The food with 0 calories list includes best and easy recipes to choose from. Each recipe here have been tried and tested by us, so you can be assured that they are healthy, tasty and most importantly low in calories! The idea behind the list was to make healthy eating easier for everyone whether you’re looking to lose weight or just keep fit. We hope you like the recipes here and don’t forget to share them with your family and friends.
Food With 0 Calories List
We all love food. However, as much as we would like to eat and say that calories do not matter, we know that it is not true. Consuming more food energy than we burn will always lead to weight gain. But what if there was a zero calories foods list that you could refer to helping you make guilt-free and healthy choices?
In this read we are going to expound more on frequently asked questions such as ‘what are zero calorie foods?’, ‘zero calorie foods myth or fact’, as well as list down some zero calorie foods that will fill you up, and more.
What Are Zero Calorie Foods?
Contrary to what the name suggests, these foods do not have zero calories. So how can foods be zero calories if they do have some food energy in them? According to health experts, these foodstuffs, -also known as negative or near-zero calorie foods -, are vegetables and fruits that supposedly take more energy to digest than they provide to your body.
Are Zero Calorie Foods Myth Or Fact?
It depends on how you look at it. As stated above, all foods provide some amount of food energy in it, all at varying rates. For example, 1 slice of pan crust pizza has 280 cals while a stalk of celery (40 g) has about 5.6 cals. Celery, unlike a slice of pizza, has very few calories meaning that during digestion, the body is bound to use up all the energy given from the stalk of celery.
In light of this, celery might be considered as an example of zero-calorie food. However, it should be noted that while such theories are quite popular, so far, there are no reputable scientific sources or studies that prove that these kinds of foods have such an effect.
List Of The Best Zero Calorie Foods And How You Can Consume Them
This zero-calorie foods list will outline which fruits and vegetables can be considered as negative or near-zero-calorie foods, how much energy they have (according to the USDA), their health benefits, and how you can consume them in your day to day.
1. Apples
When looking up zero-calorie foods lists, apples are among the top options that you will find. One cup (125 g) of this fruit has about 65 cals. Apples are considered great for weight loss not only because of their low food energy count but also because they are high in fiber and water.
A 2008 10-week study in 50 overweight women revealed that the participants who ate apples ended up consuming less calories than those who ate oat cookies. They are also good for your heart health as they can help lower your blood cholesterol levels.
They are also said to help reduce your risk of Type II diabetes, have probiotics which promote gut health, may prevent cancer, promote bone health, and help fight against asthma. Apples can be consumed as snacks or added to salads for some extra crunch, sweetness, or tartness.
2. Kale
One cup of kale has 8.75 calories. Kale is a popular vegetable often eaten in salads. This dark leafy green is full of antioxidants which help counteract oxidative damage by free radicals in the body.
Kale is also high in nutrients and vitamins such as vitamin C which boosts your immunity, vitamin K which is critical for blood clotting and helps prevent heart disease and osteoporosis, magnesium that protects against type II diabetes, calcium that is essential for bone health, and potassium which has been linked to reduced blood pressure and a lower risk of heart disease.
3. Celery
The consumption of celery juice has overtaken the world by storm with everybody claiming how good it is for your body. However, juicing, despite its claimed benefits, is not often recommended. Instead, consuming the vegetable whole gives you only 5.6 cals and a slew of vitamins and minerals.
The vegetable is rich in antioxidants, preventing your cells, blood vessels, and organs from oxidative damage. It contains compounds that protect against inflammation, which has been linked to many chronic illnesses, supports digestion, and is low in sodium which helps control your blood sugar. Celery is often consumed in salads, added to recipes, and eaten as snacks with nut butter or hummus.
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4. Berries
Berries are near zero calorie foods that are eaten as snacks, added to salads, and to breakfast foods such as oats for some sweetness.
- Blueberries. Half a cup has about 40 cals and is full of antioxidants which may boost your immune system and help protect you from illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and dementia.
- Blackberries. 100 g of them have about 43 calories and are full of polyphenols, which help reduce inflammation which helps prevent heart disease, cancer, and type II diabetes.
- Strawberries. A cup has 48 cals and is full of vitamin C, folic acid, fiber, and antioxidants. Strawberries may help lower high blood pressure and cholesterol, help you manage blood sugar, and fight the effects of aging on your brain.
- Cranberries. 1 cup of these has about 46 calories and they are popularly used for preventing urinary tract infections.
5. Arugula
1 cup (20 g) of this dark leafy green has about 5 calories. Arugula is often used in salads and when consumed it provides your body with numerous nutrients such as calcium, potassium, folate, Vitamin C, K and A all which, cumulatively promote blood clotting and bone health, boost your immunity and blood coagulation, while supporting eye health, cell growth, as well as kidney, lung, and heart function.
6. Grapefruit
This citrus fruit is low in calories 42 cals for every 100 g that has numerous minerals and vitamins. They are low glycemic fruits and thus will not negatively affect your blood sugar levels making them great for people with diabetes.
They also have fiber, potassium, lycopene, vitamin C, and choline which contribute to your heart health by preventing high blood pressure. They are rich in antioxidants which help lower your risk of cancer. Full of water and fiber grapefruits promote regular bowel movements and help prevent constipation.
7. Broccoli
100 g of broccoli has only 34 calories. This vegetable is a good source of fiber and protein and contains iron, potassium, calcium, selenium, and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K, and a good array of B vitamins, including folic acid.
Adding broccoli to your zero-calorie foods will help with reducing your risk of cancer, boosting your immune health and improving bone health, aiding digestion, and reducing inflammation. Broccoli may also help protect your cardiovascular health and manage blood sugar levels in people with type II diabetes.
8. Cabbage
Whether of green or purple leaves cabbages are almost zero calorie foods with impressive health benefits. They are packed with vitamin C which can boost your immune system, improve digestion, have anthocyanins which not only make them colorful but also reduce your risk of heart attack and heart disease.
9. Carrots
One carrot has about 25 calories and is rich in vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and minerals. Carrots are praised for their benefits toward better vision, and their antioxidants have linked them towards a lower risk of leukemia, prostate, and lung cancer.
This vegetable also protects against:
- Osteoporosis due to vitamin K, small amounts of calcium, and phosphorus
- Diseases as it boosts your immunity because of vitamin C
- High blood pressure. Carrots have potassium which helps relax the blood vessels, reducing the risk of high blood pressure and other cardiovascular issues
- Diabetes because they are low in sugar and have a low on the glycemic index (GI), they can help diabetes patients manage their blood sugar levels
Carrots are often added to salads and stews.
10. Cauliflower
Like broccoli, cauliflower makes for a super zero-calorie food option as 100 g of it only has 25 calories. The vegetable is high in water which helps keep you hydrated, is high in fiber which promotes satiety, and has glucosinolates which may help prevent cancer. Cauliflower can be used in salads or in stews, roasted, or grated as a rice alternative.
Best Low Calorie Foods
For those looking to lose weight, including low-calorie foods in your diet is an essential step. This article provides you with a list of healthy, low-calorie foods to incorporate.
Low-calorie foods include water, tea, salad greens, soup broth, mushrooms, strawberries, vegetable soup, whole grain toast, cod, eggs, and low-fat cottage cheese. An average woman on a weight-loss diet should aim to eat between 1500-1800 calories per day, depending on how active they are. Men will require approximately 500 calories more.
Below are healthy low-calorie foods, for more see the full ranking of all foods low in calories.
List of Low Calorie Foods
#1: Water
| Calories per 8oz Cup | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| 0 calories | 0 calories |
Nutrition Facts for Tap Water.(Source)
Club soda, herbal and green teas also have 0 calories. Green tea has also been shown in studies to aid fat loss.
See the complete ranking of beverages low in calories.
#2: Salad Greens (Watercress)
| Calories per Cup | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| 4 calories | 11 calories |
More Salad Greens Low in Calories
- 5 calories per cup of arugula
- 5 calories per cup of lettuce
- 16 calories in a cup of cucumber
See the list of low calorie vegetables.
#3: Broth
| Calories per Cup | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| 11 calories | 5 calories |
#4: Vegetables (Mushrooms)
| Calories per Cup | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| 15 calories | 22 calories |
More Vegetables Low in Calories
- 19 calories per cup of radishes
- 35 calories per cup of eggplant
- 40 calories per cup of asparagus
#5: Fruits (Strawberries)
| Calories per Cup | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| 53 calories | 32 calories |
More Fruits Low in Calories
- 60 calories per cup of peaches
- 60 calories per cup of cantaloupe
- 62 calories per cup of grapes
See the list of low calorie fruits.
#6: Vegetable Soup
| Calories per Cup | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| 67 calories | 28 calories |
Zero Calorie Food List For Weight Loss
Use this zero calorie foods list to learn which foods are helpful for sustainable weight loss.
The foods we love and regularly recommend for our clients are zero calorie food and snacks.
In this article, we include “almost zero calorie foods” and completely 0 calorie foods that you can eat “unlimited” quantities of without derailing weight loss goals.
zero calorie foods list
Managing your daily caloric intake is one of the first steps many take when beginning their weight loss journey. And they’re right.
We’ve all heard the adage, “Weight loss is 20% fitness and 80% nutrition,” and from our experience, we don’t disagree.
Tracking calories for weight loss is very effective but takes a lot of discipline. In addition to knowing your target daily calorie goal, you’ll also need to know how many calories you burn during your workout and throughout the day.
This is critical because we see many people simply cut their calories too low. News flash: if you undereat, you wont lose weight, and you could even gain weight.
If you don’t eat enough, your metabolism will slow, and hormonal changes will tell your body to onto fat. It’s also plain unhealthy. Think of your body as a flower. You won’t be growing up strong if you cut your water intake.
Knowing what the right foods are to eat when counting calories can be tricky, so we have compiled a list of zero calorie foods, almost zero calorie foods, and negative calorie foods. We include a few food items that you can eat in unlimited quantities, and they won’t make you gain weight.
To learn more about tracking your calories, take our free 30-Day Weight Loss Challenge. As we always say, ‘Trying to lose weight without knowing your calories is like trying to train for a race without knowing the distance.’
If you have struggled with weight loss for many years and suspect that calorie-deprivation has damaged your hormones and ability to lose weight, open our below article in a new tab and read it next.
One of our favorite strategies to recommend is fasting.
When done properly, fasting is a safe and effective way to reset your hormones and kick your body back into a fat burning state. We write all about our experience with intermittent fasting and the science behind it on our Fasting Page.
Or, learn how to prepare for, execute, and break an extended 3-day water fast in the below article.
What Are Negative Calorie Foods and Zero Calorie Foods?
That’s a valid question. Outside of water, vitamins, and some engineered drinks, everything contains at least some calories.
The internet is full of these catchy buzzwords and fad diets, sharing that eating zero or negative calorie foods are the key to weight loss. But, is the science there? Not really.
Regarding negative calorie foods, celery (and other high fiber and high water containing veggies) is the most often cited example of a food that burns more calories to eat it than what it actually provides.
A 2016 study captured in the British TV show Food Unwrapped confirmed this with scientists out of the University of Warwick. In the episode, the TV host burned 72 calories after eating 53 calories of raw celery and burned 112 calories after drinking 53 calories of juiced celery.
Still, there are not enough reputable scientific studies showing that foods are truly calorie negative. But, we can get on board with zero calorie foods. The only truly zero calorie food is water, but low calorie foods are also grouped in.
Still, we view eating only zero or negative calorie foods as fad dieting nonsense similar to drinking ice cold water instead of room temperature water (which burns around 5 extra calories per glass, by the way).
Sure, every little bit helps, but there are better engineered and optimized ways to go about this. The trap is when you buy into zero-calorie marketing of snacks and soda (yes, there’s a 0-calorie Diet Squirt… icky).
Don’t worry, none of that junk is on this zero calorie foods list.
Our Curated Zero Calorie Foods
The zero calorie “unlimited” foods and low calorie foods on this list are all highly nutritious and highly recommended.
While you may find low calorie snacks (like soda or Jello), don’t be fooled. What they lack in calories they make up in sugar and sodium.
Sticking with the idea behind zero calorie foods, we completely support eating a variety of low calorie vegetables like celery, watercress, and alfalfa sprouts and low-calorie fruits like strawberries, watermelon, and cantaloupe. You can do no wrong there.
Additionally, there are a few foods commonly touted as “unlimited” for weight loss, including lemon, hot sauce, herbs, coffee, ginger, and garlic, among others. We share those as well.
At the core of it, eating healthy, fiber-rich foods, no matter the calorie amounts, will do your body good. We generally adhere to an easy philosophy of ‘leafy greens and beans,’ partnered with an awareness of our daily calorie and macro targets, which we discuss in-depth in ‘How to Meal Prep for the Week.’
Stick to this list of high quality foods and you’ll lose weight in a sustainable, healthy manner.
Need help determining how many calories you should be eating in a day? For starters, adult women should never eat less than 1,200 calories a day. The same goes for adult men who should never eat fewer than 1,600 calories a day.
This is an accepted threshold across the medical and nutrition field, so no matter how petite or short you are, don’t eat less than this. Again, think of the flower story – you need to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients to become strong because cutting water out will only make you sick and withered.
All calorie measurements shared below are from My Food Data.
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Zero Calorie “Unlimited” Foods For Weight Loss
This list of zero calorie foods includes foods that you can eat in unlimited quantities, without derailing your weight loss goals.
1. Water
Calories per serving: 0 calories
The only truly zero calorie food on this list, water is essential for your weight loss. Hydration promotes better sleep which helps curb cravings and keeps your body satiated among other benefits we write in our article about ‘Why (and How) You Should Drink a Gallon of Water a Day.’
When dehydration kicks in, your brain can confuse hunger for thirst. If you’re hungry, but it’s not mealtime, reach for a big glass of water instead.
So how much water should you be drinking a day? Here’s our rule of thumb:
Take half your body weight in pounds and drink that many fluid ounces. For example, a 200-pound person should drink 100 fl. oz. of water a day. Some people need more, while some need less, but it’s a good starting point.
2. Vitamins and Supplements
Calories per serving: 0 calories
Your general multi-vitamins do not contain calories. Supplements, like natural powders such as maca or cacao, are typically also low in calories and are effective caffeine alternatives.
One major exception are chia seeds, which are higher in calories (137 calories per ounce), although don’t let that deter you from taking them. They are loaded with fiber. Just schedule it into your targeted daily calories.
3. Lemon or Lime
Calories per serving: 1 calorie per wedge
Lemon and lime can be used in unlimited quantities to brighten up your meals and beverages. They fall into the bucket of zero calorie foods because they more or less have no calories, with one wedge of lemon producing just 1 calorie worth of juice.
Add lemon and lime to your meals (it’s great on both fish and chicken) and your beverages. Nothing is as refreshing as crisp lemon water, which is a popular zero-calorie drink during intermittent fasting during fasting hours.
Interested in intermittent fasting? After intermittent fasting for nearly three years, we wrote up a comprehensive ‘Intermittent Fasting How-To Guide.‘
4. Herbs
Calories per serving: 1 calorie in a small bunch of fresh herbs
Whether it’s a few springs or leaves of fresh thyme or basil, herbs are nearly zero-calorie foods that pack a lot of punch.
Keeping a small herb garden in the kitchen window is one of our favorite reminders to add herbs like basil, mint, oregano, and rosemary to our meals, drinks, shakes, smoothies, and even to our grill embers to smoke our vegetables.
5. Hot Sauce (Tabasco or Mexican Only)
Calories per serving: 1 calorie per teaspoon
Similar to the chilies below, hot sauce, particularly fresh, Mexican-style hot sauces like Cholula and Valentina, are very low in calories.
Hot sauce is a zero calorie food that you can eat in unlimited amounts without it affecting your weight loss.
6. Coffee and Tea
Calories per serving: 2 calories per cup
Outside of added creamer or milk, coffee and tea count as a zero-calorie food and something that many drink while fasting.
Living in Colombia has taught us a lot about coffee, and for best taste and nutrition, we recommend grinding fresh coffee beans and preparing your coffee in a French press.
The best coffee (“Specialty grade” and roasted days prior) we have found in the US comes from JavaPresse. We have been using one of their manual burr grinders for years.
7. Chiles
Varieties such as jalapeño, ancho, pasilla, guajilla, habanero, etc.
Calories per serving: 2-4 calories per raw chile
After spending a year living in Mexico, chilies became a powerful way to flavor our food in the fewest amount of calories. While the size of chilies of course varies, raw chilies are very low in calories. Add some to your next meal, if you dare!
8. Mustard
Calories per serving: 3 calories in 1 teaspoon or packet
Healthy food doesn’t mean “bland” food. Finding high-quality mustards at a specialty shop is one of our favorite ways to dress up our breakfast eggs and salads.
We always have a jar of this zero calorie food in our refrigerator. This 4-Pack on Amazon is a go-to.
9. Vinegar
Calories per serving: 3-6 calories in 1 tablespoon
Adding vinegar into your cooking, like apple cider, sherry or red wine vinegar, adds depth of flavor into many meat and vegetable dishes. We categorize vinegar as one of our ‘unlimited foods’ for our clients.
One of our favorite ways to use vinegar is our early morning drinks of water (boiled), lemon (1/4 slice), cinnamon (dash), and apple cider vinegar (1 ounce) to aid in digestion.
10. Garlic
Calories per serving: 4 calories per clove
Packed with anti-inflammatories and immunity-boosting benefits, add garlic to your list of nearly zero-calorie foods. At just 4 calories per wedge, load up your meals and dressings.
To capture all the nutritional benefits of this zero calorie food, you have to buy full cloves and mince or chop them just before cooking or eating them.
11. Ginger
Calories per serving: 9 calories per half-inch chunk
Fresh ginger is one of our mainstays. Present in our Asian stir fry, herbal teas, and favorite Gingerbread Man Shake, ginger also aids in digestion, immunity, and nauseousness.
12. Green Onion
Calories per serving: 10 calories per 1/4 cup
Green onions and scallions qualify under our unlimited, nearly zero-calorie food list with how much taste they add with just a few stalks. Fun fact, you eat the white part of the green onion which has the most flavor. Save the green ends for garnish.
13. Flavor Extracts
Such as pure vanilla, peppermint, and almond.
Calories per serving: 12 calories per teaspoon
Used in baking, smoothies, and homemade granola, load up on flavor extracts like vanilla, peppermint, and almond. We use these extracts when making our Instant Pot granola to manage the amount of sugar and preservatives often found in store-bought brands.
14. Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
Calories per serving: 12 calories per tablespoon
Believe it or not, cocoa powder (not to be confused with cacao powder which is raw) has very few calories while still imparting significant health benefits like mood-boosting and antioxidants.
When trying to lose weight and craving dessert, add this zero calorie food to your shake for something sweet.
Almost Zero Calorie Vegetables For Weight Loss
Outside of water and vitamins, everything has calories. If you’re looking for the lowest calorie vegetables to add to your shopping list, we list them here in order of the lowest calories per typical serving size of 1 cup.
15. Watercress
Calories per serving: 4 calories per 1 cup, chopped