Hello calorie counters. I'm fairly new to calorie counting and if there's a thread somewhere here regarding the question I'm about to ask, please let me know. My plan has consisted of mainly whole foods and working out six days a week, but I've recently realized how reliable and helpful calorie counting is.
I'd like to know what kinds of food or meals give you the most bang for the amount of calories? I'm talking about foods that really fill you up. I know oatmeal is supposed to be one, but I don't like it. So anything other than that, I'm pretty open.

High water, high fibre, lower fat foods -- soups, stews, lots and lots of low carb veggies -- take a look at the Volumetrics thread in General diet Plans.

I try to add veggies to everything to fill me up with fewer calories and more nutrition.

For example, when I make chili, I use black beans (and sometimes other beans too) because they have a lot of fiber, then I put in onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes, celery and anything else that has a flavor that would go well

I am LOVING special K Protien PLus for bkf then add berries. It has LOTS of fiber and protien, at only 100 cals per serving, keeps me full from 7 a.m til at least noon. Works for me.

Laughing cow cheese is great too if you are a cal counter.

I eat A LOT of salads as a side, they are a graet filler that you can add SO many veggies to.

In studies that have actually been done on this, boiled potatoes WITH the skins have consistently come out on top for the satiety factor. Despite what carb-haters would have you believe, they are actually a great source for a lot of required nutrients, and are healthy if you don't load them with fat-laden condiments.

Here are some numbers.

One boiled 3-ounce potato with the skin on contains about:
-90 calories
-11% DV potassium
-2g fiber
-2g protein
-21% DV Vit. C
-6% DV Iron
-7% DV Thiamin
-7% DV Niacin
-14% DV b6
-9% DV Phosphorous

I could go on and on about how GOOD potatoes are for you, because they are a good source for at least 8 other nutrients, but you get the point. I like them with just a little Wishbone salad dressing spritz on them, or with just a little salt (which is how I would eat them as a kid- I'd steal them from my mother while she was making potato salad.)


For me personally, I can tell you better what DOESN'T keep me feeling full. White pasta is one of them for sure. Half hour after I eat it, I am hungrier than I was to begin with.

Fiber one cereal or Fiber one honey clusters is the only cereal that keeps me sated until lunch. I usually will throw in half a banana.

Veggies, veggies, veggies.

The nice thing about being a calorie counter is that you can eat a very wide variety of foods--but usually in small portions. If you're craving pasta or something, you can make some pasta for your dinner, but you can't count on the pasta to fill you up. For that you need salad, and veggies. Plan on eating a side salad with your dinner each night--that way you can have lots of variety in your diet, stay full, and keep your calories low.

When I am keeping my calories very low, I rely on LOTS of tomato-based veggie dishes with dinner. It can be a pasta sauce filled to the brim with zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and onions, or a ratatouille, served over polenta, or a veggie-laden shrimp creole with a half cup of rice. Anything that starts with a base of canned tomatoes (or fresh, when in season) and adds tons of veggies is going to give you great volume and nutritional bang for your calorie. Plus you can season the stuff in many different ways--use fresh 'italian' herbs with tons of garlic, or creole seasoning, or cumin and coriander. It's infinitely flexible.

A can of Slimfast blended with a small banana. delish and filling and about 235 calories. I only get small bananas or you could use half of a medim banana then you are looking at 260 calories.

Creamy soup with croutons = lots of calories. Have you tried Progresso soups ? very tasty and 100 calories or less. They have many choices, too.









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Here's an idea for a "creamy soup with croutons" that won't bust a diet:

1 32 oz. can tomatoes (low salt is best and I also like fire roasted ones)
1/2 cup cooked potato (or more, as calories allow)
6 oz. reduced fat silken tofu
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4-1 cup water or vegetable broth (depending on texture desired)
a few dashes of pepper

Optional add-ins:

Southwest Style:

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped and/or
1/2 cup salsa (fresh is great and lower sodium is best)

Italian Style: Add Italian seasonings, fresh basil, thyme, oregano etc.

Directions:

Cook the onion and garlic in a soup pot in a bit of water or vegetable broth
until soft. Add all remaining ingredients, simmer then use an immersion blender or blend in batches to make "creamy".

If desired, when serving, add fat free/low fat croutons or make your own high fiber, low fat croutons (it is very easy to do).

The secret word is "cream" cream of whatever means more calories than clear soups , anything made without cream, your soup sounds good and no cream.

The tofu and potato give it a "creamy" texture and appearance while adding in good nutrition and less fat than dairy cream does. When I make this with a few additions for people who aren't watching calories as we are (including a spoon of cashew butter, unsweetened soy milk, more spice etc.) people don't believe it isn't dairy cream based!

For breakfast I think it is important to get fiber and protein in to keep you going. I do eat steel cut oatmeal sometimes, but I add flaxseed meal, berries, cinnamon, a wee bit of brown sugar, and soy milk (I like to get at least 10g of fiber at breakfast.) If I'm not going to be able to snack mid-morning I'd eat a boiled egg with that to keep me going. Are there any high fiber cereals you like? I like Uncle Sam and I know a lot of people like Kashi Go Lean.

I also like the following:

~small ww torilla with 1/2T PB and 1/2 banana rolled up (I use this as a snack~ for a meal double PB & banana)
~2 rye crisps crackers with 2T hummus or 1oz of cheese (snack)
~1/2-1 cup plain Greek yogurt with 1T flaxseed meal and 1/2c berries (I'll do this for breakfast and add 1/4-1/2 cup of Uncle Sam Cereal~Very filling! Almost too much food)
~Smaller portion of leftovers from dinner the night before (who says you have to eat meal specific foods)
~Beans are very filling (hummus, ff refried in ww tortilla w/salsa, beans & brown rice, lentil soup, etc.)
~If you are a pasta lover ww pasta is much more filling and it tastes better than you'd think. Even if you don't like ww pasta Barilla makes a variety of pasta (Barilla Plus) that tastes like white pasta, but has a lot more fiber to keep you full.