One strawberry is 4 calories. Eight strawberries: 32 calories. An entire 100g punnet: 32 calories. That is less than a single biscuit (20 cal for Parle-G). Strawberry is the lowest-calorie fruit commonly available in India. The problem: strawberry-flavoured things (shake, ice cream, jam) are 5-10x the calories of actual strawberries. Strawberry is genuinely one of … Read more
One kiwi is 42 calories. That is less than half a banana (90 cal) in a fruit that packs more vitamin C than an orange (47 cal). Kiwi is the most nutrient-dense fruit per calorie you can buy in India. The only thing stopping most Indians from eating it regularly: the ₹20-30 per piece price … Read more
The classic Indian meal: roti and sabzi. Two rotis with a bowl of sabzi ranges from 270 calories (roti + palak) to 570 calories (roti + dum aloo with ghee). Same meal format, 300-calorie gap. This is the complete guide to every roti-sabzi combination and exactly what each one costs your calorie budget. This is … Read more
Potato is India’s most consumed vegetable. And at 97 calories per 100g, it is also one of the most calorie-dense vegetables. A bowl of jeera aloo: 180 cal. Dum aloo in restaurant gravy: 350 cal. Aloo fry: 280 cal. The potato itself is moderate. What you do to it determines whether it is a diet … Read more
Capsicum is 20 calories per 100g raw. That makes shimla mirch sabzi one of the lightest things you can put on an Indian plate. At 100 calories per bowl, it costs less than a single roti (72 cal) in calorie terms. Crunchy, colourful, and genuinely low-calorie. The only vegetable where you can eat a large … Read more
Aloo matar is the quintessential weeknight sabzi. Potato and peas in a tomato-onion gravy. At 190 calories per bowl, it sits between the lighter sabzis like palak (120 cal) and heavier ones like matar paneer (250 cal). Not a weight loss star, but not a diet breaker either. The portion and the oil decide everything. … Read more
Matar paneer is one of the most popular North Indian curries. At 250 calories per bowl at home, it is moderate. At a restaurant: 350-400 calories because of extra cream, butter, and oil. The difference between home and restaurant matar paneer is not taste. It is 100-150 invisible calories of fat. This is the complete … Read more
Cabbage sabzi and beans sabzi are the underrated heroes of Indian home cooking. At 100-120 calories per bowl with 4-5g protein and 5g fibre, they are lighter than most sabzis, higher in fibre, and cheap enough to eat daily. South Indian poriyal and thoran preparations are particularly light because they use coconut and minimal oil. … Read more
Tinda (round gourd), tori (ridge gourd), and karela (bitter gourd) are the three vegetables Indian kids grow up hating. They are also three of the lowest-calorie sabzis you can cook. Tinda: 90 cal per bowl. Tori: 80 cal. Karela: 100 cal. Combined, they are the weight loss trio that nobody wants to eat but everybody … Read more
Lauki is the most hated vegetable in Indian households and possibly the best one for weight loss. At 90 calories per bowl, it is the lightest sabzi you can cook. Lighter than bhindi (150 cal), lighter than aloo gobi (180 cal), lighter than everything. Your mother was right about lauki. She just never told you … Read more