What does 100 calories represent?

Food and nutrition

Published on 13 February 2014
by Isabelle Huot

People hear about calories every day, but some can’t really visualize a calorie count.

Here are some examples of foods that contain about 100 calories. The portion is smaller when the food is rich in fat and sugar.

About 100 calories


1 medium banana

1 large apple (8.3 cm in diameter)

500 ml (2 cups) strawberries

200 ml (3/4 cup) orange juice


4 medium carrots (2 cups)

Daily products/substitutes

250 ml (1 cup) 1% milk

150 ml (5 oz) 1% cottage cheese

25 g (1 oz) regular cheddar cheese


13 almonds

1/3 avocado

15 ml (1 tbsp.)  olive oil

15 ml (1 tbsp.) peanut butter


50 g (2 oz) cooked Atlantic salmon

30 g (1 oz) cooked Italian pork sausage

50 g (2 oz) extra-lean ground beef

35 g (1 oz) medium-lean ground beef

125 g (4 oz) firm tofu

Cereal products

125 ml (1/2 cup) cooked rice

125 ml (1/2 cup) cooked pasta

250 ml (1 cup) Bran Flakes

100 ml (30 g) Muesli cereal

1 whole wheat tortilla (15.2 cm in diameter)


10 potato chips

80 ml (1/3 cup) ice cream

125 ml (½ cup) frozen yogurt

2 medium chocolate cookies (5.7 cm in diameter)

A woman’s average caloric needs are around 1900 calories and a man’s are around 2300 calories. Calories expended in more vigorous exercise are added to these basic amounts. However, these figures vary according to each person’s anthropometric measurements and age. For example, some athletes will need up to 4000 calories per day. When weight loss is desired, a reduction of 500 calories per day is generally sought to generate weight loss of one pound per week.
Isabelle Huot
Doctor in nutrition, spokesperson for the Kilo Cardio weight loss program