You can’t go wrong with eating veggies. In fact, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, a diet that contains plenty of vegetables on a regular basis can help you prevent heart disease, manage blood pressure, improve your digestive health, and help you manage your blood sugar levels.

Along with these health benefits, vegetables can help you meet your weight loss goals as well. One study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that increasing your consumption of veggies could contribute to increased weight loss.

To learn more, we asked a couple of expert dietitians to weigh in on the best vegetables to eat for weight loss. And for more healthy weight loss tips, check out 5 Best Breakfast Habits for Belly Fat Loss.

Broccoli is a versatile vegetable that people love eating raw, steamed, or sautéed. And along with its versatility, it’s also a great addition to your eating plan when you’re trying to shed a few pounds.

“Broccoli contains antioxidants, which are known to lower the inflammation in the body, among other things. These nutrients in broccoli are unique in how they work,” says Trista Best, MPH, RD, LD at Balance One Supplements.

“This vegetable also provides the body with sulforaphane, an antioxidant plant compound that gives this vegetable most of its anti-inflammatory benefits. Sulforaphane works by lowering cytokines and NF-kB, the substances that drive the inflammation process. When these are abundant in the body and allowed to persist dangerous levels of inflammation can be reached.” As research shows that chronic inflammation can cause weight gain, being able to reduce it can help you lose weight.

Bell peppers are a delicious vegetable with a mild flavor, so they’re great for adding to different types of dishes.

“Bell peppers are ideal vegetables to add to a weight loss diet. They are low in calories and high in nutrients while also helping to create a sense of fullness after meals. This combination can help to prevent overeating throughout the rest of the day,” says Best.

In addition to supporting weight loss, “bell peppers are also packed full of nutrients that benefit the body in significant ways, yet most of the general public is unaware of how healthy they actually are. Red bell peppers are higher in vitamin C than oranges, which is an important nutrient for immune support benefits but also improves the absorption of iron.

RELATED: Secret Effects of Eating Bell Peppers, Says Science

Things like onions, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives are considered alliums. These veggies are flavor-packed and great for a healthy meal plan, and because they’re so high in flavor, they can make up for higher-calorie flavor additives you may add to food.

“These low-calorie, high-flavor vegetables can be used in so many ways from soups to sauces, seasonings and salads, and more. One of the easiest ways to reduce total calories is to go for a whole-foods flavor and swap out ultra-processed dressings and sauces, soups, and other packaged foods that while may provide you with familiar flavors, they come with very little nutrients and lots of extra empty calories,” says Jonathan Isbill MS, RD, LD, Master’s in Nutrition and Dietetics, Registered Dietitian, Holistic Health Coach, and Educator.

As a bonus, Isbill notes that onions “are also a great source of whole food prebiotics to support a healthy microbiome balance and happy digestion.”

If you’re someone who can handle a little bit of spice in the kitchen, you may want to try adding some hot peppers to your next meal to support weight loss!

“I love adding hot peppers and chili peppers to someone’s meal plan to boost flavor and heat to their dishes. The interesting thing about veggies that come from the capsicum genus of plants is that they contain Capsaicin, which has been known to boost mood and metabolism and reduce inflammation while also promoting an endorphin release and giving some people an extra calorie burn. Capsaicin can heat up the body’s temperature and cause you to burn off a few extra calories thanks to this thermic effect of these foods,” says Isbill.

RELATED: 5 Best Eating Habits to Help Boost Your Metabolism, Say Dietitians

Some people love beets, others hate them. But if you’re a beet-lover, you’ll be happy to know that they are packed with plenty of helpful nutrients to aid in weight loss.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

“Being rich in nitrates, beets have been long appreciated by athletes and high performers as a way to increase nitric oxide in the body. This extra boost of NO can help fuel workouts, support blood flow, maximize recovery, and may even boost performance for some,” says Isbill. And when you get more out of your fat-burning workouts, you can support your weight loss goals.

“Many people enjoy beetroot juice, and you can also sauté their greens in stir-fry, add them to a salad, or blend them in a smoothie,” he adds.

RELATED: 14 Best Foods for Better Workout Results, According to Experts

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Got some time on your hands? We hope so, because if you’re trying to eat 100 calories of most vegetables, you’re going to need to chomp down on a whole lot of food.

Just look at the bowl of spinach below to see what we mean — it takes an impressive 14 cups to even get close to 100 calories.

For some snacks and most desserts, it’s pretty easy to overdo it and eat way more than 100 calories in a sitting.

And even though nuts have a ton of benefits, those add up to 100 calories pretty quickly, too.

But with vegetables, you can eat a LOT of them without worrying about how many calories they contain.

That’s what makes them such a great food for weight loss: You can eat a lot of them, they fill you up, but they don’t weigh you down with calories.

With all of that in mind, we created this handy visual guide that shows what 100 calories of different types of raw vegetables looks like.

This will help you understand how many veggies you can eat for a shockingly few amount of calories!

100 Calories of Spinach

14 cups spinach (about 15 oz.) = 97 calories

100 Calories of Bell Peppers

3 medium bell peppers = 93 kcal

100 Calories of Mushrooms

25 medium mushrooms = 99 calories

100 Calories of Brussels Sprouts

13 Brussels sprouts = 106 calories

100 Calories of Kale

13 cups (about 9.6 oz.) = 96 calories

100 Calories of Beets

3 medium beets = 105 calories

100 Calories of Corn

⅔ cup corn = 107 calories
As a starchy food, you don’t get quite as much volume of corn for 100 calories as you do with most veggies.

100 Calories of Asparagus

32 medium spears asparagus = 102 calories

100 Calories of Eggplant

5 cups chopped eggplant = 102 calories

100 Calories of Celery

18 medium celery stalks = 101 calories

100 Calories of Cauliflower

3¾ cup chopped (about ½ large) = 100 calories

100 Calories of Artichoke

1½ medium artichokes = 90 calories

100 Calories of Broccoli

5 cups broccoli florets = 99 calories

100 Calories of Potato

¾ small potato = 98 calories
As a starchy food, you don’t get quite as much potato for 100 calories as with most veggies.

100 Calories of Cucumber

2¼ cucumbers = 102 calories

100 Calories of Lettuce

1 head romaine = 106 calories

100 Calories of Green Bean

58 green beans = 99 calories

100 Calories of Carrot

4 medium carrots = 100 calories

100 Calories Zucchini

3 medium zucchini = 100 calories

100 Calories of Zucchini

0.85 cup peas = 100 calories
As a starchy food, you don’t get quite as much volume of peas for 100 calories as you do with most veggies.

Veggies and Weight Loss

When you’re trying to lose weight, volume is the name of the game, and vegetables are the MVP.

You can eat a large volume of veggies that will satisfy you, even though they don’t pack in a ton of calories.

That’s because veggies are filled with water and fiber — both of which help you feel full — and stay full for a while.

Consider how much fuller you might feel after eating 100 calories of lettuce (that’s one heck of a lot of salad) compared to how you might feel after nibbling a 100-calorie morsel of cookie.

Or, think about snacking on three whole bell peppers versus 10 cashews…both of which give you about 95 calories.

Plus, if you’re busy chomping down on 18 celery stalks, you’ll have less time to eat said cookie, which can also help with weight loss.

The Best Ways to Eat Veggies

Unless your name is Popeye, you probably don’t want to chow down on 14 cups of raw spinach.

Instead, try cooking the vegetables that have an enormous volume for 100 calories to make it more manageable.

This releases some of the water in vegetables, making them, in effect, shrink.

That means the daunting 14 cups of spinach will reduce to about two cups of cooked spinach.

The 25 raw button mushrooms it takes to get to 100 calories, when chopped and sautéed, will reduce to less than one cup of mushrooms.

Yes, this removes some of the water we mentioned before, but you’ll still benefit from the fiber and other nutrients. Plus, it means you’ll be more likely to eat it.

And don’t forget the seasonings. Use herbs and spices to add delectable flavor to vegetables.

Try fresh or dried parsley, thyme, rosemary, or tarragon, or a sprinkle of curry, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and even cinnamon and nutmeg.

Not only will you want to eat your veggies, a study shows that you might actually end up eating more of them.

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When you know how to grill vegetables the right way, they can be a healthy and tasty part of a balanced diet — and, dare we say, just as crave-worthy as a juicy burger or shrimp skewer.

Why grill your veggies?

Not only does it help mix up your vegetable cooking methods, but vegetables cooked on the grill take on new flavor dimensions that can’t be achieved through boiling, steaming, or baking, explains Carrie Gabriel, M.S., R.D.N.

“Grilling vegetables allows their natural sugars to become caramelized, creating a sweet, smoky finish,” Gabriel says.

Before you fire up the grill, here are our top tips for making veggies part of your barbecue repertoire.

1. Choose the Best Vegetables for Grilling

Vegetables are not all equal when it comes to grill-ability, so be sure to choose veggies that are hearty enough to stand up to the flame and the flipping, Gabriel says.

“Some of the best vegetables for grilling are bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, onions, and yellow squash,” she adds.

Delicate vegetables like tomatoes, mushrooms, and scallions can handle the heat but may require special tools or techniques to get the best results.

2. Get the Right Grilling Tools

Want to ensure your veggies actually make it to your table — not the bottom of your barbecue?

Invest in a set of metal skewers to keep smaller veggies like bell pepper chunks and mushrooms from falling through the grates.

Metal skewers are flame-proof, and because they’re reusable, they’re better for the earth.

If you only have wood skewers available, soak them for at least 30 minutes before putting them on the grill to avoid igniting.

Another option: pick up a grill basket, suggests Lisa Richards, CNC, a nutritionist and the creator of the Candida Diet.

Baskets help to free up some grill space and make it easy to cook veggies like carrots, asparagus, and chopped potatoes easily and evenly (without having to flip each individual chunk).

3. Utilize Cooking Zones

Whether your grill is gas or charcoal, remember that you can adjust the flame to create different cooking zones — so your bell peppers get blistered in one area while your sweet potatoes slow-cook in another.

Use the burners on a gas grill to create different temperature zones, or move coals around the base of a charcoal grill to create char spots and lower-heat cooking zones.

4. Go Beyond the Basics

“Get creative!” says Holly McKee-Clark, culinary specialist for Beachbody. “I haven’t met a veggie I couldn’t grill — including lettuce!”

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different cooking methods.

If you always make veggie kebabs, for example, try grilling whole veggies like bell peppers or corn on the cob instead.

Or grill foil packets with wrapped-up sliced potatoes, herbs, and olive oil. The next grilled vegetable recipe you try could be your favorite!

5. Grill Your Salad

Amp up your salad’s complexity by throwing sturdy greens like romaine hearts, bok choy, or iceberg wedges onto the grill for a brief charring, McKee-Clark suggests.

Be sure to lightly oil your greens and eat immediately after grilling to avoid them going limp. Just avoid any greens with tender leaves, as they tend to wilt or burn on the grill.

6. Pay Attention to Cook Times

Just like indoor cooking, grilling times will vary based on the vegetable density and cut size.

Sturdier vegetables like cauliflower and onions will take longer to cook than tender mushrooms and tomatoes. Denser vegetables like potatoes or corn often do best when wrapped in foil before going on the grill to allow them to steam.

Check out the recommended grilling times from The Barbecue Bible to know how long to keep your portobellos or parsnips on the heat.

7. Season and Marinate After Grilling

Grilling adds smoky flavor, but you can make your veggies even tastier with a seasoning or marinade — anything from a simple sprinkle of sea salt or fresh herbs to a healthy vinaigrette.

Unlike meats and seafood, however, vegetables are best seasoned after you remove them from heat.

“Marinating vegetables after grilling them will allow them to absorb more flavor when they are hot,” Gabriel says.

8. Rethink Your Kebab Strategy

Mixed kebabs can be a colorful, Instagram-worthy meal, but what are the chances that your chicken chunks will cook at the same speed as your zucchini slices? Not likely.

Instead, consider keeping each kebab consistent — chicken on one skewer, onions and peppers on another, and so on — to ensure your veggies don’t burn while you’re waiting for meat to cook through.

9. Let Veggies Rule the Grill

Don’t relegate veggies to a tiny corner of the grill.

“Approach your grill with the 2B Mindset’s ‘Plate It!’ system in mind,” McKee-Clark says.

“If you’re making lunch, 25% of the grill space should be for protein, 25% for FFCs (fiber-filled carbohydrates), and 50% for veggies,” McKee-Clark adds. “For dinner, aim for 25% protein and 75% veggies.”

If you’re following a portion control plan like Portion Fix, McKee-Clark suggests letting the Portion Food List inspire your BBQ picks.

Choose a veggie from the list with a whole measure — like 10 spears of asparagus, half a medium eggplant, or one medium turnip, McKee-Clark says.

For smaller veggies, like chopped broccoli or snow peas, measure out your portions first, then use a grill basket.

10. Use Your Grill for Meal Prep

After you’re done cooking dinner, consider loading up the grill with a batch of veggies for meal prep throughout the week.

“Once you’ve gone to the trouble of getting the grill going, take full advantage!” McKee-Clark says. “Throw some extra veggies on and close the cover while you’re eating your meal.”

You’ll have a healthy collection of grilled vegetables to mix into scrambled eggs, top salads, or adorn grain bowls throughout the week.

11. Grill for Healthy Swaps

Looking for ways to get more vegetables into your daily diet?

McKee-Clark suggests these fun and fast ways to use your grill for extra-credit veggies:

• Grill portobello mushroom caps instead of hamburger buns.
• Slice turnips and place them in a tin foil packet with a little oil, garlic, and salt, then grill those instead of a typical potato side.
• Slice a bell pepper in half, crack an egg inside, and grill breakfast.

12. Grill Without the Grill

Don’t have an outdoor grill? You can still enjoy the flavor and versatility of grilled vegetables with a stove-top solution.

“I personally live in an apartment and don’t have an actual grill, but I do own a reversible grill pan,” Gabriel says.

While you won’t have an actual flame to work with, a cast-iron grill pan can work as a barbecue dupe to get you a bit of that grilled flavor, a hint of char, and — of course — those coveted grill marks!

Want more expert nutrition tips and advice? Head over to BODNutrition.com to learn how Beachbody nutrition programs and products can help you lead a healthier lifestyle.

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