Surprisngly low in cals?

2

Replies

  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    Beetroot. I know it's a vegetable, but it feels so solid, sweet and substantial that I feel it should have more calories! (About 35 calories for a good sized one, or about 26 for the ones in the vacuum packs).

    Packets of cold, sliced meat. If it's sliced thin, it's obviously going to be low in calories, but it still sometimes surprises me to see 5-6 calorie slices.

    Cadbury's Creme Eggs - I was guessing around 250 - 300 calories. They're actually 180 calories each.

    Actually, I think they're 150. Maybe you're thinking about the caramel ones? Either way, what a bang for your buck! So good.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I was surprised how low in calories PB2 is, but maybe I shouldn't have been. It's great to be able to have my protein shake or oatmeal with peanut butter flavor in it without having use up almost 200 calories.

    Also, pretzels. I usually only eat them on the odd weekend day, but 120 calories for 24 pretzels ain't too shabby.
    The donuts I get are only around 200 each! I don't know why they get such a bad rap!

    Krispy Kreme donuts are around 350 calories each. They're the only ones I'll eat and I could never eat just one. It's best for me to avoid them altogether, which is surprisingly easy considering I'd have to go WAY out of my way to hit up a Krispy Kreme.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    Lean steak :love: It's not "low" calorie, but easier than I expected to fit in.

    With my low calorie goal, I find it almost impossible to fit beef in anywhere, regardless of how lean it is. Maybe I'm not finding the accurate food entries...

    Surprisingly, I've enjoyed life pretty well with minimal amounts of beef and meat, in general, owing the favor to my vegetarian wife.

    This doesn't sound quite right. How low is your calorie goal. Take a look at my diary from last night - flank steak is very easy to fit in and that 7.5 oz was an enormous portion...
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Lean steak :love: It's not "low" calorie, but easier than I expected to fit in.

    With my low calorie goal, I find it almost impossible to fit beef in anywhere, regardless of how lean it is. Maybe I'm not finding the accurate food entries...

    Surprisingly, I've enjoyed life pretty well with minimal amounts of beef and meat, in general, owing the favor to my vegetarian wife.

    This doesn't sound quite right. How low is your calorie goal. Take a look at my diary from last night - flank steak is very easy to fit in and that 7.5 oz was an enormous portion...

    +1
  • redfiona99
    redfiona99 Posts: 116 Member
    Salmon and sea bass. I knew about the salmon but not the sea bass.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Salmon and sea bass. I knew about the salmon but not the sea bass.

    Salmon? No way. I don't think you realize how tiny a 3oz serving is... and that's 180 calories.

    Cod is very low calories though. Love it.
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
    Cottage cheese. I get the Breakstone's low sodium version. Only 180 calories for a whole cup of it and it kills hunger for almost forever. If I add some PB2 in it.....heaven for under 200 calories. Best snack EVER.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
    Asparagus, like the 2nd person in the thread mentioned.

    Lettuce. Tomatoes. Apricots!

    Cottage cheese and 0% fat Greek yogurt!

    Eggs-- I am still amazed at how low-cal they are.

    And, the two things that really surprised me-- my homemade tapioca pudding (125ish cals for about 3/4 cup, which is the serving size I use) and the chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons I learned to make when I worked at a bakery. I am sworn to keep the recipe a secret, since the baker invented it herself and that's where most of her income comes from (the macaroons are super popular!) but I made them so many times I memorized the exact recipe. I make them myself now for family and friends-- and the sugar/honey/coconut/chocolate globs are only 126 calories each! I thought they'd come in around 300 or so. . . .
  • TheGreatBeyond
    TheGreatBeyond Posts: 125
    Egg whites... First time I looked at the nutrition label, I was like "what is this sorcery?"
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
    One Costco Chocolate Chunk cookie...a mere 210 cals. On a heathier note, chard...15 cals per cup I think, or maybe it was 2 cups, either way, low.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    Cadbury's Creme Eggs - I was guessing around 250 - 300 calories. They're actually 180 calories each.

    Actually, I think they're 150. Maybe you're thinking about the caramel ones? Either way, what a bang for your buck! So good.

    Cadbury's website says they're 180, but I bet they do different sizes outside of the UK. 150 is even better!
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,013 Member
    I understand the "steak" idea. A 6 oz. steak is usually lower in calories than any of the chicken choices at restaurants. I almost always have enough calories left for dinner (at 1200) to have a 6 oz. sirloin, and two veggies or a veggie and a salad. Restaurants add so much to chicken that it is usually very, very high. Fish if fried will be more than a steak, too, at restaurants.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    It's funny that some of you are saying cottage cheese - I always thought of that as a "diet" food, so it always surprises me that I have to be careful how much I eat!

    Bagels: I read somewhere that they were 600 calories each. In fact, the usual ones are about 250 calories and the small ones are about 115! I'm sure sizes can vary according to country, but that's quite a difference :).
  • shining_light
    shining_light Posts: 384 Member
    Egg whites... First time I looked at the nutrition label, I was like "what is this sorcery?"

    Yes. This.

    Also, I will echo another above poster and say Greek yogurt. How can something that feels THAT naughty(you know, all that thick deliciousness) be THAT low in calories? :love:

    I also buy 100 calorie bagels. They're little, obviously, but they get me my bread and peanut butter fix without going overboard.
  • redfiona99
    redfiona99 Posts: 116 Member
    Salmon and sea bass. I knew about the salmon but not the sea bass.

    Salmon? No way. I don't think you realize how tiny a 3oz serving is... and that's 180 calories.

    Cod is very low calories though. Love it.

    (Confused face) 100 g for 208 kcal. Sounds low to me.
  • soxobsessed
    soxobsessed Posts: 130 Member
    Caramel, still shocked by how low in calories it is, not that I eat it all the time but hey I like my sweets
  • hosment
    hosment Posts: 12
    Mini Milky Way bars (64 cals!), pre packaged ham- c40 calories or less if wafer thin, olives (40 cals for 8 olives), Muller low fat chocolate desserts (99 cals).
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    The vast majority of fruits and vegetables.

    Actually a great many foods found in nature are filling because of their volume, but pack relatively low amounts of calories. This is why people tend to lose weight, while staying full, on whole food "diets".

    Most Seafood. Seriously you could have a HUGE plate of shrimps, scallops, cooked with spinach and be full, but have comparatively few calories for it's volume.
    Cool Whip
    Dark Chocolate

    I remember being surprised as a teenager how few calories were in Tic Tacs LOL! Seriously, they tasted just like a nice sweet snack to me and I would use them as a low cal way to curb sweets consumption.
  • heatherutopia
    heatherutopia Posts: 78 Member
    Home made Sandwiches - so much better for you than the supermarket pre-packaged version!

    Home made anything really! :D
  • ShaniWulffe
    ShaniWulffe Posts: 458 Member
    My school has 180-calorie frosted donuts... YUM
  • TheGreatBeyond
    TheGreatBeyond Posts: 125
    Salmon and sea bass. I knew about the salmon but not the sea bass.

    Salmon? No way. I don't think you realize how tiny a 3oz serving is... and that's 180 calories.

    Cod is very low calories though. Love it.

    6 oz of raw salmon = 197 calories... If you just straight up grill it, you're basically looking at that as your net calorie intake from the meal. That is pretty damn lean.
  • FrankNittyII
    FrankNittyII Posts: 5 Member
    I never really changed what I ate. It really has to do with portion and the amount of activities. I removed sugar from my diet and and I limited the amount of dairy products. Just read the Nutritional Facts label on the products and eat according to recommended servings. I manage to lose over 30 in three weeks by just portion awareness and 15 to 30 minutes of exercise twice a day and drink plenty of water.
  • November_Fire
    November_Fire Posts: 165 Member
    Tesco regular houmous: 160 cals per quarter-pot (I don't even eat a quarter pot, I eat 35g.)

    Tesco even nicer Moroccan houmous, with more spices and amazing flavour - 97 cals per quarter pot. Win!

    Cauldron Vegetarian Falafel bites - 39 cals each.

    Baking with fat free Greek yoghurt. I made a lemon cake which, once divided into 12 good-size slices, was 89 cal a slice.
  • 95Tashey95
    95Tashey95 Posts: 65 Member
    I never really changed what I ate. It really has to do with portion and the amount of activities. I removed sugar from my diet and and I limited the amount of dairy products. Just read the Nutritional Facts label on the products and eat according to recommended servings. I manage to lose over 30 in three weeks by just portion awareness and 15 to 30 minutes of exercise twice a day and drink plenty of water.
    this Is kinda what I meant for the post - nothing trying to be odd but something you have come across that you were expecting to be much worse than it was

    some great ideas and so many normal foods coming up

    diet foods should be banned in my opinion lol

    the quote 'it's half the fat so I can eat twice as much' spings to mind

    I would much rather eat normal food to satisfy a craving, its just nice when that normal food takes less of a hit on your calorie allowance than expected
  • sammama5
    sammama5 Posts: 92 Member
    I was surprised tonight to find that pumpkin is pretty low cal (already knew about the broccoli, love my veggies!)

    My wife was into WW for a few years, they use pumpkin a lot with a cake mix, do not use any oil or eggs, just a can of pumpkin, makes a decent cake that scores pretty low in WW points, and use "free" cool whip for the icing. Pumpkin is pretty nutritious too. I think some recipes used sauerkraut the same way, and maybe shredded zucchini ??

    Bill

    The thing about pumpkin in a cake mix is that the cake mix already has fat in it, so it does cut back on the fat, but not completely. Some people misunderstand this and think that using the pumpkin makes your cake fat-free. (Who would want a fat free cake, anyway, though?)
    I have yet to find a good lower calorie recipe using pumpkin or zucchini that is from scratch. My daughter is allergic to soy, so I can't use the boxed cake mixes because of the hydrogenated soybean oil (crisco) that they utilize.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Applegate Farms beef hotdogs: 70 cals. When paired with Ballpark buns, a sprinkling of onion and spicy brown mustard, 200 cals for a great tasting dog.

    All winter squash, including pumpkin, acorn, spaghetti, and most of all my beloved butternut! Butternut is a great sub for sweet potatoes at half the calories.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Oh, and canned pumpkin! The stuff is ridiculously low in calories and can easily be seasoned and sweetened to taste amazing. It really got me through my first Christmas season back on the weight loss road, and helped me enjoy the flavors of my favorite season that year, while losing weight instead of gaining.

    It's pretty damn near a miracle food in my book LOL!
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
    Applegate Farms beef hotdogs: 70 cals. When paired with Ballpark buns, a sprinkling of onion and spicy brown mustard, 200 cals for a great tasting dog.

    All winter squash, including pumpkin, acorn, spaghetti, and most of all my beloved butternut! Butternut is a great sub for sweet potatoes at half the calories.

    I swear, acorn squash is divine. One of my favorite foods.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Applegate Farms beef hotdogs: 70 cals. When paired with Ballpark buns, a sprinkling of onion and spicy brown mustard, 200 cals for a great tasting dog.

    Wow. The hotdogs I like (Nathan's beef franks) are 170 calories each. How do the Applegate Farms ones compare to other beef hotdogs - as in flavor?
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    Cosigning Bacon - I am only slightly exaggerating when I say it was a life changing moment when I found out bacon cooked crisp is significantly lower in calories (due to rendering out of fat) than what is on the package (they have to put the calories of a full raw piece because they can't assume how you will cook it).

    Pork tenderloin as well - compares favourably with skinless chicken breast cal wise.

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