Using Fruits and Vegetables to Manage Your Weight

Eating fewer calories than your body uses doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to eat less food. You can create lower-calorie versions of some of your favorite dishes by substituting low-calorie fruits and vegetables in place of higher-calorie ingredients. The water and fiber in fruits and vegetables will also add volume to your dishes, so you can eat the same amount of food (or more!) with fewer calories. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling.

You can cut calories and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat at every "eating" stage of the day:

Breakfast: Start the day right

• Substitute some spinach, onions, or mushrooms for one of the eggs or half of the cheese in your morning omelet. The vegetables will add volume and flavor to the dish with fewer calories than the egg or cheese.
  
  
• Cut back on the amount of cereal in your bowl to make room for some cut-up bananas, peaches, or strawberries. You can still eat a full bowl, but with fewer calories.

Lighten up your lunch

• Substitute vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, or onions for 2 ounces of the cheese and 2 ounces of the meat in your sandwich, wrap, or burrito. The new version will fill you up with fewer calories than the original.
  
  
• Add a cup of chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, beans, or red peppers, in place of 2 ounces of the meat or 1 cup of noodles in your favorite broth-based soup. The vegetables will help fill you up, so you won’t miss those extra calories.

Dinner

• Add in 1 cup of chopped vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, squash, onions, or peppers, while removing 1 cup of the rice or pasta in your favorite dish. The dish with the vegetables will be just as satisfying but will have fewer calories than the same amount of the original version.
  
  
• Take a good look at your dinner plate. Vegetables, fruit, and whole grains should take up the largest portion of your plate. If they do not, replace some of the meat, cheese, white pasta, or rice with legumes, steamed broccoli, asparagus, greens, tomatoes, or another favorite vegetable. This will reduce the total calories in your meal without reducing the amount of food you eat.
  

Smart Snacks

• Most healthy eating plans allow for one or two small snacks a day. Choosing most fruits and vegetables will allow you to eat a snack with only 100 calories, such as:

• a medium-size apple (72 calories)

• a medium-size banana (105 calories)

• 1 cup grapes (100 calories)

• 1 cup carrots (45 calories), broccoli (30 calories), or bell peppers (30 calories) with 2 tablespoons of hummus (46 calories)

• Instead of a high-calorie snack from a vending machine, bring some cut-up vegetables or fruit from home. One snack-sized bag of corn chips (1 oz) has the same number of calories as a small apple, 1 cup of whole strawberries, and 1 cup of carrots with 1/4 cup of low-calorie dip. Substitute one or two of these options for the chips, and you will have a satisfying snack with fewer calories.

It’s true that fruits and vegetables are lower in calories than many other foods, but they do contain some calories. If you start eating fruits and vegetables in addition to what you usually eat, you are adding calories and may gain weight. The key is substitution. Eat fruits and vegetables instead of some other higher-calorie food.

For example, substitute a bag of crisps with a crunch apple as a snack, or have a bowl of fresh berries instead of a bowl of ice cream for dessert. Have less cereal and more fruit for breakfast, and have extra vegetable fillings in your sandwich in place of some meat or cheese.

• Eat fruits and vegetables the way nature provided—or with fat-free or low-fat cooking techniques. For example:

• Try steaming your vegetables and using herbs and spices to add flavor.
• Avoid cooking techniques, such as breading and frying, or using high-fat dressings or sauces, which will greatly increase the calories and fat in the dish.
• Eat your fruit raw to enjoy its natural sweetness.

• Canned or frozen fruits and vegetables are good options when fresh produce is not available. However, be careful to choose those without added sugar, syrup, cream sauces, or other ingredients that will add calories.

• Choose whole fruit over fruit drinks and juices. Fruit juices have lost fiber from the fruit. It is better to eat the whole fruit because it contains the added fiber that helps you feel full. One 6-ounce serving of orange juice has 85 calories, compared to just 65 calories in a medium orange.

• Whole fruit gives you a bigger size snack than the same fruit dried—for the same number of calories. A small box of raisins (1/4 cup) is about 100 calories. For the same number of calories, you can eat 1 cup of grapes.