Tess Rose Lampert is a New York City-based writer, beverage educator, and lover of savings. With over a decade in the alcoholic beverage industry, she strives to enhance consumers' everyday experiences with food and beverage through dynamic and interactive writings, educational seminars, and events.
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Burning more calories each day than you take in can help you avoid weight gain, but deprivation can be unhealthy — so it's good to enjoy low-cal food to the fullest. These 100-calorie meals and snacks made from cheap, whole foods combine a variety of textures and flavors to make exciting treats that won’t taste too healthy or bland. As a bonus, smaller portions lower a food budget.
Related: 26 Tips for Healthy Eating on a Budget
Mary Shustack contributed to this story.
By omitting breading and unnecessary ingredients, the core of this simple dish shines through with enough calories to spare for a bit of marinara for dunking. Looking for other creative ways to prepare zucchini? Consider picking up a spiralizer, just one of the 24 Kitchen Accessories You Didn't Know You Needed.
Recipe: Spark Recipes
Working protein into a dish for less than 100 calories is a feat, but mushrooms are one of the best options. This snack or light meal is stuffed with healthy and low-calorie spinach and tangy feta that is satisfying on many levels.
Recipe: Spark Recipes
This creamy dip comes in handy when you’re watching calories but still need to participate in social gatherings — a quarter cup of this hummus is well below 100 calories. Stretching that with low-calorie celery and cucumber stalks makes this healthy snack feel more plentiful.
Recipe: Emily Bites
These savory and crunchy bites are a low-calorie snack but not especially healthy. Replacing the wheat-based shells with crunchy lettuce reduces the caloric load even more, which means an extra couple of bites.
Recipe: Hungry Girl
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Pickled eggs are flavorful, filling, and high in protein. Customize them by experimenting with different vinegars and spices.
Recipe: Delicious Table
OK, we know this sounds odd, but the reviews for this black bean-based brownie recipe are overwhelmingly positive — and they're packed with protein and fiber. Plus, each fudgy square is just 100 calories each, a mere drop in the bucket compared to most sweets.
Recipe:Lauren Fit Foodie
A fresh salad combines sweet corn and mango into a flavorful explosion. Make it in the off-season with inexpensive thawed frozen corn and mango.
Recipe: Food Faith Fitness
A hearty salad offers a considerable amount of protein, thanks to the chickpeas. Simple and easy to prepare, it works well packed as a snack or midday meal.
Recipe: Prevention
Using muffin tins is a genius way to portion out what are essentially mini omelets. Keep some on hand for a quick and easy breakfast, lunch, or snack that is filling as well as filled with protein.
Recipe: Averie Cooks
A fresh salad that's tasty and pretty enough to serve at dinner parties and potlucks means being able to participate in social eating without having to worry about deviating from a diet. Substituting fennel and green beans can also work.
Recipe: Weight Loss Resources
A tasty and beautiful salad that feels much more ample that its caloric load would suggest. Using a vegetable peeler to make pasta-like ribbons from zucchini adds texture and volume.
Recipe: Hungry Girl
A warming and silky soup ideal for cold weather or when feeling under the weather. Inexpensive and low-calorie squash adds plenty of flavor.
Recipe: Weight Loss Resources
Noodles in soup is a classic taste but nearly impossible to do under 100 calories. Luckily, spiralized zucchini noodles take on a similar texture for a satisfying stand-in at no extra cost.
Recipe: Reboot With Joe
A mini meal uses most of its calories for high-quality protein, which will help you feel full and satiated. Weighing the chicken cutlets will help keep portions uniform and within the calorie limit.
Recipe: Health
A twist on fried rice makes use of cauliflower, which is super low calorie and able to absorb flavors just like rice. Turn other rice dishes into calorie-conscious options by following the same principle.
Recipe: Women Daily
A sweet treat that is like the best part of an apple pie, with none of the guilt. Super healthy and satisfying, it's an easy and crowd-pleasing recipe that could outlast the need to calorie count.
Recipe: The Spruce Eats
A lot of popcorn can fit into a 100-calorie portion — as much as 6 cups. This go-to snack is ideal for those who love to munch mindlessly and want to feel like they are eating a lot without packing on the pounds.
Sweet and satisfying, this nutrition-packed dish can be a go-to breakfast, snack, or dessert. If it's hot outside, pop it in the freezer for a bit for an extra cool, refreshing treat.
Recipe: Good to Know
Calorie counting doesn't have to mean deprivation, as this tantalizing dessert recipe proves. Packed with intense flavors, a little goes a long way, so one serving will be enough to satisfy a sweet tooth.
Recipe: Ready Set Eat
A super-low-calorie frozen treat combines ice cream and coffee. This can stand in for dessert or a midday pick-me-up to offset cravings — and maybe even for breakfast.
Recipe: Eating Well
A treat that can be indulged in guilt-free — it's a relatively nutritious cookie, and oat flour helps keep the glycemic index low, which is good for anyone with blood sugar issues.
Recipe: Oatmeal With a Fork
Indulgently gooey and chocolatey, these dessert bars are worth every calorie. The lack of refined flour and the use of beans is what helps keep them nutritious, though it's impossible to guess by tasting them.
Recipe: Chocolate Covered Katie
Even people who count calories need a good chocolate chip cookie every once in a while. But make every calorie count and indulge in a single good cookie that will really satisfy.
Recipe: Eating Well
Smoothies are the healthy cousins of milkshakes, and can be just as tasty. Using frozen strawberries keeps costs low and helps achieve a creamy texture.
Recipe: Cooking With Jax
How this life hack has eluded generations of people will never be clear, but one thing is for sure: Turning ripe bananas into ultra creamy, satisfying ice cream is a must for calorie counters. This is especially handy when summertime cravings hit.
Recipe: One Ingredient Chef
Using spices is a super cheap and low-calorie way to add instant flavor and dimension to simple ingredients. This can be a snack or light and refreshing dessert.
Recipe: Eating Well
This side dish, originally from Cooking Light, offers straightforward prep — and a satisfying dose of carbs thanks to the inclusion of potatoes. Reviewers note you can mix up the veggies, like adding asparagus, to vary the flavors.
Recipe: MyRecipes
Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean bland, as this Asian-influenced dish — complete with protein in the form of boneless beef sirloin steak — attests. Those who like a bit of zip will delight in the flavor combo of ginger root, a dash of steak sauce, garlic, and brown sugar. Those who love their veggies will savor the addition of broccoli and mushrooms, as well.
Recipe:AllRecipes
It doesn’t have to be winter squash season for you to enjoy this heartwarming dish that offers plenty of fiber along with a rich flavor. It features a super-easy prep that allows you to choose your favorite squash (acorn, perhaps?), and, as a weeknight bonus, it comes together in roughly 35 minutes.
Recipe: Food Network
If baked goods are your go-to splurge, you don’t have to feel shut out when watching your calorie intake. This recipe is lush with the creaminess of pumpkin and the salty-sweetness of butterscotch, and creates an ideal snack that’s less than 100 calories. More than 350 reviewers gave it an average of 4.5 out of five stars.
Recipe: AllRecipes
Finding 100-calorie snacks that you can make yourself doesn’t have to be a monumental task, as this recipe clearly demonstrates. Fresh kale, olive oil, and a sprinkle of sea salt are all it takes to create a baked snack that this recipe creator notes is the “perfect go-to snack when you have the serious munchies.”
Recipe: Eat Yourself Skinny
Oatmeal isn’t always considered part of a low-calorie diet, but this recipe is a most-welcome interpretation of the breakfast staple, resulting in a 100-calorie oatmeal that brings something sweet to the table, too.
Recipe: Health Beet
Shrimp, mango, and fresh mint combine so well, you may not crave those classic fried egg rolls. Indeed, this is a lighter take on that favorite appetizer, using airy rice paper and fresh ingredients that may leave you satisfied with just one. There’s even a complementary recipe for a lime juice and Sriracha-based dipping sauce that won’t tip the calorie count.
Recipe: MyRecipes
A chill in the air signals the time for a hearty bowl of soup, and this option makes an ideal 100-calorie lunch. Old-fashioned comfort is embedded in this healthy recipe that provides a modern kick, thanks to tomatillos, cilantro, and lime. The recipe creator also offers a number of ingredient tips to customize to your taste.
Recipe: I Breathe, I’m Hungry
As this recipe’s description notes, “No mayo, no problem.” Probiotic-rich Greek yogurt gives this version of tuna salad a tangy touch further enhanced by Dijon mustard. Its flavorful spin makes it an attractive choice for a satisfying 100-calorie lunch.
Recipe: Cooking Light
Deviled eggs are not just hors d'oeuvres. As this recipe’s creator notes, they make for an unexpected breakfast under 100 calories; this version gets its zest from low-calorie mayo along with mustard, vinegar, and optional paprika.
Recipe: Health Beet
Unsweetened almond or coconut milk is the secret ingredient in this creamy drink that offers a mid-afternoon pick-me-up or a sub-100-calorie breakfast option. For convenience (and year-round prep), you can use frozen peaches instead of fresh.
Recipe: Scattered Thoughts of A Crafty Mom
No one will realize this preparation has calorie-counting in mind, since it’s a fresh-fruit treat that combines simple but rich ingredients in a clever way. Fresh pineapple, coconut milk, and cinnamon sugar team up for a killer combo that comes together thanks to a grill, indoor or out.
Recipe: AllRecipes
Wait, did we say bacon? Yes, we did. Thick-cut bacon is wrapped around Brussels sprouts for a (less-than) 100-calorie snack, appetizer, or keto-friendly meal. You’re welcome!
Recipe:Delish
Do you look longingly at a slice of cheesecake or a bowl of full-fat ice cream? Well, you can still enjoy a rich-and-creamy dessert with this clever recipe that’s fancy (and tasty) enough to serve guests. Fat-free yogurt, whipped topping and sugar-free pudding mix combine for a fluffy base that keeps you feeling far from deprived.
Recipe:SparkRecipes