

Known to many of us as Mangold, this vegetable of the beet family is part of a lot of European and Mediterranean cuisines. It has to be eaten quickly after the harvest as it doesn't store well, this it has in common with spinach with whom it shares also a lot of preparation methods. You can use chard raw in salads or other vegetable snacks or cook it slightly for a spinach-like dish. They are sometimes found in ordinary super markets, but your best bet is still your local farmers market or even your own garden.

Taro Shoots

Originally coming from Hawaii, Asia and India, this vegetable is now widely available elsewhere. These large shoots of the Taro plant are green and heart-shaped, and should be washed with cold water and padded dried before preparation. They can be kept for a few days wrapped in a clean cloth in the vegetable compartment of the fridge. To make a delicious, low calorie snack you can either eat them either raw as a snack or in a mixed salad together with other low calories vegetables or steam them with herbs and / or salt spinach style.

The tomato is another of this super healthy foods, a fruit actually, that can be eaten raw and cooked and provides our bodies with a lot of benefits such as vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and so on. Best eaten raw, they also make great soups (even cold ones!) or additions to vegetable stews. And they are also a stable when it comes to making nutritious and healthy juices.

Water Cress

Often described as a superfood, water cress in its many forms, with its peppery taste is a great addition to healthy low calories salads, snacks and even used in juicing. Water cress contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, making it an ideal supplement food during a diet. Best raw, to preserve all the yummy vitamins, but water cress can also be steamed and / or used in soups to which it ads a picante note.

Waxgourd

Also known as chinese preserving melon or winter melon is another asian ingredient that has lately become favorite on your tables and in our kitchens. Actually a fruit, it is eaten and prepared as a vegetable in form of soups and and boiled or steamed dishes. The wax gourd can be stored very well, but the fresher the fruit is when eaten, the richer it is in vitamins.

All the food mentioned above contain 20 kcal per 100g or less. They make an ideal snack between meals, especially when you have to watch your weight (And who hasn't to do this.) But they are not a diet in their own right, just a little help. So please, don't try to base your meals only around such low calories food, it will not work in the long run! If you know of anymore foods that are so low in calories, feel free to add them in a comment.