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Everyday ideas / measured portions

Easy low calorie meals.
36 ideas under 400 calories.

Explore low calorie meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner: 30 home combinations plus six individual fast-food orders. Each lists its portion, calories, protein, carbs, fat and fiber. Choose an idea that fits the daily calorie target you already use.

Prepared by the KaloCam team · Updated · Sources & method

Portions, with context. Under 400 is this page’s browsing limit, rather than the FDA labeling definition. These are meal ideas, not a full daily plan. Larger portions, snacks or sides may be needed for your target. See the definition and arithmetic examples ↓

Choose your next meal.

High protein = at least 25 g per portion. No-cook = assembly with ready-to-eat, canned or already cooked and chilled ingredients. Cooked = a warm preparation or restaurant order.

Household portions come first, with edible gram weights in parentheses: cooked grains and meats, drained canned fish, prepared edamame and raw produce. Weigh toast after toasting. Use only the listed ingredients; added oil, dressing and drinks change the totals.

36 ideas · nutrition per listed portion

Breakfast10 ideas

Lunch10 ideas

Dinner10 ideas

Fast food6 ideas

McDonald's McDouble

CookedFast foodUnder 400
Calories
390
Protein
22.0 g
Carbs
32.0 g
Fat
20.0 g
Fiber
2.0 g

One US menu item as sold, including its standard ingredients. No sides, drinks or extras.

McDonald’s USA · checked 2026-10-21 ↗

Low calorie high protein meals.

High protein low calorie meals in this collection have at least 25 g of protein per listed portion. Use the High protein filter above, then sort by protein to compare the whole portion.

For example, lemon tuna lentil salad combines drained tuna with cooked lentils and raw vegetables; edamame lentil chopped salad uses beans and lentils. Their cards include every ingredient in the total.

Low calorie foods that are filling: compare the numbers.

Protein and fiber per 100 calories let you compare foods on the same energy basis. These are composition ratios, not a promise about fullness.

Greek yogurt

17.3 g protein · 0.0 g fiber per 100 calories

Lentils

7.8 g protein · 6.8 g fiber per 100 calories

Blackberries

3.2 g protein · 12.3 g fiber per 100 calories

Low-calorie food for dinner, as a complete portion.

Start with one of the ten dinner combinations above. Compare a protein food, a weighed grain or potato portion and vegetables together; count any additions against your own daily target.

Low calorie meals at fast food restaurants.

Choose Fast food in the finder for six individual US orders under 400 calories, within the 450-calorie ceiling used to select restaurant options. Each is a single sandwich or burger, without sides or a drink. These are ordering ideas; the item alone may be only part of your meal.

McDonald’s values are the official US product totals checked October 21, 2026. Subway values are the complete six-inch Fresh Fit builds in the October 2026 US guide, checked October 22. Fresh Fit totals differ from the standard menu builds. Follow each card’s official source and check the local menu for availability and changes.

Compare Subway builds in the calculator →

Low calorie meal questions.

What is considered a low calorie meal?

For FDA labeling, 21 CFR 101.60(b)(3) allows “low calorie” for meal and main dish products at 120 calories or less per 100 g, with an additional disclosure condition for products that qualify without reformulation. That is an energy-density rule, not a universal per-meal limit. Here, “under 400” is an editorial portion filter; it does not certify an FDA label claim.

What is a low calorie meal for my daily target?

Start with a daily calorie target you already use, reserve any snacks and drinks, then divide the remainder among meals. For arithmetic only: (1,800 − 300) ÷ 3 = 500 calories per meal; (1,500 − 300) ÷ 3 = 400. These are examples, not recommended intake targets or medical advice. An under-400 idea may be only part of your meal.

What are low calorie meals on this page?

There are 30 home meal combinations and six individual US fast-food orders, each below 400 calories in the listed portion. Home combinations use USDA ingredient weights; restaurant orders use official menu totals. Added oil, sauces, sides and drinks are not included unless listed.

Which low calorie foods that are filling can I compare?

Compare protein and fiber per 100 calories using the same USDA records. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt supplies 17.3 g protein and 0.0 g fiber; cooked lentils supply 7.8 g protein and 6.8 g fiber; blackberries supply 3.2 g protein and 12.3 g fiber. Divide grams of a nutrient by calories and multiply by 100. These ratios compare composition; they do not predict how full you will feel.

What is the lowest calorie food for dinner?

There is no single lowest calorie food that makes a complete dinner. Compare the portion and the foods you combine. The dinner cards show protein, carbs, fat and fiber as well as calories. A small calorie number alone does not establish whether a meal meets your needs.

Does high protein mean the same thing on a food label?

The High protein filter here means at least 25 g of protein in the complete listed portion, using unrounded totals. It is a browsing rule, not an FDA nutrient-content claim. Under 300 and Under 400 also use unrounded calorie totals, so a displayed rounded value can sit at a boundary.

Read FDA’s meal and main dish labeling rule: 21 CFR 101.60(b)(3) ↗

From the idea to your plate

Keep track of the meal you actually eat.

KaloCam helps you start a food log from a photo, review the estimated calories and macros, and keep track of your meals. Photos cannot measure exact portions or hidden oil; review the estimate before saving.

See how KaloCam works →
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Sources & calculation method.

Prepared by the KaloCam team on October 23, 2026. Home combinations are planning examples, not kitchen-tested recipes or personal nutrition prescriptions. Ingredient links show the USDA entry and preparation state used. No new nutrient values were added for this page.

  • USDA FoodData Central: cached API nutrient values per 100 g. For each nutrient, multiply its per-100-g value by the listed grams ÷ 100, then sum all ingredients. Calories use USDA’s reported energy, not a reconstruction from macros.
  • Display rounding: calories to the nearest integer, macros and fiber to one decimal. Filters and sorting use unrounded totals. Missing nutrients are never treated as zero.
  • Home portions use USDA household measures or fractions of those measures; gram weights are shown to at most two decimal places. The yogurt reference is a 170 g container, the drained light tuna reference is a 165 g can, and the sardine reference is 92 g drained from a 3.75 oz can. Cup weights depend on the food and the stated cut. Marinara uses the USDA 132 g half-cup serving; meat and seafood ounce weights use the household portions in their USDA records.
  • Official US restaurant data: each card links to McDonald’s product page or Subway’s October 2026 nutrition PDF. Values describe the complete item as listed, including standard ingredients. No serving weight is inferred for McDonald’s.
  • 21 CFR 101.60(b)(3): meal/main dish “low calorie” label conditions, verified online October 23, 2026. The page’s calorie and protein filters are editorial browsing rules.

Explore the food calorie library for other portions, or use the walking calorie calculator for a separate estimate of walking energy use. The two estimates do not prescribe a food or exercise target.