Healthy/Calorie-dense foods...

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shaunshaikh
shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
in Food and Nutrition
On days I play basketball, I'm really struggling to get all my calories in. I get extremely full and can't even imagine eating more. Can anybody give me suggestions of healthy foods that are also calorie-dense? So much healthy food is filling and not calorie-dense. For example, I would have to eat for hours to eat 2,400 of salad. Brown rice with ground turkey and vegetables doesn't go a long way with Calories, although it's very healthy. Any ideas? I've heard nuts being thrown around some, but is that high in sodium? I don't know -- just asking.

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  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    Avocado, olive oil, almonds, natural peanut and almond butter, beans
  • Beegale
    Beegale Posts: 21
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    brazil nuts!

    or any nuts really....as long as they aren't covered in salt sodium shouldn't be a problem.

    Hope that helps......I wish I had 2400 a day to eat.....won't catch me eating any Brazil nuts on 1390 cals a day!!

    :o)
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    And no, nuts aren't high in sodium if you buy unsalted nuts. You can buy natural peanut butter and almond butter with no salt added as well. Add sliced almonds to your oatmeal or ygourts, etc. Toss your veggies in some extra virgin olive oil for some nice healthy fat and great flavor.
  • TRMF
    TRMF Posts: 2
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    Trail mix is a great pre or post workout snack that is very calorie dense with a good combination of protein, healthy fat and carbohydrate. Just get unsalted or Raw nuts, these do not have added sodium.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    peanutbutter in protein shakes with bananas and milk. There are soooo many threads on this lol.
  • dsrees
    dsrees Posts: 2 Member
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    You might be thinking backwards with regards to the term "calorie dense."

    Here's an example.....you've got 2 different breakfasts:

    Breakfast 1: Small glass of orange juice, bowl of oatmeal, and a banana.....approximately 400-500 calories.

    Breakfast 2: A chocolate donut and some small non-coffee coffee drink from Starbucks....approximately 400-500 calories (probably a little more).

    Both meals are equal in calories, but clearly one is much more nutritional than the other. Therefore, Breakfast 1 is MUCH MORE calorie dense than breakfast 2. So salads, like you meantioned, are actually very calorie dense, because there are a lot of vitamins and minerals you are getting out of that salad per the amount of calories you take in when you eat it.

    So what you need to find, are similar calorie dense foods as far as nutritional value is concerned, but that are just more filling.

    A lot of the suggestions on here are good ones. Personally my favorite is what people on here mentioned with regards to nuts.

    I think someone else here made a comment about this as well....and that's make your own trailmix.....There are times where I'll take random small healthy items out of the pantry, throw it in a ziplock bag, and have that be a snack for me throughout the day. One example:

    1. Small crumbled up granola bar.
    2. Regular cherrios.
    3. Dry regular oatmeal (actually tastes really good).
    4. Roasted nuts (not honey rosted).

    I usually do what's considered 1 or 2 serving sizes based on each item, and that one bag throughout the day will usually equal about 600 calories....all exteremly healthy and dense.
  • Britenebula
    Britenebula Posts: 36
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    On days I play basketball, I'm really struggling to get all my calories in. I get extremely full and can't even imagine eating more. Can anybody give me suggestions of healthy foods that are also calorie-dense? So much healthy food is filling and not calorie-dense. For example, I would have to eat for hours to eat 2,400 of salad. Brown rice with ground turkey and vegetables doesn't go a long way with Calories, although it's very healthy. Any ideas? I've heard nuts being thrown around some, but is that high in sodium? I don't know -- just asking.

    Blue diamond makes raw almonds that have no salt. 10 almonds is about 100 calories. They're good too.
  • Britenebula
    Britenebula Posts: 36
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    Also FYI as far as nuts go, some fo the healthiest are Almonds, Pecans and Walnuts. Here's a quick link:
    http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/healthy-nuts/

    Oh, and if you eat them raw you don't have to worry about sodium. I've never seen that, at least - raw nuts that are also salted.
  • Jwpawlowski
    Jwpawlowski Posts: 19 Member
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    I see your point, but I think you may be confusing "calorie-dense" with "nutrient-dense". The oatmeal breakfast is "nutrient dense" (lots of nutrients per gram of food eaten), while the donut breakfast is "calorie-dense" (lots of calories per gram of food eaten). I see the point that you are trying to make though!!
  • jennh93
    jennh93 Posts: 1
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    This is actually speaking of "Nutrient density" not calorie density.

    The first breakfast has much more NUTRIENTS than the second one of a donut and coffee. Their calorie density is the same but the first one is much more nutrient dense.

    Some healthy calorie dense options that you may want to consider is adding avocado to some of the dishes that you already eat. nuts and seeds are a good source too. 1/4 cup almonds is about 200 calories. 1/4 cup isn't very big therefore, it's a CALORIE dense food.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    You want to focus on nutrient dense more so then just calorie dense. Like dsrees said, downing a bunch of sugar can get you a lot of calories but what will actually help sustain you between meals will be something that have more nutrients. Eggs, nuts, avacado, sweet potato, full fat greek yogurt, etc.
  • ThinLizzie0802
    ThinLizzie0802 Posts: 863 Member
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    vital choice trail mix is unsalted has nuts and berries and a tiny little pack is 300 calories....sooooo good
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    On days I play basketball, I'm really struggling to get all my calories in. I get extremely full and can't even imagine eating more. Can anybody give me suggestions of healthy foods that are also calorie-dense? So much healthy food is filling and not calorie-dense. For example, I would have to eat for hours to eat 2,400 of salad. Brown rice with ground turkey and vegetables doesn't go a long way with Calories, although it's very healthy. Any ideas? I've heard nuts being thrown around some, but is that high in sodium? I don't know -- just asking.

    Ice cream, pasta, full fat dairy, oils etc
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    Ummm...there's a lot more to proper nutrition and "healthy" eating than salad. You need to be getting your essential fat and proteins as well as your fruit and veg. I think that may be your problem.

    sautee some veg in olive oil or roast them in the oven with olive oil

    nuts and nut butters...trail mix, etc. A small handful of nuts or trail mix (1oz) is around 150 calories give or take

    when you do your brown rice, make it a pilaf by browning the dried rice in olive oil..add some onion and garlic and cook in some veg or chicken broth.

    steak on occasion instead of a plain, dried out chicken breast or turkey

    Basically, just have a much more well rounded and balanced diet. I eat around 2700 - 3000 calories per day to maintain currently...I eat very nutritiously and have zero problems getting my calories in.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
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    A cup of cooked quinoa is around 260 calories and is a "perfect protein" with a balanced amino acid profile.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    On days I play basketball, I'm really struggling to get all my calories in. I get extremely full and can't even imagine eating more. Can anybody give me suggestions of healthy foods that are also calorie-dense? So much healthy food is filling and not calorie-dense. For example, I would have to eat for hours to eat 2,400 of salad. Brown rice with ground turkey and vegetables doesn't go a long way with Calories, although it's very healthy. Any ideas? I've heard nuts being thrown around some, but is that high in sodium? I don't know -- just asking.

    If you are playing basketball you are probably sweating enough that sodium is not a problem. But you can get unsalted nuts or nut butters. Any high fat food is going to be calorie dense. Cook or dress your food with olive oil. Add seeds, nuts or avocado to your dishes.

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