need some upping-the-cals ideas

i try to eat very healthy- i eat 7 servings of fruits and veggies, 3 servings of dairy, abt 6 oz protein and abt 5 servings of carbs- but since i eat mostly very low calorie foods (veggies are mostly things like spinach, zucchini, tomatoes... fruits are plums, peaches... carbs are mostly healthy cereals...), by the time i eat all of this, i still havent gotten to the amt of calories i should be eating- the other day i counted it up and on that particular day ( i may have just happened to have eaten more lower calorie things than usual) i was at about 1150 calories after eating all the required stuff (dont worry, then i had a 700 calorie piece of cake to add calories- ugh that was NOT healthy! at least it was all natural... baked it myselff :) )

so my question is, what kind of food should i eat to get up to the amt of calories i should be eating? (1600-1800) after eating all the necessary stuff, should i have more fruit or veggies? or stuff like nuts and nut butters?
i assume it shouldn't be more carbs?  (obviously not unhealthy carbs- i was just so tempted by that cake and i dont do that often anyways so it wasnt too terrible)

I personally try to aim for a balanced plate in my main meals (protein, carbs, veg and fats) and try to vary up my snacks so I get my three a day wholegrains, three a day dairy, five a day fruit and veg. I also aim to treat myself on occassion a couple of times a week as it staves off my desires to binge/I don't feel deprived that way, and I keep an eye on my salt (to keep it low) and fibre (to keep it high, as I have trouble with constipation ;<) intake.

In regards to your question: do you personally feel your diet is lacking in something? Protein? Dairy? EFAs? Review your diet and look at what you don't get so much of and start from there, encorporating it more into your main meals and/or your snacks. (: I hope this is helpful to you. And don't beat yourself up for eating cake - like I said, treats are good once in a while to stop you feeling like you're missing out. :D

well thats the thing... i dont really think my diets lacking in anything nutrientwise- just calories! like i said, i get the daily recommended servings of everything.  so i dont know which thing would be best to increase to get enough calories

are you trying to lsoe weight?  reccommended grains is more like 6-11, not 5, you can make them healthy whole wheat, just have more.  carbs are also potatos.  look at the food pyramid, i dont know it off the top of my head.  you also need fats in your diet and you can incorporate at least 1 treat a day.  nuts are great.  carbs give you energy, fats help your body digest, you cant live on fruits and veg unless maybe youre eating a lot of beans, also a carb.  also, are you prepared to eat liek that your whole life?

Ah yes, I forgot about food pyramids. And the three-a-day/five-a-day/three-a-day are from British guidelines - I'm not so sure about American ones.

ok nice to know about the grains thing agruskin... cuz even b4 i counted the calories from all the things im sposed to eat, i would get the feeling at the end of the day that i didnt get enough cals and id eat stuff like cereal and pretzels... i just thot that was a bad thing.  so its good to know its not

and i dont get ur question- "are you prepared to eat like that your whole life?"  whats wrong with how i eat?  its healthy and yummy! my question was only about which food group is best to increase after getting the basics from each cuz the basics alone dont add up to enough calories to maintain my weight

are you trying to lose weight?  look at the government's food pyramid, its a good guide.  grains give you energy, bread, potatos, beans...pretzels, everything in moderation.  is your dairy only 6oz?  it needs to be 8oz to = 1 serving.  why 1600cals?

1. not trying to lose weight, trying to maintain
2. i follow the canadian food guide
3. i knoow i need to eat in moderation- my point was this:
i get all the required food stuff but its not enough calories. currently, to get enough calories i eat all required stuff plus carbs- i assumed it would be better to eat something else, but as u said before, the grains i had thought i should get was actually on the low side so i guess a little more would be fine.  i always get around 100% daily calcium so im fine with dairy.
4. 1600 is the minimum, 1800 the max- im small and despite the fact that i exercise a lot, my metabolism seems to be really slow.  1600 is a healthy amount and its kept me well so far, so why not?

On days when I've reached near the end of the day and I'm that far behind where I'm supposed to be, I tend to have a healthy, high-calorie snack--for example, a piece of whole wheat bread with some peanut butter.  There's some really good protein and healthy fats in that, and that'll bump you up some 300 calories or so.  I usually end up lacking in the healthy fats department because of how many vegetables I eat--which, by the looks of it, is similar to how you eat.  Good luck!