How to Spice Up Your Diet for Weight Loss
When we embark on a diet for weight loss, our food options can seem pretty bland, if not downright bleak. So many of the delicious meals we love preparing and savoring seem to contain all the forbidden ingredients we love. The good news is, more and more professional chefs, celebrities, and everyday bloggers are exploring and promoting the many ways you can spice up your diet while still indulging in a rich and colorful palette.
You may not think of pepper as anything more than a common kitchen spice, but it carries an incredible history. Once called “the king of spices,” with the Egyptians incorporating it into their sacred rituals and Hippocrates himself celebrating its medicinal values, pepper reached it’s height in the Middle Ages, where its “black gold” was declared a prized bartering tool.
Pepper has since been recognized as a powerful aid when added to your diet for weight loss, with Green Health Matters citing pepper’s potent fat-burning qualities: “Pepper is also a thermogenic food – which causes the body to burn more calories than it is using as well as boosting the metabolism.”
Besides boosting the metabolism and helping to burn fat, pepper also contains vital antioxidants such as Vitamin C, that keeps free radicals at bay and reduces stress-related tension. So how can you incorporate pepper into your diet beyond simple seasoning? Here are a few favorite pepper concoctions to start with:
1. Golden Milk.Similar to chai, this warm and frothy beverage is an Asian favorite, praised for its numerous health and beauty benefits. Turmeric is one of nature’s most powerful spices, known for relieving everything from depression to skin problems to cancer-causing free radicals.
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Slowly heat one cup of unsweetened non-dairy milk, coconut or almond, over the stove, gently whisking in 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric poweder, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, and 1/4 teaspoon of organic ground black peppercorns. Keep whisking until all the ingredients are blended, then pour into a sturdy mug and enjoy. You can add a little raw honey for sweetness.
2. Black Pepper With Lemon Juice.Black pepper contains piperine, which helps stop the formation of new fat cells and further reduces fat levels in the blood. Pepper’s antioxidants combined with the natural toxin-removers found in lemon juice can pack a powerful punch in your diet for weight loss. In a glass of hot water, mix 4 tablespoons of lemon juice, one tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon of crushed black pepper powder, preferably fresh. Drink this in the morning and in moderation throughout the day for optimal results.
3. Black Pepper Tea.You can spice up any of your favorite teas by adding one teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, adding honey and cloves to sweeten the peppery taste. Pepper works especially well in exotic tea blends such as masala chais or smokier Lapsang souchong teas.
4. Peppery Dressings.Many nutritionists combining ground black peppercorns with extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and freshly chopped oregano for a delicious homemade dressing or marinade. Drizzle this over your favorite salads, or as a baste for savory dishes.
Dieting for weight loss is never easy, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Ancient spices like black pepper have long been touted for their wellness properties, with studies finding the presence of metabolism-boosting piperine an advantageous component in eliminating and preventing fat. In an article published through Emax Health, studies showed that pepper-derived piperine “suppresses the effect of body fat accumulation mainly through the action of pipeline.”
Applying pepper to your diet for weight loss will not only give you a delicious boost, but help shed the pounds and keep you looking and feeling your best.
