24 Potent Foods To Lose Extra Weight
It would be unrealistic to think you could
successfully lose weight and enjoy what you’re eating with a mere handful of
foods, no matter how delicious, nutritious and satisfying they may be. So we’re
going to add an extra roster of fat-fighting foods you can eat along with the
great foods mentioned in the last section.
Studies at the University of Wisconsin show that barley effectively lowers cholesterol by up to 15 percent and has powerful anti-cancer agents. Israeli scientists say it cures constipation better than laxatives - and that can promote weight loss, too.
Use it as a substitute for rice in salads, pilaf or stuffing, or add to soups and stews. You can also mix it with rice for an interesting texture. Ground into flour, it makes excellent breads and muffins.
They’ll lend different tastes and textures to every
meal and provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other vital
nutrients. Naturally, each one is high in fiber, low in fat and safe when it
comes to sodium content, too.
Many have crunchiness and flavor we’ve come to desire
in snack and nibbling foods. If you’re like most of us, you may have a real
junk food snacking habit – a habit you’re going to have to change in order to
slim down. Many of the foods in this section may be worthy substitutes.
Here is a list of 24 Potent Foods that help to lose weight.
BarleyThis filling grain stacks up favorably to rice and potatoes. It has 170 calories per cooked cup, respectable levels of protein and fiber and relatively low fat. Roman gladiators ate this grain regularly for strength and actually complained when they had to eat meat.
Studies at the University of Wisconsin show that barley effectively lowers cholesterol by up to 15 percent and has powerful anti-cancer agents. Israeli scientists say it cures constipation better than laxatives - and that can promote weight loss, too.
Use it as a substitute for rice in salads, pilaf or stuffing, or add to soups and stews. You can also mix it with rice for an interesting texture. Ground into flour, it makes excellent breads and muffins.
Beans
Plant protein is incomplete, which means that you need to add something to make it complete. Combine beans with a whole grain – rice, barley, wheat, corn – to provide the amino acids necessary to form a complete protein. Then you get the same top-quality protein as in meat with just a fraction of the fat.
Studies at the University of Kentucky and in the Netherlands show that eating beans regularly can lower cholesterol levels.
The most common complaint about beans is that they cause gas. Here’s how to contain that problem, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Before cooking, rinse the beans and remove foreign particles, put in a kettle and cover with boiling water, soak for four hours or longer, remove any beans that float to the top, then cook the beans in fresh water.
Berries
This is the perfect weight-loss food. Berries have
natural fructose sugar that satisfies your longing for sweets and enough fiber
so you absorb fewer calories that you eat. British researchers found that the
high content of insoluble fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces
the absorption of calories from foods enough to promote width loss without
hampering nutrition.
Berries are a great source of potassium that can
assist you in blood pressure control. Blackberries have 74 calories per cup,
blueberries 81, raspberries 60 and strawberries 45. So use your imagination and
enjoy the berry of your choice.
Broccoli
Broccoli is America’s favorite vegetable,
according to a recent poll. No wonder. A cup of cooked broccoli has a mere 44
calories. It delivers a staggering nutritional payload and is considered the
number one cancer-fighting vegetable. It has no fat, loads of fiber, cancer
fighting chemicals called indoles, carotene, 21 times the RDA of vitamin C and
calcium.
When you’re buying broccoli, pay attention to the
color. The tiny florets should be rich green and free of yellowing. Stems
should be firm.
Buckwheat
It’s great for pancakes, breads, cereal, soups or
alone as a grain dish commonly called kasha. It has 155 calories per cooked
cup. Research at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences shows diets
including buckwheat lead to excellent blood sugar regulation, resistance to
diabetes and lowered cholesterol levels. You cook buckwheat the same way you
would rice or barley. Bring two to three cups of water to a boil, add the
grain, cover the pan, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the
water is absorbed.
Cabbage
This Eastern Europe
staple is a true wonder food. There are only 33 calories in a cup of cooked
shredded cabbage, and it retains all its nutritional goodness no matter how
long you cook it. Eating cabbage raw (18 calories per shredded cup), cooked, as
sauerkraut (27 calories per drained cup) or coleslaw (calories depend on
dressing) only once a week is enough to protect against colon cancer. And it
may be a longevity-enhancing food. Surveys in the United States, Greece and
Japan show that people who eat a lot of it have the least colon cancer and the
lowest death rates overall.
Carrots
What list of health-promoting, fat-fighting foods
would be complete without Bugs Bunny’s favorite? A medium-sized carrot carries
about 55 calories and is a nutritional powerhouse. The orange color comes from
beta carotene, a powerful cancer-preventing nutrient (provitamin A).
Chop and toss them with pasta, grate them into rice or
add them to a stir-fry. Combine them with parsnips, oranges, raisins, lemon
juice, chicken, potatoes, broccoli or lamb to create flavorful dishes. Spice
them with tarragon, dill, cinnamon or nutmeg. Add finely chopped carrots to
soups and spaghetti sauce – they impart a natural sweetness without adding
sugar.
Chicken
White meat contains 245 calories per four ounce
serving and dark meat, 285. It’s an excellent source of protein, iron, niacin
and zinc. Skinned chicken is healthiest, but most experts recommend waiting
until after cooking to remove it because the skin keeps the meat moist during
cooking.
Corn
It’s really a grain – not a vegetable – and is another
food that’s gotten a bum rap. People think it has little to offer nutritionally
and that just isn’t so. There are 178 calories in a cup of cooked kernels. It
contains good amounts of iron, zinc and potassium, and University of Nebraska
researchers say it delivers a high-quality of protein, too.
The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico eat corn, beans and
hardly anything else. Virgil Brown, M.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, points out
that high blood cholesterol and cardiovascular heart disease are almost
nonexistent among them.
Cottage Cheese
As long as we’re talking about losing weight and
fat-fighting foods, we had to mention cottage cheese.
Low-fat (2%) cottage cheese has 205 calories per cup
and is admirably low in fat, while providing respectable amounts of calcium and
the B vitamin riboflavin. Season with spices such a dill, or garden fresh
vegetable such a scallions and chives for extra zip.
To make it sweeter, add raisins or one of the fruit
spreads with no sugar added. You can also use cottage cheese in cooking,
baking, fillings and dips where you would otherwise use sour cream or cream
cheese.
Figs
Fiber-rich figs are low in calories at 37 per medium
(2.25” diameter) raw fig and 48 per dried fig. A recent study by the USDA demonstrated
that they contribute to a feeling of fullness and prevent overeating. Subjects
actually complained of being asked to eat too much food when fed a diet
containing more figs than a similar diet with an identical number of calories.
Serve them with other fruits and cheeses. Or poach
them in fruit juice and serve them warm or cold. You can stuff them with mild
white cheese or puree them to use as a filling for cookies and low-calorie
pastries.
Fish
The health benefits of fish are greater than experts
imagined – and they’ve always considered it a health food.
The calorie count in the average four-ounce serving of
a deep-sea fish runs from a low of 90 calories in abalone to a high of 236 in
herring. Water-packed tuna, for example, has 154 calories. It’s hard to gain
weight eating seafood.
As far back as 1985, articles in the New England
Journal of Medicine showed a clear link between eating fish regularly and lower
rates of heart disease. The reason is that oils in fish thin the blood, reduce
blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
Dr. Joel Kremer, at Albany
Medical College
in New York,
discovered that daily supplements of fish oil brought dramatic relief to the
inflammation and stiff joints of rheumatoid arthritis.
Greens
We’re talking collard, chicory, beet, kale, mustard,
Swiss chard and turnip greens. They all belong to the same family as spinach,
and that’s one of the super-stars. No matter how hard you try, you can’t load a
cup of plain cooked greens with any more than 50 calories.
They’re full of fiber, loaded with vitamins A and C,
and free of fat. You can use them in salads, soups, casseroles or any dish
where you would normally use spinach.
Kiwi
This New
Zealand native is a sweet treat at only 46
calories per fruit. Chinese public health officials praise the tasty fruit for
its high vitamin C content and potassium. It stores easily in the refrigerator
for up to a month. Most people like it peeled, but the fuzzy skin is also
edible.
Leeks
These members of the onion family look like giant
scallions, and are every bit as healthful and flavorful as their better-known
cousins. They come as close to calorie-free as it gets at a mere 32 calories
per cooked cup.
You can poach or broil halved leeks and then marinate
them in vinaigrette or season with Romano cheese, fine mustard or herbs. They
also make a good soup.
Lettuce
People think lettuce is nutritionally worthless, but
nothing could be farther from the truth. You can’t leave it out of your
weight-loss plans, not at 10 calories per cup of raw romaine. It provides a lot
of filling bulk for so few calories. And it’s full of vitamin C, too. Go beyond
iceberg lettuce with Boston,
bibb and cos varieties or try watercress, arugula, radicchio, dandelion greens,
purslane and even parsley to liven up your salads.
Melons
Now, here’s great taste and great nutrition in a
low-calorie package! One cup of cantaloupe balls has 62 calories, on cup of
casaba balls has 44 calories, one cup of honeydew balls has 62 calories and one
cup of watermelon balls has 49 calories. They have some of the highest fiber
content of any food and are delicious. Throw in handsome quantities of vitamins
A and C plus a whopping 547 mgs of potassium in that cup of cantaloupe, and you
have a fat-burning health food beyond compare.
Oats
A cup of oatmeal or oat bran has only 110 calories.
And oats help you lose weight. Subjects in Dr. James Anderson’s landmark
12-year study at the University
of Kentucky lost three
pounds in two months simply by adding 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of oat bran to their
daily food intake and nothing else. Just don’t expect oats alone to perform
miracles – you have to eat a balanced diet for total health.
Onions
Flavorful, aromatic, inexpensive and low in calories,
onions deserve a regular place in your diet. One cup of chopped raw onions has
only 60 calories, and one raw medium onion (2.15” diameter) has just 42.
They control cholesterol, thin the blood, protect
against cholesterol and may have some value in counteracting allergic
reactions. Most of all, onions taste good and they’re good for you.
Partially boil, peel and bake, basting with olive oil
and lemon juice. Or sauté them in white wine and basil, then spread over pizza.
Or roast them in sherry and serve over paste.
Pasta
Sweet Potatoes
You can make a meal out of them and not worry about
gaining a pound – and you sure won’t walk away from the table feeling hungry.
Each sweet potato has about 103 calories. Their creamy orange flesh is one of
the best sources of vitamin A you can consume.
You can bake, steam or microwave them. Or add them to
casseroles, soups and many other dishes. Flavor with lemon juice or vegetable
broth instead of butter.
Tomatoes
A survey at Harvard
Medical School
found that the chances of dying of cancer are lowest among people who eat
tomatoes (or strawberries) every week.
And don’t overlook canned crushed, peeled, whole or
stewed tomatoes. They make sauces, casseroles and soups taste great while
retaining their nutritional goodness and low-calorie status. Even plain old
spaghetti sauce is a fat-burning bargain when served over pasta, so think about
introducing tomatoes into your diet
Turkey
A four-ounce serving of roasted white meat turkey has
177 calories and dark meat has 211.
Sadly, many folks are still unaware of the versatility
and flavor of ground turkey. Anything hamburger can do, ground turkey can do at
least as well, from conventional burgers to spaghetti sauce to meat loaf.
Some ground turkey contains skin which slightly
increases the fat content. If you want to keep it really lean, opt for ground
breast meat. But since this has no added fat, you’ll need to add filler to make
burgers or meat loaf hold together.
Four ounces of ground turkey has approximately 170
calories and nine grams of fat – about what you’d find in 2.5 teaspoons of
butter or margarine. Incredibly, the same amount of regular ground beef (21%
fat) has 298 calories and 23 grams of fat.
Buying turkey has become easy. It’s no longer
necessary to buy a whole bird unless you want to. Ground turkey is available
fresh or frozen, as are individual parts of the bird, including drumsticks,
thighs, breasts and cutlets.
Yogurt
The non-fat variety of plain yogurt has 120 calories
per cup and low-fat, 144. It delivers a lot of protein and , like any dairy
food, is rich in calcium and contains zinc and riboflavin.
Yogurt is handy as a breakfast food – cut a banana
into it and add the cereal of your choice.
You can find ways to use it in other types of cooking,
to – sauces, soups, dips, toppings, stuffings and spreads. Many kitchen gadget
departments even sell a simple funnel for making yogurt cheese.
Yogurt can replace heavy creams and whole milk in a
wide range of dishes, saving scads of fat and calories.
You can substitute half or all of the higher fat
ingredients. Be creative. For example, combine yogurt, garlic powder, lemon
juice, a dash of pepper and Worcestershire sauce and use it to top a baked
potato instead of piling on fat-laden sour cream.
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