Slim that wide waist and paunch pouring over your jeans with these natural fat-shedding food options, instead of those artificial weight loss supplements and additives that only chemically toxify your body.
The following foods are known to help, fight unhealthy hunger pangs, burn calories, cut out stubborn fat, boost overall metabolism, make you feel lighter and healthier and more.
1. Green Vegetables
Besides its rich green bank of vitamins and minerals, dark green and especially leafy veggies such as spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce and arugula are packed with fiber and are low in calories. This means they do a number on helping reduce that waistline too.
Recipe
Try making a mixed green salad with some cherry and sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, crumble on some feta cheese, a handful of walnuts and serve in a big bowl. If not juice some spinach with some lemon juice and turmeric for a morning juice.
2. Berries
These little red, blackish purple, blue and more colored berries are bumpy little fiber-driven powerhouses. A mere cup of raspberries packs around 6 grams, and yes this means a cup of organic natural and unprocessed berries. Not those jellies, jams, sugar-syrup soaked berries or preserves, as most of them are considered junk food in the organic world, with excessive artificial sugars and zero fiber.
Recipe
Mix a few handful of different berries with some honey and add it on top of a lovely cup of natural low-fat yogurt with some crushed almonds, as a cooling and soothing dessert or breakfast option.
3. Avocados
As the plant world’s source of heart-loving mono-saturated fats, avocados contain amazing gut filling fiber of about 10 to 17 grams per avocado, which makes them amazing options for keeping those hunger pangs in check.
Recipe
With a nutritional requirement of about half a cup every day, try this smoothie by blending half a cup of avocados, a cup of milk and some chocolate syrup, well together. A popular street beverage in Malaysia which students sometimes indulge in for a quick pick-me-up before heading for class.
4. Almonds And Other Nuts
Nuts are known to keep your tummy busy from thinking about going for that bag of chips or something less healthy. A study conducted by Purdue university explained that those who consumed nuts felt full for longer hours than those who ate rice cakes. This directly correlates to the theory that it beats those average carbs in terms of feeling full and fighting cravings.
Recipe
Make sure to have just about 24 almonds per day and not more. If you’re bored of eating them as is, make a spice mix of it. Mix some almonds and walnuts with some ghee or clarified butter, a teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder, a dash of cinnamon powder and very little salt (as sodium increases blood pressure) and leave the mix for about 15 minutes. Lightly bake them the spice nut mix in an oven for 10 minutes in an oven at around 180 degrees Celsius or 356 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Whole grains
Having whole grains gives your body the needed carbs and also fills you up for hours. But don’t be fooled, always look for bread or grains labelled ‘whole grain’ or ‘100 % whole wheat’, not ‘wheat’ which has been processed and ridden of its fiber and nutrients.
Recipe
Try making a whole-wheat bread sandwich with some salmon drizzled with pickled gherkins, mayo, olive oil, cayenne pepper and layers of romaine lettuce for a quick and slimming lunch.
6. Mono-Saturated Fatty Oils
Even a few drops of fat can go a long way in keeping your tummy satisfied and keeping your cholesterol levels balanced. Stick to mono-saturated fat based oils such as canola and olive oil. Watch out for hydrogenated vegetable oils as they are just filled with unhealthy trans-fat, or a blocked artery waiting to happen.
Recipe
Make your own salad dressing by mixing some olive oil with broken pepper corns, minced fried garlic, rock salt and a pinch of chives and rosemary. Store and shake for a day or two and then use for your stir-fry’s or even salads.
7. Cinnamon
Besides just spicing your food and cakes up to taste Christmas-y, cinnamon helps balance your insulin and blood sugar levels too.
Recipe
Cinnamon is not water-soluble so try cooking it in some butter, and then mix it with some rice for a healthy casserole or in other carb-rich foods.
8. Hot Pepper
The spicier or hotter the pepper, be it green chilies, pepper corns, cayenne and the like, consuming these stimulate a process called thermogenesis in your body, which enables calorie burning and release as heat.
Recipe
In Indonesia, fried fritters are served with some green chilies so it can add flavor and burn the oils out in your body. Try adding some capsaicin or hot pepper, pickled green chili vinegar and the like to your daily food to feel that heat too.
9. Eggs
Recipe
Backed by research studies in Louisiana State University, eggs in people’s breakfasts were said to make them lose more weight than a bagel. So, make some scrambled, cinnamon spiced omelets with some hot sauce, spinach, coriander leaves and garlic cloves for a scrumptious brekkie.
10. Fish And Other Lean Meats
Your body is said to burn more calories by digesting protein instead of carbs or fat. Try adding some tuna and salmon for omega-3 fatty acids and even some turkey meat to your diet. They ease out stress-inducing toxins and keep you slim. Stay clear of cured meats and sausages, though, they pack a nasty punch of saturated fats.
Recipe
With a thin slice of turkey ham, on a bed of greens that are drizzled with some of that spiced olive oil, tuck in some berries too if you’re feeling creative, add some Parmesan inside the mix then roll them up and fix them with a toothpick. Lightly fry them in a pan without letting them unravel and serve.
