Flavor Boosters- Boost Your Metabolism!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m 42 years old kids, and it’s a fine time for me to find easy ways to boost my metabolism and be fit and healthy for life.

As you know, I’m doing Weight Watchers, but these tips can work for anybody. I’m eating a lot of fruits and veggies because they are “free foods” (no points) on the WW program, and while the Summer fruits are delicious as is, I need to make my plain chicken breast and steamed veggies MUCH more exciting.

I was wondering today if spicy foods boost your metabolism- they do, at least temporarily, whoo hoo! I’ve been obsessed with hot sauces because they go a long way to make veggies have more *zing*!

I tend to start by using olive oil spray, which you can use a lot of while adding very few calories, to cook my veggies in a  non stick pan with a lid. I add water if they need a little steaming, but not to kale or spinach, it tastes better to me to cook them dry with a just touch of oil and toss them occasionally without over-cooking.

The veggies I go for most are:

Broccoli or baby broccoli

Mushrooms- especially portobello

zucchini, yellow and green

asparagus

cauliflower (it’s so good when spicy)

baby spinach

kale

(I also love tomatoes, but eat them fresh.)

When the saute is almost done cooking, I use some I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter spray, sometimes a few drops of fresh lemon juice, and then hot sauces like Cholula Chili Garlic or Cholula Chipotle. You can get them at Target or any grocery store.

The chili garlic one has a garlic vinegar kick and the chipolte is smokier. They’re both spicy, but not too hot for me, I’m the kind of person who can’t eat jalapenos without deeply regretting it later. Ahem.

Also, consider adding a big sprinkle of Fat Free Feta Cheese crumbled over the veggies (one brand of feta at Target is President). It’s super low in calories, I think 35 calories a one ounce serving, it has a lot of calcium and it’s very bold in flavor. YUM!

Now, are you ready for this? I had forgotten I wrote this post on Thermogenic Foods, but check it out: these are foods that burn more calories to consume and digest then they contain!

That’s right, they are basically calorie free (but not nutrition free) foods!

The list of Thermogenic foods includes berries (I’m eating a lot of blueberries), apples, peaches, pears, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leafy greens like kale and spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, etc.

Click here if you want to read that post, then come back!

Now about that hot sauce, from Web MD:

“Spicy foods contain chemical compounds that can kick the metabolism into a higher gear. Eating a tablespoon of chopped red or green chili pepper can boost your metabolic rate. The effect is likely temporary, but if you eat spicy foods often, the benefits may add up. For a quick boost, spice up pasta dishes, chili, and stews with red-pepper flakes.”

You know hat else I love right now? Salsa! Another “free food” on WW. I love the fresh one I buy at Target that is medium spicy, sold in the cold case near the vegetables (Casa Sanchez Medium Salsa Roja).

It’s chunky and not watery, in the way my Mom’s cold gazpacho soup was in the Summers when I was growing up. I eat a big tablespoon of it plain for the spicy kick! 10 calories for 2 tablespoons.

I also invented a weird thing with it: a snack of a small seedless cucumber (a free food on WW), sliced up in a little bowl and served with a few heaping tablespoons of the fresh salsa over it and a big sprinkle of the fat free feta cheese.

It was salty, crunchy, cold and delicious. Super low calorie and healthy.

Don’t forget that nearly all mustards are a free food, almost zero calories, and I find excellent lowfat dressings in the cold case of grocery stores, too.

Look at the calories, some are only 25-35 calories a serving, I like light ranch or Nancy’s blue cheese. I’ll put that on the side of the seasoned veggies and use it to dip them in and cut the spice of the hot sauce!

Vinegar is another flavor booster with zero calories, including balsamic.

Boost your metabolism in other ways by: drinking lots of water with lemon, getting a boost from the caffeine in coffee and/or green tea, building muscle, eating small, frequent meals and snacks and eating lean protein, which takes more energy to digest than carbs.

Last tip: this has been around for a while, but I personally just discovered Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers, those salad dressing sprays.

I tried the Ranch Vinaigrette dressing flavor on fresh sliced tomatoes today and really liked it, it’s only 15 calories for 10 sprays.

This stuff is helping me stay on track and I hope I gave you some ideas you can use.

XOXO-

~ Heidi