My five favorite 100-calorie meals

On the Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet, 100 calories (okay, kilocalories) is about a fifth of my daily limit on a down day, so you can bet that I want to make them count! I’m always on the lookout for low calorie foods that are still satisfying and tasty (I’m a picky eater, which doesn’t help much).

I tend to eat meals on my down days that are closer to 200 or 250 calories, but I’m planning to change this because there are some significant benefits to doing five 100-calorie meals. Many people do better when they eat more often. As far as I can tell, this is both physical (blood sugar levels and so on) and psychological (it feels less like starving ). More meals also build in more nutritional diversity.

My tastes are likely not your tastes. I did a lot of my research on NutritionData, which I highly recommend—you might be surprised at what you learn there.

Here are my top five picks:

• Spinach salad with mushrooms and homemade dressing. A cup of spinach plus a half cup of white mushrooms (I really like mushrooms) weighs in at just 56 calories, leaving plenty for one of the delicious-sounding low-calorie homemade dressings I’ve found (all three recipes are based on cottage cheese, so I’m going to try them starting tomorrow after I go grocery shopping).
• Apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon. I like all things apple sprinkled with cinnamon. A medium apple (2.75″ diameter) is about 72 calories.
• Half a baked potato with sour cream. Potatoes have roughly 1 calore per gram, and I figure half of a medium sized potato would be about 75 calories. Throw in a dash of salt and 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream and you’re at an even 100. Or combine with the next item for a big splurge.
• Steamed broccoli. Broccoli and spinach are about the only green veggies I eat, but happily, they’re both super nutritious. I can fit two cups (cooked!) into 100 calories. Dash of salt and I’m a happy camper.
• Sliced mushrooms dipped in marinara sauce. Mushrooms are so low-calorie it’s ridiculous, and they’re also very high on the Fullness Factor scale. A half cup of sauce ranges between about 50 and 70 calories, depending on what kind you buy. With your remaining 30-50 calories, you’re looking at six to ten large mushrooms. That’s a lot of mushrooms! (Of course, I may be the only one who thinks that’s a good thing…)

This post is part of the “Top 5″ ProBlogger Group Writing Project.