Calorie density, made visible
Same calories, wildly different plate sizes.
ColorCals ranks 469,046 foods by calorie density — the calories packed into every gram. Eat more of the green ones, watch out for the red ones.
Every food gets a color
Calorie density is simply calories divided by weight. Water-rich foods dilute their calories; fat-dense foods concentrate them. We sort every food into one of four tiers.
Very low
under 0.6 kcal/g
Mostly water and fiber. You can eat a large volume of these foods for very few calories.
e.g. Olive Oil8.00 kcal/gLow
0.6 – 1.5 kcal/g
Filling foods that keep portions generous while staying easy on your calorie budget.
e.g. Apple0.52 kcal/gModerate
1.5 – 4 kcal/g
Balanced foods. Reasonable in normal portions, but the calories add up faster than you might expect.
e.g. Salmon2.32 kcal/gHigh
over 4 kcal/g
Calorie-packed. Small weights carry a lot of energy, so portion size matters a lot here.
Popular foods
How many calories hide in your favorites?
Ice Cream
ModerateBlack Beans
ModerateCheddar Cheese
HighPotato Chips
HighBrown Rice
ModerateGreek Yogurt
LowMozzarella Cheese
ModeratePopcorn
HighPeanut Butter
HighGround Beef
ModerateQuinoa
ModerateAlmonds
HighWhy calorie density matters
Volume keeps you full
Research consistently shows people eat a similar weight of food each day. Lower-density foods let you fill that volume with fewer calories.
No math at the table
One number — kcal per gram — tells you whether a food is a big bowl or a small bite before it hits your daily budget.
Compare in a glance
Color turns 13,000 nutrition labels into a single spectrum, so swaps become obvious instead of tedious.
The app is on its way
Log meals by picking colors, not typing names. ColorCals for iOS and Android is in the works — until then, explore the database right here.
Start exploring