Foods that are high in cals, but not processed

_persephone_
_persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I've been trying to eat more cleanly, so have cut a lot of processed food out of my diet. The problem is I've found that my calorie intake is way too low, but I'm absolutely full to bursting. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, and I'm already planning on getting avocados, peanut butter and Greek yogurt (for the protien), but I was wondering if you guys had any good suggestions for natural(ish) calorie dense food?

Thank you in advance :)

Replies

  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    Chia seeds and flax seeds, nuts and nut butters, coconut and olive oils, pumpkin and sunflower seeds... I'll post more as I think of them :D
  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    Mmmm, sunflower seeds! I love those, and had forgotten about them. Thank you for responding, it has definitely given me a few ideas :)
  • littlegoat
    littlegoat Posts: 16
    Almonds, almonds, almonds. I could.. can.. just eat them by the handful, and at around 200 cals for 30 that's an addiction that gets scary pretty quickly. Sweet vanilla ones.. smokehouse ones.. I don't discriminate in my love for them. Have a 1kilo jar of the latter just sitting in my room actually (12 dollars from costo damnit) that I've been too scared to touch since I started keeping my calories in check, lol.

    Any kinds of nuts I think basically..

    ..and butter.
  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    VANILLA almonds?! Mmmmm! I've never heard of those, but they sound delicious!
  • littlegoat
    littlegoat Posts: 16
    They're almonds coated in a mix of vanilla and sugar, and baked in the oven for a little bit until the sugar melts, so when it cools it hardens. Not the healthiest thing, with the sugar in there, but I'm sure you could diy a version with maple syrup, or something else more natural instead. Things I will end up doing later: that!

    Found a recipe here that looks like it could be my new best friend: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/vanilla-almonds-recipe/index.html
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Also, start using more regular calorie foods, like full fat greek yogurt, full fat or 2% milk and cheese.

    Meats with a little more fat, like chicken thighs instead of breasts only.
  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    Very good point...I'd been buying the low fat versions because I suppose I think of them as 'healthier'. It wasn't until I started logging my food that I realised how little I was actually eating :/
  • rosebayer
    rosebayer Posts: 27 Member
    Avocado! :)
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    Make green monsters-
    banana
    couple handfuls of spinach(I PROMISE you cannot taste it!)
    peanut butter
    1 cup of milk of your choice
    chocolate syrup(OK-not WHOLE, but if you get trader joes or a natural one...)
    ice cubes
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Seeds, nuts, avocadoes.
  • thesuperchunk
    thesuperchunk Posts: 33
    Oatmeal. Bodybuilders use oatmeal when bulking for just that purpose - cheap, quick, tasty, healthy and high calorie. You can pretty much eat as much as you need and it goes down easy.

    Do make sure you eat enough, it's important to find the right balance. Eating too little can cause issues for sure both in your energy but also causes fluctuations.

    Also, forget low fat. Fat is good. The fat hype is based mostly on pseudo science and marketing of processed foods.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Any food that will grow if you plant it. :flowerforyou:
  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    Thanks ever so much guys, you've given me some great ideas (and I shall definitely be making some almonds with maple syrup, that sounds superyummy!)
  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    Oh, and does oatmeal = porridge? (Brit over here)
  • hkussatz
    hkussatz Posts: 41
    I ditched processed foods months ago and it was the best thing i've ever done! Everything you already have on your list is what i was going to mention. Avacados, natural peanut butter. Mangos are also good (high calorie fruit... about 135-160cals.) Eggs are a great choice too (who really only eats 1 egg???) Good luck!
  • hkussatz
    hkussatz Posts: 41
    never had porrage but i think oatmeal is thicker :D
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    Any veggie that's carby - think peas, corn, sweet potatoes, onions. Whole grains! Whole wheat bread, oatmeal (1 cup uncooked is about 320 calories) ... fruits (anything real sugary): bananas, grapes, kiwi, avocado (also good fats!).

    And no, oatmeal is not porridge. Porridge is different. Oatmeal is oatmeal. It's made from oats.
  • hkussatz
    hkussatz Posts: 41
    AND adding oatmeal into the blender when you are making smoothies is a MUST.
  • CAWStar
    CAWStar Posts: 23
    Avocado! Slice them and put it on a sandwich.
  • thesuperchunk
    thesuperchunk Posts: 33
    YES, oatmeal is porridge. As long as the porridge is made of oats (which it usually is :).
  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    Umm, yes, porridge is definitely made from oats :D

    And I did not realise mangoes were so high in cals...I love those too.

    I've got a good shopping list on the go here, thanks ever so much everyone!
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
    never had porrage but i think oatmeal is thicker :D

    Porridge is what you US-ians call oatmeal.
  • thesuperchunk
    thesuperchunk Posts: 33
    Well, to nit pick, you can make porridge out of barley or any grain or even peas. The word describes a cooking method and consistency (which is to say, if you boild oats and make it really watery it's not porridge anymore, but if you boil, say, rice in water you could technically call it porridge if it had the consistency of rice pudding), not a specific recipe.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Umm, yes, porridge is definitely made from oats :D

    And I did not realise mangoes were so high in cals...I love those too.

    I've got a good shopping list on the go here, thanks ever so much everyone!

    Mangoes are amazing.
  • mugsisme
    mugsisme Posts: 127 Member
    never had porrage but i think oatmeal is thicker :D

    Porridge is what you US-ians call oatmeal.

    Get the steel cut oatmeal, not the quick cook in one min type of oatmeal. I usually eat mine plain w/o sugar. I like to add raspberries to make it sweeter and a lot of cinnamon.

    cheese is also good.
    whole eggs
    and beans are my new favorite. Very high in protein. I buy canned and rinse them for a long time to try and cut down on the sodium. I have bought them dry but they are very finicky to hydrate, and sometimes I am not so successful. (Like tonight, my lentils were still crunchy after cooking for 30 mins.)
This discussion has been closed.

Categories