Calories are considered as the primary energy unit which is found in all edible food items, and it is required by the body to function properly and maintain the metabolic system. The calorie requirement of a person majorly depends on factors such as gender, muscle mass, and age.
If you consume fewer calories than the required amount for a significant amount of time, then you can become underweight. This will inevitably lead to organ failure, immunity problems, muscle atrophy, and several other medical issues.
That is why high-calorie healthy foods are quite essential for a body but not the processed food items. Healthy food items such as avocado, nuts and nut butter, rice, wheat, eggs, dried fruits, potatoes, and several other items can provide you with the healthy calorie that your body needs without imposing any extra stress on your metabolism.
Calories are required by the body to function properly so that your lungs can breathe and your heart can beat. Every age group requires a certain amount of healthy calories, and it can be gained by consuming food items such as tofu, lean meat, sweet potatoes, whole grains, avocados, nuts, milk, beans, fish, and granola.
Generally, most people should consume a proportionate amount of 2000 to 3000 calories per day, coordinating with a proper daily exercise routine to burn the consumed calories.
High-calorie foods can significantly help in maintaining body and muscle weight. You can consume high calorie foods according to age, gender, and muscle mass(1).
People underweight always look for ways to increase their weight. Also, consuming too few calories can lead to complicated health issues for them. Weight gain is possible only when you consume more calories than you burn. And high-calorie healthy foods can help you achieve that ideal weight.
Here are seven of the healthy high-calorie foods items that are easily available and can be consumed almost regularly:
Quinoa is packed with fiber, proteins, and many other nutrients that your body requires. This healthy grain is loaded with good nutritious materials, and it falls under high-calorie low carb foods that can be consumed almost every day. This food is generally consumed for breakfast, and one cup of quinoa(185 grams) contains about 222 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 8 grams of protein.
This is a completely plant-based protein product, and it can provide all the nine important amino acids to your body. Quinoa also provides a required amount of manganese, copper, folate, phosphorus, and magnesium to your body. It is also considered as one of the high-calorie nutrient-dense foods.
Nuts have always been a significant source of calories, healthy fats, and proteins, which makes them a great product to help in healthy weight gain. Nuts are high-calorie high protein foods. Walnut is a great example; 28 grams of this nut is packed with 4 grams of protein and about 185 good calories.
Along with that, cashews, almonds, and pecans are also considered healthy nuts packed with good calories. Nut butter is also high in calories, and they are more convenient than the nuts.
It can be added into smoothies, snacks, and protein bars to boost calorie intake (be careful while purchasing nut butter do not purchase the ones which include processed sugar or added preservatives).
Avocado has gained popularity in recent years due to its deliciously mild flavor and creamy texture. It is one of the high-calorie low-fat foods. They have an impressive amount of calories as one avocado contains 30 grams of total fat, 13.5 grams of fiber, and about 322 good calories.
They are rich in vitamin C, potassium, pantothenic, micronutrients, and folate. You can add avocado to your morning smoothies, salads, omelets, and spread it on your toast.
Dried fruits are packed with good calories, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Some dried fruits such as reasons contain about 247 calories for 83 grams, and prunes contain about 209 calories for 87 grams.
They are also quite rich in fiber, which can help maintain the required body weight and has a positive effect on your blood sugar level. You can add your dried fruits to yogurts, smoothies, or even consume as snacks.
Sweet potatoes are one of the starchy vegetables that are high-calorie vegan foods. They contain approximately 180 calories and 6.5 grams of fiber for every 200 grams. That is why it is not only a filling meal, but it can also provide you with the required amount of protein, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and significant amounts of good calories.
One serving of sweet potato can provide you with all the necessary daily requirements: vitamin c, potassium, vitamin b6, and manganese. But try to consume sweet potato as boiled, baked, roasted to extract all the good nutrients, and avoid the fried ones.
Rice is considered one of the cost-effective, calorie-dense, and versatile grains that can be consumed by everyone regardless of age and gender. It contains several minerals, vitamins, and significant amounts of fiber and protein.
195 grams of cooked brown rice contains 216 calories along with 3.5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. You can consume rice with lentils almost every day in smaller amounts. It also falls under cheap high-calorie foods.
You can choose to have these foods either for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Depending on your diet and day’s schedule, you can eat these whenever you want.
There are several myths encircling the high-calorie natural food items such as eggs, wheat, and rice. It does help you lose weight if you eliminate these food items from your diet, but consuming them in proper quantities and coordinating it with regular exercise will not make you gain weight.
Due to such myths, many people avoid good essential calories such as nut butter, bread, wheat, oranges, rice, and potato, which causes vitamin and mineral deficiency within the body, in turn causing health complications.
High-calorie low sugar foods items such as avocado, granola, cereal, and others assist in providing the required amount of energy to your body, which keeps you energetic throughout the day.
Without these food items, a person can become weak and acquire health complications. That is why even dietitians, nutritionists, and other medical professionals always make their patients include some amount of good calories into their diet so that they can maintain their required body weight.
Consuming good calories in the required proportions will help you maintain the body weight according to your muscle mass. But it should also be coordinated with proper exercise, or else it can make you gain more weight.
Fruits like custard apple, bananas, dates, prunes, figs, coconut meat, and mangoes are high in calories.