One cup of canned white beans has 19% of your daily recommended calcium. They’re also high in iron, which can also help with bone health, oxygenating your blood, and promotes healthy hair, skin, and nails. You can add them to just about anything for a calcium boost, such as soups, pastas, casseroles, or hummus. Additionally, beans are a great source of fiber, which is just nutritional icing on the calcium cake! All the fiber can help your body absorb these essential nutrients. Don't go too bean crazy, though—those calories can add up if you're eating them for three meals a day!
Almond milk is fortified with calcium, which means it can provide you with up to 30% of the amount you need every day. It’s also much lower in calories and saturated fat than regular whole milk, so it’s ideal if you’re trying to watch your weight as well. It can be used to replace milk in just about every recipe—with the exception of pudding.
Just like turnip greens, collard greens are high in calcium. Just one cooked cup has 27% of your daily value, which makes it easy to add to meals as a stand-alone side dish. You can also use raw collard greens as a sandwich wrap subsitute for bread, if you're looking for a low-calorie, high-calcium lunch.
If you can stomach them, sardines can help you along the road to strong bones. These little, pickled fish contain 37% of your daily calcium because you eat their bones along with the rest of them, and bones are where most calcium resides! It might be time to order that pizza with sardines and extra cheese—for extra calcium and to help mask the sardine taste.
Chia seeds are tiny powerhouses that are filled with nutrients, especially calcium. According to Medical News Today, just a single ounce of chia seeds has 179 mg of calcium. Chia seeds also have Boron, which promotes bone and muscle health by helping the body metabolize calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium.
Like Chia seeds, yogurt is an incredible source of calcium and is high in probiotic bacteria, which have a multitude of health benefits. According to Healthline, one cup of plain yogurt contains 30% of your recommended daily intake of calcium. There are also other types of yogurt that are just as great for you. Low-fat yogurt is even higher in calcium (45% of your recommended daily), and Greek yogurt is great if you’re looking for some extra protein in your diet.
Whey protein is usually found in milk and has a ton of health benefits, but it’s especially rich in calcium. Healthline says that even just a single one-ounce scoop of whey protein has 20% of your recommended daily intake of calcium. Whey protein is an excellent source of protein and easily-digestible amino acids. It's also great for losing weight and improving your blood sugar.
Rhubarb is a vegetable with a ton of fiber, vitamin K, calcium, and some smaller amounts of several other vitamins. Rhubarb has a lot of calcium, but not all of it will be absorbed by your body like it is with other foods. However, you still get about 35% of your daily recommended intake from one cup of cooked rhubarb, according to Healthline.
In addition to being super-rich in calcium, amaranth is a good source of folate and other key minerals. These minerals include magnesium, manganese, iron, and phosphorous. In addition to all of that, one cup of amaranth leaves will give you approximately 28% of your daily recommended intake of calcium, according to Healthline. Or, if you cook amaranth grain, then you’ll get about 12% of your recommended daily intake.
Dried figs are super-rich in antioxidants, fiber, and calcium. Dried figs are actually higher in calcium than most other dried fruits, with a total of 241 mg of calcium in just one ounce, according to Medical News Today. Dried figs also usually have a good amount of other vitamins and minerals, such as potassium and vitamin K.
According to Medical News Today, a single cup of sunflower seed kernels has approximately 109 mg of calcium, which is about 11% of your daily recommended. Sunflower seeds also have high amounts of magnesium, vitamin E, and copper. All of these various nutrients put together can help promote bone strength and flexibility while combating and preventing bone loss.
So if you ever wanted broccoli but a little more bitter, then this is for you. Medical News Today says that broccoli rabe contains 100 mg of calcium per cup, so about 10% of your daily recommended intake. If the flavor is a little too intense for you, don’t worry, there are a ton of recipes out there with ways to tone down and complement the flavor.
What’s not to love about arugula? It’s got a fun name and 32 mg of calcium per cup, according to Medical News Today. Okay, okay, so that might not seem like an overly impressive number, but a person can eat three or four cups a serving, which boosts your overall intake. Not to mention, arugula contains a lot of water and is super low in calories.
Not a fan of cow’s milk? Maybe you’re lactose intolerant? Then soy milk is a fantastic option for you, and it even contains more protein than regular milk. According to Greatist, a cup of soy milk contains 300 mg of calcium, making up 30% of your daily recommended intake! Eat it with your Cheerios, and you’ve got a calcium-centric breakfast.
You can’t go wrong with carrots. You can eat them raw or cooked, and they’ll still taste fantastic and provide you with a healthy snack option! The website Eat This, Not That says that eating just 15 medium-sized baby carrots will get you 50 mg of calcium. Of course, you can always eat more and bump up your calcium intake.
Green beans are a powerhouse of nutrients, and calcium is definitely one of its strong suits. One cup of cooked green beans can provide you with 60 mg of calcium and pack 16% of the day’s vitamin C intake, and 4 grams of fiber, according to the website Eat This, Not That. Green beans are also fantastic if you’re looking to lose weight.
