What are Negative Calorie Foods? How Can They Help You?

With the dramatic change in lifestyle during the last few decades, we human beings are trying our best to keep up with it. Though the changes in our normal lives are brought by no one but us, sometimes it gets harder to keep up with the pace. And amongst everything maintaining a healthy life becomes the biggest challenge.

Since most of us tend to suffer from diseases like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and many more after a certain age which is mainly caused due to an unhealthy diet, people these days are drooling over negative calorie food.

Negative calorie food doesn’t have a clear definition but it’s an idea based upon how one can lose weight depending on the process of burning calories in our body.

What are negative calorie foods?

You can get to hear the term “negative calorie diet” from someone who is very diet conscious or trying to lose weight.

Negative calorie foods are referred to those food items that require more calories to digest and process themselves than it actually contains. This means it will burn way more calories than it can actually provide to your body which will ultimately lead to weight loss. There will be no net gain of calories in your body if you strictly maintain a negative calorie diet.

Now, if you want to maintain a negative calorie diet you should have some knowledge about the negative calorie foods.

Negative Calorie Foods List

Mostly fruits and vegetables that have high water content fall under the category of negative calorie foods.

So, here’s a list of negative calorie foods.

• Apples: It contains 86% water and high dietary fiber. It’s better not to peel off the skin of the apple as it contains fiber too.
• Broccoli: It contains 89% of water. You can have it on a daily basis to receive a good amount of fiber.
• Cabbage: Green cabbage contains 93% water. You can enjoy all the varieties of cabbages as it contains Vitamin C along with fiber.
• Carrots: A very healthy vegetable that should be included in every day’s diet plan. It contains 88g of water per 100g of the vegetable. So, bake them or fry them, just have it the way you want.
• Cauliflower: It contains 92% water. It also contains Vitamin C along with dietary fiber. You can cook it in a lot of ways.
• Celery: It contains 95% of water. Hence, it is definitely a good choice if you are opting for negative calorie food. Salad is always an option for you, but you can also turn it into juice and put them in curry.
• Grapefruit: A juicy pink fruit that can never be missed out if you are preparing a fruit salad. It contains approximately 91% of water.
• Lettuce: Be it a morning sandwich or an evening wrap, lettuce is definitely your bae. The water content of lettuce is 95% and along with it comes a lot of minerals. So, a must have a veggie in your fridge for maintaining a negative calorie diet.
• Oranges: A winter fruit which we all love adding in cakes, baking, making desserts and all the more obvious is having a glass of orange juice during breakfast. With a water content of 87% and enriched with Vitamin C this fruit keeps your calorie always in check.
• Peas: Peas are a very common vegetable especially when it comes to Indian curries. Apart from the water content of 79%, it is a good source and protein and fiber too. You can also add them in salads or toss it with some spices and have a yummy snack.

You guys must be thinking one will get tired of having so many fruits and vegetables daily. Absolutely not!! I will also mention some delicious healthy recipes that you can try yourself and enjoy the negative calorie diet.

Do negative calorie foods exist?

But before diving into the chef’s notebook let’s know something very important. Since we are hyped about the entire negative calorie food concept, do negative calorie foods exist?

The entire concept of negative calorie food isn’t scientifically proven since every fruits, vegetable and other foods contain calories. Even if it’s a very small amount but they still do. The foods that are allegedly under negative calorie foods just burn more calories during the digestion and processing of it. And the amount of calories that are required for digesting varies for different types of food.

So, if you are too much conscious about your diet then you can try food items that are low in calories. It’s quite similar to the negative calorie foods as they also have high water content. You can try Kale, blueberries, spinach, raspberries and many more. Some protein sources are also low in calories like chicken breast, salmon, whole eggs and plain Greek yogurt.

No matter what, you should always include fruits in your diet chart especially the ones having high water content. Staying hydrated is very essential for the proper functioning of the body and hence here’s a list of fruits you should start adding on your custard.

• Pineapple: This fruit is enriched with Vitamin C and the high manganese content is good for your bone.
• Orange: It helps in reducing the chances of cancer due to the presence of limonoids. Helps in reducing cholesterol level and improves the functioning of the heart.
• Peach: A stress relieving fruit that is enriched with Vitamin A and C helps in fighting heart diseases.
• Cantaloupe: Helps in improving vision and balances blood pressure. Helps in weight loss as it is a low-calorie fruit.
• Strawberry: Enriched with Vitamin K and magnesium this fruit helps in improving bone health. Strengthens the immune system as well as balances blood pressure.
• Carambola: It has antioxidant properties that help fighting inflammation. And it’s better to always keep this fruit in the kitchen as they cure hangovers.
• Watermelon: Helps in fighting cancer cells and is good for hair and skin.

Negative calorie diet foods should contain the maximum amount of fruits and green vegetables.

Negative Calorie Diet Recipes

Here are a few recipes that you can try to make your negative calorie diet even more interesting.

1. Broccoli and Feta Omelet with Toast: Fry broccolis in a minimum amount of oil and cook for around 3-4 minutes. Now take a bowl and blend egg, feta, and dill together. Add the mixture to the broccoli and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Flip it and cook for a couple of minutes and serve it.
2. Cabbage Salad: Take shredded cabbage, carrot, green bell pepper, and red onions and toss them well. Then add sugar, white wine vinegar and olive oil to it. Mix it well and add salt. Leave it in the refrigerator for an hour and then serve it.
3. Chicken Salad: Take a microwave dish and place cubed potatoes in it. Brush it with a little bit of oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cover it. Put it inside the microwave on high for 5 minutes till the potatoes become tender. Take a bowl and mix lime juice, honey, oil, and ginger and mix it well. Combine it with the potatoes and then add lettuce, baked skinless chicken, mint, and cilantro to it. Toss it gently and it’s ready to serve.
4. Roasted cauliflower with Olive Vinaigrette: Preheat the oven to 45o degree. Take a baking pan and arrange cauliflowers (medium sized pieces) on it. Sprinkle two tablespoons of oil, salt, and a little pepper. Roast for 30 minutes (each side 15 minutes). Take a small bowl and mash garlic on it and add oil, olives, lemon zest, juice, and pepper. Mix it well and pour it over the roasted cauliflowers.

You can surely try other interesting recipes by youtubing and create some delicious tricks of your own too. Always remember no matter what diet chart you follow you should always eat healthily. And do not ever skip meals.