Negative Calorie Foods

There is no such thing as a negative-calorie food. If you see that written, what it really means is a food that uses more calories to digest then it actually has in it. Negative-Calorie is a new catchphrase for dieting by reducing caloric intake - which works! But what you need to be careful about with many negative-calorie food choices is what else is in them.

Apples - Many fruits are considered negative calorie. Perhaps the most well-known one is an apple. The best way to eat an apple is raw with the skin. The skin gives it fiber! With apples, though, you have to remember that the small amount of calories mostly comes from the sugar. Like most fruit it's high in sugar.

Asparagus - For those who like it, asparagus can be a real blessing! It's only 40 calories for a whole cup, and rich in many nutrients, like Vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K, and has lots of fiber and protein as well.

Strawberries - A whole cup of Strawberries is only 49 calories! It's high in fiber and in vitamin C, but as with apples, high in sugar.

Cauliflower - A whole cup of cauliflower comes up to only 28 calories. That's almost nothing, especially when you consider that it's a very good source for fiber, Vitamins C, K, and B6, but its calories do also come from sugar.

Oranges - A navel orange has roughly 69 calories in it. Like with other fruits, its calories come from sugar, but it's very high in Vitamin C, Folate, and it's another good source of fiber!

Cucumber - A whole 8" cucumber is only 45 calories with the skin on! It's another one that's mostly sugar, but very good for vitamins C and K and potassium. Add a little salt and it's one of my favorite summer snacks!

Carrot - One whole cooked carrot nets you 16 calories, mostly from sugar. On the up side, the benefits of carrots are huge - Vitamins A, K, and B6, dietary fiber, and Manganese are all very prominent in them!

Garlic - if you want to spice things up, a single clove of garlic is only 4 calories, and is very good for Vitamins B6, C, and Manganese. It's also a good source of calcium.

Papaya - one cup of raw papaya is 55 calories. It's a fruit, so the sugar is where you're getting your calories again. Vitamins A and C and Folate are the big bonuses to this fruit.

Dandelion Greens - Yes, people really do eat them. You harvest them before the flowers come up for the best taste, then boil them. One cup of boiled dandelion greens is 35 calories. It's full of Dietary Fiber, Vitamins A, C, E, and K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron and Manganese.

Green Beans - One of my favorite vegetables, it's most often seen coming out of a can. If you go with unsalted (we call get too much sodium anyway!) then they're 27 calories for a cup. Another very good way to get fiber, Vitamins A, C, and K, Folate, Manganese, and these are also good for Iron.

So while they're not negative calorie, these foods end up costing more energy to digest then they give you when you eat them, and they're all very good for you!