Foods that Burn More Calories than They Contain

We need to scarf down plenty of calories in a day, but if you've got a nasty snack habit that's tipping the scales to heavy, weblog Bootstrapper's list of 15 foods that burn more calories than they contain might be the perfect addition to your grocery list. Called negative calorie foods, the following 15 treats actual burn more calories in their digestion than they offer, so you can fulfill your snack craving without the guilt of a bag of potato chips. From apples to zucchini, these foods make the perfect snacks. Hit the jump for the full list.

1. Celery
2. Oranges
3. Strawberries
4. Tangerines
5. Grapefruit
6. Carrots
7. Apricots
8. Lettuce
9. Tomatoes
10. Cucumbers
11. Watermelon
12. Cauliflower
13. Apples
14. Hot Chili Peppers
15. Zucchini

Keep in mind that a diet limited to only these foods could lead to malnutrition (according to Wikipedia), so don't go getting all unhealthy on us. But when snack time hits, these healthy, negative calorie foods sound like winners. For more opitons, check Wikipedia's longer list of negative calorie foods, and for a glimpse at other low-calorie snacks, check out the 200-calorie gallery.

Some Foods that Burn More Calories than they Contain

This can be sub-categorized into foods that burn more calories to digest, negative calorie foods and Thermogenic foods. The foods in this category can be further classified into fruits, vegetables and meat.

• Fruits such as blueberries, blackberries, grapefruit, lime, oranges, lemon, pineapple, plums, pears, strawberries and watermelons are high grade catabolic fruits.
• Vegetables such as broccoli, celery, asparagus, carrots, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, leeks, spinach, lettuce, tomato, sweet potato, celery, pepper and parsley leaves rank high as foods that burn more calories to digest.
• Meat sources include seafoods such as crabs, lobsters, mussels, shrimps, clamps and fishes like tuna, cod and flounders. Other low fat white meat also falls under this category of non-vegetarian catabolic foods.

Fruits

Apricots, Blackberries, Cantaloupe, Blackcurrant, Peaches, Plums, Damsons, Raspberries, Grapefruit, Rhubarb, Guava, Strawberries, Honeydew, Melon, Tangerines, Lemons, Watermelon.

Vegetables

Asparagus, Fennel, Gourd, Broccoli, Leek, Cabbage, Lettuce, Carrots, Marrow, Cauliflower, Peppers, Celery, Radishes, Chicory, Spinach, Cress, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Turnips.