What Does 200 Calories Look like?

Some foods have significantly more Calories than others but what does the difference actually look like. Each of the photographs below represents 200 Calories of the particular type of food; the images are sorted from low to high calorie density. When you consider that an entire plate of broccoli contains the same number of Calories as a small spoonful of peanut butter, you might think twice the next time you decide what to eat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average adult needs to consume about 2000 - 2500 Calories to maintain their weight. In other words, you have a fixed amount of Calories to "spend" each day; based on the following pictures, which would you eat? Pictures of 200 Calories of Various Foods (After the page loads, you can click on thumbnails for full versions)

Celery

1425 grams = 200 Calories Celery1425 grams = 200 Calories

Mini Peppers

740 grams = 200 Calories Mini Peppers740 grams = 200 Calories

Broccoli

588 grams = 200 Calories Broccoli588 grams = 200 Calories

Baby Carrots

570 grams = 200 Calories Baby Carrots570 grams = 200 Calories

Honeydew Melon

553 grams = 200 Calories Honeydew Melon553 grams = 200 Calories

Coca Cola

496 ml = 200 Calories Coca Cola496 ml = 200 Calories

Red Onions

475 grams = 200 Calories Red Onions475 grams = 200 Calories

Apples

385 grams = 200 Calories Apples385 grams = 200 Calories

Canned Green Peas

357 grams = 200 Calories Canned Green Peas357 grams = 200 Calories

Whole Milk

333 ml = 200 Calories Whole Milk333 ml = 200 Calories

Kiwi Fruit

328 grams = 200 Calories Kiwi Fruit328 grams = 200 Calories

Canned Sweet Corn

308 grams = 200 Calories Canned Sweet Corn308 grams = 200 Calories

Grapes

290 grams = 200 Calories Grapes290 grams = 200 Calories

Ketchup

226 grams = 200 Calories Ketchup226 grams = 200 Calories

Sliced Smoked Turkey

204 grams = 200 Calories Sliced Smoked Turkey204 grams = 200 Calories

Balsamic Vinegar

200 ml = 200 Calories Balsamic Vinegar200 ml = 200 Calories

Lowfat Strawberry

196 grams = 200 Calories Lowfat Strawberry Yogurt 196 grams = 200 Calories

Canned Chili con Carne

189 grams = 200 Calories Canned Chili con Carne189 grams = 200 Calories

Canned Black Beans

186 grams = 200 Calories Canned Black Beans186 grams = 200 Calories

Canned Pork and Beans

186 grams = 200 Calories Canned Pork and Beans186 grams = 200 Calories

Eggs

150 grams = 200 Calories Eggs150 grams = 200 Calories

Cooked Pasta

145 grams = 200 Calories Cooked Pasta145 grams = 200 Calories

Avocado

125 grams = 200 Calories Avocado125 grams = 200 Calories

Canned

102 grams = 200 Calories Canned Tuna Packed in Oil102 grams = 200 Calories

Fiber One

100 grams = 200 Calories Fiber One Cereal 100 grams = 200 Calories

Flax Bread

90 grams = 200 Calories Flax Bread90 grams = 200 Calories

Dried Apricots

83 grams = 200 Calories Dried Apricots83 grams = 200 Calories

Jack in the Box Cheeseburger

75 grams = 200 Calories Jack in the Box Cheeseburger75 grams = 200 Calories

Jack in the Box French Fries

73 grams = 200 Calories Jack in the Box French Fries73 grams = 200 Calories

Jack in the Box Chicken Sandwich

72 grams = 200 Calories Jack in the Box Chicken Sandwich72 grams = 200 Calories

French Sandwich Roll

72 grams = 200 Calories French Sandwich Roll72 grams = 200 Calories

Blueberry Muffin

72 grams = 200 Calories Blueberry Muffin72 grams = 200 Calories

Sesame Seed

70 grams = 200 Calories Sesame Seed Bagel 70 grams = 200 Calories

Tootsie Pops

68 grams = 200 Calories Tootsie Pops68 grams = 200 Calories

Hot Dogs

66 grams = 200 Calories Hot Dogs66 grams = 200 Calories

Wheat Dinner Rolls

66 grams = 200 Calories Wheat Dinner Rolls66 grams = 200 Calories

Corn Bran Cereal

60 grams = 200 Calories Corn Bran Cereal60 grams = 200 Calories

Bailey's Irish Cream

60 ml = 200 Calories Bailey's Irish Cream60 ml = 200 Calories

Smarties Candy

57 grams = 200 Calories Smarties Candy57 grams = 200 Calories

Uncooked Pasta

56 grams = 200 Calories Uncooked Pasta56 grams = 200 Calories

Blackberry Pie

56 grams = 200 Calories Blackberry Pie56 grams = 200 Calories

Cranberry Vanilla Crunch Cereal

55 grams = 200 Calories Cranberry Vanilla Crunch Cereal55 grams = 200 Calories

Cornmeal

55 grams = 200 Calories Cornmeal55 grams = 200 Calories

Wheat Flour

55 grams = 200 Calories Wheat Flour55 grams = 200 Calories

Peanut Butter Power Bar

54 grams = 200 Calories Peanut Butter Power Bar54 grams = 200 Calories

Puffed Rice Cereal

54 grams = 200 Calories Puffed Rice Cereal54 grams = 200 Calories

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

54 grams = 200 Calories Jelly Belly Jelly Beans54 grams = 200 Calories

Puffed Wheat Cereal

53 grams = 200 Calories Puffed Wheat Cereal53 grams = 200 Calories

Brown Sugar

53 grams = 200 Calories Brown Sugar53 grams = 200 Calories

Glazed Doughnut

52 grams = 200 Calories Glazed Doughnut52 grams = 200 Calories

Salted Pretzels

52 grams = 200 Calories Salted Pretzels52 grams = 200 Calories

Medium Cheddar Cheese

51 grams = 200 Calories Medium Cheddar Cheese51 grams = 200 Calories

Fruit Loops Cereal

51 grams = 200 Calories Fruit Loops Cereal51 grams = 200 Calories

Gummy Bears

51 grams = 200 Calories Gummy Bears51 grams = 200 Calories

Splenda Artificial Sweetener

50 grams = 200 Calories Splenda Artificial Sweetener50 grams = 200 Calories

Salted Saltines Crackers

50 grams = 200 Calories Salted Saltines Crackers50 grams = 200 Calories

Werther's Originals Candy

50 grams = 200 Calories Werther's Originals Candy50 grams = 200 Calories

Snickers Chocolate Bar

41 grams = 200 Calories Snickers Chocolate Bar41 grams = 200 Calories

Doritos

41 grams = 200 Calories Doritos41 grams = 200 Calories

Marshmallow Treat

40 grams = 200 Calories Marshmallow Treat40 grams = 200 Calories

M&M Candy

40 grams = 200 Calories M&M Candy40 grams = 200 Calories

Peanut Butter Crackers

39 grams = 200 Calories Peanut Butter Crackers39 grams = 200 Calories

Cheetos

38 grams = 200 Calories Cheetos38 grams = 200 Calories

Potato Chips

37 grams = 200 Calories Potato Chips37 grams = 200 Calories

Hershey Kisses

36 grams = 200 Calories Hershey Kisses36 grams = 200 Calories

Sliced and Toasted Almonds

35 grams = 200 Calories Sliced and Toasted Almonds35 grams = 200 Calories

Fried Bacon

34 grams = 200 Calories Fried Bacon34 grams = 200 Calories

Peanut Butter

34 grams = 200 Calories Peanut Butter34 grams = 200 Calories

Salted Mixed Nuts

33 grams = 200 Calories Salted Mixed Nuts33 grams = 200 Calories

Butter

28 grams = 200 Calories Butter28 grams = 200 Calories

Canola Oil

23 grams = 200 Calories Canola Oil23 grams = 200 Calories

Answers to some questions and other notes:

Why 200 Calories? We could have chosen any amount of Calories for this project, but we wanted something that gave tangible volumes for the entire range of items. We felt that 100 Calories of butter or oil would have yielded diminutive portion sizes; on the other hand 500 Calories of celery would have been virtually incomprehensible.

How did you choose which foods to include in the project? Many of the items we chose just happened to be in the wiseGEEK pantry; we chose the others because we wanted to display foods in a wide variety of categories. We stayed away from prepared foods such as funnel cake and spanakopita because their Caloric content is closely tied to the particular recipe used; we also avoided some more obscure foods such as mangosteen and jackfruit.



The sorting can be misleading because items with liquid tend to appear less Calorie dense; that's why you will find coke amongst the vegetables and cooked pasta significantly higher than uncooked pasta.



All pictures were taken with the same camera (Nikon D70 digital camera) and with the same setup; in other words, the portion sizes displayed are all relative to each other.



The plate is 10.25" (26cm) in diameter and the bowl is 6.25" (16cm)



This article deals with Calories only. Don't forget that there are other considerations when choosing which foods to eat, such as nutritive value and diversity of your food choices.



The capital "C" in "Calories" throughout this article denotes dietary as opposed to physics calories.