A List of Calorie Dense Foods
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diannethegeek
Posts: 14,776 Member
I'm posting this list with the intention of creating something that people can link to when someone is having a hard time reaching their calorie goal. I hope that other users will add more ideas in the comments.
Calorie-dense foods can be your best friend when you're trying to eat more. These are foods that pack a lot of calories into just a small amount, so they boost your calories quickly without putting a lot of extra food in your stomach. This is a generic list and it's definitely not comprehensive, but anything here can be included in a balanced diet (as long as there are no allergies, medical conditions, obviously):
Calorie-dense foods can be your best friend when you're trying to eat more. These are foods that pack a lot of calories into just a small amount, so they boost your calories quickly without putting a lot of extra food in your stomach. This is a generic list and it's definitely not comprehensive, but anything here can be included in a balanced diet (as long as there are no allergies, medical conditions, obviously):
- Avocado
- Guacamole
- Hummus
- Sour cream
- Cheese
- Whole eggs
- Full-fat dairy
- Greek yogurt
- Ice cream
- Peanut butter (or other Nut butters)
- Dark chocolate
- Honey
- Molasses
- Protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
- Fruit and fruit juices
- Bananas
- Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, plums, dates, etc.)
- Potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
- Edamame
- Olives
- Seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
- Nuts
- Coconut
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Beans and lentils
- Whole grain pasta
- Quinoa
- Rice
- Cornbread
- Scones
- Muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
- Granola
- Pretzels
- Tuna
- Full-calorie condiments
- Full-calorie sauces & dressings
- Salmon
- Beef jerky
- Bacon
- Less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
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Replies
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A keeper, for sure. When I was struggling to keep to 1,200 calories a day, I'd check my numbers in the evening and have a high-cal snack to end off my day. A list like this can really help.16
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What do you define as calorie dense? Eggs, Pretzels, edamame and olives, just to snag a few things off your list, are pretty "light" in terms of weight to calorie ratio.
I fully agree with things like cheese, peanut butter or avocados as being calorie dense though.
In any case, this all sounds like the stuff I eat most days just to fuel myself18 -
What do you define as calorie dense? Eggs, Pretzels, edamame and olives, just to snag a few things off your list, are pretty "light" in terms of weight to calorie ratio.
I fully agree with things like cheese, peanut butter or avocados as being calorie dense though.
In any case, this all sounds like the stuff I eat most days just to fuel myself
I don't use a definition for "calorie dense" myself. The list was originally created to help those who needed a boost of just a few hundred more calories to get into a safer calorie range. I tried to include a broad list of items to try and hit a variety of needs and tastes and I wanted to include a number of smaller things that could be added to dishes here and there to give someone a boost. I included whole eggs specifically because many dieters avoid the yolks and I wanted to help broaden their idea of what's healthy (much as I included whole milk and full calorie condiments and sauces).
The list has been helpful for many users and it was suggested that I repost it somewhere in it's own thread. We're well past my window to edit the post, but hopefully users will still be able to get some use out of it. As I stated, I hope that others will add their own suggestions.23 -
Needed this!!!5
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Oh yay! Definitely bookmarking this for quick referral!6
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Thanks for posting this! Really useful to have a list like this on here.6
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I'll take the ice cream with a sliced banana covered in peanut butter and chocolate syrup.
Wait...that would be my whole day's calorie allowance.28 -
Thank you for taking the time to post this list.4
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Ugh. posting fail.8
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Thank you!!3
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What a great resource. I love it.
Heavy cream (in coffee or as a milk replacement in recipes) can pack an almost unnoticeable wallop. Eating skin on poultry is also a good idea (maybe covered under "less lean cuts of meat"). And speaking of skin... pork rinds or cracklings? They're not everyone's cup of tea, but they're tasty and light and particularly convenient for low-carbers.5 -
For the past week or so I've been feeling incredibly lethargic and found myself often battling my own hunger, despite eating large quantities and maintaining the caloric goals set for maintenance. After assessing my lifestyle and determining that my higher activity levels recently at my workplace was likely making me need more calories, I decided to splurge and have half of one of those half pound reese's peanut butter cups that come in a pack featuring two (to total one pound). At first, that half of a half pound peanut butter cup (or 1/4 lb to keep things simple) didn't put a dent in my hunger, but I finished it pretty quick and enjoyed every moment of it.
Surprisingly, the next couple days my issues were resolved! I wasn't starving, and my energy levels were remarkable! I now feel much better, despite choosing to eat what some may consider "complete junk."
So if you want something high in calories, I suggest Reese's!
It really won't make you feel full in the moment, but if you portion it to fit your caloric needs, it will sure provide you with the energy you need! You'd be surprised!
(Please note: I do NOT recommend this if you're diabetic!)7 -
This is a great resource, thank you. However is there a list on the forums that anyone knows about that is the complete opposite (Excluding veggies lol)17
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I'm new to the weight loss thing. So just know that I'm not saying anything to try to be rude or offensive. And I also don't have much time to read all of the comments to figure this out lol. But why do you want to have more calories? I thought you were supposed to intake less calories and exercise to burn them off?5
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kjdaniel06 wrote: »I'm new to the weight loss thing. So just know that I'm not saying anything to try to be rude or offensive. And I also don't have much time to read all of the comments to figure this out lol. But why do you want to have more calories? I thought you were supposed to intake less calories and exercise to burn them off?
There were only 13 comments to this post. That really is not too many comments to not be able to have read them prior to posting.19 -
kjdaniel06 wrote: »I'm new to the weight loss thing. So just know that I'm not saying anything to try to be rude or offensive. And I also don't have much time to read all of the comments to figure this out lol. But why do you want to have more calories? I thought you were supposed to intake less calories and exercise to burn them off?
I have found the more I focus on limiting my caloric intake the harder it sometimes is to stay at a healthy level. I get so wrapped up in not "wasting" my calories I don't eat enough then feel horrible. So, you do eat less within reason. Go too low and it's unhealthy and counterproductive.14 -
This isn't a food but Green Tea speeds up metabolism and it only has 1-2 calories per bag! It's my new fave drink! leo switch out regular milk for almond milk!2
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XOXOMiriam wrote: »This isn't a food but Green Tea speeds up metabolism and it only has 1-2 calories per bag! It's my new fave drink! leo switch out regular milk for almond milk!
There have been a couple of studies that show green tea might have an effect on metabolism, but they aren't conclusive. And the effects that they do show would give someone about 50 extra calories per day, which is really within the margin of error that we see with calorie counting.
But since this is a list of foods for those trying to eat more calories to meet their goals, green tea seems counter-productive to that.
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THANK YOU SO MUCH !!4
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