10 Must-Have Staples For A Flat-Belly Kitchen
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In our early 20s, most of us stock our fridges with the same handful of crucial ingredients: cold pizza; beer; containers of leftover Chinese food; and something furry and green that used to be meat. Or maybe it was cake.
But as we get older, we start to split into two camps: Those with kitchens stocked with healthy, nutritious, flat-belly foods, and those who have plenty of things that look like food, but are really just processed durable consumer goods that could either be eaten, or used as packing material. People who stock their kitchens smartly can whip up a great meal in no time, because they keep all the flat-belly essentials on hand. People who don’t wind up with big food bills, takeout containers and chubby tummies.
Don’t be fat, broke and messy. Be lean, rich and tidy, compliments of Zero Belly Diet. Stock your kitchen with these 10 essential flat-belly staples and never be at the mercy of the delivery man again. And to really get your abs popping before Summer, read our special report: Eat This, Not That for Amazing Abs!
IN YOUR PANTRY
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #10
Coconut oil
We’ve seen a lot of trendy foods come and go (we never did learn how to pronounce “acai”!), but coconut oil is here to stay. Our bodies would rather burn coconut oil’s medium-chain triglycerides as energy, rather than store it as fat. A study of 30 men in the journal Pharmacology found that those who consumed 2 tablespoons of coconut oil a day shrank their waists by an average of 1.1 inches in one month. You can use coconut oil almost anyplace you’d use butter—for eggs or stir-frys, for healthier pancakes, or in a belly-burning smoothie.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #9
Cinnamon
The sweet spice is an ideal AM engine-starter. The polyphenols found in cinnamon keep blood sugar stable, preventing hunger-inducing spikes and crashes. In a study published in The Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, Japanese researchers found that mice who ate a daily helping of cinnamaldehyde, the ingredient that gives cinnamon its flavor, lost belly fat while those who skipped the spice did not; they hypothesize that it kick-starts metabolism. Sprinkle cinnamon to your morning oats or coffee, or swirl it into one of the essential 5 Teas That Melt Belly Fat.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #8
Chickpeas
Sometimes very good things come in round little packages–as any Danny DeVito fan would attest. But at dinner time, our fancy turns more toward the humble chickpea, which can increase satiety by releasing an appetite-suppressing hormone called cholecystokinin. Toss them into green salads, eat them on their own, or blend them into homemade hummus with lemon and olive oil.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #7
Almonds and Almond Butter
A prime fatty food that makes you skinny, almonds and almond butter are packed with protein that builds lean muscle, which in turn helps you burn fat. They also contain a compound that limits the fat absorbed by the body. One study of overweight adults found that eating about a quarter-cup of almonds for 6 months led to a 62% greater reduction in weight and BMI. And eating just 1.5 ounces of almonds daily led to a reduction in belly and leg fat, a 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed. You can snack on almonds, stir almond butter into your oatmeal or smoothies, spread it on toast with banana slices, or eat a couple spoonfuls as a snack. And lose even more weight eating these scientifically-proven 8 Best Fat-Burning Foods.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #6
Quinoa
All complex carbs are weight-loss winners; their low glycemic index means they digest slowly and keep your blood sugar at an even keel, keeping your metabolism humming. A Tufts University study found that participants who ate at least three servings of whole grains daily had 10% less belly fat than people who ate the same amount of calories from refined carbs (i.e. the white stuff). First position in your pantry should go to quinoa, which is high in fiber, protein and essential amino acids. Eat it as a side dish with salmon, or beef up a green salad with a scoop.
IN YOUR FRIDGE
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #5
Spinach
The leafy green is reclaiming the stage from its trendier cousin, kale, thanks to its powerful appetite-suppressing compounds called thylakoids. In 2014, researchers at Lund University in Sweden found that over three months, women who consumed a 5-gram thylakoid supplement from spinach reported a 25 percent reduction in hunger and cravings and significantly more weight loss (11lbs) than the control group. Spinach is also jam-packed with energy-boosting nutrients such as vitamin A, iron and folate. Use it as the base for your salads or blend it up in a smoothie. And pair it with the 9 Superfoods You Can Add to Almost Any Meal.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #4
Wild Salmon
Wild salmon is one of the foods that have been shown to actually turn off your fat genes. It’s a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which fuel blubber-burning and block fat storage. Add two servings to your diet each week to get the amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids recommended by the American Heart Association. Just be sure always to choose wild salmon; the farmed variety can contain nasty additives and bad fats.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #3
Berries
Be they blue-, rasp-, or straw-, berries are packed with polyphenols, naturally occurring chemicals which burn fat and can even prevent it from forming. In a Texas Women’s University study, mice who consumed berries had 73% less belly fat than those who didn’t. Keep them around for a healthy snack, or combine them with oats or greek yogurt for a fat-burning breakfast. And unlock their power in The Best Weight-Loss Smoothie Recipe Ever!
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #2
Sweet potatoes
A belly-burning “slow carb,” sweet potatoes are high in fiber and have a low glycemic index, which means they’re absorbed slowly and keep you feeling full longer. They’re also rich in carotenoids, powerful antioxidants which help stabilize blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance, which prevents calories from being converted into fat. And their high vitamin profile (including A, C and B6) give you more energy to burn. Roast them up as a side to grilled meats or fish, or slice and bake them into healthy fries, drizzled with coconut oil.
ZERO BELLY STAPLE #1
Grass-fed beef
Just choosing grass-fed beef over conventionally raised cow can help you stampede toward a flatter belly. A study in Nutrition Journal found that grass-fed meat contains higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation, improve insulin resistance and help the liver speed fat out of the body. Grass-fed beef is naturally leaner and has fewer calories than conventional meat. For example, a 7-ounce conventional strip steak, trimmed of fat, will run you 386 calories and 16 grams of fat. But a 7-ounce grass-fed strip steak is only 234 calories and five grams of fat. So fire up the grill guilt-free: Pair it with sweet potatoes and spinach for extra flab-burning effects.
AND FOR 11 OF THE BEST EATING HABITS THAT WILL UNCOVER YOUR ABS BY SUMMER, CLICK HERE!
Start with adding these simple selections to your daily routine, and check out Zero Belly Diet now to start losing weight while eating the foods you love!
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