5 Underrated Foods That Give You The Most Nutritional Bang For Your Buck 

There is so much nutrition information out there. You can name every fad diet under the sun, and yet, we don't actually have a set definition for nutrient-dense. "We've been throwing out this word 'nutrient-dense' a lot without having an agreed-upon definition or any kind of consistent way to identify nutrient-dense foods," Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D., says on an episode of the mindbodygreen podcast.

That's why the biophysicist and New York Times bestselling author came up with a new approach called Nutrivore, or a diet predominantly composed of nutrient-dense whole foods (it also happens to be the title of her book).

She calculates all the nutrients our bodies need from the foods we eat and gives each food a score based on its scientific literature. 

"The highest-scoring fruit is strawberries," says Ballantyne. Not blueberries—strawberries. "Blueberries have the best PR team of all fruit," she quips regarding all the research and news stories surrounding those tiny blues. "I'm not saying blueberries are bad, but strawberries have almost double the nutrient density of blueberries," she adds. Who knew? 

"Legumes are the most nutrient-dense starchy food," says Ballantyne. "I would have thought starchy root vegetables like sweet potatoes would beat out legumes…but on average, legumes are more so." 

Coffee lovers, lean in: Your favorite beverage earns a Nutrivore score of 7036, which according to Ballantyne, makes it one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. 

"Coffee earns its very high Nutrivore score thanks to being such a concentrated source of polyphenols, and for only 2 calories per cup if you're drinking it black," she notes. In addition to those polyphenols, it contains quite a significant amount of B vitamins and a bit of fiber too. 

When it comes to the highest-scoring grains, bulgur comes out on top. Bulgur is a type of pseudograin, which earns a Nutrivore score of 297. 

It contains a higher amount of nutrients like fiber and protein than rice (if you are going to compare the two), mainly because "you're really eating the whole grain," says Ballantyne. "The nutrients tend to be concentrated in the germ and the hull; as soon as you start doing any kind of processing of grains, you're removing some nutrients," she adds.

Cocoa powder has a Nutrivore score of 1,036, says Ballantyne, namely thanks to its polyphenol content. "It has really high minerals. It's quite very high fiber as well," she notes. It's no wonder dark chocolate has been associated with many health benefits, such as reducing high blood pressure risk. 

Take Ballantyne's Nutrivore system not as hard-and-fast rules but as suggestions on how to fill up a nutrient-dense plate. Add these five staples to your grocery list—plus more she shares in the episode!—and you'll surely get the most nutritional bang for your buck.