Best Foods for Weight Loss

The best superfoods for weight loss come from some surprising places…

We all know that eating less junk food and eating healthier foods, like fruits and vegetables, is what we need to do to lose weight. But there are some foods out there that help you lose weight more than others. Some of these foods are suprisingly common and would often be overlooked at the grocery store, until now. Check out these fat busting foods.

Sardines – Sardines are small fish, typically canned, that many people only eat at special occassions. Their fishy taste is pretty powerful, but so is their ability to help with weight loss. To begin with, Sardines contain high amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids. This type of fat has been found not only to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure, but also to increase fat metabolism by reducing insulin levels, which results in weight loss. Sardines are also high in protein, which helps to stimulate metabolism and stabilize blood sugar levels. Finally, sardines are a good food to add to your diet because they are relatively cheap and contain much lower levels of mercury than other fish, such as tuna.

Bison Meat – Bison meat, also known as Buffalo meat, is very low in fat and calories compared to regular beef. The best cut of beef still contains almost 4 times as much fat than a cut of bison meat. In addition to being low fat, bison meat is also free of hormones, drugs and chemicals that are commonly found in beef. The reason for this is because Bison are very large animals and are difficult to handle so they spend their lives turned out to pasture. Bison meat is more expensive than regular beef, but is about equitable in price to finer cuts of beef and organic beef. Bison can also be purchased ground and can be substitute into any beef recipe. Bison meat tastes almost identical to beef, but is much better for you.

Pumpkin – Not many people realize that their favorite Thanksgiving and Halloween squash is a fat busting food. Canned pumpkin is a winner for weight loss because it contains a large amount of fiber and very few calories per serving. Pumpkin is also very easy to cook with. There are hundreds of healthy pumpkin recipes including my personal favorite, pumpkin soup (see recipe at the end of this article). It should be mentioned that although pumpkin helps reduce the plump, pumpkin pie, because of the sugar, eggs and pastry, is still rather high in calories and fat and should not be eaten as a diet food…sorry to disappoint you.

Grapefruit – There are many diets out there that encourage the eating of grapfruit for weight loss. This is because there has been research conducted that has shown that eating grapefruit before meals actually helps promote weight loss. Although the mechanisms behind grapefruits gut shrinking abilities are still not quite understood, it is a well known fact that this fruit is high in fiber and low in sugar. In fact, half a grapefruit contains 6 grams of fiber and only 39 calories. As with most fruits, roughly half of grapefruit’s fiber is insoluble (which helps prevent constipation and which may reduce the risk of colon cancer) and half is soluble (which helps lower cholesterol levels).

Green Tea – The weight loss world has been singing the praises of green tea for some time. Firstly, green tea contains antioxidants that promotes heart health, aids with digestion and regulates blood sugar. Secondly, green tea contains caffeine that increases energy, boosts metabolism and elevates fat oxidation, which results in weight loss. Another side benefit of drinking green tea is that you will consume less of other drinks that are potentially high in calories, such as sweetened coffees, juices, and sport drinks.

Recipe – Creamy Pumpkin Curry Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cups sodium-reduced, low-fat chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fluid ounces) nonfat evaporated milk

Directions:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry powder, coriander and crushed red pepper; cook for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes to develop flavors. Stir in pumpkin and evaporated milk; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until heated through.

Transfer mixture to food processor or blender (in batches, if necessary); cover. Blend until creamy. Serve warm or reheat to desired temperature. Garnish with dollop of fat-free yogurt and chives, if desired. Makes 4 servings, 163 calories per serving.