Best Negative Calorie Foods for Your Health

What constitutes a negative calorie food and why would you want to add them to your diet? While all foods contain calories, your body burns more calories to digest and make use some foods. Generally these are more fibrous, dense fruits and vegetables. They take up more room in your stomach, fill you up quicker, take longer to digest and provide the roughage you need to assist in regular, easy bowel movements.

Whether or not you are dieting or tying to lose weight, these foods are healthful and help promote your overall general health. While some foods; like dandelion, beets and asparagus are negative calorie foods, they fail to make our list because they are not enjoyed by as many people. The following is a list of some of the more versatile and more widely like negative calorie foods.

Apple - Apples are readily available, reasonably priced and the different varieties gives enough choice in flavors for anyone to find a type that they like. You can carry them conveniently whole or bag up slices to enjoy when you need a snack.

Broccoli - Broccoli is an affordable green vegetable that only takes about 5 minutes to cook if boiled. Can also be eaten raw, included in salads or used in dishes like broccoli rice. I would recommend you stay with the most natural presentations for optimum effect. The addition of cheese sauces or other high calorie ingredients will counter the effect you are trying to achieve by eating a negative calorie food.

Cauliflower - Is pretty much the same as broccoli as far as affordability and versatility of use. The same warning applies when considering whether or not to put a sauce on it. Has a milder flavor than broccoli, but if you want a nice compromise, you might want to try broccoflower. It has parentage of both the cauliflower and broccoli and has a light green color. I found it very tasty.

Carrot - Another reasonably priced vegetable that can be eaten raw, included in salads or cooked alone or in a recipe.

Cucumber - Wonderful in a garden salad, served sliced up with avocado or tomato, or even plain or with a light dip.

Lettuce - Takes up volume in your stomach and provides minimal calories. The nature of lettuce doesn't allow for much in the way of dietary requirements, so make sure you are eating other nutritional rich foods and not eating lettuce exclusively.

Strawberries - Another fruit that can be used in many ways and appeals to a large number of people. When they are in season, they are affordable and readily available. At other times, I would suggest buying frozen strawberries for inclusion in smoothies.

Spinach - We all know that spinach is good for us. Most people turn their noses up at cooked spinach, but I find that most people can and will eat it if it is used raw in a salad. It is filling and nutritious.

Resources
Wikipedia - Broccoflower

HealthRecipes.com - Negative Calorie Foods

WeightLossInternational.com - Free List of Negative Calorie Foods