55 Lean Foods That Reduce Body Fat and Boost Your Energy (Part 1)

Every so often, we like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious and healthy, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for, while also more importantly, improving your health for life.

In this article, I’d like to give you healthy food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I’d just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.

Remember, if you don’t have junk around the house, you’re less likely to eat junk! If all you have is healthy nutritious foods around the house, you’re forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you’ll enjoy.

Some of these lean foods will be obvious healthy choices, such as fruits and veggies… however, others on this page I think will surprise you!

Alright, so let’s start with the fridge.

Each week, I try to make sure I’m loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini, spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning eggs. I also like to chop up some organic chicken or turkey sausage or grass-fed bison sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses (preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can find them).

By the way I’m talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites. Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part… and no, it’s NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol… whole eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol. Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it’s also full of healthy saturated fats. Yes, you heard me right… I said healthy saturated fats! …Healthy saturated fats such as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), specifically an MCT called lauric acid, which is vitally important for your immune system.

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

Walnuts, pecans, almonds – delicious and great sources of healthy fats. Try to get raw nuts if possible as the roasting process can oxidize some of the polyunsaturated fats in some types of nuts making those damaged fats slightly more inflammatory. Overall, nuts are still healthy even if they are roasted, but raw nuts are optimal.

Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yoghurt (grass-fed and organic if possible) – I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yoghurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.

Chia seeds and/or hemp seeds – I add these highly nutritious seeds to yogurt, smoothies, or salads for a great nutty taste and loads of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. Don’t use pre-ground versions of these seeds as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals if you use pre-ground seeds. No grinding is necessary to properly digest these seeds.

Whole eggs – one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).

Salsa – I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.

Avocados – love them…plus a great source of healthy fats, fibre, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.

Butter – don’t believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavour to anything and CAN be part of a healthy diet… just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense… and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack.

Most important — choose organic butter only, since pesticides and other harmful chemicals accumulate in the fat of the milk which is used for butter, so choosing organic helps avoid this problem. Also, and MOST importantly, always choose grass-fed (pastured) butter as it will contain higher levels of healthful omega-3 fats and the fat-burning conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) …Kerrygold is a popular pasture-raised butter in most stores.

Nut butters – Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me (and peanuts aren’t as healthy as other nuts due to aflatoxin concerns), so I get creative and mix together almond butter with pecan butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter…delicious and unbeatable nutrition! Using a variety of nut butters gives you a broader range of vitamins and minerals and other micronutrients, and gives you variety instead of boring old peanut butter all the time.

Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots – for salads with dinner.

Home-made salad dressing – using balsamic vinegar, spices, and extra virgin olive oil. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined canola or soybean oil (canola and soybean oil are both very inflammatory in the body). As a rule, NEVER buy store bought salad dressing.

Check back for part 2 later in the week. With over 55 lean body foods in total, you’ll never need another food guide!

 

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