What are your go to "free foods"
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Replies
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Water. That is it.
Everything has calories and they can add up very quickly.
More importantly, they can make the difference between losing weight, and "why am I not losing weight?"1 -
I love sugar free jello! And also I like to eat celery dipped in mustard. You have to like mustard to enjoy this - but luckily I do!
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For all of those who are saying "But everything has calories except water" - I don't think the idea was for things that literally have no calories, but for ideas of foods that have nearly zero calories. For some of us volume eaters, those foods make a huge difference. There is an enormous calorie difference between eating 36 oz. of peanut butter vs. eating 2 gallons of pickles. Yes, pickles have calories, but it is so close to zero that eating in large quantities when hungry is rarely going to put someone over their calories goals unless they are already at or above their daily limit.
I'm pretty sure these types of foods with very low calorie content for high volumes of food is what OP is looking for.10 -
Did someone say free food?
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If I have cravings but few calories left, I drink herbal tea. So-called "free" foods still have calories and can add up really fast if you're a small person with a small deficit, as I am. Keep in mind that FDA guidelines allow manufacturers to call products "zero calorie" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. Since I have such a small deficit, I even log Splenda if I put some in my tea. (The Splenda website states that it's called "zero calorie" due to that FDA loophole. So I log a packet as 5 calories.)1
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If I have cravings but few calories left, I drink herbal tea. So-called "free" foods still have calories and can add up really fast if you're a small person with a small deficit, as I am. Keep in mind that FDA guidelines allow manufacturers to call products "zero calorie" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. Since I have such a small deficit, I even log Splenda if I put some in my tea. (The Splenda website states that it's called "zero calorie" due to that FDA loophole. So I log a packet as 5 calories.)
I switched to liquid sucralose ages ago and haven't looked back. I've been getting it from Amazon for a couple of years now. Before I switched, I too logged my splenda. Just so you know, the exact count per gram of Splenda is 3 calories.
I said upthread that I drink herbal tea with liquid sucralose, and that is truly a free food. Some flavors get a small 10 calorie splash of milk. I can fit those into my day too. I have a ridiculous stash of tea!1 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »For all of those who are saying "But everything has calories except water" - I don't think the idea was for things that literally have no calories, but for ideas of foods that have nearly zero calories. For some of us volume eaters, those foods make a huge difference. There is an enormous calorie difference between eating 36 oz. of peanut butter vs. eating 2 gallons of pickles. Yes, pickles have calories, but it is so close to zero that eating in large quantities when hungry is rarely going to put someone over their calories goals unless they are already at or above their daily limit.
I'm pretty sure these types of foods with very low calorie content for high volumes of food is what OP is looking for.
Maybe not, but sodium can be a huge consideration for many people and pickles are high in sodium.
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »If I have cravings but few calories left, I drink herbal tea. So-called "free" foods still have calories and can add up really fast if you're a small person with a small deficit, as I am. Keep in mind that FDA guidelines allow manufacturers to call products "zero calorie" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. Since I have such a small deficit, I even log Splenda if I put some in my tea. (The Splenda website states that it's called "zero calorie" due to that FDA loophole. So I log a packet as 5 calories.)
I switched to liquid sucralose ages ago and haven't looked back. I've been getting it from Amazon for a couple of years now. Before I switched, I too logged my splenda. Just so you know, the exact count per gram of Splenda is 3 calories.
I said upthread that I drink herbal tea with liquid sucralose, and that is truly a free food. Some flavors get a small 10 calorie splash of milk. I can fit those into my day too. I have a ridiculous stash of tea!
Whoa. This actually shocked me. Splenda has only 1 calorie less than sugar per gram?! I'd rather have sugar!2 -
Susieq_1994 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »If I have cravings but few calories left, I drink herbal tea. So-called "free" foods still have calories and can add up really fast if you're a small person with a small deficit, as I am. Keep in mind that FDA guidelines allow manufacturers to call products "zero calorie" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. Since I have such a small deficit, I even log Splenda if I put some in my tea. (The Splenda website states that it's called "zero calorie" due to that FDA loophole. So I log a packet as 5 calories.)
I switched to liquid sucralose ages ago and haven't looked back. I've been getting it from Amazon for a couple of years now. Before I switched, I too logged my splenda. Just so you know, the exact count per gram of Splenda is 3 calories.
I said upthread that I drink herbal tea with liquid sucralose, and that is truly a free food. Some flavors get a small 10 calorie splash of milk. I can fit those into my day too. I have a ridiculous stash of tea!
Whoa. This actually shocked me. Splenda has only 1 calorie less than sugar per gram?! I'd rather have sugar!
There's a difference in sweetening power per gram, though. A gram of splenda sweetens like 4 grams of sugar.
This can make a difference if you're using the powdered stuff and need it for bulk in cooking.
If you're just using it to sweeten beverages or yogurt or cottage cheese, it's worth it to get the liquid and have zero calories. The brand I get even includes handy little travel size bottles with your order.1 -
3rdof7sisters wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »For all of those who are saying "But everything has calories except water" - I don't think the idea was for things that literally have no calories, but for ideas of foods that have nearly zero calories. For some of us volume eaters, those foods make a huge difference. There is an enormous calorie difference between eating 36 oz. of peanut butter vs. eating 2 gallons of pickles. Yes, pickles have calories, but it is so close to zero that eating in large quantities when hungry is rarely going to put someone over their calories goals unless they are already at or above their daily limit.
I'm pretty sure these types of foods with very low calorie content for high volumes of food is what OP is looking for.
Maybe not, but sodium can be a huge consideration for many people and pickles are high in sodium.
Yes, that is true. Since I need significantly more sodium than most people, pickles are another way I can get that. I even save the juice from pickles so I can drink it when experiencing major electrolyte depletion. As it gets warmer outside and as I'm becoming more active, this is a bigger and bigger issue. In fact, I sometimes use those electrolyte tablets (Nuun, for example). A few years ago, I laughed at the idea and couldn't understand why anyone would really need to supplement sodium. Now, if I'm running trails and won't be home soon to get to my pickle juice stash, those tablets are a god-send.2 -
Unsweetened tea.1
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My favourite free food are Costco samples.16
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For relatively low-cal I eat cauliflower or cucumber with or without hummus, an apple, or a small piece of chocolate with a cup of coffee. Even if it's 100 calories, it's worth it to me if it keeps me happy for a couple of hours until a meal or bigger snack!1
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Salad stuff. Berries. Sugar free jello with light cool whip. Hot tea with sweetener. Chicken broth.0
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Baby carrots!! I could eat those all day - and I'm a muncher so it's super helpful when I just want to eat ANYTHING0
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My low calorie food when I need to eat volume is sugar free gelatin, but I do not buy Jello, their sugar free versions have an odd taste. I make my own with plain gelatin and crystal light packets or Mio drops. I also have been know to use diet soda (as long as I can boil a cup of it without making it taste funny).
1 Tbl (or 1 packet) unflavored gelatin
2 cups water (one boiling, second one cold)
1 packet crystal light or the equivalent of flavor drops
Gelatin = 30 calories, 7 g protein, no fat or carbs
Flavoring = 5-10 calories depending on the brand and flavor
BTW: Pineapple Crush drink packets from the Dollar Store makes great gelatin3 -
Free food would be green tea (no sweeteners). Super low cal for me are berries...especially blackberries and blueberries...yummy, filling and full of antioxidants. I have also been known to munch on a piece of cucumber at times....0
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Susieq_1994 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »If I have cravings but few calories left, I drink herbal tea. So-called "free" foods still have calories and can add up really fast if you're a small person with a small deficit, as I am. Keep in mind that FDA guidelines allow manufacturers to call products "zero calorie" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. Since I have such a small deficit, I even log Splenda if I put some in my tea. (The Splenda website states that it's called "zero calorie" due to that FDA loophole. So I log a packet as 5 calories.)
I switched to liquid sucralose ages ago and haven't looked back. I've been getting it from Amazon for a couple of years now. Before I switched, I too logged my splenda. Just so you know, the exact count per gram of Splenda is 3 calories.
I said upthread that I drink herbal tea with liquid sucralose, and that is truly a free food. Some flavors get a small 10 calorie splash of milk. I can fit those into my day too. I have a ridiculous stash of tea!
Whoa. This actually shocked me. Splenda has only 1 calorie less than sugar per gram?! I'd rather have sugar!
There's a difference in sweetening power per gram, though. A gram of splenda sweetens like 4 grams of sugar.
This can make a difference if you're using the powdered stuff and need it for bulk in cooking.
If you're just using it to sweeten beverages or yogurt or cottage cheese, it's worth it to get the liquid and have zero calories. The brand I get even includes handy little travel size bottles with your order.
May I ask what brand of liquid sucralose you would reccommend? I just started using Splenda and I was unaware of the 3 calories per gram too. I would love to try it but I see so many different ones on Amazon including one made by Splenda and I'm not sure what to look out for. Thank you!0 -
I love to snack on purple cabbage... so random but it's as crunchy as chips!0
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Susieq_1994 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »If I have cravings but few calories left, I drink herbal tea. So-called "free" foods still have calories and can add up really fast if you're a small person with a small deficit, as I am. Keep in mind that FDA guidelines allow manufacturers to call products "zero calorie" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. Since I have such a small deficit, I even log Splenda if I put some in my tea. (The Splenda website states that it's called "zero calorie" due to that FDA loophole. So I log a packet as 5 calories.)
I switched to liquid sucralose ages ago and haven't looked back. I've been getting it from Amazon for a couple of years now. Before I switched, I too logged my splenda. Just so you know, the exact count per gram of Splenda is 3 calories.
I said upthread that I drink herbal tea with liquid sucralose, and that is truly a free food. Some flavors get a small 10 calorie splash of milk. I can fit those into my day too. I have a ridiculous stash of tea!
Whoa. This actually shocked me. Splenda has only 1 calorie less than sugar per gram?! I'd rather have sugar!
There's a difference in sweetening power per gram, though. A gram of splenda sweetens like 4 grams of sugar.
This can make a difference if you're using the powdered stuff and need it for bulk in cooking.
If you're just using it to sweeten beverages or yogurt or cottage cheese, it's worth it to get the liquid and have zero calories. The brand I get even includes handy little travel size bottles with your order.
May I ask what brand of liquid sucralose you would reccommend? I just started using Splenda and I was unaware of the 3 calories per gram too. I would love to try it but I see so many different ones on Amazon including one made by Splenda and I'm not sure what to look out for. Thank you!
I've tried another brand before, but have come to prefer the delivery system for SucraDrops. Plus the little travel size is adorable.0
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