Now that we are coming out of the winter blues around these parts, I having been feeling the need to start exercising and getting my weight in check again. I did very well last summer, but as soon as the weather turned cold and rainy, the last thing I wanted to to was exercise, and my diet went out the window too. Hello comfort food!
Anyway, to go along with my new found desire to slim down, I have been busy concocting a smoothie with a ton of belly fat busting ingredients. I have had this the past week for breakfast and it is amazing and keeps me full for quite a while. Just thought I would share in case anyone else out there needs a little help in the tummy area as well. Enjoy!
The smoothie recipe:
1 cup Frozen Blueberries
1 whole banana peeled and broken into chunks
1/2 cup frozen or fresh spinach
enough juice of your choice (I use orange for the Vitamin C boost) to make the blender go (start with a 1/4 cup) and go up from there. I like my smoothies very thick and frozen.
For the topping:
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup crushed walnuts (or combo of almonds and walnuts)
2 tbsp. ground flax seed
Combine in a pan on the stove and cook over medium low heat until they just start to get toasty and you can smell the deliciousness. Remove from the heat and let cool and then sprinkle over your smoothie.
Below are the ingredients that are super belly fat busting, and the reasoning behind it.
1. Blueberries -
Blueberries,
as well as berries such as strawberries and raspberries, contain a type of plant
chemical called anthocyanins that may help you burn abdominal fat faster,
according to a "Parenting" magazine article. Blueberries also happen to be
loaded with fiber, which can help your body absorb fewer calories from other
foods and help you stay full so that you're less likely to eat too many calories
in meals. The antioxidants in blueberries may also help you burn belly fat
because they increase your blood flow and can improve your muscles' performance
during workouts. Aim for at least a half cup of blueberries a day.
2. Spinach - (or dark leafy greens)
Leafy green vegetables such as spinach pack a triple punch to an expanding waistline. A single cup of spinach is worth only about 40 calories, but it contains enough stomach-filling fiber to account for 20 percent of your daily requirement, according to "Fitness" magazine. Spinach is also rich in calcium, which helps your muscles contract and helps give you the strength you need to burn belly fat during workouts.
3. Oatmeal -
Unlike
refined grains such as white rice and white flour, whole grains such as oatmeal
are rich in fiber, which helps you stay full on fewer calories and can help you
lose belly weight. Whole grains also happen to be rich in chromium and
magnesium, which can control two hormones that encourage fat to pile in the
midsection, according to "Parenting" magazine. Aim for at least three half-cup
servings of whole grains per day, and don't feel limited to oatmeal. Quinoa,
brown rice and 100 percent whole-wheat bread also count as whole
grains.
4. Flax Seed and Walnuts - High in Omega -3's -
Omega-3 consumption can influence the speed at which you
are able to burn calories, especially while on a diet. Omega-3 fats work to keep
a hormone that directly influences the metabolism's speed, called leptin, at
high levels. According to Dr. John Berardi, when leptin is present in high
amounts, the metabolic rate remains higher than normal while also reducing
overall hunger, increasing your likelihood of maintaining weight-loss success
while dieting.
Insulin sensitivity is the ability of your body's cells
to recognize the presence of insulin and to allow more sugar molecules to be
burned for energy instead of being stored as fat. In general, the more sensitive
your cells are to insulin, the less you will store fat from meals higher in
carbohydrates. Increasing omega-3 consumption in the form of both fish oil
supplementation and also eating about 1 lb. of cold-water fish each week
significantly improves insulin sensitivity and assists in fat loss, according to
the Life Extension Foundation, an organization dedicated to nutritional
pharmacology. Eat weekly meals containing salmon, mackerel and sardines and
include a few capsules of fish oil each day to help reduce belly
fat.
Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids can improve the
rate at which your body metabolizes fats eaten with meals. According to research
in the December 2007 Journal of Nutrition, two weeks of fish-oil supplementation
equal to 3g daily improved the metabolism of fat in the intestine and reduced
weight gain in overfed animals. In another study, researchers discovered that
the same two-week period resulted in gene alterations, particularly of the
"anti-obesity" gene.
5. Banana -
While banana's are not on the list of helping to burn belly fat, the potassium in them does help with bloating in the midsection. Foods high in potassium, such as bananas and potatoes help your body get rid of excess water weight, minimizing your middle. The extra fluid is usually a result of imbalance between potassium and sodium. When sodium gets too high, your tissues hold on to fluid. An optimum amount of potassium is 4,700 mg a day. One banana contains a whopping 450mg! But you can also get a lot of potassium from beans, potatoes and halibut.
So there you have it, one powerful smoothie breakfast for your midsection!
Combine in a pan on the stove and cook over medium low heat until they just start to get toasty and you can smell the deliciousness. Remove from the heat and let cool and then sprinkle over your smoothie. 
I saw a blog post once about using pieces of tile to make coasters. While I absolutely love that idea, I thought I would expand on that and make another home decor and serving item, the trivet. For those that don't know, a trivet (at least the one that I am going to show you how to make) is an object that is placed between a serving dish or bowl and your dinner table to protect the table from heat damage.
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