11 Calcium-Rich Foods That Have Nothing To Do With Dairy
SHARE
Pixabay
Regardless of your reasoning for not consuming milk, cheese and yogurt, the question remains: how do you make sure you stock your diet with enough calcium every day? Calcium is an essential mineral that helps us keep our bones strong and nerves healthy (among other things). Without it, we risk poor growth as adolescents and osteoporosis as adults. All men and women need 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily to reap the benefits and live healthy lives.
When that classic glass of 2 percent milk is off the table, what’s left? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Below are 11 natural, healthy foods that will help you reach your daily dose of this literal body-building mineral. And the further down the list you scroll, the more calcium stocked the foods become. Maybe staying far away from the land of dairy isn’t so difficult after all.
1. Sesame Seeds
Pixabay
Toss these babies in any stir fry, salad or lean protein dish to get an extra calcium boost along with a toasted, nutty flavor.
2. Chia Seeds
Pixabay
This key to any solid overnight oats recipe just secured its spot on our ingredient list forever.
3. Figs
Pixabay
107 milligrams in 8 whole dried figs
That’s right, this delicious Mediterranean favorite can supply a tenth of your daily value of calcium. Just be wary of all the sugar that’s packed into a large serving of any dried fruit.
4. Black-Eyed Peas
Wikimedia
185 milligrams in 1/2 cup, canned
Southern comfort food lovers, rejoice! These cute little legumes give you quite a lot of calcium in a conservative serving.
5. Turnip Greens
Flickr
197 milligrams in 1 cup cooked, chopped
Another fun taste of the south, turnip greens are perfectly savory, bitter and calcium-fortified.
6. Kale
Pixabay
201 milligrams in 2 cups raw, chopped
Bring on the green! Opt for kale as your salad base and score a fifth of your daily calcium right there.
7. Canned Salmon
Pixabay
232 milligrams in half a can (with bones)
It may sound weird that we recommend the canned version to the fresh filet, but go with it. Because the salmon is stored with the bones in the can, the fish you eat soaks up additional calcium from the bones, making it even more nourishing.
8. Sardines
Pixabay
351 milligrams in one 3.75-ounce can
These bad boys play the calcium game, too. And you don’t have to eat a lot to really reap the benefits.
9. Collard greens
Flickr
357 milligrams in 1 cup frozen then boiled
These dark, leafy greens rank third with their powerful calcium punch in just a 1-cup serving.
10. Tofu
Pixabay
A vegetarian favorite, tofu is surprisingly calcium-rich even when it’s not a “fortified” product.
11. Almonds
Pixabay
457 milligrams in one cup, oil-roasted
A cup of almonds (that’s a lot) will run you about 1,000 calories (oof), but that’ll also provide half of your calcium needs for the day. So maybe just spread these snacks out over the course of the day.
Next on
