For the past 2 newsletters, I’ve shared with you 2 of my very favorite fat burning foods and a variety of easy ways to add those into your healthy eating plans. If you missed either one of those newsletters, you can read them here:
Super Fat Burning Food #1: Kale Super Fat Burning Food #2: Apple Cider Vinegar Today, I’ve got 1 more for you, and this one happens to be my absolute favorite, not only because it’s delicious, but because it is so great at quickly conquering a myriad of nagging ailments like digestive difficulties, heart burn, and morning sickness (my personal battle right now!)
What food am I talking about?
Super Fat Burning Food #3: Ginger Ginger is a plant that is used as a natural spice and has been used by Chinese herbalists for more than 2,500 years in flavoring foods and part of natural medicines.
One of ginger’s biggest “claims to fame” is its ability to quickly calm the digestive system to relieve distress and discomfort from gas pains and cramping. It also has been used to relieve nausea from motion sickness, morning sickness or the occasional “I just ate the wrong thing and it’s killing my stomach!”.
Ginger has also been used in the treatment and prevention of inflammatory conditions like painful arthritis and it’s a wonderful cold and flu fighter.
So we know ginger is definitely a great food to keep the body super healthy, but does it have the ability to assist the body in burning fat? Yes, ginger root has been found to help accelerate the metabolism and assists in reducing stomach bloating by helping food digest properly.
For me, any food that will assist my digestion and keep my stomach feeling good is a food that is well worth adding to my meal plans. I also really enjoy the delicious taste of ginger and love adding it to several different recipes.
Below are 3 of my favorite ways to add ginger into my every day meal plans (yes, I do eat a little bit of ginger each day).
Ginger – Honey Salad Dressing Modified from Cooks.com
* 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
* 2 tbsp. lime juice (you can also try it with lemon juice instead)
* 2 tbsp. raw honey
* 1/4 tsp. sea salt
* 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Shake all ingredients in tightly covered container and enjoy.
I like to make different salad dressings because I not only use them on salads, but I also use them on raw veggies and it’s a great way to get healthy ingredients and raw veggies into my husband and son.
Ginger Broccoli Stir-Fry Ingredients * 4 cups broccoli florets
* Water for steaming
* 2 teaspoons coconut oil
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon wheat-free soy sauce
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions 1. Steam the broccoli florets until they are cooked but still firm, approximately 5 minutes.
2. In a skillet or wok, stir-fry broccoli in coconut oil for 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic, soy sauce and ginger; stir-fry 1-2 minutes longer or until broccoli is crisp-tender.
You can cook chicken, beef or shrimp in the same mixture and add that to the broccoli. I’ve also added different vegetables like cauliflower, green beans, and/or peppers for a complete Chinese stir fry dinner.
Homemade Ginger Chicken Soup Recipe (by far one of my favorite things to make during the colder months)
Ingredients * 4 Chicken Breasts (or 4 chicken legs)
* 1 1/2 large Onions - Diced
* 4 Carrots - Sliced
* 4 stalks Celery - Sliced
* 4 cloves Garlic - Peeled and ends cut off
* 1 1/2" fresh Ginger - Grated; you may leave skin on, just be sure to wash well under cold water
* 2 Sweet Potatoes - 1 1/2" dice
* 1 Bay Leaf
* 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper - Dry, ground
* freshly cracked Black Pepper - To taste
* Sea Salt - To taste
* 3/4 large stock pot of Water - Use filtered, if possible
Directions 1. Fill a large stock pot 3/4 full with water - use filtered, if possible.
2. Turn heat on to medium high.
3. Rinse chicken breasts under cold water and place into pot.
4. Slice carrots and celery. Dice onions. Prepare garlic and grate ginger. Cube sweet potatoes.
5. Add prepared ingredients to stock pot along with bay leaf, some black pepper, some sea salt, and cayenne pepper.
6. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes.
7. Test chicken to be sure it's cooked through and test sweet potatoes to be sure they are fork tender.
8. Remove chicken breasts and cut into cubes. At this point, you may add the chicken back into the soup or reserve to the side so that you can add back however much you would like at a time.
9. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
This soup has also been a staple item in my eating plan during the first few months of my pregnancy…delicious, satisfying and wonderful for the digestive system.
If ginger is not a staple item in your meal plans each day, I would definitely try 1 or all of the recipes above so you can benefit from ginger’s wonderful healthy properties and burn off some body fat at the same time.
Enjoy!
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