[megwini]

I'm trying to make this as expansive as possible. Now that I'm eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, I'm having trouble making my daily calories. I do zig-zagging and have a 2600 calorie day, 2400 calorie day, etc., in addition to my low days. I'd like to get up there by eating HEALTHY calories for the most part, so I've looked around online and made a list. I want to see if anyone can add to it. If an obvious food is missing, it's probably just because I don't like it.

- Peanut butter
- Fruit
- Whole grains, pastas, rice, oats & cereals
- Oatmeal
- Bread, bagels
- Brown rice
- Granola
- Potatoes
- Beans
- Avocado
- Fish such as salmon, tuna
- Red meats
- Flaxseed, Flaxseed oil
- Cheese
- String cheese
- Olive oil
- Hummus
- Cream cheese
- Hard-boiled egg
- Black olives
- Corn, carrots

I'm sure this type of question gets asked a lot so I'm sorry for that.

[utgirl09]

Almonds, yum , this is my fav high calorie snack. I love black olives too! I too was finding it hard to get enough calories since I am not eating junk for the most part. This is a great list. Thanks!

[Glory87]

Quinoa - it's a grain (pronounced keen-wa). I use it in place of brown rice a lot, it's also good for stuffing burritos and quesadillas or making quinoa salad.

Here's a recipe:

Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

* 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
* 2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 sweet potato, baked and diced
* 1 red bell pepper, diced
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Simmer the quinoa in the vegetable broth about 10 to 15 minutes, or until water is gone and quinoa is light and fluffy when stirred. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Toss together the quinoa, sweet potato and bell pepper in a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and cayenne pepper. Gently toss this dressing with the quinoa. Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

[ICUwishing]

Pretty much any type of nuts/seeds. Second the quinoa - that is an amazing, versatile food. I did up mine with some sauteed onions and garlic, and then tossed in some shredded chard and diced mushrooms. Seasoned with some cracked black pepper - yummy!

[megwini]

Oh, and if anyone here detests the yolks of hard-boiled eggs, you're probably cooking them too long! If the yolk is hard and crumbly and tastless, try cooking it like this:
Fill pot with water, just enough so that the water is the height of the egg (tallwise). Boil water on high. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium, let sit for a minute or two to cool down.
Poke a hole in the top of the egg with a needle. Place egg gently in water. Boil on medium for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove carefully, place eggs in a bowl of cold water.

That's what I do! If your stove is hotter and the yolks are still crumbly, simply reduce cooking time. Try experimenting with how long you cook it to get the yolk to the exact consistency you desire. For me, following that recipe makes the yolks JUST solid and no longer runny but still VERY soft and moist. They taste delicious. I HATE overcooked, powerdy yolks, but a lot of folks don't even realize that the yolks don't HAVE to be like that.