Does healthy eating = low-calorie eating?
It can… but it depends a great deal on the individual person. In many cases, I’d argue that a low-calorie diet is not ideal for optimum health (such as the case of an athlete, a growing child or teen, an underweight or healthy-weight adult, etc.).
Today’s post is going to be a little different.
It’s a topic about which I’ve been meaning to write for quite a while; ever since there was a bit of drama and confusion over it in the comment section of this post.
You see, I don’t want to send out the wrong message or give people the impression that I only eat low-calorie foods… or that anyone else should only eat low-calorie foods if he/she doesn’t medically need to do so. My website is not a “this is what I ate today” food blog, and the photos you see on this site are usually just of the recipes (as opposed to the entire meal I might’ve eaten along with the recipe. I can tell you I hardly ever eat just a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast!).
Due to the fact that healthier foods are often lower in calories, and because I know a large number of my blog’s readers are watching their weights, many of the recipes on this blog are—or can be—quite low in calories.
In the photo above: Low-Calorie Peanut Butter Ice Cream
To help the large percentage of my readership that doesn’t want the extra calories, I try to always point out when lower-calorie options exist in my recipes (such as when one can sub applesauce, how to make a recipe lower in fat, etc.).
However, the cool thing is that many of my recipes are easily adaptable to almost any diet. Perhaps I need to pay better attention to the other portion of my readers; those who do not have weight to lose?
It’s a common (and dangerous) misconception that a person who needs to gain weight or eat a high-calorie diet must consume exorbitant amounts of junk food in order to meet this goal. You can meet your nutritional needs without downing milkshakes at every meal, and you’ll probably feel much less sluggish.
Today, I thought I’d highlight a few of the tricks I use to calorically bulk up my food while still being healthy.
In the above picture: Chocolate-Strawberry Truffle Pie.
1. Focus on calorie-dense foods.
Eat these first at a meal, so you don’t feel too full before you’ve gotten in enough calories. Here are some calorie-dense, yet healthy, foods:
- all nuts and nut butters
- oils (such as olive, sesame, or coconut) in their pure form (not the hydrogenated stuff they put in packaged goods!)
- avocados
- Thai coconut meat (really good in smoothies, pies, or puddings)
- dried fruit
- canned coconut milk
- giant bowls of pasta (my favorite!)
- dark chocolate (oh wait, that’s my favorite!)
Raw recipes are often calorie-dense. Here are my favorites.
2. Don’t skip the veggies
…because you’re afraid they’re too low-cal. But do be sure to not just eat them plain and steamed. Try sautéing or roasting with a generous drizzle of olive or coconut oil (so so good).
3. Bigger portions.
For example, I post oatmeal recipes that are for one serving. But when I make them for myself, I always times the recipe by 1.5. Try it sometime… you probably won’t even notice you’re taking in more calories!
4. And eating more often.
Instead of three huge meals per day, space it out with 5-6 smaller meals and snacks throughout the day, giving your stomach a chance to digest. Personally, my job as a recipe developer means I never stop snacking! Chocolate is always close to my heart greedy fingers.
5. Non-healthy treats… sometimes.
I’d say I probably eat healthy foods 80% of the time. But does that mean I’ll turn down a friend’s cookies that she veganized just for me? Or Hangawi’s incredible cheesecake in NYC? No, it does not. (I probably should get a post up about this topic, too… but not today. I think I’ve already talked your ears off enough for one day!)
Do you eat a high-calorie diet? A low-calorie diet?
Or maybe you have absolutely no idea how many calories you consume! Please take an introspective look at your life and make responsible food decisions for you. If that means eating a low-calorie diet, my recipes are here to help. But if that means not eating a low-calorie diet, please take advantage of some of the higher-calorie options listed both in this post and in my recipe posts!
For more, see the following: High Calorie Recipes.
Katie,
This is a great post. You are so kind and patient with such ignorant people. I am so, truly sorry that you get bashed on your own blog that is filled with such passion for food and radiates of your beautiful enthusiasm. You are completely undeserving of all of it. As someone who knows more than the average person about eating disorders (studied them in school, studied them on my free time out of concern for people I care about, had friends who have had them, family members who have had them…) I know that every individual is different in how they act (my cousin pretended to love food and cook, but she never ate any of the food she cooked), every person has one thing in common: they are not as radiant. Their personality becomes dark and reserved and they don’t glow like you do. A glow comes from being healthy, and that is exactly what you are. I can’t believe people would assume that because you share a recipe that is all you eat at that meal and post a snarky comment based on pure assumption. Even if it was, that doesn’t mean you don’t eat larger meals the rest of the day. Everyone is different. Some eat large breakfasts and smaller meals and snacks throughout the day, some do the complete opposite and eat a large dinner and small breakfast. You know what works for you.
I really get bothered when people attack others so quickly. Yes, it is in our nature to judge but words HURT. Though we can be quick to judge, we do have the ability to think before we speak, we need to enforce that ability in ourselves. As many others pointed out, an overweight person wouldn’t get attacked so quickly because it is so hurtful and rude. Well, SAME THING FOR THIN PEOPLE. I can’t stand when someone comments on a picture of a thin person and says “eat a cheeseburger.” We don’t say “eat a carrot” to someone overweight, right? We all know that just because someone is overweight doesn’t mean all they do is stuff all day, and not all thin people starve themselves.
And if someone really does have an eating disorder, that is very personal. Putting someone on blast like that in public about such a topic is just plain disrespectful.
Katie, I really admire you as a person for everything you put up with and the grace you exhibit when dealing with everything. Thank to you for being…well, you! I adore your blog and am a fan for life. Also, I appreciate you post the nutrition facts, because they are very helpful to some people. You are just looking out for your readers, it doesn’t necessarily pertain to you.
Sorry for the essay, I guess I had a lot on my mind. Thank you Katie for all these great personal posts and delightful recipes! I love them.
Thank you so much, Jennifer. And don’t apologize for writing an essay… I really enjoyed reading it! 🙂
Hey Katie! I’ve always been impressed by the way you respond to all of those obnoxious comments about how you post low-calorie recipes, and this post was just as well-put!
I used to count calories, but thanks to religiously following your blog ever since I discovered it and reading all of your old posts about your relationship with food and overall about your healthy lifestyle, I’ve been inspired to eat truly healthy foods instead of low-calorie foods (which can be loaded with chemicals!). About a month ago, I decided to permanently give up artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup and eat as much unprocessed food as possible, and to stop counting calories. And I’m just so much happier now! Counting calories was starting to get in the way of my life! Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for inspiring me to achieve a much healthier relationship with food. 😀
I eat a mid-calorie diet not that I’m trying to cut up a little. I exercise a lot but my maintenance is only around 1500..so I try to keep it between that and 2000 depending on the amount of exercise I did that day.
Katie I love your blog and always enjoy seeing your emails about your newest creations. I often comment on your recipes and love how you graciously answer?
I’ve only been Vegan about 14 months last year I exercised a lot counted calories but this year I just spin 3 times a week nothing else so gained a few but I also stopped counting calories I eat healthy as much as I can…I have a 4yobusiness with ADD so teaching him early eating habits is important …he gets to try your recipes a lot and loves them too….
I appreciate everything you do! !!!
Thank You so much for doing a post like this! I’m 15, a vegan, and I am NOT at all eating anything remotely close to a low calorie diet, nor can I afford to. I love your recipes that are perfect for my diet, such as fudgie babies, chocolate fudge pie, etc. and it would be great to get some more baked goods that aren’t necessarily low calorie. It’s so refreshing to hear about someone who, like me, is a vegan and NOT watching their weight. I’m extremely active as well, much more so that my friends. It’s hard when I’m around friends sometimes because they’ll eat such a small lunch and I’ll have this giant meal. There are times where my insecurity gets the best of me and I do second guess myself…(am I eating too much? Is there something wrong with me?) Thank You so much for a great post, keep up your wonderful stories, recipes, and more!
Great post Katie! Thanks for sharing! I follow the raw 80/10/10 paradigm for personal health reasons and athletic performance and I eat about 2000 calories a day in just fruits and veggies alone. You CAN eat healthy and eat a lot. 🙂
<3 Melissa
Hey Katie,
Because your recipes are often desserts, it is appreciated that they are not super high in calories. For most people, desert is a treat and an accessory to their meals, so it is probably not necessary for it so be very caloric! I love that I dont feel bad about eating your desserts. Thanks for the recipes 🙂
I’ve found it so interesting that over the past year we have changed our diet to a super-healthy one. I do not eat anything “lowfat”. We only eat real foods and many are actually higher in fats like nuts, grapeseed oils, etc. I’ve lost over 32 lbs without dieting and eat as much as I want because we eat better foods. It was amazing to see the difference but no more “diet” foods for me. The real thing works so much better. Love your ideas and have used several with a few adaptions (no sugars). Thanks for the inspiration.
This is a great post Katie! I have been in both camps, bit currently find myself in neither. I don’t want a calorie restrictive diet because I am breastfeeding my son and need to be eating enough good food to nourish myself and him. I also don’t want a high calorie diet because I could stand to lose some baby weight still (and my baby is 13 months old…). Something I appreciate about your blog is lower calorie options for things that are seen as “treat” foods. That is where I would prefer to cut my calories as they are what is unnecessary, but too good to struggle with giving up completely. Keep doing the great things you are doing!
Great post! I’ll bookmark this for the when I have a client who needs to gain weight.