The foods on this page are considered "free foods" because they are basically non-starchy vegetables that won't add up to much as far as calories go. Typically, a "free food" is a food or drink that has less than 20 calories and 5 or less grams of carbohydrate per serving.
So they're perfect for rounding out (or starting) a meal to help fill you up. Bonus: They're mostly vegetables, which have lots of nutritional value and a satisfying crunch. Make a big salad, put lots of veggies on your sandwiches or fill up your dinner plate with a large side of cooked vegetables.
"Free Foods with Restricted Portions," below, are listed with a portion size. That's because you can have a serving of these foods and not count the calories, but if you ate an unlimited quantity, they would start to rack up the calories.
Eat All You Want
- Artichoke
- Artichoke hearts
- Asparagus
- Baby corn
- Bamboo shoots
- Bean sprouts
- Beans (green, wax, Italian)
- Broccoli
- Broth or bouillon
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Cucumber
- Eggplant
- Garlic
- Green onions or scallions
- Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
- Hearts of palm
- Herbs (fresh or dried)
- Horseradish
- Hot pepper sauce
- Jicama
- Kohlrabi
- Leeks
- Lemon juice
- Mixed vegetables (without corn, peas or pasta)
- Mushrooms (fresh)
- Mustard
- Okra
- Onions
- Pea pods
- Pickles
- Pimento
- Bell peppers
- Radishes
- Rutabaga
- Salad greens (lettuce, romaine, chicory, endive, escarole, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
- Spices
- Spinach
- Squash (summer, crookneck, zucchini)
- Sugar snap peas
- Swiss chard
- Tomato (fresh or canned)
- Turnips
- Vinegar
- Watch chestnuts
- Wine (used in cooking)
- Worcestershire sauce
Free Food Beverages—Drink as Much as You Want
- Carbonated or mineral water
- Club soda
- Coffee (unsweetened or with sugar substitute)
- Diet soft drinks
- Drink mixes (sugar-free)
- Flavored water (20 calories or less)
- Tea (unsweetened or with sugar substitute)
- Tonic water (diet)
- Water
Free Foods with Restricted Portions
- Barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Cream cheese (fat-free), 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce)
- Creamer:
Nondairy, liquid, 1 tablespoon
Nondairy, powdered, 2 teaspoons
- Honey mustard, 1 tablespoon
- Jam or jelly (light or no-sugar added), 1 tablespoon
- Ketchup, 1 tablespoon
- Margarine spread:
Fat-free, 1 tablespoon
Reduced-fat, 1 teaspoon
- Mayonnaise:
Fat-free, 1 tablespoon
Reduced-fat, 1 teaspoon
- Parmesan cheese (freshly grated), 1 tablespoon
- Pickle relish, 1 tablespoon
- Salad dressing:
Fat-free or low-fat, 1 tablespoon
Fat-free Italian, 2 tablespoons
- Salsa, 1/4 cup
- Sour cream:
Fat-free, 2 tablespoons
Reduced-fat, 1 tablespoon
- Sweet and sour sauce, 2 teaspoons
- Sweet chili sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Syrup (sugar-free), 2 tablespoons
- Taco sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Whipped topping:
Light or fat-free, 2 tablespoons
Regular, 1 tablespoon