The Secrets of Delicious Dinners which Keep You Slim

To stay or to become slim, you must make changes to your diet. There is no way around it. However, this doesn’t have to mean eating boring, bland foods while saying no to everything you love. It’s perfectly possible to eat well and make wise choices that help you burn fat instead of packing pounds.

The dinner foods that make you fat

Basically, there are certain easy principles that lead to unhealthy meals and fat accumulation. Usually, at dinner you should avoid:

• Combining carbohydrates with fat and protein,
• Carb-(sugar-)rich foods,
• Washing dinner down with alcohol,
• Foods slow or hard to digest.

It’s very important to choose instead ingredients that are quick and easy to digest. Otherwise, you risk the food staying in your digestive tract for very long, as the body is unable to process it completely by the time you’re sleep.

This often results in fat accumulation. When the system cannot process food completely, it stores it as fat. As for the bad food associations, there is already enough research you can find on the topic.

Another important tip is to avoid having alcohol with dinner. Alcohol is a poison. When ingested, your body prioritizes its metabolism and leaves everything else for later. This translates to more fat being stored.

Smart food choices for healthy dinners

Sure it’s easy to have pizza and pasta, especially when you’re too tired to cook. However, that will sabotage all your weight loss efforts, even when you’ve been starving the whole day and you’re telling yourself that all those dinner calories will be burned. Here’s what you should definitely consider for your healthy evening meals:

• The better kinds of meat, like chicken or turkey
• Chicken broth, if you wish to avoid meat altogether but still enjoy the flavor
• Fish and seafood
• Healthy fats like avocado and olive oil
• Lemon drizzle instead of sauce
• Wholegrain rice
• Vegetables, of course

Slimming down with spices

Not only that spices can have loads of positive effects on one’s health, but they’re also good at melting down fat. Besides, adding spices will make your food so much tastier, without having to add high calorie dressing or sauce.

This is extremely convenient when dieting. Cinnamon, garlic, pepper and chilli are all known for their thermogenic effects – they raise the body’s temperature, making the fat burning process more efficient.

These also give your metabolism a boost. Fennel and ginger have a similar effect but also help your have a better digestion. Do a little research on the various spices and combine them for added deliciousness and amazing benefits.

The cuisine that makes you lose weight

A very simple and efficient way to lose weight on a constant basis is to look at countries with low obesity rates. What do those people eat? Have a look at Mediterranean, Chinese, Indian and South-Eastern Asian cuisines.

They will teach you all about healthy choices and ingredients that help you lose weight. If you’re focused on a too faraway place however, you may have a hard time finding the right ingredients. Choose a country that’s closest to you, so you won’t be desperately searching for exotic ingredients.

Including superfoods

The Internet provides abundant information on superfoods. Research these and do your best to include them in your dinners.

You should consider quinoa, amaranth, broccoli (for its easy to digest protein), seeds and nuts, cashew etc.

Superfoods are called like this because they pack incredible nutrition with very few calories, so they won’t get you fat.

There is also another kind of superfoods – the one with a high calorie count, but which is so healthy it doesn’t get you fat. Black beans are in this category. Also, you can replace meat and dairy (which also tend to have a lot of fat) with soy and tofu. Replace your pasta or whichever refined cereal with wholegrains.

Dinner ideas for weight loss

Consider the following for nutritious, non-fattening, tasty dinners:

• Chicken and broccoli casserole

This looks decadent and tastes wonderful. Instead of white rice, use quinoa, which subtracts the carbs and adds fiber. The broccoli will double your protein intake.

• Mexican tortilla

Easy to prepare, makes use of canned beans and many vegetables. Readily chopped ones are ideal.

• Citrus salmon

Ready in 20 minutes, salmon is delicious with citrus juice and slices. Add onions, garlic, hot chilli peppers and whichever spices you may like. Salmon is excellent in weight loss diets and helps pack on lean muscle.

• Roasted potatoes with kale salad

It’s easy to prepare and healthy, plus you can make it totally delicious and tangy if you add flavored vinaigrette to it.

• Couscous with broccoli and fish

Whether it’s tuna or tilapia, fish goes exceptionally well with couscous. Make sure it’s wholegrain if you want the healthiest option. To boost its weigh loss power, opt for citrus sauce (preferable with grapefruit).

• Shrimp salad

Tasty and at the same time filled with good nutrients, can be combined with different vegetable (green leafy ones especially), along with black beans and capers. Use salt, garlic and pepper to spice it. Mix any suitable greens you have at hand – it’s best with arugula and romaine though.

• Cauliflower quiche

Cauliflowers takes a lot of the calories of a regular quiche out. Besides, it makes meat unnecessary if you add mushrooms. Other ingredients are: olive oil, coriander, red pepper, flour, eggs and feta cheese.

• Chilaquiles casserole

With black beans are base ingredient, add onion, diced tomatoes, corn, zucchini, corn tortillas and low fat Cheddar, then spice with salt and cumin, plus enchilada sauce for more flavor.

These principles as ell as dinner ideas will help you control what goes into every meal you eat and also make you exercise portion control, given the emphasis on filling or water-rich ingredients. At the same time, you will learn that small elements such as spices tend to go a long way, both taste- and health-wise.

Save