These are foods that start winnowing your waistline the moment they leave your fork and enter your mouth. They build muscle, promote fat burning, or simply use energy (i.e., burn calories) just to digest them! Stock up today.

BY SELENE YEAGER

photo: Hemera/Thinkstock

Almonds and other nuts (with skins intact)
Build muscle, reduce cravings

Dairy products (fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese)
Build strong bones, fire up weight loss

Eggs
Build muscle, burn fat

Turkey and other lean meats
Build muscle, strengthen immune system

Berries
Improve satiety, prevent cravings

Enova oil (soy and canola oil)
Promotes fullness, not easily stored as fat

Peanut butter 
Boosts testosterone (a good thing even in women), builds muscle, burns fat

Fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel)
Trigger fullness, fire up fat burning

Grapefruit
Lowers insulin, regulates blood sugar and metabolism; be sure to eat the fleshy white membranes

Green tea
Fires up fat burning

Chili peppers
Spikes metabolism

Spinach and green vegetables
Fight free radicals and improve recovery for better muscle building

Whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, whole grain cereal)
Small doses prevent body from storing fat

Beans and legumes
Build muscle, help burn fat, regulate digestion

Whey
Builds muscle, burns fat

(Source: womenshealthmag.com)

man. yesterday i was having some crazy butter-sugar-concoction cravings. i warded them off for the day (yay) and as i went to bed, resolved to whip up some yummy sweet smoothie for myself in the morning. 

initially i had planned to make the banana-date smoothie that i think i have somewhere highlighted in another post here, but alas, no bananas are to be found at my house at the time. and so, i came up with the blueberry-date smoothie instead.

its 133 calories for one serving (the recipe makes 2)— instead of the two tablespoons of honey the link calls for, i used one tablespoon of honey and three deglet-noor dates (the smaller ones). (DATES ARE MY MAGIC SMOOTHIE INGREDIENT NOW!) and as usual, used soy milk instead of skim milk, and non-fat plain yogurt instead of yucky refined sugar filled low-fat vanilla as in the recipe. in my culinary opinion the tartness of plain yogurt goes well with the blueberries anyway… so yeah ignore all the weightwatcher whiners in the comments of the link because we aren’t following the same recipe anyway…

My next endeavor is to dust off our ice cream maker and try out these smoothies in ice cream form. I’ll let y’all know how it goes :)

btw- my smoothies turned out even brighter and bluer than the picture! SO DELICIOUS with the eyes and the mouth. 

For those who want to skip the link altogether and just check out my transcendant recipe:

Ingredients

Makes two 8-ounce servings

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 deglet noor dates

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in the jar of a blender, and process until smooth. Serve immediately in tall glasses.

So, I wasn’t initially going to post ANOTHER link on “superfoods” (is it just me or have we been hearing that a lot lately…) but this one featured some beyond the usual blueberries, spinach, and tomatoes— like oysters, yogurt, kiwis, and… CHOCOLATE! (dark, of course)

So, had to share ;)

By Sara Wells

Healthy Food Swaps 1-5

1. Try low-fat or fat-free Greek-style yogurt instead of fat-free or low-fat flavored yogurt.

Why it’s better: In order to get their fruity taste and make up for the missing fat, flavored low-fat and fat-free yogurts are loaded with sugar — up to 35 grams in a 6-ounce cup! Plus, they typically contain only 6 grams of protein or fewer. Greek-style yogurt has about 13 grams of protein and 6 grams or fewer of added sugar per 5.3-ounce serving, making it the healthier option.

Try: FAGE Total Greek Yogurt, a favorite of FITNESS editors. It comes in fat-free and low-fat varieties. When you crave fruit-flavored yogurt, choose Dannon Light & Fit Carb & Sugar Control Yogurt, with only 2 grams of sugar per 4-ounce cup.

2. Pack lunch with whole-grain crackers instead of white bread.

Why it’s better: White bread can raise your blood sugar more than chocolate cake, Coke, or ice cream. And with less than 1 gram of fiber per slice, it doesn’t keep you full. Instead of a traditional sandwich, pair whole-grain crackers with hummus, low-fat cheese, or nut butter. You’ll get satisfying crunch — and more fiber.

Try: High-fiber Triscuits (3 grams of fiber per serving) or All-Bran Crackers (5 grams of fiber).

3. Try beans instead of rice.

Why it’s better: As a side dish, brown rice beats white, but beans trump both — they’re high in fiber and protein. One cup of kidney beans has 16 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein.

Try: A three-bean salad made with black, kidney, and pinto beans, or toss them in a green salad as a source of protein. If you’re using canned beans, be sure to rinse them first to wash off the excess sodium they’re packed in.

4. Try eggs instead of egg whites.

Why it’s better: The protein is in the whites, so you’ll get a healthy meal if you skip the yolks, but you will miss out on some crucial nutrients. Yolks contain choline, which is important for brain health; lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which are key for healthy vision; and vitamin D, which helps with calcium absorption and has been linked to a lowered risk for colon and skin cancers. Unless you’re watching your cholesterol levels, choose the whole egg.

Try: Omega-3-fortified eggs from chickens that are fed a nutrient-rich diet of seeds and grains. A new brand, sold at Wal-Mart and major supermarkets, is Christopher Eggs, which contains 660 milligrams of omega-3s per egg — up to 18 times the amount found in an ordinary egg.

5. Make a sandwich with natural peanut butter and low-sugar jelly rather than reduced-fat PB and regular jelly.

Why it’s better: All peanut butter is full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, which makes it a great choice for lunches or snacks. But many reduced-fat brands contain added sugar to make them taste more like regular peanut butter. Add jelly and you’re getting lots of nutritionally empty sugar calories. Natural peanut butter contains no additives or artificial oils, and low-sugar or no-sugar jelly gives you the sweet taste you love with far fewer calories.

Try: Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter and Polaner Sugar-Free Strawberry Preserves.